August 29, 2023 • 32 mins
Today, Tara Thurber is joined by Co-founder and President of Alchemy Media, Deana Graffeo Weeks. Amiss the surge of AI updates and apps, Deana reveals her Top5 Ways for Using AI to Develop Content Strategy.
- Precision & Relevancy
- Creativity & Originality
- Ideation & Conceptualization
- Audience Development & Segmentation
- Automation - Scheduling & Determining Cadence
Deana Graffeo Weeks, Co-founder and President of Alchemy Media
Deana is a seasoned content marketer and communications pro with over two decades in the field. As the lead at Alchemy Media, she blends her skills as a story crafter and marketing strategist, delivering results for diverse clients like SaaS and technology startups Copilot.cx, Plixer, Theta, and ClimateAi, and social justice non-profits like White Awake. Through her agency clients, she has spearheaded standout campaigns for FIFA+ Collect, Algorand, GlossAi, Quali, Nostromo, and a host of cybersecurity leaders like Coro, SnapAttack, King & Union, and others
Beyond building compelling strategies and brand positioning, Deana's strength lies in her ability to craft compelling messaging, content, and copy that connects brands to audiences. Her in-house experience extends to renowned companies like the 4A's, AOL, Edelman, and Universal Music Group, where she began her career as a publicist. Notably, she played a crucial role in the success of music startups like Princeton-based MuseAmi and its popular Hook’d music messaging app.
A graduate of NYU's music business program, Deana is also an active board member of the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra and has been a contributing member of Women in Music. She seamlessly bridges her professional expertise with family life from her home base in central New Jersey, where she enjoys spending time with her husband Michael, children Iain and Avalyn, and four loveable black cats.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tara Thurber (00:00):
Hey everyone, welcome back to Top5 brought to
you by DefinedTalent. We are aresults driven service working
with clients to connect themwith quality talent, as well as
working to make an impact withinthe recruiting industry. We talk
straight about today'sprofessional world with real
world professionals, experts inrecruitment, job seekers and
(00:21):
business owners alike. Have aquestion for us send it in and
you might spur our nextconversation. I'm Tara Thurber,
Co-founder and Director ofTalent Partnerships here at
DefinedTalent. And joining metoday is Deana Graffeo Weeks,
Co-founder and PrincipalManaging Partner at Alchemy
Media to discuss her Top5 Waysfor Using AI to Develop Content
(00:46):
Strategy. Hey, Deana, how areyou today?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (00:49):
I'm very well, Tara, how are you?
Tara Thurber (00:51):
I am good. I'm so excited to hear your tips and
dive into this today. So let'sjust get started. Why don't you
share just a brief snapshot ofyour professional background to
our audience?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (01:04):
Sure. So I am my marketing and
communications pro with over 20years of experience. I started
my career in the digital musicspace and evolved from there
into a more general marketingprimarily with technology
companies.
Tara Thurber (01:23):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (01:24):
I started as a publicist, and I'm
marketing generalist for thepast 12 years, didn't love
pitching on the PR side. Soreally liked to dive into the
writing component and thestrategy component of what
marketing could be. And so Itook that experience, and
(01:50):
started working with a lot ofstartups in the technology space
and helping them craft theirstories as a way of helping them
refine their value propositionsand meet their audiences with a
more direct approach.
Tara Thurber (02:15):
And now Alchemy Media, explain Alchemy Media and
your position with it.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (02:21):
Are they sure so I formed Alchemy, back
in 2016. And it really took off,I co-founded it along with my
husband, but it really took offat the beginning of the pandemic
in 2020. It is really a anagency designed again, to help a
lot of startup companies reallyfunction like with a marketing
(02:45):
team for hire, because a lot oftimes they are resource
strapped, they don't have a lotof both financial resources as
well as human resources to beable to do the things that they
want to do in a marketingcapacity. And a lot of times if
they do have a marketing person,that person is suffering from
what we call too many hats.
Tara Thurber (03:05):
Yes.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (03:06):
So my focus is really to help come in and
help them again, develop theirvalue proposition in a way that
makes more sense from a holisticmarketing standpoint. So I will
do that and help them developtheir messages to reach
(03:28):
audiences that are bothcustomers, partners, and
investors, which is somethingthat other larger entities might
not be so focused on. But makingsure that that these startups
really have the ability tocommunicate with all of these
different folks effectively, andholistically. And then Alchemy
(03:49):
works as part of a collective.
So I'm really focused on thatcommunication messaging
component. The folks that I workwith can also do social media,
paid media, web development,design, presentation skills,
things like that. And what'snice is from the, because of the
way we're set up, a companydoesn't have to pay multiple
(04:14):
agencies.
Tara Thurber (04:17):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (04:18):
Big retainers every month to try to
get things done. They can reallycome to us and kind of have all
of those things handled asneeded. For a lot of for a lot
less, you know, a lot lessmoney. So.
Tara Thurber (04:34):
Like a one stop shop.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (04:38):
Exactly.
And it really is it's kind ofcentered, again, that core
messaging piece of itproliferates out through all of
these channels. So they're ableto do that communication a lot
more effectively. Because it ismore centralized and is handled
more holistically.
Tara Thurber (04:57):
That's fantastic.
Now diving into AI I mean, AI islike the hot topic that's out
there right now. Research isshowing that the global AI
market will reach half atrillion US dollars in 2023. And
83% of companies consider usingAI in their strategy as a high
(05:18):
priority. What does this meanfor the industry?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (05:25):
You know, it's funny, I come from a
technology background. My careerhas been 20 plus years. And so
I've seen the.com boom and bust.
Tara Thurber (05:34):
Right (laughs).
Deana Graffeo Weeks (05:35):
Seen technologies come and go. And
there's always this fear elementabout anytime something new, or,
if not new, certainly, like kindof coming into the zeitgeist.
