In a 20-minute demonstration, the sales engineer deftly navigated through the interface, configured a new image set, assigned the metadata, and set the rights-management properties. He logged in as different users to demonstrate a sophisticated workflow, and then published an asset and showed how the system presented it in channel-specific formats. Throughout the demo, he emphasized how “easy” it was for business users to perform tasks that once only experts could do.
As technology marketers, we often simplify our product offerings to the outside world, making it seem simple and easy. However, the more amazing the capability we provide, the more skilled our customers need to be in order to use it effectively. This discrepancy in skill level can present significant challenges.
In 2023, 272 technology marketers responded to a survey to address these challenges. The survey found that technology content marketers outpace their peers in the use of AI, with over two-thirds of tech marketers incorporating AI into their strategies. This year, technology marketers are focusing on increasing traffic, leads, and sales, nurturing existing clients, leveraging AI for content creation, enhancing content creation processes, focusing on thought leadership, and measuring content performance and value.
The use of AI in content creation is on the rise, with over 70% of technology marketers using generative AI tools for various tasks such as brainstorming new topics, writing drafts, and researching headlines and keywords. However, the deployment of AI in content creation remains mostly ungoverned, with few organizations having established guidelines for its use.
The integration of AI into search engines is also changing the landscape of SEO, requiring technology marketers to shift their strategies towards topical authority to rank well in search results. Moreover, content marketing teams in large technology companies tend to have centralized structures, with content requests flowing through a central team. However, challenges remain in aligning content efforts across different departments.
One of the main challenges cited by technology marketers is creating the right content for their audience, as well as a lack of resources, aligning content efforts, accessing subject matter experts, and workflow issues.
In conclusion, technology marketers are facing complex and ever-changing challenges, but by acknowledging the impact of AI, establishing clear guidelines, and addressing content creation and team structure, they can adapt to overcome these challenges effectively.