Are you Team Human or Team AI? The truth is, it doesn’t really matter because AI-assisted marketing tools are here to stay. In our Impact of AI report, we discovered that 76% of respondents use AI to create marketing content. Interestingly, 41% of them haven’t told their stakeholders.
The point of automation tools isn’t to replace your content and marketing teams, they’re an extra pair of AI-powered hands to scale and optimize operations (more on that later).
That explains why 98% of marketers consider automation very or extremely important to success.
Content automation tools are a game-changer for any business creating high volumes of content. Especially in heavily regulated industries like pharma, consumer goods, logistics, and travel and tourism.
If that sounds like you, keep reading as I break down the best content automation tools for each stage of the creation process. But first, let’s dig into why your organization should invest in AI-assisted automation.
Top four benefits of content automation
Content automation software puts tasks like creation, management, and distribution on autopilot, so you have more time to focus on the big ideas (and the bottom line).
But unless your business has an unlimited budget, you’re probably going to need to justify allocating funds to content automation software.
The good news is that the benefits pretty much speak for themselves. Here’s the highlight reel:
1. Minimize errors and inconsistencies in your content
Mistakes happen. Especially if you’re producing content at scale. And while nobody loves a typo or inconsistency in their work, it can be particularly concerning for companies in regulated sectors like healthcare or beauty.
Content automation tools can reduce the number of mistakes that slip through the net. For instance, online proofing software. It streamlines your review process to make sure every content piece is properly checked before sign-off. Bonus points if it uses AI to help you flag errors or potential compliance issues.
2. Tailor content to your target audience and segment users better
It’s no secret that tailoring your content to your audience pays off. In fact, 89% of marketers notice a positive ROI when they use personalization in their campaigns. There are some challenges, though.
You need real customer data to effectively segment your users and serve the right content. You also need streamlined internal content creation workflows to reduce the labor-intensive process. A marketing automation platform (MAP) is the answer. It gives you the analytics and insights you need to personalize your content offerings at scale and make data-informed decisions. 💡
3. Scale content operations quicker and with fewer resources
Workflow automation tools are the best way to scale content creation processes and save time and resources. For instance, automating your social media posts and ads can save your business over six hours per week.
That has a knock-on effect on productivity, too. Nucleus Research discovered that first-time users of marketing automation software enjoy 20% higher productivity. The same report also revealed that for every dollar you invest in marketing automation tools, you can receive an ROI of $6.66.
Considering these statistics, it’s hardly surprising that 91% of marketers say automation is essential for their business.
4. Meet stringent regulatory requirements during the content creation process
Almost every industry has regulatory requirements to meet, like advertising and marketing compliance standards. And when you’re creating content at scale, that’s when things get tricky.
Content automation tools like online proofing platforms and AI-assisted editing software can help you meet those requirements and stay compliant. That way, you can reach your goals without breaking the rules.
And what about generative AI tools to create marketing content?
Interestingly, 58% of marketers cite increased performance as the top benefit of using generative AI for content creation, followed by better creative variety (50%), cost-effectiveness (50%), and faster creative cycles (47%).
10 best content automation tools for every step of the creative process
So many content automation tools to choose from, so little time. It’s a nice problem to have, but finding the best platform for your content creation process has its challenges.
It really comes down to your needs. Is digital content creation your biggest use case? Or are you facing challenges reviewing and approving content with strict compliance requirements? Maybe you just need some help generating cool new content ideas?
The good news is that no matter your use case, there’s a tool for it. The better news? I’ve put together a list of the best automation software for each stage of the content creation cycle.
Stage one: Ideation and research
These tools can speed up the creative ideation process and lay the groundwork for your content strategy.
1. Semrush – best for keyword research
Source: Semrush
Semrush is an all-in-one platform for SEO, content marketing, competitor research, PPC, and social media marketing. It’s also one of the best tools for generating content ideas and researching keywords.
Top features
- Keyword overview – automates keyword research and helps you find high-volume and relevant terms to target in your content
- SEO writing assistant – gives you recommendations based on insights from the top-performing content on Google
- Keyword magic tool – generates lists of keywords to target in your content for better rankings and ideas for future content
- Competitor analysis – gives insights into your competitors’ content strategies so you can see what works
Price
The Pro plan starts from $117/month, billed annualy.
2. BuzzSumo – best for identifying trending topics on social media
Source: BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo automates content research and ideation, helping you discover trending topics, monitor what’s big in your industry, and discover growth opportunities. It’s unmatched at uncovering great social content topics.
Top features
- Content discovery – shows you what topics are trending to help you spark fresh content ideas
- Content analyzer – gives you a list of the top headlines by engagement based on the keyword you enter
- Content ideas generator – generates ideas from billions of content pieces based on the keywords you add
- Content monitoring – automatically alerts you when important events happen in your niche
Price
The Content Creation plan starts from $199/month for one user.
Stage two: Content creation
These automation and AI content creation tools can help you get your ideas out in the wild faster.
3. SEO Content Machine – best for blog post generation in multiple languages
Source: SEO Content Machine
SEO Content Machine automates your AI prompts with scraped data so you can research and generate blogs quickly. It’s ideal if you’re looking for fast and automated content creation across multiple languages.
Top features
- AI content generator – automatically creates content based on your keywords and scraped data from other online sources
- Article generator – uses AI models to re-write and generate content in multiple languages
- Website scraper – scrapes data from websites and YouTube subtitles to use in your content
- Article rewriter – its AI feature rewrites blog articles in different styles and tones
Price
Plans start from $27/month.