Tara Thurber (05:47):
Yup.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (05:47):
Kind of puts everybody a little bit on
edge, because they're like,what's it going to mean for
this? And I've never felt assingled out as I do now, with AI
(laughs). Being a focus forpeople, because people are
wondering whether or not it'sgoing to replace creatives in
the marketing space.
Tara Thurber (06:08):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (06:09):
And it's a funny thing, because I use AI.
'm a regular user of, of ChatGPTand other AI tools to do my job
more effectively. But from thebusiness side of things, a lot
of companies are thinking, okay,I can replace folks with these
(06:32):
tools, in fact that the head ofIBM recently had kind of come
out and said, We're going to puta hiring freeze, because these
are certain jobs that can bedone by AI. So you know, as a
creative class, we're all sortof like looking at each other
going, Okay, where is this goingto go?
Tara Thurber (06:51):
Right?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (06:51):
And what is this mean for us? Because, you
know, you can go to ChatGPT. AndI think there's something like
over 80% of companies are usingChatGPT to generate blocks.
Tara Thurber (07:07):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:08):
That's my job.
Tara Thurber (07:09):
Right (laughs).
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:10):
Right! It's part of what I do is write blogs
for people. So when I hear that83% of companies are out there
saying, you know, 85% ofcompanies out there saying we're
gonna do our blogs using ChatGPTI have to be like, Well, what,
what about me, you know, how,you know, what does that mean
for me?
Tara Thurber (07:28):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:28):
And so part of that is true, but the reality
is, that it's a tool, likeanything else.
Tara Thurber (07:38):
Yes!
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:38):
A paintbrush in my hands, it's not
going to be a paintbrush inPicasso's hands, right?
Tara Thurber (07:45):
Yup.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:45):
So there's a certain level of understanding
of how to use these tools, thatit still takes time.
Tara Thurber (07:57):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:57):
It takes expertise, it takes
understanding. And so I think inthat way, we are kind of at a
learning, right?
Tara Thurber (08:09):
Yup.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:10):
AI tools aren't going to go anywhere,
they are going to make us moreproductive.
Tara Thurber (08:14):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:14):
They absolutely should be used and
leverage to help us. But youknow, there's this part of me,
that's just like, why aren'tthey creating technology that's
going to do the things thatpeople don't want to do?
Tara Thurber (08:27):
(laughs)
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:27):
I got into this business, because I love to
write. I made a livelihood outof it, because I wanted to love
what I do.
Tara Thurber (08:34):
Yeah, yup!(laughs)
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:34):
And now like, you're telling me no.
Let's fix the world's problemss.
Things that people don't want todo.
Tara Thurber (08:43):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:45):
But at the same time, I do feel safe, I
think at least for the timebeing, we're a long way away
from these tools, being able tofully replicate what companies
truly need. And that's not tosay that this content can't be
indistinguishable. Right? Youmight not be able to tell the
(09:08):
difference between an AI writingand the human writing. But what
is going to matter is what thatmessage is what that feeling is
the things that AI just cannotconvey.
Tara Thurber (09:22):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (09:22):
And I think those are the things that moving
forward, we need to be able tounderstand collaboratively that
this is a tool that should beleft to people who understand
how to use the tool and expectthat you are going to be able to
create more valuable content byusing these tools to simplify a
(09:47):
lot of other things, andautomate a lot of other things.
But the message isn't the thing.
Tara Thurber (09:53):
Yep. I couldn't agree more. It's that human
touch. You know, AI is is a toolIt's an added tool to help us be
better, move faster, create. Ithink companies nowadays, sure
it's all the big it's the brightlights out there, right? It's
(10:13):
the, it's, oh, let we're gonnause this instead of having to
hire somebody. Right? Butwhere's the feeling behind that
blog that was written? Where'sthe emotion? Where's that deep
down feeling that you want yourviewers to get? And so I don't
think a lot of people are like,Oh, it's going to replace this,
(10:34):
it's going to replace that mean,even in the recruiting industry,
people are like, Oh, AI is goingto replace recruiters? No, it's
not, it's an added tool foreverybody. And I think if it's
used properly and usedcorrectly, it can only enhance
us and innovate us to becomebigger and better than who we
are in any industry.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (10:56):
That's right. That's right. It's like
100%, almost anything that 98%something, some crazy number of
marketers are alreadyunderstanding that AI is a tool
that is going to impact theirindustry. And the majority of
them are understanding that theyneed to embrace these tools,
there are people that are like,No, the more I give it, the more
it learns, and the more itlearns, the more at risk I am,
(11:20):
I'm not going to teach myreplacement how to take. But
again, even as it gets there,even as the technology gets more
self aware, you know, whatever.
Whereverwe're headed, right? The reality
Tara Thurber (11:32):
(laughs) is that right now, it doesn't
know your perspective, itdoesn't know your point of view,
it doesn't really it's not ableto capture the feeling. And the
other elements from a businessstandpoint, you know,
everything's feeling everythingis emotional at the end of the
day. People buy based onemotion. So that is still there,
(11:53):
right. And there needs to be alevel of trust and
understanding. But at the sametime, this tool needs to be able
to convey real and address realissues and problems with unique
perspective and voice and thingslike that. And those are the
(12:16):
things that I don't know that itcan learn quickly, at least.
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (12:24):
And those are the things that are going to
set you apart. Right? All ofthis stuff is coming from a
database.
Tara Thurber (12:30):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (12:31):
And there's a lot of issues with that in and
of itself. So knowing that,being able to parse through and
get to and create something thatis truly unique to a business,
is essential, and that willstill require a human touch.
