AI Doesn’t Have to Be Daunting
In the midst of a great resignation and with computer thinking growing increasingly better than humans—at more than just chess—we expect to hear a lot more about artificial intelligence (AI) as we enter 2022. Not long ago, we shared some ideas on how to leverage AI as an enhancement to marketing strategy, execution and measurement. Clearly, there is substantial opportunity in this space.
So why is there such hesitation among businesses to integrate—or even introduce—AI into their marketing plans? Well, many businesses are simply intimidated by the notion that they need to decode and fully understand the technology, but that’s a bit misguided and here’s why.
Automation That’s Already in Motion
Automation can relieve organizations of repetitive and time-intensive tasks, and the constant learn-and-optimize methodology can surely provide meaningful insights for your brand but doing it from the ground up is biting off more than most brands have capacity for.
This is where trusted partners come into the picture. There are plenty of established companies that specialize in AI solutions designed to improve marketing planning and performance.
Take Phrasee, for example, which uses AI to generate copy for advertising, emails and a variety of other applications, or Cobomba, which analyzes customer data to create smarter content recommendations. Most recently, Oracle announced a new system called Fusion Marketing that automatically assembles marketing campaigns and determines the likelihood of the user to convert (whether that’s filling out a lead form or actually buying a product). This system will be based on a combination of first-party data from Oracle customers as well as third-party data from various sources.
These companies can deliver already built and thoroughly tested AI platforms that take the guesswork out of particular tasks so that marketers can focus on understanding customer needs, monitoring marketing and advertising performance, analyzing trends, gaining insights and optimizing for the future.
The Intelligence Part
One of the key aspects of AI that we will continue to emphasize is that it’s not just automation. To be true AI, the technology has to learn, evolve and get smarter on its own. When evaluating AI partners, make sure they’re delivering on this concept.
As an industry, we are continuing to move toward predictive analytics, and AI is a tool to help marketers get to those predictions faster and more efficiently. It can help to build customer profiles of people who are more likely to purchase, forecast sales and demand, and provide recommendations on which paid, owned and earned media tactics will work best for your business, all based on real-time data collection. Newsweek recently published an article detailing the growing use of AI in supply chain management and sales forecasting, which can then directly influence marketing strategies—yet another reason to ensure close integration and communication between sales and marketing. This is an especially critical area where AI is taking off and has a bright future for business and marketing planning.
It's Cool to Dip a Toe Before Diving In
You’re not falling behind if you don’t use AI company-wide; find a legitimate, purposeful function for AI as it relates to your company. That might simply be creating titles for content pieces, or it could involve developing paid social ads, writing email subject lines, or adjusting bids for your paid search campaigns autonomously. Start small with specific uses and build from there.
AI gives marketers and business leaders a lot to consider, and although there are myriad applications for AI, keep in mind that it should still serve as an aid—you still need people to deliver the true passion, emotion and creativity necessary to make a lasting, meaningful impact on your audiences and build connections with your brand. Get in touch with us to learn more about how we’re applying AI and how we can help you get your arms around it for your brand.
Get in touch with Mike Pocci to learn more.