Content Automation: Best Tactics & Tools to Save Time and Resources

‍You know the story – lately, everyone is going crazy about AI and content automation tools.

‍It seems like short of saving the world, they can do almost anything – save time, cut down expenses, and increase productivity.

‍But let’s skip the obvious.

‍In this guide, we won’t be talking about what content automation is or why it is handy.

‍Instead, we will be looking at the practical ways you can use automation for your common tasks related to content creation. We’ll also see what tools could be helpful.

‍By the end of this post, you should be able to simplify your workflow without hurting the quality of your work.

‍Digital marketers and SEO experts depend on content strategy to set the tone for all of their marketing moves.

‍It’s also quite logical – you have to know where you’re heading with your day-to-day work.

‍This is how you can align your goals, audience, and your efforts to make sure that everything meshes well together. So clearly, it’s important to have a plan that brings you closer to your objectives, not further away from them.

‍There have always been tools for this.

‍In the past, many have used spreadsheets or even barebones sticky notes (oh, those good old days). Still, let’s face it – the world is too fast for this today.

‍So, being able to automate will free up your time to help you focus on the big picture and achieve more by doing less (well, at least a bit).

‍You can start by doing the following:

1. Talk to ChatGPT to create a framework for your strategy. Don’t go for the first answer – personalize it as much as possible by giving more details about your needs.
2. Then, decide on where you want to create your strategy (Google Docs, Notion, etc.) and transfer your structure there.
3. When it comes to the actual content that you need to fill your template with, brainstorm with your team and, of course, use the tools we’ll list in this guide to save your time and resources.

#1 Solutions

CoSchedule/strong

‍Source: CoSchedule

‍CoSchedule is one of those content automation tools that are super handy for creating and publishing any pieces (including even printed materials) and making sure that nothing gets lost or remains undone.

‍Beyond these, it comes with features that let you know what the best times to post are, so your audience won’t miss your messages.

‍Plus, you get analytics that help you track your KPIs and ensure that your publications are a hit with your followers and readers.

‍The more you lean on insights like this, the easier it becomes to create SM posts that directly align with your customers’ interests. Sounds great, doesn’t it?

ContentBot

‍Source: ContentBot

‍ContentBot is perfect for those who need to set up flows that help bring some order and structure to their work processes. It can basically help you create an entire content strategy, as you can:

• Set up what triggers your content creation process automatically.
• Add different conditions and sequences to get the desired results.
• Create, repurpose, and publish different types of posts based on any logic.

Content Toolkit by Semrush

‍Source: Semrush

‍Content Toolkit is one of Semrush’s AI-powered solutions that is designed to help you out with post ideas and keywords. You can research topics for your strategy, generate briefs and outlines for your writers, and get some optimization guidance.

‍It will even score your copy on readability, SEO, and tone. So, this can give you a solid idea of how your blog post is going to perform.

‍You can also generate texts with this software, but you know how it goes with non-human copy. At least, try to tweak it and personalize it before posting.

‍If you are going the generated copy route, this solution has an option of setting up your own brand voice, which can be quite helpful.

‍So, overall, Content Toolkit is a perfect option to use after your competitor analysis to define appropriate topics and prepare everything your team needs to get you better rankings with your publications.

#1 Tips

• Use these tools to help you come up with topics that will interest your audience.
• Make sure you don’t rely on automation entirely, especially when it comes to strategic decisions. You want your team to participate a lot at the initial stage.
• Think about the processes where you can create templates and turn them into an automated flow.

‍Research is a must if you want your content to be relevant, interesting to your target audience, and fact-based.

‍After all, you have to understand what your audience is searching for, what their pain points are, and how best to connect with them through your copy and messaging. Besides, you also want to know what others in your niche are doing to create something different.

‍Overall, content research is broad and includes several components:

• Audience and competitor analysis.
• Keyword research to know what query to target.
• Topic research to create a brief and list the most important insights.
• Trend check to see how your posts can fit into the current scene, etc.

