Hey there!

Spring has sprung, kinda. Or maybe Mother Nature is faking us out in central Indiana only to dump 6” of snow the first week of April.

Wouldn’t be the first time…

Either way, the extra Vitamin D has me feeling energized and ready to share some fresh insights with you all.

Let’s chat digital content, shall we?

On today’s docket:

• The top 3 AI tools I’m using for my content business
• *NEW* Ag marketing gigs
• Digital content tidbits

🤖 The 3 AI tools my ag content business uses daily

Ever been to a family gathering where light conversation takes a sharp turn towards career anxieties?

My most recent holiday gatherings this past December were filled with the usual cheer... and a dash of existential dread.

Nothing like your Uncle Dan asking “So, are you still writing those blog things? Seems like a computer could do that these days.”

Yep, the whole "Is AI going to kill your business?" question.

Let's just say my spiked eggnog wasn't enough to drown that out.

Hereʼs the thing... itʼs all about mindset.

Could AI make my business obsolete? Maybe.

But could I also leverage AI to make my business twice as efficient and produce better results for my clients? Definitely.

So instead of freaking out about robots taking over the content marketing world (or, let's face it, any other profession at this point), I figured it's high time we talk about something way more useful: the awesome AI tools I keep in my digital back pocket that elevate my game and help us better serve our clients.

Here are the 3 AI tools I use daily:

1. Transcription AI services

Let's be honest, Netflix who?

My team spends more time glued to recorded meetings, demos, sales calls, and interviews than your average couch potato.

So, this first tip isn't about a specific tool — just praise for any video or audio platform smart enough to embed AI right into its recording features. These near-real-time AI smarts have helped my team consume content at ninja-speed.

That transcription ability is a game-changer. Here's a taste of the magic:

• Loom: It auto-magically creates chapters in your recording to help you hop from topic to topic, just like following a choose-your-own-adventure book.
• Microsoft Teams: You can search transcripts and jump straight to the juicy bits you need to rewatch. I see you, Teams, you sneaky time-saver.
• Zoom: Its AI Companion can summarize recordings (more than just transcribing), sometimes saving my team from another rewatch altogether. The ability to use summaries to strategize how to repurpose longer content into short-form bits is a plus, too.

Say goodbye to the days of paying $30 on Fiverr every time you need a video transcribed. If you know, you know.

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2. Custom-built ChatGPT Editor

So maybe "software engineer" isn't on my business card just yet. But tinkering with OpenAIʼs GPT builder makes me think I could have gotten that engineering minor at Purdue a decade ago. 😉

One of my favorite things to tackle with new clients is building a rock-solid content style guide for their brand. It's like whispering the secret sauce recipe for future writing success.

We're talking about nailing down all the nitty-gritty details — things like:

• Do we say farmer or grower, or both? A tiny question that seems to spark hot debate.
• The fancy legal stuff, like trademarked and copyrighted brands or programs. You know, to keep the lawyers happy.
• All things grammar — including the spicy Oxford comma decision, among many others.
• First person or third? Technical jargon or plain English? A guide confirms how you want your brand to show up on the page.
• The big kahuna: tone of voice. Are we aiming for approachable and chatty, or informative and dripping with B2B authority? A style guide helps steer the ship.

By hammering out these choices up front, we streamline the editing process for everyone involved. My team can whip up content faster, and there's less back-and-forth with clients when drafts hit their inbox. Win-win.

So, how do we make sure everyone sticks to the plan? Enter our new AI friend...

The process is actually pretty simple (big thanks to Zapier for breaking it down so well here).

Basically, you feed a custom-built GPT your brand's voice and style guide, along with a bunch of content examples that capture your brand's tone, essence, and grammar choices.

It's not magic, and it might need some fine-tuning. But let me tell you, this AI editor has become a go-to "first pass" before my amazing human editor and the client ever see a draft.

P.S. If you're curious to see this AI editor in action, hit me with a reply! If there's enough buzz, I'll whip up a video of me building a sweet prototype.

3. Perplexity.ai

There are a few hangups I have with most of the AI content writing tools today:

1. It takes a lot of time to recraft and edit most output to get it to any readable, digestible form.
2. I have no idea where it pulls information off the web, which often makes me question the accuracy of what it feeds me. And don't get me started on its hallucinations either… woof.

