Marketing Against The Grain: Episode Summary

Title: We Built a Custom AI Content Grader in 5 Minutes (No Code)
Hosted by: HubSpot Podcast Network
Release Date: December 17, 2024
Guests: Kieran Flanagan, Kip Bodnar, Gary (Co-host)

Introduction: Exploring AI in Audience Targeting

In this episode of Marketing Against The Grain, hosted by Kieran Flanagan and Kip Bodnar from HubSpot’s CMO team, the discussion centers around leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance audience understanding and content creation. The hosts delve into their experience building a custom AI content grader using no-code tools, showcasing how quickly and effectively such solutions can be developed.

Notable Quote:
[00:01] Kieran: "On today's show, we are talking all about audience and how we built an amazing audience guide in Claude AI that's transformational and quite frankly blew our minds how good it was and how fast we were able to put it together."

Building the AI Content Grader: Step-by-Step Process

Kieran and Kip share their journey of creating a custom AI content grader using Claude AI, a powerful language model. They emphasize the speed and ease with which they could develop the grader, highlighting the potential for marketers to implement similar solutions without extensive coding knowledge.

Key Steps Discussed:

1. Creating an Audience Style Guide:

   • They began by compiling detailed audience profiles, specifically "Growth Gabby," HubSpot’s ideal customer persona.
   • Utilizing internal documents and research, they tasked Claude AI with synthesizing this information into a coherent style guide.

2. Integrating with Google Docs and Gemini:

   • The team leveraged Gemini’s capabilities within Google Docs to aggregate and analyze customer data from various sources.
   • This integration enabled the AI to produce a comprehensive one-pager summarizing key customer insights.

Notable Quote:
[08:35] Gary: "So, like, Gemini is now available in Google Docs, right? Yeah, I have a ton of research in here about our customers like we've done over the years. It would take me forever to go in and find that from all of that docs."

Features and Functionality of the AI Content Grader

The custom AI content grader was designed to evaluate marketing content against the established audience style guide. Key functionalities include:

• Content Grading:
  The grader assesses content based on tone, structure, engagement, and alignment with audience preferences.

• Feedback Mechanism:
  Provides actionable insights to improve content, such as enhancing hooks with data or refining language style.

• Real-Time Integration:
  Seamlessly integrates with content creation workflows, allowing for instant feedback and revisions.

Notable Quote:
[20:06] Gary: "All right, let's go and get our style guide. Oh. Oh, Jesus. It's built a content creator."

Use Cases and Practical Applications

Kieran and Gary explore various applications of the AI content grader beyond their initial use case. They discuss its potential in:

• Marketing:
  Enhancing content to better resonate with target audiences, improving engagement rates.

• Education:
  Providing real-time feedback on educational content to ensure clarity and effectiveness.

• User Research:
  Summarizing user interactions and feedback to inform content strategy and product development.

Notable Quote:
[06:02] Kieran: "You do a bunch of user tests recording people interacting through a flow product, flow, website, flow, whatever, and then have it summarize and give you all the things you should do."

Live Demonstration: Building the Web App

In a live segment, Kieran and Gary showcase the real-time creation of a web application using AI tools. They prompt the AI to transform their style guide into a functional web app that can grade content. The AI swiftly generates the app, demonstrating the remarkable speed and efficiency of AI-assisted development.

Notable Quote:
[20:40] Kieran: "Well, yeah. What was your prompt?"
[20:41] Gary: "My prompt was terrible. Can you turn this into a web app? An audience grader."

Insights and Takeaways: The Future of AI in Marketing

The hosts reflect on the transformative impact of AI on marketing practices. They highlight how AI tools can accelerate the development of essential resources, such as audience guides and content graders, enabling marketers to focus more on strategy and creativity. Additionally, they discuss the potential for AI to revolutionize content workflows, making processes more efficient and data-driven.

Key Insights:

• Accelerated Learning and Development:
  AI significantly reduces the time required to move from concept to a minimal viable product.

• Enhanced Content Quality:
  Automated grading and feedback ensure that content consistently aligns with audience needs and preferences.

• Scalability:
  AI solutions can be easily scaled across teams, ensuring uniformity in content quality and messaging.

Notable Quote:
[22:03] Kieran: "I think one of the things we're doing is we're going to do this for all HubSpot marketers for sure."
[23:34] Kieran: "This is unbelievable. It's huge."

Conclusion: Embracing AI for Competitive Advantage

Kieran and Gary conclude the episode by emphasizing the importance of integrating AI into marketing strategies to stay ahead of the competition. They encourage listeners to experiment with AI tools to enhance their content creation and audience engagement efforts, underscoring the ease and effectiveness demonstrated through their experience.

Final Thoughts:
The integration of AI in marketing is not just a futuristic concept but a practical tool that can deliver immediate benefits. By building custom solutions like the AI content grader, marketers can achieve greater precision, efficiency, and impact in their campaigns.

Notable Quote:
[23:34] Kieran: "All you have to do is actually upload it to Claude first and have it graded and talk about what improvements you can make to be much more suited to your audience."

Overall, this episode provides a comprehensive look into the practical application of AI in marketing, offering valuable insights and actionable strategies for marketers aiming to harness the power of AI to refine their content and better understand their audiences.