Finding the right keywords for UGC videos still feels manual, even with tools. I can use search bars, trend trackers, or AI suggestions, but it always takes sitting down, checking what's trending, what fits my style, and what my audience actually cares about. No tool really nails that personal mix yet. At the end of the day, I have to scroll, listen, and pick up on little shifts myself. Trends move too fast for anything automated to fully catch them. It's not fancy, but paying attention beats relying only on software every time.
One part of my content strategy that still feels a bit clunky, despite using all kinds of tools, is the content approval process. No matter how much I try to streamline things with Trello or Slack, getting feedback and final approval from everyone on the team takes a lot of time. It always seems like there's this endless back-and-forth, especially when people are busy or have different schedules. Even with automated workflows in place, feedback on things like visuals or tone still needs multiple rounds of revisions. It's tough to keep everything organized and ensure that everyone is aligned without slowing down the process. To fix this, I'm thinking about trying more real-time collaboration tools or a platform dedicated to content feedback that fits into our existing workflow. That way, everything--from text to images--can be reviewed, edited, and approved all in one place, which should cut down on back-and-forth emails and help speed things up.
Repurposing long-form content into short-form still feels like herding cats with a broken lasso. You can summarize, slice, and template it all you want—but there's always that gap between "technically correct" and "would a human stop scrolling for this?" AI can reword and reformat, but it rarely nails the punchline, sarcasm, or emotional cadence without some human sculpting. I've tried Make.com, Claude, OpenAI, Descript, Kapwing—you name it—but the final polish always demands a creative touch. At this point, I treat it like sourdough bread: automation mixes the dough, but I still gotta knead and bake it myself if I want people to bite.
One part of my content strategy that still feels manual and clunky is keyword research! Despite the many tools available online, I still find the process to be rather painstaking and I still need to get my hands dirty for this part. This is because in my keyword research, I will check a lot of things: consider monthly search volumes, analyze search trends, evaluate keyword difficulty, scrutinize page one competition on Google, and ensure the keyword intent matches the content I plan to create. Because keyword research is the very first and most foundational step in my content strategy, I place heavy emphasis on getting it right. Yet the need to cross-reference so many data points means I still haven't found a way to fully automate or streamline this important stage - I definitely hope I get to make this keyword check a whole lot easier someday!
"The part that still feels painfully manual? Figuring out who actually cares." We've got a thousand tools that tell us what's performing—click-throughs, dwell time, scroll depth, you name it. But there's no dashboard for emotional resonance. No heat map that says, "This line made someone feel seen," or "That paragraph? Skimmable fluff." So we end up running on data fumes, squinting at numbers like fortune tellers trying to read tea leaves. And the irony? The more tools we stack—SEO platforms, AI content graders, predictive analytics—the more we risk losing that gut instinct that makes content feel human. So I'll spend hours rereading a draft aloud, just to catch that one sentence that sounds like it came from a robot's LinkedIn profile. Or I'll DM a handful of real readers and ask, "Did this actually hit, or are we just checking boxes?" No tool replaces that. Not yet. We can automate creation, distribution, even personalization. But empathy? Still handcrafted. Still clunky. Still the most important part.
One time management tip I swear by is time blocking. I organize my day into dedicated blocks for different tasks--strategy sessions, client meetings, creative work, and even personal time. This method aligns with my work style because it helps me stay focused and prevent the chaos of multitasking. For example, I block off the first 2 hours of my day for deep work, where I focus on high-priority tasks like reviewing ad campaigns or strategizing for upcoming projects. This not only ensures I tackle the hardest tasks when I'm freshest but also prevents distractions from derailing my day. This approach has helped me stay organized and reduce decision fatigue, which can quickly slow down productivity. By consciously allocating time to specific areas, I've been able to drive more consistent results for both myself and my team. Time blocking lets me stay focused on the big picture while executing the day-to-day with efficiency, and it's been a game-changer in maintaining long-term success.
Even with AI and automation at our fingertips, competitive differentiation still demands a manual touch when it comes to positioning strategy. Crafting a truly unique voice that cuts through noise isn't something you can outsource to a template or a tool. We still sit down as a team and manually map out content territory—what conversations we can own versus echo. It's slow, it's messy, but it's also where the magic happens.
One part of my content strategy that still feels manual and clunky—no matter what tools I use—is handling images. From selecting the right one, naming the file properly, uploading it to the CMS, and placing it in the correct spot (especially in content with multiple images), it's a time-consuming, tedious process. Even with tools like AI-generated images and Canva, and using HubSpot as our CMS, the workflow still lacks smooth automation. It's strange, because I don't feel that way about writing content, creating eBooks, or building presentations. It's specifically the image handling that remains frustrating—if someone has a better solution, I'd love to hear it!
One part of my content strategy that still feels manual and clunky is the process of repurposing long-form content into multiple formats for different platforms. Even with scheduling tools and AI summarizers, tailoring content for various audiences--like trimming a blog post into a tweet thread, a short video script, or an Instagram caption--requires a level of nuance that often gets lost in automation. Each platform has its own tone, character limits, and engagement style, and translating ideas while maintaining voice and value is still time-consuming. I often find myself rewriting or adjusting AI-generated versions to better resonate with each audience. While tools help streamline some steps, the creative decision-making still rests heavily on me. If there were a smarter tool that could adapt content more intuitively without losing brand personality, it would be a game-changer.