Tara Thurber (12:49):
I love that and kind of seeping into trust. How
will brands build trust whenconsumers know, in air quotes
over here, original content iseasily automated?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (13:05):
Right. So I think, you know, part of it is
that there needs to be rightnow. I think it's only like 50,
something percent of folks aresaying that things like 59% of
folks are saying that thereshould be full disclosure when
something is created using AI.
Right? I think maybe there'ssomething about that, that makes
(13:30):
sense. If you're takingsomething that is purely AI
generated and using that, right?
If it'sbeing used as a tool, and at the
Tara Thurber (13:40):
Word-for-word, right.
end of the day, it still has thehuman element that has refined
this, I think that is valuable,because I think the trust comes
in, when you are able tounderstand again, that the
material that AI is giving youis number one, it's old, right?
(14:02):
Right (laughs).
ChatGPT I think doesn't go anymore recent than 2021. Right? So
the databases it's pulling fromare not current, which means
that you can't find recentresources and statistics and
things like that, that are goingto be able to color your story
(14:23):
if you're doing a story on AIright now and you're using AI to
Deana Graffeo Weeks (14:28):
It doesn't it can't it's not doing that at
generate that story. It'salready allready old (laughs).
least not yet. So, so first ofall things are outdated.
Tara Thurber (14:40):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (14:41):
Some things are factually inaccurate, right
because of the way it piecestogether. That's just the
technology is not good enough tobe able to always know that
something is factually correct.
Tara Thurber (14:56):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (14:57):
That's an issue in and of itself. Um, and
then, again, things are basedon, like, the database is the
information that's gone in ishuman generated to begin with.
Tara Thurber (15:09):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (15:10):
Which means that there are these implicit,
like biases.
Tara Thurber (15:13):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (15:14):
That are that are there and you need to
make sure that you're reflectinginformation that's factual, and
accurate and timely and doesn'tcome along with baggage, right?
Tara Thurber (15:34):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (15:34):
So those are things where, if those are
taken into consideration, thatwill help build trust, you need
to be able to understand theflaws of that technology and
account for that in what you'redoing so that people can
(15:56):
continue to trust you and knowthat this is on some level,
while it may have been helpfulto use AI as a tool to kind of
get things started, the layer ontop of it is really, again,
authentically yours. Thatperspective and information is
authentically yours. And that'show you build trust.
Tara Thurber (16:21):
And it's it's building trust and keeping the
trust, right?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (16:25):
Right.
Tara Thurber (16:25):
And then you know, from there, you can, again,
going back to utilizing it as atool, and allowing that as the
marketer, but also bringing inthat feeling, and that emotion
behind it is what helps buildthat trust, too. So you do need
(16:46):
those layers.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (16:48):
Yeah, that's right. I mean, your
business, if you're doingthings, right, your business is
unique.
Tara Thurber (16:57):
Yep.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (16:58):
Against the competition.
Tara Thurber (17:00):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (17:00):
Against other industries, whatever the
case may be, you know that yourbusiness is unique, and the
people who make up yourbusiness, they're unique as
well. So when you're generatingcontent that is authentic to
you, there's only one way to dothat, right? You can use all of
(17:21):
the background information, andstructure and everything else
and automation that AI provides.
Tara Thurber (17:29):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (17:29):
But you still need to infuse your own
personality and understanding ofyour own customer base into that
otherwise what differentiatesyou from everybody else?
Tara Thurber (17:43):
Right, you're gonna lose out.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (17:45):
You lose it. Exactly.
Tara Thurber (17:47):
Absolutely. So next question is really going
into, is it worth it? I mean,how do you determine the ROI of
AI generated content?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (18:01):
You know, I think the thing is, if you could
look at, you know, you could runa test and check what your
engagement numbers are, yourclick through rates are and
things like that, like that thecontent that it generates, it's
pretty good. And, I've seenplenty of not great writers that
(18:24):
have put out content.
Tara Thurber (18:26):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (18:28):
And in a lot of ways, AI can be better,
and it should be used as a toolto improve writing. And it can
be right? It can both be used atthe beginning and the end, to
help you edit. I use other AItools to make sure that number
one, nothing I'm doing comes offas sounding like it's been
(18:50):
plagiarized from any anywhere,especially if I'm using stats
and things like that. There's alot of that there. And I think
that testing, it, is really thesame ways that you test
anything, right?
Tara Thurber (19:11):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (19:11):
What are your engagement numbers like?
What are what are your clickthrough rates like? Are you
meeting the goals that you setout to with your content
strategy? You should always makesure your content strategy has
some clear key KPIs.
Tara Thurber (19:26):
Yep.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (19:27):
How are you tracking to those, right? If
you're looking at using AI toolsin and of themselves and again,
the thing is it's a matter ofhow do you do things over time,
right?
Tara Thurber (19:40):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (19:40):
But what are the benchmarks that you're
looking at for your mind shareand things like that? Those are
the same things you look ateither way. And and the thing
is, like I said, it's not itshouldn't be an either or it's
really a both How do you use thetool together with your
(20:03):
qualified team?
Tara Thurber (20:05):
Yep.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (20:05):
To be able to marry something for something
that is delivering more value,and more content, right? Because
really, at the end of the day,it's about improving that
productivity to create moremeaningful content. And so I
(20:27):
think it's the same, I don'tthink it changes that much based
on whether or not it's a toolyou have.
Tara Thurber (20:35):
I love that. And then, I think, too, I mean, you
need to I like the idea oftesting. I think that that's
interesting, too, because it'ssomething to almost, it's an
experiment for the individual orthe marketer that is putting it
(20:58):
together, but also for companiesto maybe see the proof in the
pudding that it has to be in andit's not, it's this or this,
it's this and this in order tocome together to make it better.
Right?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (21:13):
Right.
