I'm writing this two-part series because I've seen many B2B companies struggle with GenAI. They either dismiss it or delegate it to an intern without setting clear expectations.

In this first post, I'll share what I've learned about making GenAI work for lead gen, including some practical tips I wish I'd known earlier. Next time, we'll explore some advanced techniques that go beyond what you can do with off-the-shelf AI tools.

Inbound lead generation is key in B2B

One of the most impactful books I’ve read about B2B lead generation is The Sales Acceleration Formula, by Mark Roberge, an ex-SVP of Worldwide Sales and Services at HubSpot.

Mark advocates reversing the sales process. Instead of cold-calling, let customers find you. The internet empowers customers to research solutions when they have a problem. That’s when they are primed to engage. Will you be on their radar?

Mark writes, “Successful inbound marketing comes from two tactics: (1) continual quality of content production, and (2) frequent online participation in social media where your target buyers are already conversing.”

This approach extends beyond social media. For example, op-eds in print and online publications are powerful tools to grow your personal brand and credibility as a founder or business leader.

Content production drives lead generation. Sounds like an ideal use case for AI!

Promise and pitfalls of GenAI

You know by now that GenAI is a game-changing tool to accelerate content production across text, images, infographics, video clips and other media.

Hopefully, you’re also well aware that anyone involved in business development, regardless of their seniority level, must have some prompt engineering skills and must stay current by trying out new GenAI tools as they get released.

AI tools augment human performance on multiple levels:

• They assist in researching topics and finding sources or quotations.

• They help anyone to overcome writer’s block.

• They ensure the copy is grammatically correct and effective.

• If properly prompted, they can help to remove clichés and repetitions.

• They can be trained to enhance SEO performance.

• They can repurpose a single piece of content for various formats and platforms and can even personalize it for specific customer segments.

• They can come up with imaginative titles, ideas, and wordplays.

Recent research confirms this. Some academic studies show that GenAI images can boost audience engagement by up to 50%. According to Adobe, GenAI-generated emails improved click-through rates by over 10%. A study by MIT Sloan School of Management researchers shows people respond well to GenAI content even after knowing it’s machine-made.

However, as audiences get more exposed to AI-generated content and become more adept at detecting it, some of these conclusions must be taken with a grain of salt.

The potential drawbacks of GenAI are clear to anyone who has engaged in “doom scrolling” recently:

• GenAI-generated content is often lacking in depth.

• It can sound overly formal and cautious due to safety rules.

The social media success of voices like Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Mr. Beast, who use authentic, unrefined language shows that the ability to engage in genuine human discourse (some would say, drama) is still a superpower. For another example of human talent, take a look at one of my favorite newsletters, Matt Levine’s Money Stuff.

Content generation strategy

I’ve found that the 5 following rule can be helpful when incorporating GenAI into your inbound lead generation workflow, whether you are working alone or leading a team.

#1 Find your voice

Only you can define your brand, the themes you will focus on, and the unique point of view that will resonate with your audience.

Unless you are very lucky, this usually happens by trial and error. However, AI can help you in two important ways.

First, use AI to analyze the content performance of your industry’s influencers and ecosystem and identify winning themes. For example, in the crypto industry, you might find that general market commentary and posts that spotlight up-and-coming projects perform better than, say, announcements of technical breakthroughs. In Part 2, we’ll talk about monitoring systems in more detail.

Second, once you have settled on a potential theme and point of view, use GenAI to generate a long list of post titles and get a sense of how compelling and varied they are. In short, does your positioning have legs? You don’t want to run out of things to say after a couple of months.

#2 Know when quantity is king and when quality matters

Businesses need to communicate multiple times a day across numerous channels, which requires extensive use of GenAI tools. However, creativity, humor, and the ability to capture the zeitgeist remain essential human qualities, and they can often make a huge difference on your ROI when the stakes are high.

One approach is to divide your content calendar into:

• Big ideas, which nitially require greater human involvement, and can subsequently be disseminated using GenAI. Not every big idea requires a fresh post; sometimes it can be introduced strategically in response to an ongoing online conversation (for example, as a retweet).

• Base load, which includes regular updates as well as memes. Clearly, this part can be generated more programmatically or even, in some situations, fully autonomously (see Luna).

#3 Nurture designers and content creators who have that magic touch

A small number of highly creative team members can make a huge difference.

They can be tasked with major content initiatives or operate at arm’s length under the alias of an intern or a brand fan.

Give them space to experiment, and you won’t regret it.

#4 Use GenAI to increase production, customize content and control quality

Once you have agreed on a content calendar, you can use GenAI extensively to populate it with content and generate variations across as many formats and channels as possible. GenAI is especially magical for converting copy into images, sound, and videos, or even for customizing it by audience segment (e.g., adapting the writing style for Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z).

And of course, nothing should be published without a final AI check to fix grammar, repetitions, and clichés.

Here’s a short list of day-to-day tools that are worth a paid subscription:

• Research: Claude AI (Anthropic), Gemini AI, ChatGPT (OpenAI), Perplexity.

• Text: Lex, Jasper AI.

• Images: ChatGPT (OpenAI), Canva.

• Video: Runway ML, Viggle AI.

• Voice: ElevenLabs.

#5 Make your AI content sound less like AI

Many media editors and academic reviewers use ZeroGPT to detect GenAI-generated content. While it’s not perfect and often rates any kind of well-written content as GenAI-generated, it is an important benchmark to ensure that your articles won’t be rejected by publishers.

To go one step further, you can instruct a GenAI tool to review your copy for AI language patterns and suggest ways to make it sound more natural.

Here is an example prompt, based on suggestions by the folks at Lex:

As an expert in content analysis and AI detection, please evaluate the text below for telltale signs of AI generation and provide specific recommendations to make it sound more human, genuine and authentic. Consider:

1. Language Patterns

a. Check for clichés, formulaic phrases, and buzzwords.
b. Look for overly formal or mechanical language.

2. Personal Voice Elements

a. Identify opportunities to add personal anecdotes or experiences.
b. Suggest places for conversational language.
c. Note areas where human perspective could be strengthened.
d. Point out spots that need more authentic emotion or nuance.

3. Technical Indicators

a. Analyze predictable word patterns.
b. Check for unusual word combinations that flag AI systems.

Please provide:

* An overall authenticity score (1-10).
* Text edits for making the content sound more human.
* Additional tips for avoiding AI detection flags.

Focus on maintaining the original message while editing the robotic elements that AI detection systems look for.

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Next time, we'll review some approaches that go beyond what you can do with commercial tools.