‍Is it possible to do all that manually? Sure.

‍But let’s face it – going through each thing one by one to check and take a note of everything is exhausting.

‍So, using the right tools can help you automate all your research tasks. Think everything from competitor analysis to trend monitoring and anything else in between.

‍We’ve already covered software that can help you with briefs and ideation, so let’s focus on other components.

#2 Solutions

Semrush

‍Source: Semrush

‍Semrush has been in the SEO game for a long time. So, if you want to find keywords/topics that your target audience searches for and that your competitors are targeting and/or missing, it’s a good place to look.

‍You can start by using Keyword Magic and Keyword Research tools. This will help you see insights like the search volume, search intent, and other useful metrics for each keyword.

‍So, this tool can basically help you with optimization and audience alignment while giving you an idea of where you can beat your competition (especially with the Keyword Gap option). You can also set automated alerts when the keyword rankings of other brands change.

‍There are other alternatives for the same purpose as well, such as Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, etc.

Google Trends

‍Source: Google

‍Now, it’s time to focus on trend research.

‍One of the first things everyone should try is Google Trends. Why? Well, it’s free and Google-native, so it’s easy to monitor trending topics in the organic search. You can also see search trends over time, during different periods, and in various geographies.

‍And once you know what interests people, it becomes easier to key into it. Just make sure you set up alerts to understand exactly what’s going on all the time.

‍If you want to find an alternative, you can consider trying Feedly, Exploding Topics, BuzzSumo, or any similar option.

#2 Tips

• Set the tools to automatically scan your competitor’s posts so you can know what topics they are missing out on, and you can leverage those content gaps for your own marketing efforts.
• SDon’t just focus on the keywords with high search volume; your best chance to rank could be hidden in the queries with a golden ratio.
• SConsider using a tool like Perplexity for your research to get your information with sources. This will help you avoid excessive fact-checking when crafting your copy.

‍Automated product content creation isn’t science fiction anymore. Anyone can generate pretty much any text in seconds. Yes, the quality of that copy might be questionable, but still, it’s huge.

‍Some of the best use cases you can go for here are:

• Creating content outlines,
• Finding new interesting angles to your topic,
• Organizing your thoughts into a clear structure,
• Finding potential examples and statistics to support your views, etc.

‍Of course, you can also use all these tools for writing. Still, make sure you don’t sound too generic and that your publications have value. This will likely require you to work with your software, instead of just delegating this task fully.

#3 Solutions

ChatGPT

‍Source: ChatGPT

‍Today, we’re using ChatGPT for tons of things, and content creation automation is definitely one of them.

‍Whether you’re using the free or paid plans, GPT gives you access to create unlimited copy with just a prompt. The better you are at prompt engineering, the better your output.

‍Of course, the best part is that you can talk to it in natural language and get a coherent (sometimes even great) result.

‍That means that even without being so good at coming up with the right prompts, you can still get it to do what you want. Sometimes, with lots of tweaks, repetition, and guidance, but anyway…

‍Generally, it will get the gist as you use it more frequently. You can even generate the image for your posts, which is another cool addition.

Jasper AI

‍Source: Jasper

‍Like the first one, Jasper lets you automate your content creation, especially when you use Make or any similar integration. You can set it to create outlines from saved topics based on chosen triggers.

‍Some people go on to use it to generate actual texts (even entire books) and have it push the finished product to WordPress, ready to publish.

‍But the truth is, it’s much better to have at least one member of your team directing and editing the creation process. No matter how you use a tool like this, though, it can save you hours of work.

#3 Tips

• You can design templates for repetitive briefs and formats.
• Never depend on 100% AI copy unless you are fine with fluff and poor SEO rankings. You will need to edit your copy, add relevant stories and examples, and ensure it matches your brand voice.
• Try using AI to challenge your thoughts and come up with interesting arguments that can spark discussion and attract your perfect audience.