Right. That's it. That's exactlyit. It should be, it should be
both. A lot of companies will,and I think a lot of them are
right, some folks have decided,Okay, we're gonna use AI tools
to be able to do this job thatwe had hired a blogger, you
know, to write our content forus, or we hired somebody to
(21:34):
handle creation of our socialmedia calendar, and now we have
a tool that could do it all. Andthey realized they can't. So
I've known several people thathave expressed that people have
come back to them, you know,clients have come back to them
to basically say, Okay, we'vemade a mistake (laughs).
Tara Thurber (21:58):
We need you. We need that human touch still.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (22:01):
Yeah it needs that human touch still.
Exactly. That's right. Yeah.
Tara Thurber (22:06):
So can you share a negative aspect of AI? And how
you would handle the situationor spin it into a positive?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (22:16):
Yeah, I mean, I think, if you look at
something, like I mentionedearlier, one of the biggest
things are the biases that areincluded in this context, just
by the nature of the worldaround us, there are communities
that are marginalized, whichmeans that the content out there
is not a fair representation oftheir experiences. And therefore
(22:41):
the information that's beingpulled out there is not a fair
representation of thoseexperiences. So when you have
something like that, whereyou're leveraging those kinds of
tools, one of the things that'sreally beneficial to do is to
make sure that the team that youhave, that are using those tools
can spot those issues, right?
Tara Thurber (23:02):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (23:03):
So that means having a diverse team, or
diverse representation on yourteam, that can help parse that
information and make sure thatif you're writing something that
is to the black community, thatthe human person that's handling
(23:27):
that content development, hastheir hands on it.
Tara Thurber (23:30):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (23:31):
And you can have your diversity and
inclusion efforts are reflectiveof this, and you can implement
those strategies, with that inmind, to, again, I like
(23:52):
authenticity, and all of thosethings that are innately lacking
from what AI is delivering, bybringing in the right people and
talking about your ability tohave the right people conveying
those points. So, I think that'swhere, where the benefit really
(24:19):
lies.
Tara Thurber (24:20):
I love it. I'm Deena talking to you about all
this. It's so educational andinformative for me. You know, I
dabble in the ChatGPT in the AIespecially in in our industry,
and we're utilizing it more andmore and more but, finding that
(24:42):
- I was gonna say happymarriage, but it's that that
equal share of it is soimportant to develop the
content, develop that strategybehind it all. Everything that
you've shared is super impactfulin my mind as well, because I
(25:03):
get to, you know, it's veryeducational and knowledgeable.
So I would love if you couldshare your Top5 Tips for Using
AI to Develop your ContentStrategy.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (25:16):
Yeah, I mean, I think there's a couple
of ways that I look at, Numberone is precision and relevancy,
right? Being able to begin yourprocess of developing a content
(25:39):
strategy with precision andrelevancy and knowing that the
AI tools have a lot ofinformation and data at their
disposal, right? To be able tohone in on those points, even if
(26:01):
again, with a critical eye onit, you know that there are
certain things you might need toupdate and refine, there is
still a structure and anapproach towards that strategy
that you can start to pursuethat is relevant and precise. So
(26:23):
I think that's one. There is thecreativity, and originality. I
think, again, there's amultitude of places where you
(26:44):
can dive into areas, I loveusing AI tools when I've got
writer's block, to help meideate around concepts and blogs
and other things. And when I'mdeveloping a full blown content
strategy, I'm using it one, likeI said, that structure is so
(27:08):
important, but then also thatideation, right to be able to
tap into specific kinds ofchannel marketing concepts like
blogging, or social media, andthinking through some of those
ideas. Using an AI tool isreally, really beneficial for
(27:31):
that. It's also really good forfor automation, and helping you
with your scheduling, anddetermining what your cadences
should be, and identifying thewhen and where your content
(27:54):
strategy, elements of yourcontent strategy will make
sense. It's also really, reallygood for customization of
audiences. So I mentionedearlier here, one of the key
things for me is that I'mtalking to startups who are
(28:17):
trying to again, build theirproducts or services, and
they're trying to chord a lot ofdifferent audiences, mostly
being different customers,right? And even within the
customer segment, there could bedifferent personas that you
would have there. Investors andpartners. And being able to
pinpoint and think strategicallyabout how to approach each of
(28:41):
those personas, or even personadevelopment is incredibly
valuable from a content strategystandpoint. So I can go into my
tool and say, Okay, I've got anidea about who are some target
audiences for this type ofclient, and it will come back
and it'll tell me and then I cango deeper, and say, Okay, let's
(29:06):
build a persona for this person,and it will literally spit out.
This is Blogger Bob, and he's25. And he likes sports and
it'll literally give me apersona.
Tara Thurber (29:22):
Wow.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (29:23):
Basically, from which again, I need to know
that I can go in and refinethese things. But at their base
level, it's kind of amazing tosee what it will spit out to you
when you know what how to promptit. So I think those are key and
(29:48):
then finally, just productivity,straight productivity.
Tara Thurber (29:53):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (29:53):
You know, again, creating a content
strategy can be time consumingand cumbersome and daunting,
right?
Tara Thurber (30:01):
Very, very.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (30:01):
And to be able to go in and know what the
components are, and have it giveme a shell that I can go in and
apply my expertise to, and myunderstanding of the client and
their needs and the business andwhat their needs are, and the
(30:23):
pain points and what those painpoints are, and allow the tool
to specifically help me kind ofWhack a Mole each one of those
components that I want asreflected in that strategy,
developing themes, again, justblog topics, pillars for social,
(30:46):
developing the paid media, whoare the best target, pulling,
publication, lists, things likethat, that are time consuming,
but really helped theproductivity. Because it could
spit things out quickly. And youcould be like, of course.
Tara Thurber (31:08):
Right?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (31:08):
Or wait a second, maybe not that but
something like it.
