The emergence of marketing AI is still in its early stages, and it is essential for communications professionals to keep up with the latest advancements to avoid being left behind. Understanding the different artificial intelligence technologies available and their potential impact on business can help companies determine which ones to utilize.
Marketing AI refers to the use of cutting-edge technologies such as natural language processing, computer vision, and machine learning to automate and improve marketing processes. These technologies can be employed to accomplish various marketing objectives, including personalized messaging, customer segmentation, lead generation, campaign management, and content creation. By enhancing customer engagement, marketing AI can help firms generate more revenue and promote growth.
To apply marketing AI, communicators can start by assessing their unique marketing needs and identifying the technologies that will most effectively address those needs. There are various tools available for implementing marketing AI, such as chatbots, predictive analytics, and automated content creation software. By selecting the most appropriate tools and integrating them into existing marketing strategies, companies can effectively leverage marketing AI to achieve their objectives.
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged by communicators to enhance their work in multiple areas, including content creation, media monitoring and analysis, campaign management, sentiment analysis, and lead generation.
AI-powered tools can generate written, spoken, and visual content, such as news articles, social media posts, and video scripts, allowing communicators to devote more time to strategy and editing. One of the most prominent tools in this area is ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI and invested in by Microsoft, which plans to use ChatGPT in its Bing search engine and Edge web browser.
AI can also automatically track and analyze mentions of a company or brand across various media channels, including social media, news, and blogs. For example, BrightEdge has developed an AI tool called Insights that serves as a virtual data analyst, providing marketers with recommended actions for SEO and content creation.
AI can optimize the targeting, personalization, and scheduling of marketing campaigns, resulting in better engagement and results. Seventh Sense is an example of a tool that leverages AI to personalize email delivery times, resulting in better email marketing outcomes.
AI-powered tools can also be used to analyze social media posts, news articles, and other customer-generated content to gauge public opinion and sentiment about a company, brand, or product. Meltwater's Linkfluence offering is an example of a tool that uses AI, in combination with data science and human expertise, to uncover insights from large volumes of social data that standard social listening tools cannot.
Finally, AI-powered tools can identify and prioritize sales leads, enabling communicators to focus on the most promising opportunities. AiAdvertising is a platform that uses AI to maximize advertising spending by identifying new customers and predicting which creative will be most effective.
Communication professionals can benefit from artificial intelligence (AI) by saving time, making data-driven decisions, and enhancing campaign effectiveness. Human decision-making should not be replaced by AI, but rather augmented by it. To get started with marketing AI, marketing and PR professionals should follow these steps:
Learn the basics of AI, including machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision. An excellent resource to start with is the Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute, which provides tutorials, courses, and articles.
Consider how AI can be incorporated into content creation, media monitoring, and campaign management to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
Find out what marketing AI tools are available and which vendors offer them. Different solutions have different capabilities, pricing, and skill requirements, so it's important to determine which one is right for the organization.
Experiment with AI-powered tools, then test their capabilities. Start with a realistic goal.
It is important to be aware of the ethical implications of using AI, and evaluate the data used to train the AI models to ensure no biases or discriminatory outcomes.
Evaluate the performance of AI tools continuously and iterate as needed. With time, artificial intelligence continues to learn, adapt, and improve.
Employ or train existing employees in data science and AI to build a team with the necessary skills.
Collaboration and communication with other departments are essential to ensuring AI is aligned with the overall business strategy, especially if it is used cross-departmentally.
Professional communicators can become valuable assets to their organizations by developing their experience and knowledge of marketing AI.