AI has gone far beyond being a new or emerging technology, especially in the world of digital marketing: A global survey conducted in 2022 found that nearly 90% of marketers across 35 countries are using some form of AI in their digital marketing strategies.
With the many free or low-cost tools now available, replacing or supplementing human marketing workflows with AI is the best way to (a) increase productivity and (b) gain a deeper understanding of your audience and how to reach them.
Trend: AI in Digital Marketing
In this article, we explore three interesting trends and best practices for implementing AI within your organization.
1. Generative AI
Thanks to ChatGPT, generative AI might be the hottest topic in marketing right now. Generative AI uses AI to create content from existing data and inputs. Examples of GenAI marketing tools include:
- A content creation tool that uses AI to create blog posts, product descriptions, and other written materials
- Software to generate images and videos for branding explainer videos, social media posts and blog graphics
- Chatbots that talk to customers via SMS, email and social media apps
Three-quarters of marketers today are using generative AI in some form, whether it’s to complement their content creation workflow or as a lead generation tool.
2. Personalization
AI powers marketing personalization by retrieving content and data in real time and creating individual, data-driven experiences for each target customer. Businesses can use AI across omnichannels to trigger personalized emails, social media messages, website pop-ups, and even entire offers based on what customers are browsing or what they've already purchased.
AI also enables marketers to analyze vast amounts of data about customer behavior, and they can use this information to develop better products, improve the targeting and messaging of future campaigns, and meet ever-changing customer demands.
3. Optimize for voice search
Voice search is becoming an increasingly popular way for consumers to quickly find information and make purchases on their mobile devices, and optimizing content for voice search is crucial for businesses that want to stay relevant and accessible.
AI plays a key role in optimizing content for voice search. Businesses can use AI to analyze speech patterns with natural language processing (NLP) to understand how people speak and the specific phrases they use when making voice queries. This data can be used to create content that is more conversational in tone and structure, incorporating language that is easy for voice assistants to understand.
Best Practices for Using AI in Digital Marketing
How you apply AI to your workflow will determine whether you create great marketing content that wins over customers, or mediocre content that alienates them.
- Don’t replace humans with AI. While it may be tempting to rely heavily on AI for your marketing efforts (especially content marketing) due to its low cost, AI doesn’t have the human ability to communicate with your target audience – your USP, branding and voice all come from human writers and designers.
- Use AI to automate marketing tasks. For example, CharGPT isn't great for creating marketing content, but it can search the web – using it can save you hours (or even days) of research time.
- Hire industry experts: Outsourcing your marketing efforts to an AI-savvy team can help you adopt the technology in a way that aligns with your business goals and target audience. Make sure the team has work experience in your industry (such as a credit union marketing agency if you’re a credit union).
AI in digital marketing is no longer a distant future. It's essential for businesses that want to compete on quality, targeting, and efficiency in 2024. By staying up to date on the latest trends and best practices, you can effectively incorporate AI into your marketing workflow and get measurable results.