Tara Thurber (31:12):
Yep.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (31:12):
And know exactly, again, how to tailor
and lean into the tool a bit andI think those are the things
that I would say are the theways that AI can help develop
content strategy.
Tara Thurber (31:27):
I love it. And you know, even these tips, I feel
like can be applied in differentindustries, not just
specifically for contentstrategy. I'm thinking in my
mind different ways that I canbe utilizing some of these tips
that you shared within our rolewithin the recruiting industry.
(31:49):
Phenomenal. Thank you so much,Deana, for sharing all of your
knowledge today with us.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (31:55):
Thank you.
Tara Thurber (31:56):
Such a pleasure to have you on with us today.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (31:59):
Really a pleasure to be here. Thank you
so much, Tara.
Tara Thurber (32:04):
Of cours. We are DefinedTalent as a DefinedLogic
service coming to you at Top5.
Make it a great day.
Hey everyone, welcome back to Top5 brought to
you by DefinedTalent. We are aresults driven service working
with clients to connect themwith quality talent, as well as
working to make an impact withinthe recruiting industry. We talk
straight about today'sprofessional world with real
world professionals, experts inrecruitment, job seekers and
(00:21):
business owners alike. Have aquestion for us send it in and
you might spur our nextconversation. I'm Tara Thurber,
Co-founder and Director ofTalent Partnerships here at
DefinedTalent. And joining metoday is Deana Graffeo Weeks,
Co-founder and PrincipalManaging Partner at Alchemy
Media to discuss her Top5 Waysfor Using AI to Develop Content
(00:46):
Strategy. Hey, Deana, how areyou today?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (00:49):
I'm very well, Tara, how are you?
Tara Thurber (00:51):
I am good. I'm so excited to hear your tips and
dive into this today. So let'sjust get started. Why don't you
share just a brief snapshot ofyour professional background to
our audience?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (01:04):
Sure. So I am my marketing and
communications pro with over 20years of experience. I started
my career in the digital musicspace and evolved from there
into a more general marketingprimarily with technology
companies.
Tara Thurber (01:23):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (01:24):
I started as a publicist, and I'm
marketing generalist for thepast 12 years, didn't love
pitching on the PR side. Soreally liked to dive into the
writing component and thestrategy component of what
marketing could be. And so Itook that experience, and
(01:50):
started working with a lot ofstartups in the technology space
and helping them craft theirstories as a way of helping them
refine their value propositionsand meet their audiences with a
more direct approach.
Tara Thurber (02:15):
And now Alchemy Media, explain Alchemy Media and
your position with it.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (02:21):
Are they sure so I formed Alchemy, back
in 2016. And it really took off,I co-founded it along with my
husband, but it really took offat the beginning of the pandemic
in 2020. It is really a anagency designed again, to help a
lot of startup companies reallyfunction like with a marketing
(02:45):
team for hire, because a lot oftimes they are resource
strapped, they don't have a lotof both financial resources as
well as human resources to beable to do the things that they
want to do in a marketingcapacity. And a lot of times if
they do have a marketing person,that person is suffering from
what we call too many hats.
Tara Thurber (03:05):
Yes.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (03:06):
So my focus is really to help come in and
help them again, develop theirvalue proposition in a way that
makes more sense from a holisticmarketing standpoint. So I will
do that and help them developtheir messages to reach
(03:28):
audiences that are bothcustomers, partners, and
investors, which is somethingthat other larger entities might
not be so focused on. But makingsure that that these startups
really have the ability tocommunicate with all of these
different folks effectively, andholistically. And then Alchemy
(03:49):
works as part of a collective.
So I'm really focused on thatcommunication messaging
component. The folks that I workwith can also do social media,
paid media, web development,design, presentation skills,
things like that. And what'snice is from the, because of the
way we're set up, a companydoesn't have to pay multiple
(04:14):
agencies.
Tara Thurber (04:17):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (04:18):
Big retainers every month to try to
get things done. They can reallycome to us and kind of have all
of those things handled asneeded. For a lot of for a lot
less, you know, a lot lessmoney. So.
Tara Thurber (04:34):
Like a one stop shop.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (04:38):
Exactly.
And it really is it's kind ofcentered, again, that core
messaging piece of itproliferates out through all of
these channels. So they're ableto do that communication a lot
more effectively. Because it ismore centralized and is handled
more holistically.
Tara Thurber (04:57):
That's fantastic.
Now diving into AI I mean, AI islike the hot topic that's out
there right now. Research isshowing that the global AI
market will reach half atrillion US dollars in 2023. And
83% of companies consider usingAI in their strategy as a high
(05:18):
priority. What does this meanfor the industry?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (05:25):
You know, it's funny, I come from a
technology background. My careerhas been 20 plus years. And so
I've seen the.com boom and bust.
Tara Thurber (05:34):
Right (laughs).
Deana Graffeo Weeks (05:35):
Seen technologies come and go. And
there's always this fear elementabout anytime something new, or,
if not new, certainly, like kindof coming into the zeitgeist.
Tara Thurber (05:47):
Yup.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (05:47):
Kind of puts everybody a little bit on
edge, because they're like,what's it going to mean for
this? And I've never felt assingled out as I do now, with AI
(laughs). Being a focus forpeople, because people are
wondering whether or not it'sgoing to replace creatives in
the marketing space.
Tara Thurber (06:08):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (06:09):
And it's a funny thing, because I use AI.
'm a regular user of, of ChatGPTand other AI tools to do my job
more effectively. But from thebusiness side of things, a lot
of companies are thinking, okay,I can replace folks with these
(06:32):
tools, in fact that the head ofIBM recently had kind of come
out and said, We're going to puta hiring freeze, because these
are certain jobs that can bedone by AI. So you know, as a
creative class, we're all sortof like looking at each other
going, Okay, where is this goingto go?
