Is content dead? Is SEO dead?! Is social media dead?!?!
I’ll be so for real right now: I don’t even care.
I see these kinds of questions all the time, usually formatted as a clickbait-y headline. E.g., “Is SEO dead? No, but it is evolving …” And I just can’t bring myself to read it. Because when I say “I don’t care,” it isn’t because these topics aren’t directly related to my livelihood. It’s because it’s all so boring.
The fact is that content marketing (and maybe the internet in general) is getting more and more boring.
So what does it mean when content marketers are sick of content? Why is content marketing so boring right now?
Content is fully saturated
Remember when the internet was new, and there were, like, ten websites? Well, now there are over a billion.
Thousands of new websites launch every day. Many have blogs that publish regularly. Plus the content published on social media, forums, YouTube … It’s just a lot.
“Content saturation” describes this increasingly common situation: When there’s so much content around the same topic that new content doesn’t do anything but add to the noise.
With content saturation, your audience gets overwhelmed, they’re less likely to engage, and visibility goes down. (Plus, it’s boring.) So if you’re creating content with the intent of being found, then content saturation is an issue for you. (Also, for audiences, it’s boring.)
Everything is the same
OK, there’s a lot of content around the same topics, but at least every piece of content is unique to the brand or creator, right?
WRONG!
Have you noticed that more and more, everything looks, sounds, and feels the same? The levels of boring are frankly unprecedented. So why does everything feel the same now?
Algorithm-first marketing
Marketing is always a gamble, whether you’re buying a billboard or writing an e-book. And when you’re trying to create content that resonates with humans and gets ranked well by an algorithm, it might feel safer to prioritize the thing that seems more predictable.
That’s why some marketers have started creating for algorithms first — before telling a story, connecting with their audience, or creating content that’s unique to their brand.
Focusing on the same topics, chasing the same keywords, using the same formats, sharing the same information, linking to the same surveys to support the same arguments … however you go about it, the end result is a flood of content that’s more or less interchangeable.
It worked for them, so …
Content sameness also comes from creators and brands following and replicating trends so closely that everything kind of starts to blend together.
You can see this on every platform, but LinkedIn is where it stands out to me the most. I see so many long text posts with formatting and voice so strikingly similar that I genuinely can’t tell one from another. I’ve noticed text-based graphics from different accounts sharing a similar design — even “thought leaders” with almost identical headlines on their profiles. Sometimes it feels like everyone is using branding that’s unique to LinkedIn, rather than unique to the brand or creator.
“This approach worked once, so I’ll keep doing it over and over again.” Or even worse, “This approach worked for them, so I’m going to try the same thing.” The result is an audience who can’t pick your content out of a lineup, which is the opposite of what you want.
GenAI has made content more saturated and more same
Whether you’re totally pro-AI or not, it would be tough to argue that using GenAI hasn’t made content more boring.
More saturated
GenAI makes it easy to mass-produce generic, repetitive content that no one cares about, which just worsens the content saturation issue. This isn’t mean-spirited — it’s how LLMs work. When you ask GenAI to write an article or LinkedIn post, you’re choosing not to contribute any new thoughts or unique perspectives to the conversation. Each new piece of GenAI content is just a restatement of ideas that are already out there.
And if you’ve ever been in a conversation (or meeting) where someone just loudly restates what’s already been said more quietly … Well, you know that’s a conversation you want to leave.
More same
By default, all the content generated by ChatGPT sounds and feels the same. Again, I’m not saying this to be mean-spirited! It’s just how LLMs work. Of course that doesn’t mean you can’t use chatbots as a starting point, and then tweak, edit, and personalize content — but a lot of brands and creators don’t.
The result is a homogenization of voice. And with one “voice” speaking for the entire internet, it’s no wonder so much of what’s being said feels the same.
Let’s make content less boring
So if we don’t want our content to be boring, repetitive, and easy to ignore, what do we do?
Remember that people like people
We’ve known for years that “authentic” content performs well. It’s why smart businesses use formats like video and livestreaming to build audiences; it’s why influencer marketing is still a great investment for retail businesses; it’s why UGC ads are all over your feed.
“Authentic” content works because people like people. It’s neuroscience: Our brains are wired for connection. Humans are indelibly drawn to one another.
It’s why we laugh when we see videos of people laughing and cry when we see videos of people crying. It’s why the most successful marketing campaigns use storytelling to generate powerful emotions.
When you remember that your audience is not a faceless monolith, but composed of individuals who want to connect with your story, it affects the way you create, design, write, and engage.
Stop viewing your content solely as a means to an end
I am all for SMART goals and working from a solid marketing plan. But when it comes to content marketing, it is a long game. You’re not just generating quick leads. You’re building trust, engagement, awareness. You’re building an audience who is loyal to your brand.
Because at the end of the day, content marketing isn’t just about being found (that’s what interruption marketing is for). Content marketing is about being found doing something worthwhile.
That’s why a quantity-over-quality approach will always be antithetical to good content marketing, and the ones who push that approach are fundamentally, fatally short-sighted. So walk back from your end goal. Remember that well before the conversion happens — months or even years before — you’re creating something for a person.
Make your brand unique, then speak in your unique voice. Share your story. Share your users’ stories. Share your knowledge. Listen to your audience. Make mistakes. Connect. Grow.
Wanna chat?
If you want to talk about your content marketing, hit us up. We’d love to help. And if you liked this article, please share it with a friend — it really helps!
Thanks for reading!