But then there's Perplexity AI. This is where things get interesting...

​Perplexity AI is a conversational search engine marketed as an "answer engine." It responds to queries using natural language predictive text, generates answers using web sources, and cites links within the text response.

It's like Google Scholar on rocket fuel, way faster than sifting through a library of dusty old research papers.

Now, the tool isnʼt perfect. There are definitely some segments of agriculture where it is a stretch for the tool to provide quality research. But itʼs a start, and Iʼm sure some future custom versions will enable industry-specific insights.

Some added benefits: it can keep a library of past searches, or you can “focus” your research on specific sources.

Perplexity AI might just be the first step towards a future where AI research assistants are an essential tool for any information worker. Buckle up; it's goin’ to be a ride.

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So there you have it—the three AI tools I love these days. Iʼm curious, though. What tools am I missing? Whatʼs saved you hours of time and made your work 10x better? Just reply here—Iʼd love to chat.

💼 ⭐️ Open Ag Marketing Gigs

Here's a new section for all of you job or gig hunters! Every month, I'll post a new batch of roles (both full-time and contract) that are floating around the industry. If you've got one you want to feature to our 250+ readers/marketers, simply email it to me at travis.martin@imagine-content.com or DM me on LinkedIn.

• Keystone Cooperative - Product Marketing Specialist: The freshly minted (merged!) cooperative is growing its team. Are you a marketing campaign maestro? Work across all four divisions of this business, positioning the vast products and services available to farmers across Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois. Apply here.

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• Fractal Agriculture - Go-To-Market Strategy Intern: Any MBAs in our audience? The Fractal Ag team is looking for a summer intern (that could turn into part-time or full-time work down the road) where you'll help build a scalable direct-to-farmer marketing strategy, among other initiatives. If interested, reach out to Fractal's GTM Lead, Harrison Rogers, directly here.

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• Certified Angus Beef - Multiple Roles: The Certified Angus Beef is beefing up its team with a few open roles. Their Digital Marketing Specialist opening is all about partnerships, helping shape the marketing landscape for our independent meat partners, and diving into exciting projects in restaurant marketing. They also are seeking a top-notch Event Planner to help the brand experience team execute high-impact, interactive educational experiences. Check 'em out.

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• Balance4ward - Digital Media Specialist: Are you a marketer with cattle on the brain often? This role might just be a fit. Own all the digital content efforts across all platforms while executing campaigns tied directly to business goals. Apply here.

Need a little extra help with all things content? Chat with us at Imagine Content to discuss how we help ag brands build trust, authority, and audiences. We've worked with 25+ ag brands on content strategy + execution, SEO, design, and content analytics. Get in touch to see past work and share where you're needing help.​

Or, do you need a little more design capacity? Subscribe to our simple unlimited design service to support your existing graphic designers or utilize an outsourced team.

Digital content links worth sharing:
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AI images engage us less? AI is still early, but here’s an interesting take from Neil Patel: His research shows that AI-generated images generated 37.8% fewer likes and 34.7% fewer comments than non-AI-generated images.

Short-form video rocket power: Short-form video is such a powerful tool I still wish more ag brands would give a go. (And if you want to give it a try, give us a shout, we’d love to help!) But Hubspot’s recent Marketing Trends Report shows that it's on the minds of a lot of marketers:

• 26% of marketers plan to invest more in short-form video than any other format in 2024
• 57% of marketers who leverage short-form video will increase their investment in 2024
• 30% of marketers who don’t use short-form video will start in 2024.

SparkToro drops the heat: If you know much about my background, you can imagine that I love hot takes like this.

Take it straight from the article:

***I would personally add to this: If your website isn’t optimized to capture emails through newsletter sign-ups or CTAs for access to premium information, your website isn’t working as hard for you as it could be.

Maybe you've heard... Google is on the hunt for trashy AI spam content. From the article: Google's massive March 2024 search update takes aim at AI-generated "copycat content." The search giant expects this update to reduce unhelpful, low-quality content by 40%.

So how do you make sure to keep your content on top of of E-E-A-T guidelines?

Do things only you and your brand can provide:

• Draw upon your personal interests, qualifications, and education to offer expert insights.
• Harness proprietary data to lend authenticity to your insights.
• Anchor your content in real-world stories and experiences that can't be easily replicated.

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That's all for this month, folks!

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