AI for Digital Marketing: Why Embrace AI and Practical Ways to Implement It

When people hear about Artificial Intelligence (AI), they often think of famous examples such as Alexa, Siri, and self-driving cars. However, numerous AI applications work behind the scenes as well. This is particularly true in digital marketing, where businesses use AI to market their products and services. For instance, Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce platform, uses artificial intelligence to predict customer demands. The platform also uses natural language processing to generate product descriptions for the site. It’s clear, then, that AI plays an integral role in digital marketing, and for marketers looking to drive traffic to their organization and raise its profile, AI for digital marketing growth and success is a must. 

Added to that, a recent McKinsey report highlighted that 90% of commercial leaders have plans to integrate AI into their businesses in the next two years. This article explores how AI is necessary for business growth and success. 

What is AI, and How Can It Benefit Digital Marketing Growth? 

Back in 1950, mathematician Alan Turing envisioned a future where machines could perform human tasks faster than them. Today, Turing’s predictions have become a reality with the emergence of generative AI tools and techniques. At its core, AI is a machine’s ability to perform activities similar to the human brain. These machines are occasionally trained on huge data sets and used across different industries. 

Companies use AI for digital marketing to gain insights into customers, markets, and competitors. For instance, a  Times of India report revealed that 45% of companies across industries like consumer goods and retail, agriculture, banking, and finance have adopted AI into their business processes. With more companies adopting AI, digital marketers have also understood the importance of using AI for digital marketing success. As noted below, its benefits to a brand are considerable and should be optimized. Here are some ways in which AI for digital marketing can be effective:

1. Targeted Marketing 

AI helps companies understand their target audience better. It analyzes large data sets to predict user’s buying behaviors. Furthermore, it harnesses Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques to identify customer sentiments toward a product. Machine learning algorithms further help segment customers based on their preferences, behaviors, and purchase history and use predictive analytics to analyze historical data and predict future customer behavior. It helps companies create targeted marketing campaigns for each customer segment. 

2. AI-Powered Content Marketing 

AI helps businesses drive content marketing campaigns and helps them understand the type of content their customers are interested in by analyzing historical customer data from different sources. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can also be used for the content generation process. 

Furthermore, AI can also be useful for identifying at what stage of the buying process a customer is. This is also useful while planning content strategies. For instance, if AI tools detect that the customer is just shopping around and comparing available products or services, marketers can serve users content that will help them make up their minds. 

3. AI in Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Every marketer must master customer relationship management. Doing so helps them maintain a healthy relationship with existing customers and attract potential users. One way to do so is by leveraging AI for digital marketing techniques. For example, NLP can be used to segment incoming customer inquiries, meaning those who require a quick response can be urgently catered to, minimizing dissatisfaction. 

ALSO READ: A Quick Guide to a Career in Digital Marketing

How Can AI for Digital Marketing Streamline Processes

Marketing’s core activities include understanding customer needs, matching them with products or services, and persuading them to buy. AI has the potential to significantly enhance various marketing activities. Here’s how AI is streamlining different marketing processes. 

1. Strategy and Planning 

AI plays a significant role in strategy and planning. It analyzes large amounts of data quickly and efficiently, providing marketers with valuable insights and trends that can be used to create an effective marketing strategy. Furthermore, it automates routine tasks and streamlines workflows, which enables marketers to save time and concentrate on creating a marketing strategy.  

2. Product Management 

AI assists digital marketers in identifying customer needs and creating a product that matches their expectations. Additionally, AI algorithms act as a decision-making tool and automate real-time and critical micro-decisions, which allows marketers to focus on customer research and product development. Furthermore, digital marketers can use AI tools to streamline their product lifecycle and bring products to market more efficiently and in less time. 

3. Pricing Management 

AI uses advanced machine learning and deep learning algorithms to analyze vast amounts of historical and real-time data to optimize pricing strategies. These algorithms can also analyze customer responses to price changes and determine the optimal price point for maximizing revenue. Marketers can formulate competitive pricing strategies by understanding how price changes affect customer demand. 

How Does AI for Digital Marketing Improve Customer Experience 

Automating customer interactions via chatbots and other AI-powered machines will reduce response time and enhance the customer experience. Here’s how using AI for digital marketing improves the customer experience. 

1. AI techniques like machine learning and predictive analytics uncover insightful customer data that helps companies offer proactive and personalized customer service.
2. Machine learning algorithms can help businesses identify customer pain points and curate products that can solve these problems, which can help retain customers.
3. When brand messages are personalized, there are high chances of lead conversions. This is because consumers get what they want and feel valued and relevant.
4. NLP analyzes potential customer data and uses it to offer unique product offerings.

Which AI Tools Are Effective for Digital Marketing Optimization? 

Businesses can use AI tools to optimize marketing campaigns, streamline business processes, and provide a personalized customer experience. Here are the top AI tools that businesses can use for digital marketing optimization. 

1. Marketmuse

It is an AI optimization tool that helps marketers reduce their webpage loading time. Additionally, it automates content audits and finds out what’s not working for the business. 

2. Can I Rank

This AI-powered SEO tool provides deep insights and recommendations to companies to improve their website rankings in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

3. Surfer SEO

It is an AI-driven tool that analyzes top-performing websites and provides recommendations for on-page optimizations such as keyword usage, content length, and structure. 

4. Jasper.ai

An AI-powered copywriting tool, Jasper.ai helps marketers create compelling and engaging content. It generates content drafts based on given prompts and provides suggestions for improving the quality of existing content. 

5. Pictory

This AI-powered social media marketing tool helps optimize social media campaigns. It uses machine learning algorithms to analyze audience data, identify trends, and suggest content strategies to increase engagement and drive better results. 

How to Implement AI in a Digital Marketing Strategy 

If you want to stay ahead of your competitors, consider ways to implement AI into your digital marketing strategy to drive growth and success. Some are given below:

1. Chatbots 

Chatbots help boost customer engagement and customer experience by solving user queries. They can be integrated into a company’s website and used as a marketing tool to increase the user experience. It can engage with customers in a human-like conversation. 

2. Personalized Product Recommendations

Companies can use AI to make personalized product recommendations. Additionally, using AI for digital marketing, businesses can understand their customers’ interests based on their browsing and buying history. 

3. Automated Tasks and Workflows 

Companies can use AI to automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows. For instance, AI-powered chatbots can handle customer inquiries and provide support 24/7, freeing up people for more complex interactions. AI can also automate email marketing, content distribution, ad optimization, and other routine marketing processes, saving time and improving efficiency. 

ALSO READ: How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping the Future of Digital Marketing?

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