Quality vs. quantity: which wins in content?

Quality at-bats win. Like baseball, the goal isn't as many trips to the plate as possible. It's making each one count: prepared, researched, and given the best possible chance to succeed.

Quick Answer

• Don't chase as many posts as possible. Chase quality at-bats.
• Every piece should be prepared and researched before it goes out.
• Use AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude to give each piece its best chance, not to mass-produce.

Why "quality at-bats" is the better content metric

When a team floated making a hundred pieces of content from one source, Ben Hillman pushed back with a baseball metaphor that reframes the whole quality-versus-quantity debate.

"I liken what we do to playing a baseball game. I want quality at-bats. You don't just want as many times up to the plate as possible. You want to make sure that when you're up to bat, you're prepared, you know what's coming, you've done the research on what's in front of you." — Ben Hillman

The point isn't to post less for its own sake. It's that volume without preparation wastes the trip to the plate. Each piece should go out with the best possible chance to succeed.

And AI fits into that, but as a quality multiplier, not a quantity machine.

"That comes into play with using these tools we're all using, whether that's ChatGPT, Claude, or any other AI software, to make sure the thing we're putting out there has the best possible chance of succeeding." — Ben Hillman

So the answer to quality versus quantity isn't really either/or. It's that every at-bat, however many you take, has to be a quality one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is quality or quantity more important in content?

Ben Hillman favors quality at-bats. He uses a baseball metaphor: the goal isn't as many trips to the plate as possible, but making each one count through preparation and research so it has the best chance to succeed.

What does "quality at-bats" mean?

It means treating each piece of content like a prepared at-bat in baseball. You know what's coming, you've done the research, and you give that piece the best possible chance to succeed, rather than swinging blindly as often as possible.

How should you use AI tools for content quality?

Ben uses tools like ChatGPT and Claude to give each piece of content its best chance to succeed, not to mass-produce. AI is a quality multiplier in his approach, applied with preparation rather than as a volume machine.

Full Clip Transcript

My pushback on stuff like that is, I liken what we do to playing a baseball game. We want to make sure that when we put out anything, whether that's a full episode or a short on YouTube, I want quality at-bats. In baseball, you don't just want as many times up to the plate as possible. You want to make sure that when you're up to bat, you're prepared, you know what's coming, you've done the research on what's in front of you. When we put this out there, it's going to have the best possible chance to succeed. And that comes into play with using these tools we're all using, whether that's ChatGPT, Claude, or any other AI software, to make sure the thing we're putting out there has the best possible chance of succeeding.

Full Interview Transcript

Dane: Hi everybody, my name is Dane Frederiksen. I am a B2B video expert and I'm on a mission to help companies get visible, trusted, and build pipeline faster with video. And I'm joined today by Ben Hillman from Mostly Media. Welcome, Ben.

Ben: Hey, thanks for having me, Dane.

Dane: Tell us about your role in distribution right now.

Ben: Yeah, so I'm the director of production at Mostly Media. My primary role is being the executive producer of our podcast, Run the Numbers. It's a podcast for CFOs and aspiring CFOs. We put out episodes twice a week, for eight episodes a month. And along with that comes a lot of distribution troubles.

Dane: What is the biggest challenge about doing a show like that?

Ben: The biggest challenge is not living and dying by every single upload. We'll make topic-based episodes that perform better than some of the interview episodes. But the struggle is to remember the TAM that we're addressing, that it's not this massive audience.

Dane: Why is a targeted show the right play right now?

Ben: I think that's always been the play. I remember going to the second ever VidCon back in 2011. They were talking about you want to niche down. And I don't think that is ever going to change. There's always going to be a specific audience that you can speak to.

Dane: Why is distribution so important now?

Ben: It's just because it's easy as heck to distribute now. We had a discussion of, let's make a hundred pieces of content off of one thing. My pushback is, I liken what we do to playing a baseball game. I want quality at-bats. You don't just want as many times up to the plate as possible. You want to make sure that when you're up to bat, you're prepared, you know what's coming, you've done the research. When we put this out there, it's going to have the best possible chance to succeed. And that comes into play with using these tools, whether that's ChatGPT, Claude, or any other AI software.

Dane: What do B2B teams need to know about distribution?

Ben: The age-old question around quality and quantity, it's kind of both. We're on YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter. But not falling prey to that spray and pray mentality, making sure the platforms aren't just a dumping ground. This is an intentional piece of content.

Dane: How do you know if TikTok is performing well?

Ben: The hardest thing is attribution. We had someone comment on a YouTube video that said, I saw your clips on Instagram. We put out two shorts every day, getting one to three hundred views. But that one comment tells me there are people who didn't comment who came from these platforms. That legitimizes it.

Dane: Is video content gonna help you show up in AI search?

Ben: We've done crude tests of going to ChatGPT or Claude and asking, what's the best podcast for CFOs? And our show will pop up. I don't have a lot of panic because we already show up. The fact that we're showing up is one less thing to worry about.

Dane: What's a takeaway for using video for visibility and trust and pipeline?

Ben: Don't assume that people have seen your stuff. You have to tell people seven times before it registers. And that comes hand in hand with, take the piece of content, break it up into chunks. It stands alone. Show up where people are and remember they're not gonna necessarily know everything about you.

Dane: When people say CFOs aren't on TikTok, what's your comeback?

Ben: Yeah, they are. But maybe they aren't, and their kid might be, or their neighbor. The next best person you can get, other than a customer, is a friend of a customer. And it's a validation that this is a legitimate person, and now I'm in play.

Dane: Okay, that's a good one. This has been a great conversation. Thanks again, Ben.

Ben: Yeah, thanks for having me, Dane.

Dane: And we're wrapped.