AI is changing workflows across industries, and marketing is no exception to this trend. But with end users becoming more and more acquainted with the reality of how AI platforms function — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the mundane — reputable SaaS companies are acting fast to assess which platforms that use AI for content marketing are the best.
In April 2024, HubSpot officially announced the launch of its Content Hub, an AI-powered content marketing software to support individuals in developing and managing content for your customers’ journeys. Let’s dive into some of the key HubSpot Content Hub features every company should know — as well as some of the pros and cons.
Feature #1 - Content Embed
The content embed tool allows you to use HubSpot modules or sections in WordPress via the Gutenberg editor. To get started, you’ll need to download and install HubSpot's WordPress plug-in and the content embed plug-in. Back in HubSpot, navigate to Content > Embeds. From here you can select, modify, and style your modules. Once your changes are ready, select the HubSpot content embed module within WordPress and choose the embed you’d like to add.
Here are the full instructions for setting up content embeds.
The Pros:
- Smart content for WordPress: One of the biggest benefits is that the content embed tool provides the ability to utilize HubSpot’s powerful “smart content” feature. This will allow you to personalize segments of your WordPress site to your visitors just as you would in HubSpot.
- Streamlined content integration in WordPress: Other than the smart content aspect, this could be an effective tool for companies that host their main website in WordPress and their blog in HubSpot. Without the need to involve a developer, blog feeds can be quickly and seamlessly added to any WordPress page.
- Avoid unnecessary rebuilds: When platforms don’t integrate effectively, it can be tempting to burn your website down and build it from scratch. Since Content Embed is flexible and allows for dynamic content, you can easily add modules from HubSpot into your WordPress site for a more seamless user experience without the hassle of migrating data or switching platforms.
The Cons:
- Compatibility limits: The biggest drawback is that the tool only works with WordPress’s Gutenberg editor — not with the more popular page builders like Divi or Elementor. The Gutenberg editor has been available for use since 2018, but few companies use it for their webpage buildouts and maintenance.
- Potential slow-downs: As content is passed through JavaScript — making the text scannable to search engines — page speed might be impacted. It’s difficult to predict the extent of this effect, but increased embeds could lead to slower page speeds.
- Dealing with WordPress apps: Though this is partially an issue with WordPress, you’ll ultimately have to download apps to run Content Embed. Before diving in, research whether your other apps will play nice with HubSpot. Otherwise, you might have to troubleshoot emerging issues on your site.
Feature #2 - Content Remix
This feature takes existing content and gives it a fresh twist, making it more engaging and tailored to different segments of your audience. How does it work? Using AI, the tool analyzes your content, suggests variations, and even helps in repurposing content for different platforms, ensuring consistency and relevance across the board. The intent is to maximize the impact of your content with minimal effort.
You can learn more about Content Remix here.
The Pros:
- Saves time: With Content Remix, you can take a single piece of content and quickly repurpose it into different content forms. What would usually take a few days to spin up takes only minutes.
- Builds in consistency: Because Content Remix works off one piece with existing messaging, you can expect your repurposed content to use similar phrasing and language. This can help your team create more consistent content that conveys a cohesive brand image.
- Assists with brainstorming: Ever hit a creative wall? Sometimes, AI tools can be the perfect spark for reigniting your imagination. Just as you can use Content Remix to spin up initial content drafts, you could also use it for ideas you might not have thought of before.
The Cons:
- Requires verification: As with any AI-generated content, you’ll still need to put Content Remix’s outputs in front of human eyes. Generative AI is far from perfect and tends to “hallucinate.” Depending on the use case, this could feel like you're going backward to move forward.
- AI-generated images: Although the idea of instantly accessing unique images for content is promising, the visuals Content Remix spits out sometimes have a very “AI-generated” feel to them. As most audiences prefer some sort of human involvement in content creation, we recommend using custom graphics or high-quality stock photos as an alternative.