Tara Thurber (06:51):
Right?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (06:51):
And what is this mean for us? Because, you
know, you can go to ChatGPT. AndI think there's something like
over 80% of companies are usingChatGPT to generate blocks.
Tara Thurber (07:07):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:08):
That's my job.
Tara Thurber (07:09):
Right (laughs).
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:10):
Right! It's part of what I do is write blogs
for people. So when I hear that83% of companies are out there
saying, you know, 85% ofcompanies out there saying we're
gonna do our blogs using ChatGPTI have to be like, Well, what,
what about me, you know, how,you know, what does that mean
for me?
Tara Thurber (07:28):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:28):
And so part of that is true, but the reality
is, that it's a tool, likeanything else.
Tara Thurber (07:38):
Yes!
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:38):
A paintbrush in my hands, it's not
going to be a paintbrush inPicasso's hands, right?
Tara Thurber (07:45):
Yup.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:45):
So there's a certain level of understanding
of how to use these tools, thatit still takes time.
Tara Thurber (07:57):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (07:57):
It takes expertise, it takes
understanding. And so I think inthat way, we are kind of at a
learning, right?
Tara Thurber (08:09):
Yup.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:10):
AI tools aren't going to go anywhere,
they are going to make us moreproductive.
Tara Thurber (08:14):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:14):
They absolutely should be used and
leverage to help us. But youknow, there's this part of me,
that's just like, why aren'tthey creating technology that's
going to do the things thatpeople don't want to do?
Tara Thurber (08:27):
(laughs)
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:27):
I got into this business, because I love to
write. I made a livelihood outof it, because I wanted to love
what I do.
Tara Thurber (08:34):
Yeah, yup!(laughs)
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:34):
And now like, you're telling me no.
Let's fix the world's problemss.
Things that people don't want todo.
Tara Thurber (08:43):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (08:45):
But at the same time, I do feel safe, I
think at least for the timebeing, we're a long way away
from these tools, being able tofully replicate what companies
truly need. And that's not tosay that this content can't be
indistinguishable. Right? Youmight not be able to tell the
(09:08):
difference between an AI writingand the human writing. But what
is going to matter is what thatmessage is what that feeling is
the things that AI just cannotconvey.
Tara Thurber (09:22):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (09:22):
And I think those are the things that moving
forward, we need to be able tounderstand collaboratively that
this is a tool that should beleft to people who understand
how to use the tool and expectthat you are going to be able to
create more valuable content byusing these tools to simplify a
(09:47):
lot of other things, andautomate a lot of other things.
But the message isn't the thing.
Tara Thurber (09:53):
Yep. I couldn't agree more. It's that human
touch. You know, AI is is a toolIt's an added tool to help us be
better, move faster, create. Ithink companies nowadays, sure
it's all the big it's the brightlights out there, right? It's
(10:13):
the, it's, oh, let we're gonnause this instead of having to
hire somebody. Right? Butwhere's the feeling behind that
blog that was written? Where'sthe emotion? Where's that deep
down feeling that you want yourviewers to get? And so I don't
think a lot of people are like,Oh, it's going to replace this,
(10:34):
it's going to replace that mean,even in the recruiting industry,
people are like, Oh, AI is goingto replace recruiters? No, it's
not, it's an added tool foreverybody. And I think if it's
used properly and usedcorrectly, it can only enhance
us and innovate us to becomebigger and better than who we
are in any industry.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (10:56):
That's right. That's right. It's like
100%, almost anything that 98%something, some crazy number of
marketers are alreadyunderstanding that AI is a tool
that is going to impact theirindustry. And the majority of
them are understanding that theyneed to embrace these tools,
there are people that are like,No, the more I give it, the more
it learns, and the more itlearns, the more at risk I am,
(11:20):
I'm not going to teach myreplacement how to take. But
again, even as it gets there,even as the technology gets more
self aware, you know, whatever.
Whereverwe're headed, right? The reality
Tara Thurber (11:32):
(laughs) is that right now, it doesn't
know your perspective, itdoesn't know your point of view,
it doesn't really it's not ableto capture the feeling. And the
other elements from a businessstandpoint, you know,
everything's feeling everythingis emotional at the end of the
day. People buy based onemotion. So that is still there,
(11:53):
right. And there needs to be alevel of trust and
understanding. But at the sametime, this tool needs to be able
to convey real and address realissues and problems with unique
perspective and voice and thingslike that. And those are the
(12:16):
things that I don't know that itcan learn quickly, at least.
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (12:24):
And those are the things that are going to
set you apart. Right? All ofthis stuff is coming from a
database.
Tara Thurber (12:30):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (12:31):
And there's a lot of issues with that in and
of itself. So knowing that,being able to parse through and
get to and create something thatis truly unique to a business,
is essential, and that willstill require a human touch.
Tara Thurber (12:49):
I love that and kind of seeping into trust. How
will brands build trust whenconsumers know, in air quotes
over here, original content iseasily automated?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (13:05):
Right. So I think, you know, part of it is
that there needs to be rightnow. I think it's only like 50,
something percent of folks aresaying that things like 59% of
folks are saying that thereshould be full disclosure when
something is created using AI.
Right? I think maybe there'ssomething about that, that makes
(13:30):
sense. If you're takingsomething that is purely AI
generated and using that, right?
If it'sbeing used as a tool, and at the
Tara Thurber (13:40):
Word-for-word, right.
end of the day, it still has thehuman element that has refined
this, I think that is valuable,because I think the trust comes
in, when you are able tounderstand again, that the
material that AI is giving youis number one, it's old, right?
(14:02):
Right (laughs).