‍Imagine you have a cool idea/message that you’ve shared through one channel. Before, to repurpose for several platforms, you’d need a whole team of people who understood different formats and styles.

‍But now, you can literally have one tool and one person to do that more effectively.

‍It’s a great way to help you ensure that every piece lives multiple lifetimes and brings you more leads and exposure.

‍With all the solutions out there, you can play around with any format, whether it’s short-form video, Instagram post, tweet, an infographic, a newsletter, or whatever else comes to your mind.

#4 Solutions

Pictory

‍Source: Pictory

‍The Pictory platform helps you give your text posts a new life as a video. You don’t even need to have any video editing skills – it’s all done for you. Besides, you can add realistic AI voices and music, and they will automatically sync with the visuals so that the final result is eye-catching.

‍Besides, you can repurpose your long-form videos into shorter clips with just a couple of clicks. So, if you want to work more with videos, you can try this option, as it’s quite versatile.

‍If the idea of text is too much of a hassle, you can also put your URL and watch the transformation happen instantly. The same goes for slides. Sounds pretty amazing, to be honest. But be sure to have a person look things over.

‍Like with most AI tools, skipping that step can lead to serious issues in the final result. So clearly, even though it’s a great, affordable option, it can’t entirely replace a professional.

‍All in all, you get to save the money you would otherwise spend on a whole production team. But still, the best combination is AI paired with a couple of experts to finish and polish the work.

Repurpose.io

‍Source: Repurpose.io

‍The Repurpose.io is pretty straightforward. It handles one task – automating content repurposing and distribution for various platforms. This makes it easier for you to reach a larger audience through several channels.

‍It’s as simple as connecting your accounts, setting up your workflows, and bam. You can even schedule your posts so they’re published automatically. It’s all set to run with little or no intervention from you.

#4 Tips

• Make sure you have someone check the content before you hit publish, as full autopilot could be risky.
• Try to get the best quotes or hooks to catch attention easily. You can even “discuss” that with ChatGPT or any other AI.
• Always add the best images and visuals to help your posts get the most attention (of course, you can generate those as well).

‍SEO could be pretty complicated for newbies. Thankfully, there are lots of options these days that can take the guesswork out of many optimization processes. Plus, you can finally set those boring, repetitive tasks on autopilot to have more time for strategic thinking.

‍Most content automation SEO tools in this category give you vital insights that help figure out the best ways to optimize your posts and site for better results.

#5 Solutions

SurferSEO

‍Source: SurferSEO

‍SurferSEO is a very user-friendly software for automated blog content optimization. With this tool, you can:

• Create a topical map based on your keyword(s).
• Automatically set up a writing space with all the relevant queries and semantically related keywords (with the Content Editor).
• Quickly take a look at the FAQs for your topic, suggested outline, and your main competitors.
• Generate blog posts (optional).

‍This one helps you optimize your copy for search engines even if you’ve absolutely no idea about how SEO works, as it automates most tasks.

Rank Math

‍Source: Rank Math

‍Rank Math can help you ensure that your WordPress posts get the visibility they deserve. It automatically suggests ways you can make your texts better.

‍This plugin allows you to fix important SEO settings, set which pages should be indexed, and create structured data for schema markup.

‍You can also track your keyword rankings, analyze your post performance, and handle redirects.

Link Whisper

‍Source: Link Whisper

‍There are generally a lot of options for all kinds of SEO tasks (which is a good thing), still Link Whisper is designed for one thing only – internal link building.

‍If you don’t know what to do with your internal links and everything is in chaos (which is bad for site structure), then you might need this one. It takes a few clicks to set up, and anyone can do it – no technical skills needed at all.

‍How it works is that it suggests relevant URLs for you based on your topic. This is done following best SEO practices. You can also add links to all of your posts automatically.

‍All that linking eventually translates into better rankings and more visibility for your website.