4. SocialBee – best for writing social media posts
Source: SocialBee
SocialBee is a social media management tool with built-in AI capabilities to generate posts. You add your prompts, and it will automatically create content with relevant captions and hashtags. It integrates with Unsplash, Canva, and GIPHY, so you get a nice selection of design elements.
Top features
- Caption generator – comes up with engaging captions for your social posts
- AI Image generator – uses DALL-E 3 to make visuals for your social media posts
- Post variation – automatically turns one content idea into different formats like images, videos, or text
- RSS feed import – turns blog posts into social media posts
Price
The Bootstrap plan starts from $24/month for one user and up to five social profiles.
Stage three: Content editing and optimization
Streamline the content polishing process and the search engine optimization with these tools.
5. Grammarly – best for proofreading and editing text
Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that automates the proofreading and editing process. It scans your writing to flag typos and inconsistencies in your tone. It also auto-suggests ways to improve the flow of your copy.
Top features
- Tone checker – analyzes your writing for tone and flags inconsistencies so you can be sure you only share relevant content with your audience
- AI-powered suggestions – suggests copy improvements to enhance sentence structure and flow
- Real-time text editor – automatically flags errors in your text as you write
- Plagiarism checker – scans your writing and flags any plagiarized content
Price
The free plan offers basic writing suggestions. The Premium plan starts from $12/month (when billed annually).
6. Clearscope – best for automating the content optimization process
Source: Clearscope.io
Clearscope is an AI-powered SEO tool that helps you improve the ranking of your content. It grades your content, analyzes your competitors, and suggests best practices to enhance on-page SEO.
Top features
- Keyword suggestion – offers LSI keyword suggestions to improve your content’s SEO score
- Content grade – scores your content on its relevance and clarity
- Competitor analysis – automatically analyzes top-ranking content for your target keyword and highlights its strengths and weaknesses
- Readability checker – scans your content and assigns a readability level so you can make sure it’s appropriate for your target audience
Price
The Essentials plan starts from $189/month for unlimited users.
Stage four: Content review and approval
Incorporate feedback, localize content, and secure sign-offs quicker with these platforms.
7. Filestage – best for streamlining content review and approval processes
Filestage is an intuitive review and approval platform with AI capabilities. You can set up custom reviewer groups, automate workflows, and cut content approval times by 30%. It’s ideal for companies that produce high volumes of content in heavily regulated industries.
Top features
- Version control – lets you visualize the latest content iterations side by side (our AI flags what’s different)
- Automated review workflows – puts manual tasks like due date reminders and changing review statuses on autopilot for faster content sign-offs
- Streamlined feedback cycles – creates a central hub to track all feedback and reduce versioning chaos (no more endless email threads)
- Verified approvals – supports electronic signatures to protect your content during the review process and comply with regulations FDA 21, CFR Part 11, and EU Annex 11
Price
There’s a free plan with unlimited files and two active projects. The Basic plan starts from $49/month for unlimited users and ten active projects.
Supercharge your review process
Share content, get feedback, and manage approvals with Filestage.
8. Phrase – best for automating the content localization process
Source: Phrase
Phrase is a translation management system (TMS) that automates, organizes, and translates content. You can manage localization projects and collaborate with colleagues directly from the platform. It’s a great creative automation tool if your company deals with large content translation projects.
Top features
- Term bases – creates brand-owned translation glossaries and feeds them into translation engines to train your AI
- Automated content QA – AI reviews and scores your translated content to save time and localization costs
- Task automation – the AI assistant handles repetitive tasks during the content translation and localization process
- Translation memory – stores your previous projects so you can consult them for similar jobs in the future
Price
The Starter plan starts from $125/month (billed annually).
Stage five: Content scheduling and distribution
Automate the content publishing and promotion process with these software options.
9. Hootsuite – best for automating content scheduling and analyzing performance
Source: Hootsuite
Hootsuite is one of the most popular social media automation tools, with features to speed up content scheduling and publishing. If your company produces a lot of social media content, it’s a great tool for auto-scheduling posts, analyzing performance, and engaging with your followers.
Top features
- Bulk posts scheduling – auto-schedules all your social posts in one go from one central platform
- OwlyWriter AI – automatically recreates your top-performing social content without duplicating it
- Posting recommendations – analyzes social trends and suggests the best time to post your content for maximum engagement
- Advanced analytics – auto-generates reports so you can track how your content marketing efforts are performing across different social media platforms
Price
The Professional plan starts from $99/month for one user.
10. ActiveCampaign – best for automating content distribution
Source: ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform that manages personalized emails, streamlines customer communication, and segments your audience. It caters to marketing teams and e-commerce companies that want to automate their workflows.
Top features
- Intelligent email marketing automation – puts drip campaigns, promotional emails, customer check-ins, and abandoned cart messages on autopilot
- Segmentation – creates lists, tags, and custom groups to segment your audience so you only share content they actually want to see
- Intelligent multichannel marketing automation – aligns your campaigns and content across different social platforms
- Reporting and analytics – offers real-time reporting so you can track the performance of your content marketing campaigns
Price
The Lite plan starts from $15/month, billed annually for one user.
Next steps
Content remains King. So to meet growing demands, marketers need ways to speed up creation cycles, reduce review rounds, and generate better ideas faster. The right content automation tool can get you there.
And if you’re looking for a platform to cut your content review process by as much as 30%, get your free Filestage trial today.