ChatGPT I think doesn't go anymore recent than 2021. Right? So
the databases it's pulling fromare not current, which means
that you can't find recentresources and statistics and
things like that, that are goingto be able to color your story
(14:23):
if you're doing a story on AIright now and you're using AI to
Deana Graffeo Weeks (14:28):
It doesn't it can't it's not doing that at
generate that story. It'salready allready old (laughs).
least not yet. So, so first ofall things are outdated.
Tara Thurber (14:40):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (14:41):
Some things are factually inaccurate, right
because of the way it piecestogether. That's just the
technology is not good enough tobe able to always know that
something is factually correct.
Tara Thurber (14:56):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (14:57):
That's an issue in and of itself. Um, and
then, again, things are basedon, like, the database is the
information that's gone in ishuman generated to begin with.
Tara Thurber (15:09):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (15:10):
Which means that there are these implicit,
like biases.
Tara Thurber (15:13):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (15:14):
That are that are there and you need to
make sure that you're reflectinginformation that's factual, and
accurate and timely and doesn'tcome along with baggage, right?
Tara Thurber (15:34):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (15:34):
So those are things where, if those are
taken into consideration, thatwill help build trust, you need
to be able to understand theflaws of that technology and
account for that in what you'redoing so that people can
(15:56):
continue to trust you and knowthat this is on some level,
while it may have been helpfulto use AI as a tool to kind of
get things started, the layer ontop of it is really, again,
authentically yours. Thatperspective and information is
authentically yours. And that'show you build trust.
Tara Thurber (16:21):
And it's it's building trust and keeping the
trust, right?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (16:25):
Right.
Tara Thurber (16:25):
And then you know, from there, you can, again,
going back to utilizing it as atool, and allowing that as the
marketer, but also bringing inthat feeling, and that emotion
behind it is what helps buildthat trust, too. So you do need
(16:46):
those layers.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (16:48):
Yeah, that's right. I mean, your
business, if you're doingthings, right, your business is
unique.
Tara Thurber (16:57):
Yep.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (16:58):
Against the competition.
Tara Thurber (17:00):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (17:00):
Against other industries, whatever the
case may be, you know that yourbusiness is unique, and the
people who make up yourbusiness, they're unique as
well. So when you're generatingcontent that is authentic to
you, there's only one way to dothat, right? You can use all of
(17:21):
the background information, andstructure and everything else
and automation that AI provides.
Tara Thurber (17:29):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (17:29):
But you still need to infuse your own
personality and understanding ofyour own customer base into that
otherwise what differentiatesyou from everybody else?
Tara Thurber (17:43):
Right, you're gonna lose out.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (17:45):
You lose it. Exactly.
Tara Thurber (17:47):
Absolutely. So next question is really going
into, is it worth it? I mean,how do you determine the ROI of
AI generated content?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (18:01):
You know, I think the thing is, if you could
look at, you know, you could runa test and check what your
engagement numbers are, yourclick through rates are and
things like that, like that thecontent that it generates, it's
pretty good. And, I've seenplenty of not great writers that
(18:24):
have put out content.
Tara Thurber (18:26):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (18:28):
And in a lot of ways, AI can be better,
and it should be used as a toolto improve writing. And it can
be right? It can both be used atthe beginning and the end, to
help you edit. I use other AItools to make sure that number
one, nothing I'm doing comes offas sounding like it's been
(18:50):
plagiarized from any anywhere,especially if I'm using stats
and things like that. There's alot of that there. And I think
that testing, it, is really thesame ways that you test
anything, right?
Tara Thurber (19:11):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (19:11):
What are your engagement numbers like?
What are what are your clickthrough rates like? Are you
meeting the goals that you setout to with your content
strategy? You should always makesure your content strategy has
some clear key KPIs.
Tara Thurber (19:26):
Yep.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (19:27):
How are you tracking to those, right? If
you're looking at using AI toolsin and of themselves and again,
the thing is it's a matter ofhow do you do things over time,
right?
Tara Thurber (19:40):
Right.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (19:40):
But what are the benchmarks that you're
looking at for your mind shareand things like that? Those are
the same things you look ateither way. And and the thing
is, like I said, it's not itshouldn't be an either or it's
really a both How do you use thetool together with your
(20:03):
qualified team?
Tara Thurber (20:05):
Yep.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (20:05):
To be able to marry something for something
that is delivering more value,and more content, right? Because
really, at the end of the day,it's about improving that
productivity to create moremeaningful content. And so I
(20:27):
think it's the same, I don'tthink it changes that much based
on whether or not it's a toolyou have.
Tara Thurber (20:35):
I love that. And then, I think, too, I mean, you
need to I like the idea oftesting. I think that that's
interesting, too, because it'ssomething to almost, it's an
experiment for the individual orthe marketer that is putting it
(20:58):
together, but also for companiesto maybe see the proof in the
pudding that it has to be in andit's not, it's this or this,
it's this and this in order tocome together to make it better.
Right?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (21:13):
Right.
Right. That's it. That's exactlyit. It should be, it should be
both. A lot of companies will,and I think a lot of them are
right, some folks have decided,Okay, we're gonna use AI tools
to be able to do this job thatwe had hired a blogger, you
know, to write our content forus, or we hired somebody to
(21:34):
handle creation of our socialmedia calendar, and now we have
a tool that could do it all. Andthey realized they can't. So
I've known several people thathave expressed that people have
come back to them, you know,clients have come back to them
to basically say, Okay, we'vemade a mistake (laughs).
Tara Thurber (21:58):
We need you. We need that human touch still.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (22:01):
Yeah it needs that human touch still.
Exactly. That's right. Yeah.
Tara Thurber (22:06):
So can you share a negative aspect of AI? And how
you would handle the situationor spin it into a positive?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (22:16):
Yeah, I mean, I think, if you look at
something, like I mentionedearlier, one of the biggest
things are the biases that areincluded in this context, just
by the nature of the worldaround us, there are communities
that are marginalized, whichmeans that the content out there
is not a fair representation oftheir experiences. And therefore
(22:41):
the information that's beingpulled out there is not a fair
representation of thoseexperiences. So when you have
something like that, whereyou're leveraging those kinds of
tools, one of the things that'sreally beneficial to do is to
make sure that the team that youhave, that are using those tools
can spot those issues, right?
