AI has been a hot topic in a number of industries for the past year or so and it’s easy to see the impact it could have in many areas. AI when it comes to marketing strategy, however, is slightly more difficult to picture, particularly for smaller companies that don’t have huge budgets. There are, however, a number of trends and technologies that companies of all sizes should be aware of.
Content curation
We all know that when it comes to marketing, content is king – it can boost your SEO, encourage engagement, build your brand and drive traffic to your website. However, there’s nothing more off putting than having to wade through pages of irrelevant, out of date content to try to find what you’re looking for. In this case, AI could provide the answer thanks to smart content curation.
Rather than simply recommending what you should read based on the last article you clicked on, smart content curation builds up data over time and so is able to offer more accurate recommendations based on time spent on pages, clickthroughs, previous browsing history and the like. Visitors to your site will be more engaged, spend longer browsing and have a better user experience, thanks to AI.
Voice activation
Simplicity and ease of use are key requirements for technology in all areas of life, with touch displays and intuitive user interfaces the norm in consumer tech. As highlighted at CES this year, however, the next step along this road is voice activation and control, and with Google recently stating that 20% of mobile queries are voice searches, it’s a development your marketing strategy has to be prepared for, especially when it comes to SEO.
Think about the difference in how you speak compared to how you type. In speech we use more natural sounding phrases or slang while speaking in a less linear way. With this in mind you need to think about your customer’s conversational tone and research the questions they’re asking to ensure you keep up. You also need to be able to answer these questions in a quick and accurate way, whether that’s on your FAQs page, on social media or via another AI tool, the chatbot.
Chatbots
Chatbots are artificial intelligence programs that mimic human intelligence by being able to converse with customers, answer queries and assist with orders. By using open platforms, chatbots are relatively easy to develop and don’t require huge budgets to implement. While initial attempts to introduce chatbots weren’t always popular with customers, their profile has improved in recent years as they become better at meeting needs, answering queries quickly and effectively.
At a time when consumers will only wait a few seconds for a webpage to open before abandoning the search and looking elsewhere, the ability of the chatbot to provide an immediate response and to interact with customers is a huge benefit.
The tool can also be used to direct customers to a human if that’s preferred too, arranging a time when the correct person will be available and scheduling a call, combining the best of the AI and physical worlds. Chatbots can also gain insights into the customer, such as location and type of device or browser, all of which helps in creating the all-important personalised experience.
These are just some of the ways in which AI is affecting marketing strategy. By being aware of developments and adapting to these changes, it will be possible to create ever more personalised, interactive and informative ways to engage with customers and potential customers. To find out more or to discuss ways in which you can enhance your marketing strategy contact jo@beaconcreativeservices.com
