Guest article: Matt Baldwin, Coast
Direct to client communications have long underpinned professional services marketing. A change in employment regulations – write a blog. Speculation on tax policy – an article. Tweaks to capital allowances or R&D – well, you get the picture.
Today, firms are leaning on AI to generate content in some form or another – and rightly so. Generative AI tools do a pretty good job of creating content. It can be clear, fluent, serviceable, but it lacks judgment, opinion, originality – the human spark.
It means that firms are, naturally, tempted to churn out more – spray and pray that something will stick.
But as firms publish more, it means less. It becomes background noise. And when clients, staff and others assume it is written by AI, it will be ignored.
It is a theme we’ve touched on many times before.
Like any good story, a hero is needed. In this case, hero content that cuts through that noise.
Historically, thought leadership might have claimed that role.
Yet here too, thought leadership is overused. When every article, white paper or blog is labelled ‘thought leadership’, real thought leadership is lost.
So how does a firm stand apart?
It might be time to turn the clock back and revisit print.
Yes, it’s time-consuming, often expensive and slow. But that might just be its attraction (genuinely, do clients really need your thoughts on a divorce case or audit changes the day announced?).
A firm that invests in high-quality, printed content – a client magazine or a well-planned thought leadership campaign – will stand out.
Irrespective of its content, it immediately tells the audience that it is something different. Something of value. Something to read. Something to share.
For a firm, it means they have to think hard about what to include and what to leave out. Only the best pieces of content make the cut – pieces that have longevity, that demonstrate the expertise, values and the culture of a firm.
Think of it as equivalent to the ‘slow food’ movement. Something to take your time over, to enjoy, that leaves you nourished.
It might just be time to rethink print.
Matt Baldwin is the joint managing director of Coast, a media relations agency.