From Outdated to Outstanding: Transforming Utility Website Content with ChatGPT.

Utility websites still appear a bit outdated to modern eyes. Customers find most sites difficult to navigate beyond the immediate “Start/Stop/Change” modal and quick links to billing questions. Utilities often lack a resource center of useful information about topics critical to their customers, leaving those customers to the whims of commercial sites to learn about EV Charging, Solar options, and energy efficiency. Utility websites need more content that’s engaging, informative, and easy to find.

But few marketing communications teams are set up properly to meet this need. Most MarComm teams produce content limited to press releases, earning statements, and policy prescriptions. Utilities often turn to expensive agencies for custom content for their websites, with budgets limiting the amount of content available to their customers annually.

But, tools like ChatGPT provide MarComm teams with the help they need to supercharge their content output for websites, content marketing campaigns and more. To be prolific and engaging, credible and informative, but most of all relevant and timely, utility marketing writers need access to precise information and the ability to present it in a digestible format for all types of customers. ChatGPT, with its advanced linguistic capabilities, helps your MarComm writers to increase the volume, quality, and velocity of their content projects, enabling a massive improvement in output from utility team members for far less than the cost of outside agencies.

ChatGPT’s database contains vast amounts of data from reputable sources, enabling copywriters to quickly fact-check or gather background information on intricate topics related to the energy utility sector. For instance, when writing about the latest developments in renewable energy technology, a writer can query ChatGPT to get a concise summary of recent advancements, regulatory impacts, or case studies, which ensures content grounded in credible information for your customers. Furthermore, by leveraging ChatGPT’s ability to generate content in various styles, writers can fine-tune the tone and style to suit different platforms – be it a detailed whitepaper, a website landing page, or a social media post.

Utility MarComm tactics usually leverage 1:All content and outreach, despite abundant evidence that their customers prefer email, social media and content that’s more personalized at least for their interests and demographics. ChatGPT with its deep database and content libraries can support recontextualizing content themes and topics for key audience segments. Writers may ask ChatGPT to generate “a top 5 list for utility customers who are Aging in Place,” or “list the top energy priorities for commercial and industrial customers of a utility.” With advanced ChatGPT strategies like prompt engineering and priming, utility Marketing teams could use these tools to rephrase an article for energy efficiency for different customer segments, getting multiple iterations of content on the same theme in a fraction of the time writing from a blank sheet of paper would require.

On that same theme, ChatGPT can be utilized to offer real-time feedback on drafts, helping copywriters refine their content for clarity and coherence. Let's consider a scenario where a writer drafts an article on the benefits of smart grids. They could use ChatGPT to get a concise explanation of the technology, ensuring that the content is not only accurate but also free from jargon, making it accessible to a broader audience but remains credible and informative.

Beyond the direct user engagement benefits, utilities should also consider the traffic benefits of posting new content regularly to their websites. A steady stream of quality and informative content improves the chances that search engines index the site and post content in their “natural search results.” That practice, called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, increases traffic to your site, and makes your digital content much easier for your customers to find. In today's digital ecosystem, the discoverability of our content largely hinges on how well it's optimized for search engines, and that’s a talent historically suited to specialized SEO content firms. But, ChatGPT can play a pivotal role in enhancing this practice for your existing teams. With its deep understanding of semantic structures and keyword relevance, ChatGPT helps your writers to generate content that's not just user-friendly but also search engine-friendly. For example, if the focus is on "energy conservation techniques," ChatGPT can help writers ensure that they incorporate related terms and phrases that potential visitors might use in their search queries, thereby improving the content's search visibility.

In addition, the consistent quality of content produced with the assistance of ChatGPT means a higher likelihood of it being shared and linked to by authoritative industry voices. These backlinks are invaluable for SEO. By ensuring your content is both authoritative and in line with SEO best practices, you can expect a natural boost in organic search rankings, driving more traffic to your website and positioning the site as a go-to resource in the sector.

Implementing a utility content program need not bust budgets, upset teams, or challenge your existing operation. By introducing ChatGPT tools and practices to your Marketing Communications group, most of your writers can amplify the quality, diversity, and velocity of content to deploy to your website and customers. ChatGPT doesn’t take the place of skilled writers. Instead, writers who learn a few skills to prompt and prime ChatGPT can harness its array of generative capabilities to enhance their own writing process and deliver an abundance of content that your customers will find credible, informative, and engaging. Watch this site for helpful workshops on how your Marketing team can use ChatGPT to bring more and better content to your digital ecosystem. As always, for more information, please contact us.