It might surprise you to learn this!
There are lots of curious AI “early adopters” in marketing, embracing with great gusto the possibilities and efficiencies of artificial intelligence. But there’s also a sizeable population of "behind the curve" marketing leaders who are much more cautious – holding on to the safety net of what they already know is proven.
AI has huge potential, but for some a more considered and staged approach is needed. Artificial intelligence is already well entrenched – available either directly, or increasingly embedded into the software and services we already use.
So in this article, we look at the four main marketing functions where AI is being deployed, and try to balance the AI possibilities with some cautionary notes.
The Big Four
Content Creation:
AI is already being used extensively to generate content - including blog articles, email subject lines and social media posts. It’s embedded into loads of software applications, making "having a go" easy. AI is good for coming up with ideas and suggestions, and saves time on your desktop research. But (there’s always a but!), you need to add a pinch of sense check, If you’re writing an opinion piece, it needs to be your opinion, not a hybrid of everyone else’s.
AI gathers content from multiple sources then sanitises it, so content can be a bit robotic. If you don’t add your own style, or brand tone of voice, you lose authenticity and that human touch – and that's not good for your personal credibility or your organisations' brand.
For this article, I used AI to help me find the broad structure and key points - but the rest (including typos and the odd grammar faux pas) is my own work!
Still on the subject of content creation, AI has some pretty neat capability in photography and video sourcing, creation and editing. Creative teams are curious by nature, so are lapping it up – but if you self-serve it's well worth exploring next time you find yourself trawling through a stock library.
Advertising and promoted content – effectiveness/testing:
AI will help enhance targeting and optimise spend efficiency with paid search, promoted content or digital advertising. The ability of AI to analyse heaps of data and understand the trends and patterns means you get the insights to help refine, tailor and more accurately reach your target audience.
AI can also take A/B testing to a new level – understanding demographics, geographies, times of day and messaging to generate winning variations much quicker.
The cautionary note here is that you still need to apply some qualitative nuance and insight – especially if you are operating in a niche market. If it doesn’t feel right, you can always test it.
Data Analysis and Reporting:
The world of data is vast, and we can’t do it justice in this short article. In summary, AI can analyse research and customer data, providing insights into past and predicted customer behaviour, preferences and trends - including sales and churn trends. In the past, we created complex algorithms to understand data, but AI can fast track all that.
For web analytics, SEO and social media, AI is changing the game. It’s effective with web and keyword analytics. If it’s not already plugged in to your web platform (I’ve come across a few) it will be plugged into your CRM – so switch it on! It’s the same with social media - identifying sentiment and trends.
In more mature markets, AI is common practice in web and social, so if you haven’t deployed it, you’re losing out. If you are using it, the advantage is (to some extent) limited because everyone else is already doing it. That means you still need to be sure of your USP to create your point of difference.
As with all my cautionary notes – AI does the hard yards, but it does need oversight.
Web Chatbots and Customer Service:
If I was trying to sell you this, I’d tell you AI powered chatbots handle routine queries, improving response times and availability. Personally, I find them bloody annoying – and I’d be surprised if your experience was any different. I’ve tried chatbots with different organisations (worst ever is Ryanair), and the result is almost always the same – it seems to want to answer a different question and takes me round in circles. I now start by typing "I want to speak to a person". To balance this with some positive, most chatbots do learn, so in time will improve (was this answer helpful: No).... but until that day, for me, the option of live chat with a real person needs to be maintained or you'll have some pretty miffed customers.
In Summary:
AI in marketing offers immense potential - creativity, efficiency and insight, but marketers must apply balance with human judgment and oversight to avoid potential pitfalls. If you haven't embraced the potential yet, you need to try. Start in a safe place and build confidence. One thing's for sure - AI is here to stay. For marketers there are huge possibilities - but if you don't get on board you'll get left behind.
Next Steps
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