- Insufficient or biased content: If you remix a landing page into a blog post, it could provide a good starting point for an idea. But that’s about it. You’ll need to go back and add in more information where it's needed or tweak any areas that seem skewed to overly promote your brand. For some content marketers, this could seem counterintuitive to using AI in the first place.
Feature #3 - AI Blog Writer
HubSpot's AI Blog Writer/Multi-Language Management feature is a powerful tool that streamlines content creation and facilitates global outreach. The AI Blog Writer automates the process of creating blog posts by generating content based on provided prompts or outlines. It leverages AI in content marketing to produce SEO-optimized, structured blog posts efficiently. HubSpot enables users to translate blog content into multiple languages, including authors and tags. Users can specify the primary language and configure settings for each language, ensuring accurate translations and localization for diverse audiences.
Learn more about AI Blog Writer.
The Pros:
- Efficiency: The automation provided by the AI Blog Post Generator streamlines content creation, saving time and resources for businesses. It enables content teams to produce a higher volume of quality blog posts in less time.
- Global reach: The Multi-Language Management component empowers businesses to connect with international audiences in their native languages. This feature breaks down language barriers, facilitating deeper engagement and expanding market reach.
- Customization options: While automation is a key feature, the ability to customize content ensures that businesses can maintain their brand voices and messaging across different languages and markets. This flexibility is essential for building brand consistency and authenticity.
The Cons:
- Quality control: While automation speeds up content creation, there's a risk that generated content may lack the nuance and creativity of manually crafted writing. Also, generative AI tends to surface often-questionable content. Businesses need to invest time in reviewing and editing any generated writing to ensure it meets quality standards and showcases factual language.
- Language accuracy: Automated translation tools might not always produce accurate translations, especially for complex or context-dependent content. Businesses should supplement automated translations with human translators for higher accuracy.
- Cultural sensitivity: Content generated by AI may overlook cultural nuances and sensitivities, potentially leading to misunderstandings or misinterpretations in diverse markets. Businesses should approach content creation with cultural awareness and a keen sense of how different audiences might interpret content.
Feature #4 - Blog Narration
The Blog Narration tool in HubSpot Content Hub allows you to generate an AI audio file of your blog posts. Once you add a snippet of code to your blog template, you can turn on blog narration in “Settings” for each individual post.
Navigate to the “Post narration” tab and click “Generate.” Next, you can review the transcript and make any necessary changes. In the post I tested, spaces between a few words in the transcript had been removed, which was an easy fix. It may also pull in captions for images, so be sure to remove those as well. Finally, choose the voice that best represents your content and select “Generate” again. Once it’s ready, the button text will change to “Add to blog post.”
Here are the full instructions for setting up Blog Narration in HubSpot.
The Pros:
- Expanded engagement: Blog narration is an effective new way for visitors to engage with your content. As reading takes more focused attention, multi-tasking users can consume your audio content on their drive home or at the gym.
- Improved accessibility: This feature also enhances accessibility. It allows brands to provide the best experience possible for visitors who might have vision impairments.
- Flexible listening: Since the narration shows up with a time bar, users can easily scan areas of the blog post in which they’re most interested. This could appeal to people with very little time on their hands, such as company executives.
The Cons:
- Accuracy: Though this feature is fairly accurate, it’s still a good idea to give your recording a listen to ensure it’s true to your transcript and doesn’t include unnecessary spaces. You wouldn’t want users to receive incorrect information.
- Captions: Since the narration applies to the entire post, it will ultimately still include words outlined in image captions. You’ll need to go back and manually remove these for a seamless listening experience.
- Per-post configuration: Although this is true for most features of any platform, you’ll need to adjust narration parameters (e.g., the AI voice selection) for each post individually. This could be a pain point if you’re publishing multiple blogs.
Feature #5 - Brand Voice
Brand Voice allows users to share existing content to help define their brand’s voice and tone. The AI-powered assistant will take your content, analyze it, and generate a summary that captures the style and tone of your brand. Once Brand Voice is set up, users can easily apply it when creating AI content in HubSpot to be sure their content is consistent across the board.
