For consumers, finding products that they always wanted served up on a platter would have been a dream not too long ago. Now, as a marketer, if you’re not raking in the desired sales from amongst your target audience, then you’re probably doing something wrong. With Artificial Intelligence (AI) at our fingertips, there’s no excuse for not satisfying consumer needs. That is unless you are targeting the wrong audience.
Those in the business know that today’s consumers are first drawn in by the creativity of one’s advertisement or promotional campaign. With this top-of-the-mind positioning comes the next step- inquiries, and then finally, the sale.
While once upon a time creativity and personalization would have had their limits, that’s not the case anymore, thanks to AI.
Reaching beyond the expected with AI
Finding your target customers has now become so easy via the introduction of AI. With the use of AI algorithms, it is possible for marketers to find their specific customers based on criteria such as behaviour, purchasing habits, geographical location and even predicted lifetime value.
And then AI goes one step further by recommending what sort of customers to target, when they should be targeted and what kind of content should be targeted at them, before rolling out the promotional campaign through an automated scale.
AI-powered emails
Making messages work in the past would have been an arduous task, and most often would have been a hit-or-miss scenario. AI has changed all that by using performance data to suggest changes, pictures and the layout in the message of any campaign.
The Harvard Business Review explains that the Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 or GPT-3 AI language model also suggests email subject lines or headlines that will compel its receiver to take note. It also discusses a digital concierge service called ‘MovingWaldo’ that depends on AI-powered tools to wade through data and come up with audience segments. The company links professional movers and related service providers with customers.
The data revolves around how a referral has travelled through its network, and whether customers visited its English or French website. Using such information has allowed split testing to ascertain when the best time is to offer vendors’ services to its customers.
This, therefore, enables MovingWaldo to customize and personalize its promotional messages based on pre-developed customer journeys.
AI-powered SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is another area in which AI has become extremely useful, by analyzing user search patterns that allow marketers to design their content for search engines.
By suggesting keywords that show high performance, AI makes helpful recommendations to make content more conducive to search engines.
AI-powered social media marketing
Given that the majority of consumers globally are on some form of social media, this really is a game-changer. Al takes the important but humanly impossible task of monitoring all forms of social media that can then show marketers where they need to advertise to maximize sales.
AI-backed chatbots are also part of the automation process, engaging in conversations with customers and paving the way for more in-depth information on customer behaviours. This will form the background to customize messages that engage with customers on a more personal level. These chatbots even go the extra mile in making product recommendations to customers and supporting them through the sales funnel.
AI-powered events
Who would have thought that something as physical and interpersonal as an event could also be made better by AI? Well, it can. From scheduling the event to selecting the best location to creating the visual material and preventing potential issues, AI is stepping up to make organizing promotional events a talked-about experience.
Click here for more on event planning
AI-powered video marketing
Catering to a predominantly visual audience, AI helps create more compelling visual material that is both personalized and creative through automated processes. These tailormade videos are targeted at specific audiences so that there is more attractiveness and engagement.
Video SEO is also enhanced through AI tools, allowing for the right content to reach the right customers. Platforms like Netflix even use AI to suggest shows that its customers are likely to watch.
YouTube is another effective tool that can be used to generate tailormade videos according to customers’ viewing habits that have been tracked via AI.
Add to this Virtual and Augmented Reality, and the customer is truly made king through personalized product recommendations and user satisfaction. For instance, with AI-powered VR and AR experiences, customers can enjoy the look and feel of products that are yet to reach the market as a whole, such as new models of vehicles or even apparel such as shoes. To make the experience even more sublime, Augmented Reality can allow customers to try their shoes or their vehicle on different types of terrain.
AI engenders possibilities beyond the imagination!
A word for the wise…
LinkedIn says that as people become more disposed to using virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa and depend on voice searches online, businesses should ensure that their web pages are easy to navigate and have more conversational interfaces. The recommendation is that long-tail keywords and natural language queries should be the focus of voice search optimization.
AI is likely to take business and marketing to a whole new level in the months and years to come. We need not fear it; we need to experience and acclimatize ourselves. LinkedIn suggests experimenting with new processes and using human acumen alongside it to make our business practices better.
With myriad specialists in the field to aid companies and businesses in becoming AI-literate, it is now time to invest in such knowledge and remove employee fears surrounding AI. Once the unknown is removed, marketers will be able to reach and understand their customers better, fostering relationships that go beyond mass promotions and ad-hoc advertising.
(Anouk De Silva)