AI is diluting online content, but this is creating an opportunity for original thought leadership. We make the case for crafting original, human-led content that wins over journalists and audiences.
A stark contrast to the millions of common green-striped watermelons grown globally, the jet black Densuke is incredibly rare.
With around just a hundred of this stripeless, ultra-sweet melon cultivated exclusively on the Japanese island of Hokkaido each year, demand is high – one even fetched ¥650,000 at auction in 2008.
But what, I hear you ask, does a £5k melon have to do with content? The black watermelon’s combination of rarity, differentiation and intrigue is exactly what we want to inject into thought leadership. Especially at a time when there is a deluge of unoriginal, regurgitated, AI content flooding the internet.
What does truly thought-leading content look like?
Everyone seems to be jostling for prime position as the top influencer, but has anyone noticed how ‘vanilla’ most examples of thought leadership content are becoming? It’s become quite a challenge to find – in amongst all the noise – the well-considered and unique opinion pieces and posts that could be defined as truly thought leading. However, for PR professionals, thought leadership is one of the most powerful tools for positioning clients as trusted authorities and visionaries in any given field or industry.
Stretching well beyond self-promotion or surface-level commentary, thought leadership should anticipate future trends or challenges, and involve sharing innovative ideas, unique perspectives or expert insights. It should not only demonstrate expertise, but also have the power to shape and influence conversations.
Examples of thought leadership
The best way to understand true thought leadership is to see it up close, so check out some examples of thought leadership content we have facilitated recently:
- In Focus: How important is it for insurance to move beyond indemnity and into risk mitigation – a piece by Claud Bilbao, regional vice-president of underwriting and distribution, Cowbell UK for Insurance Times
- Navigating the internet of (too many) things: contending with digital fatigue – a piece by Michael Bartley, executive creative director at Indigo Slate, a Zensar company for Transform Magazine
- Complaints: the next governance flashpoint – a piece by Fayola-Maria Jack, CEO and Founder of Resolutiion for Business Reporter
- Demystifying Homomorphic Encryption – a piece by Agnes Leroy, Senior Software Engineer at Zama for Intelligent CISO
- The Fuel Cell Industry Faces a “Chicken and Egg” Dilemma – a piece by Dr. Tom Mason, CEO of Bramble Energy for Technology Networks.
If, like the examples above, you get this type of content right, the end result will spark deep interest and deliver real value: insights, advice and ideas. For the author, its purpose should be strategic and focus on building lasting credibility, reach and trust, positioning individuals – and in turn the companies they’re associated with – as go-to resources for deeper understanding and forward-thinking solutions. For businesses, thought leadership should help brands and individuals differentiate themselves and elevate their current activities for their market.
The key word throughout all of this, however, is ‘should’.
Enter AI
Since ChatGPT was unleashed to the masses in November 2022 – and Google’s Gemini launch a year later – AI has quickly and dramatically altered media’s content – thought leadership included.
In our ‘AI’s impact on the sacred client-PR-journalist relationship’ blog, we talked about the effect AI is having on content. Not only have we seen a huge rise in the frequency of some of ChatGPT’s go-to words (‘intricate’ and ‘unwavering’) in the news, but we’ve also seen journalists starting to revolt against anything AI-generated.
In fact, according to Cision’s State of the Media Report 2024, 26% of the 3,000 journalists surveyed globally named ‘the emergence of AI’ as one of the biggest challenges the journalism industry has faced in the past year. A lot of this, of course, is around it negatively affecting their own craft, and indeed careers, but AI has also affected content they receive from PRs: from press releases and media statements to reactive comments on the news and thought leadership.
Journalists – particularly those in trade media – often rely on well-put-together thought leadership content contributed by people they deem to be true subject matter experts. Yet, instead of this, they’re receiving AI-generated content comprising rehashed ideas that have been done to death, so it’s not surprising they’re rejecting it. Remember, AI sources its output from what is already out in the world. It cannot create a truly original idea, thought or a moment of reflection in the same way that we can as humans. We see the world with layers of emotional intelligence, applying empathy, sympathy, vulnerability, creativity and curiosity to our perception of what is happening around us. AI cannot create true genius from abstract and unique thoughts or experiences, which is how some of the best innovations and masterpieces of the world have emerged. Well… it can’t do this yet, anyway!