Learn more about Brand Voice.
The Pros:
- Brand consistency: Every brand has a unique voice. And consistency of voice is essential for brand trust — a deciding factor for over 60% of consumers who might buy from your company. Thus, an important step in using AI for content marketing is ensuring any new writing doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb compared to other pieces living on your website.
- Streamlined human verification: Since Brand Voice applies your unique voice and tone to whatever content HubSpot’s AI generates, you’ll ideally spend less time editing and refining subsequent writing.
- Manual adjustments: Even after Brand Voice assesses your voice and tone, you can go in and manually adjust the feature’s parameters to ensure accuracy. For example, if you feed Brand Voice your content and it spits out characteristics like Informative, Playful, and Respectful, you could easily change it to Informative, Formal, and Respectful.
The Cons:
- Might encourage missed steps: Just as Brand Voice could simplify the human verification process, it could also very well lead to people trusting too much in its ability to stick to your brand’s voice and tone. Your content will still need a thorough eye to ensure each piece is accurate, informative, and stands up to robust writing standards.
- Doesn’t replace style guides: Voice and tone are just two aspects of writing content (albeit, important ones). Nuances pertaining to grammar, spelling, header formats, and other mechanics of drafting content are also essential factors that influence how the end result displays to readers.
- Might require manual tweaks per piece: No AI platform can get things right 100% of the time. You’ll still need to go into any pieces crafted using Brand Voice to ensure language and phrasing matches your intended messaging.
Feature #6 - Podcasts
Marketers can now use HubSpot Content Hub to create podcasts to engage visitors using audio content in a different way. You can upload pre-recorded audio files or use AI-generated audio to produce podcasts in HubSpot, like how you create AI-generated blog posts. To set up podcasts, users will provide a title, description, host information, and a photo. To create individual podcasts, they can use an existing audio file or have HubSpot create an AI-generated podcast using provided text snippets.
Here's more information on Podcasts.
The Pros:
- Diverse content formats: Video and audio are unique ways to grab the attention of your visitors and differentiate content on your website. They’re also helpful for keeping existing clients engaged with your brand.
- Expanded content avenues: Brands can use podcasts to help engage prospects and even existing clients in a new, refreshing way. Over 50% of business leaders actively listen to podcasts daily. It’s a great way to bring life to your brand and show the personality behind the people who built it.
- Streamlined podcast production: If you were to go it alone, you would have to unify fragmented workflows to record, upload, and post your new episode. The feature’s step-by-step interface allows users to quickly launch their podcast episodes and tick all the boxes when it comes to launch day.
The Cons:
- Limited podcasts: If you’re looking to launch several podcasts (let’s say for different thought leaders of your brand), it’s important to know that HubSpot caps you at five podcast channels for the Content Hub Professional level. If you need more channels, you’ll need to upgrade to the Content Hub Enterprise subscription, which allows the creation of up to 50 shows. Each account type limits you to 1,000 episodes.
- Nonintegrated distribution options: HubSpot’s Podcast feature only distributes to popular streaming platforms where people usually listen to podcasts, such as Spotify, through RSS feed. Beyond that, there aren’t any apparent “plug-and-play” integration options.
- Generic AI narration: If you couldn’t find a guest for this week’s episode and are pressed for time, you can use the Podcast feature’s AI narration component. However, consider whether mixing in a generic AI tone will throw off the consistency of your other episodes featuring human voices.
Dive Into AI for Content Marketing With a Strong Knowledge Base
No matter how you plan on using the HubSpot Content Hub, it’s essential to understand exactly how the features of this platform work. At its best, it can be a powerful tool for getting the creative juices flowing and streamlining cumbersome tasks. But it still requires human oversight and, often, thorough manual review and refinement.
That’s where an expert team of marketing professionals can come into play. At Spot On, we can partner with you to ensure any content marketing initiatives started with HubSpot Content Hub land successfully in the end zone. Schedule a time to chat with us to learn more.