8 tools to exploit the Power of Artificial Intelligence.
The future of digital marketing is already here. Companies across many industries are using artificial intelligence to better understand and cater to consumers’ wants and needs. AI-powered digital marketing strategies and tools are helping businesses deliver customized customer experiences, thus saving time and money and increasing sales.
AI-driven digital marketing allows companies to improve their campaigns from start to finish—during the strategy, planning, implementation and analysis stages.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
AI is the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that usually require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition and decision-making. If you have used Google Translate, you have used AI.
AI systems digest data and take action to meet the objectives for which they are programmed. Some AI-powered machines can mimic cognitive functions associated with the human mind, such as learning and problem-solving. Following are some examples of AI used today:
- Smart or virtual assistants (Siri, Alexa)
- Manufacturing robots
- Email spam filters
- Automated financial investing
- Game-playing computers
- Autonomous vehicles
- Smart content writing and personalization
- E-commerce purchase recommendations
- Virtual travel booking agents
As technology advances, AI is expected to become more capable of perceiving, understanding, reasoning, planning, learning and performing like humans or better than humans.
How AI is Revolutionizing Digital Marketing
With its ability to collect, analyze and apply data, AI is transforming digital marketing and enabling brands to connect with target prospects and existing customers in more efficient and affordable ways.
Amazon, for example, uses AI to influence visitors’ buying decisions. It recommends products it “thinks” they will like and buy based on past purchases and product search history, which generates additional sales. Amazon is not alone.
- Top-performing companies are more than twice as likely as their peers—28% vs 12%—to use AI for marketing, with data analysis and personalization being the first and second reason for using AI.
- 29% of marketers now use AI, up from 20% in 2017.
- 48% of consumers and 63% of business buyers expect personalized offers.
- 44% of business executives believe AI’s most important benefit is providing data that can be used to make decisions.
- Marketing and sales prioritize AI and machine learning 40% more than any other department.
AI-powered digital marketing done right gives brands a competitive edge by elevating the efficiency of digital marketing efforts and optimizing user experience.
Benefits of AI-Powered Digital Marketing
- AI-driven digital marketing saves time and money.
- It aids in budget planning, strategy development and campaign management.
- It helps brands understand and predict customer buying behavior.
- It improves brand-consumer interaction.
- It assists in content creation and distribution.
- It increases productivity by automating repetitive tasks.
- It delivers higher return on investment than traditional marketing.
5 Steps to Introduce AI to Your Digital Marketing Strategy
As AI technology continues to advance, AI will become easier to integrate into brands’ digital marketing efforts.
Here are five basic steps you can take to prepare your business for an AI-powered digital marketing makeover:
- Upgrade the tech and digital marketing skills of your in-house team and/or team up with a digital marketing agency that has access to the tech and the talent.
- Study your competition. Identify the AI platforms your competitors are using successfully.
- Analyze the impact of AI on your digital marketing operations to determine which tools would be helpful to you.
- Evaluate various AI software or platforms that could improve the performance of your campaigns.
- Be creative and innovative when applying these tools. Compare results and adapt your strategy.
To facilitate your research, we’ve compiled a list of eight AI tools or applications that can enhance your digital marketing efforts and produce the results you seek.
8 Powerful AI Digital Marketing Tools That Can Revolutionize Your Business
1. AI-Generated Content
An AI writer can’t write a political opinion blog, but it can turn data and insights about that data into content such as quarterly earnings reports and sports match recaps that draw visitors to your website. Examples of AI writing tools are WordSmith, Articoolo and Quill.
2. Content Curation
AI content curators help you engage website visitors and generate sales by showing them content that is relevant to them, based on their search and buying behavior. Examples of curated content are personalized “people who buy/like X, also buy/like Y” recommendations on Amazon, Netflix and other websites.
3. Chatbots
Chatbots use AI to interpret consumers’ queries and provide correct answers. Smart chatbots or virtual assistants can answer open questions, provide 24/7 service and assist several customers at the same time using human-like language. But unlike humans, they don’t ever lose their cool.
4. Personalized and Optimized Email Marketing
Brands can use AI to personalize email marketing campaigns based on user preference and behavior. AI-powered tasks such as subject line and timing optimization, smart segmentation, automation, personalized promotions and retargeting help improve brand-customer interaction and boost sales close rates.
5. Digital Advertising
Machine learning algorithms process huge amounts of user information to predict future behavior and determine the right ads for the right audience at the right time. Digital ads offer opportunities to create innovative ad campaigns that, for example, use smartphone apps and GPS to promote products and services.
6. Predictive Analytics
Propensity modeling, a type of predictive analytics, uses analytics data, statistical algorithms and machine learning techniques to predict how customers will behave—for example, predicting the price at which a customer is likely to convert or make a repeat purchase. Propensity models are as good as the data used to create them.
7. Predictive Customer Service
We know it’s easier and cheaper to make a sale to an existing customer than to attract and convert a new one, so keeping customers happy is critical for your bottom line. Predictive analytics can reveal which customers are most likely to unsubscribe from a service and reach out to them with special offers or assistance to prevent their departure.
8. Social Media Listening
Monitoring social networks used to be a labor-intensive job for social media managers. Now, AI can track brand mentions in social media, filter them, and identify the ones that require your immediate attention.
Final Word
Integrating AI into your digital marketing strategy can do wonders for your business. If you could do something to improve the experience prospects and customers have with your brand and gain insights that can help you grow your business, wouldn’t you?
If you would like to raise the IQ of your digital marketing strategies, give us a call. We can help