Tips

• Consider integrating your SEO tools with other solutions you’re using.
• Use these to automate some optimization essentials like meta descriptions, alt texts for images, etc.
• As much as possible, check your SEO scores and make sure you follow auto-suggestions for better results (where they make sense).
• Try bulk optimization if you have hundreds or thousands of pages (but test it first).

‍Texts without visuals can be pretty hard to read (and sometimes even comprehend). Most marketers already struggle to get the attention of their customers. Now, imagine if there were no images at all.

‍No one wants to read a long wall of text. Still, designing visuals is not cheap or fast, unless you’re using automated content production platforms. Some of them offer thousands of templates and AI tools that make it easy to design your branded visuals in minutes.

‍This is especially helpful for any business that wants to create stunning graphics at scale.

#6 Solutions

Canva

‍Source: Canva

‍Probably every marketer knows Canva and maybe even already uses it. Whether you need a presentation, a social media post, or a brochure, you’ll have a pre-made structure for it. Plus, of course, you have the option to create your own branded templates from scratch.

‍Thanks to the new AI features, you can also generate any visual you might possibly need and adjust it according to your style guidelines.

Adobe Express

‍Source: Adobe Express

‍Think of Adobe Express as your ideal tool for making eye-catching videos and photos faster and more effectively, thanks to:

• Several templates and automated resizing for different platforms.
• Instant design adjustments based on your brand kit.
• Multiple AI features that make the design process simpler (e.g., text animation, background remover, etc.)

‍In addition, Adobe Express has a built-in content planner, so you can schedule and publish your designs without any additional software.

#6 Tips

• Feeling overwhelmed by the many graphic tools out there? Start with the free plans to get a feel for what features they have to help, and then commit to the one you like best.
• Make sure you add your brand personality to every template and visual you create (use brand kit features most solutions offer).
• Take advantage of AI to try out different variations of your designs for new inspirations and perspectives.
• No matter how many templates you customize, make sure your designs are consistent.

‍Videos are very good for growing your visibility and engagement, but they can also be a pain to create. It’s safe to say that all visual elements require a lot of effort.

‍After all, there is a reason why it seems the big brands have more quality clips compared to smaller ones – budget. But automation gives more opportunities for businesses that can’t spend a lot on this.

‍Instead of hiring a team to handle scripts, filming, editing, and distribution, you just need a good video content automation platform.

#7 Solutions

Descript

‍Source: Descript

‍Unlike Pictory we’ve mentioned above, this tool won’t create a video with text just like that. But it is an extremely useful co-editor. You can give it direction through chat in natural language and speed up several daunting processes.

‍Besides, this platform can help you write scripts and create your avatar (if you don’t want to film yourself all the time).

Crayo

‍Source: Crayo

‍Crayo is smart content automation software that is ideal for generating “viral-ready clips in seconds” (as the platform puts it).

‍Basically, if you want to produce your short-form videos faster using current trends, this might be the tool.

‍This solution offers several cool features:

• Creating Reddit story videos (including by simply copy-pasting a link).
• Adding split screens effortlessly.
• Improving and generating your voiceover with AI.

‍It might not be the most advanced tool out there. But it can definitely be a decent choice for those who need simple, trendy short-form clips.

#7 Tips

• Try out different video styles first and follow the trends.
• Just like the images, you need to add your own personality to every video, even if you are using a template.
• Don’t hold back from having a professional go over the final piece.
• When using AI avatars, try to have a plan B, just in case they turn out synthetic.

‍Creating the best content is one thing, but getting it in front of the right people at the right time is a whole different story. This is where automated scheduling and distribution come in.

‍At this stage, you want to find a tool (or a couple of them) that:

• Works well with your ecosystem.
• Supports your marketing channels.
• Is easy to use and has great collaboration potential.

‍You can set your distribution software to push your posts across multiple platforms at the best time. Whether you follow a particular approach or are looking for your own best posting time, this type of tool can help you with this task.

#9 Monitoring

Bottom Line: Is Content Automation Marketing the Future?