"At the end of the created content, I ask the 'So What?' and 'What Now?' questions."

What does content mean for you?

For me, content primarily means conveying knowledge in a meaningful and inspiring way, whether through videos, websites, technical articles, white papers, or social media posts. In my daily work, I mainly deal with B2B communication in industries that, at first glance, seem rather "unsexy." As a result, content creation is often a mix of thought process, detective work, and the final product. It's a thought process because you work your way through a mountain of technical information, expert interviews, and jargon. It's detective work because you search for that one perspective that conveys both: an inspiring story and a wealth of industry-specific information. And ultimately, it's a final product that ideally maintains its mission of knowledge transfer and doesn't stray from simple, product-focused communication.

What was the worst content you met?

Poor content reveals itself through a high "fluff rate." It's surprisingly easy to write a long, content-free text. Everyone probably knows the feeling of finishing an article, website, etc., and still not really understanding what it's about or why the content even exists. Less intuitively, for me, "fluff" also includes content overloaded with facts, technical jargon, and product information, without any connection to the context or the everyday challenges faced by the readership. You can quickly tell if someone has taken the extra step of critically examining why and for whom the content is relevant. Personally, I often find it helpful to ask the "So what?" and "What now?" questions at the end of the content I've created. Whether it's a white paper, a website, or a social media post, if after reading the content I'm not equipped with arguments to convince myself (and others) why the content is relevant and what action it should lead to, I know something isn't working.

How does good content succeed in times of chatt and Co.?

Good content manages to match content with the right target audience at the right time and in the right format. This requires a strategic mindset that should be maintained from start to finish. ChatGPT can support content creation, for example, through general brainstorming, sparring, and even additional proofreading. However, I'm hesitant to go beyond that. Despite detailed prompts, the "fluff factor" is still a bit too high, and the ability to reflect (so far) is a bit too low. ChatGPT cannot satisfactorily perform all the tasks that fall under the umbrella of content strategy (such as zooming out, considering the entire user journey and touchpoints, deciding on the format, and formulating possible next steps). Therefore, I (still) believe that truly good content is only possible through a healthy division of labor between humans and AI. How this will develop in the future remains to be seen.