Whether it’s clients experimenting with GenAI when creating their own PR content or marketers dabbling in a little ChatGPT when drafting content, the fact is that true thought leadership is becoming increasingly rare, with the art of crafting great content on the rocks.
In our view, the problem lies beyond the issue of not having enough unique and inspiring content to digest. Think of a future where everyone is saying the same things and our digital platforms are bombarding us daily. This approach to creating content means everyone can write, right?! So the deluge will be huge and none of it will be of any value. This will only make us more and more numb, until we stop listening completely.
“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity” (so said Einstein)
While all this may sound negative, it actually creates a great opportunity. When such a huge proportion of content has been diluted into bland, highly predictable cookie-cutter copy – a whole lot of green-striped watermelons – it means that the black watermelons not only stand out more, but are more valuable than ever.
So, for those willing to put the work in, the media is ready and waiting for your real insights and novel ideas. But what should be considered when attempting to create high-quality thought leadership content?
First, you must decide who will author the content: someone from C-suite? A developer? A researcher? It all depends on your business’ objectives and who has the necessary expertise and opinions. You must ask questions like: what are your business objectives? What do you want your business to be known for? Whose profile do you want to raise and why?
Next, you must decide who will actually write the content. For those not familiar with the world of PR, it may seem obvious – whoever is author should write the content. In reality, this is more often than not, impossible. In businesses – startups in particular – the C-suite and experts who have all the insight, predictions and opinions also tend to be the most time-poor. In most cases, the solution is to out-source or get junior team members to create what is arguably the most difficult copy to write.
Yes, the juniors have more time, but they also have less experience. Just like GenAI, junior members of the team can lack the deep understanding of a brand; its values and objectives, tone of voice, target audience, clients’ preferences and behaviours, competitors, history, the unique experiences of working in a particular industry, emerging trends. The list goes on.
But without this experience and understanding – or the ability to extract this information – the result is usually ineffective content – falling into the green watermelon category whether AI is used or not.
With this in mind, turning to a specialist for editorial support, where there are often journalist-trained writers on hand, can be an effective option.
Benefits of a journalist-trained writer
- Media-savvy: Many PRs, copywriters and editorial specialists have first-hand experience working in the media. Many are what we call ‘hacks turned flacks’: journalists who’ve transitioned into PR and content creation. This background not only means they tend to have a finger on the pulse of trending topics and industry movements, but they understand what the media is looking for better than most: what type of content will be accepted by the media and what will resonate with readers.
- Expertise in messaging strategy: Journalists, former journalists and writing specialists excel at crafting content that aligns with all of those things GenAI and junior members can lack. While they too may be new to your business, they’re highly skilled in extracting the right information at speed and then using it to their advantage: great stories, aligned with business strategy and so forth.
- Skilled questioning techniques: Specialists will be able to draw on recent research, current news and industry trends, and extract all of the best bits from whoever they’re interviewing, deliberately leaving out anything unnecessary. Every interview question is deliberate and impactful, often incorporating prompts or spontaneous questions that arise from previous answers; hunting for the core of the story, the most novel and valuable insight in a way that GenAI cannot – all of which makes the most of limited access and time with busy thought leaders.
- Polished and professional content: Storytelling, much like painting a portrait or designing a building, is a skill, and it’s one that journalists work years to hone. Not only can they effectively communicate complex ideas with clarity and authority, but facts are checked, referenced and backed up, grammar and punctuation are perfected, contradictions picked up on, repetition eliminated and messages woven in seamlessly. It’s a polished product that’s hard to replicate without experience.
Lastly, whether you employ the help of a professional writer or not, our final piece of advice is to avoid the ‘green watermelon generator’ – generative AI – especially if a black watermelon is your end goal. Many copywriters, PRs and journalists are, however, able to lean on it to help with creating copy outlines or with research – always remembering the importance of fact-checking. But remember, in the competitive world of PR, original, distinctive, engaging copy is essential for any brand’s success, and only real subject-matter experts and experienced human writers can bring this level of originality, creativity and innovation.
If you’d like to discuss any editorial needs as part of your PR strategy, please feel free to reach out.
If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:
- The importance of PR for AI Search and Google AI Mode
- How to become a thought leader in your industry
By Jennifer Hood
Jennifer is Head of Editorial at Luminous PR and is the ideal person for helping brands and business leaders figure out what they want to say, and how to say it well.
