{"id":8858,"date":"2024-04-22T22:14:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T05:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/?p=8858"},"modified":"2024-04-24T10:09:54","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T17:09:54","slug":"you-are-your-moat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sparktoro.com\/blog\/you-are-your-moat\/","title":{"rendered":"You Are Your Moat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I don\u2019t mind the generative AI craze. While some folks rail about the AI-generated comments that dominate their LinkedIn feed, I say, thank you for the engagement boost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do these comments make social media a better place? Not really. But neither do the human-written, \u201cNice post, totally agree,\u201d comments. (Though let\u2019s be clear, I\u2019ll take the harmless AI comments over random ad hominem attacks from complete strangers any day.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Redacted heavily because although AI-generated, I think these people mean well and I would feel bad about naming-and-shaming as this is not a personal attack. But if you are one of these commenters and you are reading this post, hello, I hope you’re having a good day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What changes with AI-generated content is that producing mediocre content at scale has never been easier<\/a>. All those high-volume, high-competition “What is\u2026” content that’s difficult to rank for? It’s going to get even harder. Your legacy competitors published their average version of that blog post a long time ago. And the hopeful disruptors will be trying to game the search algorithm with their AI-remixed junk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At any rate, a content strategy built on a bunch of \u201cWhat is,\u201d posts is going to require a lot of resources to make any kind of meaningful impact on your web traffic, let alone your bottom line (if it even does help your bottom line). You\u2019ll be endlessly treading water just to survive in the sea of sameness<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m an optimist. Let the bots write the forgettable content you wouldn\u2019t want to read, much less spend time writing. What generative AI can\u2019t replace is your lived experiences. AI has no knowledge of what it is to be alive and it has no shared experiences with us. Forget the sea of sameness. You don’t even have to swim against the current. You just need to tap into what makes you you, and lead with your unique perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You<\/em> are your moat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do you rise above the fray? I have five ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 Ways to Hone Your Competitive Edge Against Generative AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pay attention to what triggers you. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is, perhaps, my favorite tactic of all. I sometimes call this the \u201cinvisible subtweet.\u201d When you\u2019re skimming the news or scrolling your social media feed, what elicits a strong emotion for you? What did you absolutely love? What made you roll your eyes? Start creating from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might be tempted to quote-repost to dunk on a bad take. But in the cesspool of social media, you risk inspiring followers to pile onto the original poster. Instead, consider writing your rebuttal as a standalone piece. Then publish it a few days later as a blog or social post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of my most viral Twitter threads came from exactly this. I was sick of the same people getting amplified in the \u201cfollow these people\u201d threads, so I made my own version<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Image\"\/<\/a>
I am sorry for this hook, please forgive me.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(Oh and um\u2026 I think I\u2019m the one who\u2019s responsible for creating that awful \u201cThere are XY million people who do this, but 99% of them are doing it wrong\u201d hook, and I am so, so sorry.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to find inspiration in the social feed. You can find it in any content you or your audience consumes. Listen to one of your favorite podcasts and take note of what you disagreed with or have additional thoughts on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And speaking of podcasts, I actually talked about this with Mark Drager on the How To Sell More podcast<\/a>. In the first third of my interview<\/a>, I talked about tapping into your social media triggers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n