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How the AI revolution is transforming the future of digital marketing

Many of us probably remember the moment we first found out about artificial intelligence (AI) changing the world as we know it. Perhaps we read an article about machines replicating human behaviour or heard colleagues discussing the seemingly profound abilities of digital assistants. And you’re probably not alone if your mind immediately drifts to futuristic-looking self-driving cars or robots that can read our minds. But AI doesn’t always have to conjure up scenes that may have stepped out of a science fiction movie. Nor is it some far-fetched notion with little to do with our daily lives.

The fact of the matter is that AI – the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines – is far more prevalent in our daily lives than we probably even realize, with countless tools and apps working behind the scenes to make our lives simpler. From chatbots to fitness devices and autonomous vehicle technology, AI has now infiltrated just about every aspect of our day-to-day activities.

The stats speak for themselves. In 2022,the global AI market size was estimated at US$ 119.78 billion. By 2030, it’s expected to hit a whopping US$ 1,591.03 billion. The global AI adoption rate has also grown steadily, now at 35%, a four-point increase from 2021. It is also projected that by 2030, global GDP will grow by US$15.7 trillion thanks to AI.

Unsurprisingly, AI has been making waves in countless industries from healthcare to education, comms to manufacturing. And in the world of marketing, especially the dynamic sphere of digital marketing, AI is an absolute game changer. Suffice to say, the prospects are well and truly fascinating.

The changing face of marketing today

It is now common knowledge that humans can tap into the power of AI to make life easier. And in the business world, AI software capable of learning is getting better at doing its job with little input from humans, as it helps increase productivity and streamline workflows. And if leveraged the right way, AI can transform how companies deliver marketing campaigns to engage with customers in new ways, better meet their expectations, and in turn, boost conversions.

Multinational beauty retailer Sephora has been using chatbot technology to offer a highly-personalised customer experience. Its chatbot-powered Facebook Messenger shopping service offers makeup tips, a virtual colour match assistant, and more. Netflix, the world’s leading SVoD streaming service, has also been fueling its unstoppable success with AI. Interestingly, the company uses AI-driven machine learning technology to provide personalised content recommendations, while anticipating what kind of movies viewers want to watch next, helping build bonds with its customers. The world’s most famous soft drinks manufacturer, Coca-Cola, has also been quick to embrace artificial intelligence to generate logos, texts, and narratives in ads. Most notably, its phenomenal new Masterpiece ad – that takes viewers on a tour of some of the world’s most famous paintings and sculptures – has been partly created with the use of AI.

Leveraging the power of AI in digital marketing

Given the phenomenal speed at which technology is evolving, we’re bound to see more and more inspiring marketing stories as AI empowers forward-thinking businesses. But for digital marketers, this begs the question: how can AI specifically be used to automate daily tasks, improve processes, and supercharge campaigns to communicate with your target audience in new ways?

Here’s the lowdown on how every marketer can leverage the power of AI in this fast-changing digital landscape.

1. Predictive analytics to drive campaign success

Any marketer knows you can’t create valuable campaigns without the right data. And AI algorithms can help make processes more efficient and effective than ever before. They can collect and analyze endless customer data in real-time, identify buying patterns, group customers based on their interests, and predict future behaviors (such as the likelihood of new purchases).

This in turn helps meet customer expectations and establish better relationships with potential clients on their terms, while personalizing digital campaigns and crafting tailored strategies based on specific behaviors and interests. And the support of AI tools when running digital campaigns – including targeted social media messaging, personalized emails, and product recommendations – helps reap better results for your efforts, resulting in higher engagement, enhanced customer retention, and improved return on investment (ROI).

2. Content creation for increased speed & efficiency

So we’ve established that AI can help you identify your target audience to deliver tailored messages. The next step is tackling the marketing copy itself. We’ve recently been bombarded with news about ChatGPT, but there are plenty more AI-powered content generation tools to help marketing teams today including WriteSonic and Jasper.ai. That’s not to forget the current rollout of Bard, Google’s highly-anticipated conversational AI service. As such, it means businesses can now produce content faster than ever before – be that social media posts, ad copy, articles, email campaigns, and taglines. But be sure not to just blindly copy the content these tools dish up. AI-generated text can contain errors and lacks human insights, data, and original research, so it always needs to be fact-checked and edited with a human eye. That being said, it still provides a great basis that can help generate initial ideas.

When combined with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tools and link-building recommendations, digital marketers can optimize content to rank higher in search results and reach more potential customers. Beyond written content, AI-powered design tools can generate creative banners and other designs, providing marketing teams with endless inspiration for campaigns at the click of a button.

3. Automated & personalized support to enhance customer satisfaction

AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants are becoming increasingly intuitive, more user-friendly, and better at improving the customer experience. They can now answer more specific questions, examine past purchases, provide real-time support and tailored suggestions, and communicate with your customers in different languages and across time zones.

Establishing this kind of communication with your customers via AI tools (that can be seamlessly integrated into your brand’s messaging apps and websites) is now crucial to keeping up with the competition. It will also help boost customer satisfaction and the overall User Experience (UX) in line with unique user preferences and behaviours.

All eyes on the future

AI is already impacting the world of digital marketing today significantly, but it looks as though it is going to have an even greater influence on the evolution of the industry in the foreseeable future. Simply put, these two domains are fast becoming inseparable as AI becomes more sophisticated and infiltrates just about every digital marketing practice and procedure.

From identifying target audiences, gathering valuable insights, and analyzing consumer behaviour, to generating personalized content while facilitating a better customer experience, embracing AI innovations today can pave the way to an even brighter future to maintain your competitive edge tomorrow.

Eager to supercharge your digital marketing strategy in line with the latest tech innovations to ensure you stay ahead of the curve? Reach out to the Base Element team of digital experts who take pride in fusing technological innovations with in-depth marketing know-how to best serve the interests of modern-day brands.