Tara Thurber (23:02):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (23:03):
So that means having a diverse team, or
diverse representation on yourteam, that can help parse that
information and make sure thatif you're writing something that
is to the black community, thatthe human person that's handling
(23:27):
that content development, hastheir hands on it.
Tara Thurber (23:30):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (23:31):
And you can have your diversity and
inclusion efforts are reflectiveof this, and you can implement
those strategies, with that inmind, to, again, I like
(23:52):
authenticity, and all of thosethings that are innately lacking
from what AI is delivering, bybringing in the right people and
talking about your ability tohave the right people conveying
those points. So, I think that'swhere, where the benefit really
(24:19):
lies.
Tara Thurber (24:20):
I love it. I'm Deena talking to you about all
this. It's so educational andinformative for me. You know, I
dabble in the ChatGPT in the AIespecially in in our industry,
and we're utilizing it more andmore and more but, finding that
(24:42):
- I was gonna say happymarriage, but it's that that
equal share of it is soimportant to develop the
content, develop that strategybehind it all. Everything that
you've shared is super impactfulin my mind as well, because I
(25:03):
get to, you know, it's veryeducational and knowledgeable.
So I would love if you couldshare your Top5 Tips for Using
AI to Develop your ContentStrategy.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (25:16):
Yeah, I mean, I think there's a couple
of ways that I look at, Numberone is precision and relevancy,
right? Being able to begin yourprocess of developing a content
(25:39):
strategy with precision andrelevancy and knowing that the
AI tools have a lot ofinformation and data at their
disposal, right? To be able tohone in on those points, even if
(26:01):
again, with a critical eye onit, you know that there are
certain things you might need toupdate and refine, there is
still a structure and anapproach towards that strategy
that you can start to pursuethat is relevant and precise. So
(26:23):
I think that's one. There is thecreativity, and originality. I
think, again, there's amultitude of places where you
(26:44):
can dive into areas, I loveusing AI tools when I've got
writer's block, to help meideate around concepts and blogs
and other things. And when I'mdeveloping a full blown content
strategy, I'm using it one, likeI said, that structure is so
(27:08):
important, but then also thatideation, right to be able to
tap into specific kinds ofchannel marketing concepts like
blogging, or social media, andthinking through some of those
ideas. Using an AI tool isreally, really beneficial for
(27:31):
that. It's also really good forfor automation, and helping you
with your scheduling, anddetermining what your cadences
should be, and identifying thewhen and where your content
(27:54):
strategy, elements of yourcontent strategy will make
sense. It's also really, reallygood for customization of
audiences. So I mentionedearlier here, one of the key
things for me is that I'mtalking to startups who are
(28:17):
trying to again, build theirproducts or services, and
they're trying to chord a lot ofdifferent audiences, mostly
being different customers,right? And even within the
customer segment, there could bedifferent personas that you
would have there. Investors andpartners. And being able to
pinpoint and think strategicallyabout how to approach each of
(28:41):
those personas, or even personadevelopment is incredibly
valuable from a content strategystandpoint. So I can go into my
tool and say, Okay, I've got anidea about who are some target
audiences for this type ofclient, and it will come back
and it'll tell me and then I cango deeper, and say, Okay, let's
(29:06):
build a persona for this person,and it will literally spit out.
This is Blogger Bob, and he's25. And he likes sports and
it'll literally give me apersona.
Tara Thurber (29:22):
Wow.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (29:23):
Basically, from which again, I need to know
that I can go in and refinethese things. But at their base
level, it's kind of amazing tosee what it will spit out to you
when you know what how to promptit. So I think those are key and
(29:48):
then finally, just productivity,straight productivity.
Tara Thurber (29:53):
Yeah.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (29:53):
You know, again, creating a content
strategy can be time consumingand cumbersome and daunting,
right?
Tara Thurber (30:01):
Very, very.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (30:01):
And to be able to go in and know what the
components are, and have it giveme a shell that I can go in and
apply my expertise to, and myunderstanding of the client and
their needs and the business andwhat their needs are, and the
(30:23):
pain points and what those painpoints are, and allow the tool
to specifically help me kind ofWhack a Mole each one of those
components that I want asreflected in that strategy,
developing themes, again, justblog topics, pillars for social,
(30:46):
developing the paid media, whoare the best target, pulling,
publication, lists, things likethat, that are time consuming,
but really helped theproductivity. Because it could
spit things out quickly. And youcould be like, of course.
Tara Thurber (31:08):
Right?
Deana Graffeo Weeks (31:08):
Or wait a second, maybe not that but
something like it.
Tara Thurber (31:12):
Yep.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (31:12):
And know exactly, again, how to tailor
and lean into the tool a bit andI think those are the things
that I would say are the theways that AI can help develop
content strategy.
Tara Thurber (31:27):
I love it. And you know, even these tips, I feel
like can be applied in differentindustries, not just
specifically for contentstrategy. I'm thinking in my
mind different ways that I canbe utilizing some of these tips
that you shared within our rolewithin the recruiting industry.
(31:49):
Phenomenal. Thank you so much,Deana, for sharing all of your
knowledge today with us.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (31:55):
Thank you.
Tara Thurber (31:56):
Such a pleasure to have you on with us today.
Deana Graffeo Weeks (31:59):
Really a pleasure to be here. Thank you
so much, Tara.
Tara Thurber (32:04):
Of cours. We are DefinedTalent as a DefinedLogic
service coming to you at Top5.
Make it a great day.
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