AI seems to be the talk of the town these days. From what I’ve read, it sounds like AI is the answer to all of our problems and will make us more effective than ever.
In fact, AI is not new, at least when it comes to marketing. This has been used by us for years, and its popularity keeps growing as AI gets better at finding new ways to automate tasks. AI is one of many tools we can use. You know what the mechanics say: “Use the right tool for the right job.” This is also true for us.
AI’s search for the right marketing jobs
What jobs should AI do? So we can answer that question, let’s look at a marketing effort for all-inclusive vacations in Mexico and see how AI can help.
There is no way for us to look at past statistics because this is the first time we are marketing our made-up Mexico vacations. We could use AI to look at old data and find important insights, but I’d still want a person to look over the results.
Setting campaign goals with help from AI
No changes were made to the campaign’s goals as AI could help, but we already know that the number of vacations planned will be our KPI. Based on our financial information, we can figure out the goal number. A computer program called AI could do this if the data were organized and easy to find, but I don’t think it would be much more efficient to use AI.
Figuring out the outlets and audiences
This isn’t something I usually do with AI, but I chose to try it for this piece. At first, AI gave me a great answer about how to know who to target and how to run the campaign, but it was very general. This effort was the one I pushed for, and the results were a little more specific but still very general.
It gave me every related channel there was, and when I asked it to split the budget, it did so in a pretty random way. One good thing was that it said what I always say: this is a place to start. Based on the results, we should make changes after we start. I did this in a good way, so I don’t think AI helped me with this.
Using AI to look for keywords
AI has been a big part of my life for years, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. AI does work I don’t want to do and saves me a lot of time. You’re not doing phrase research right if you don’t use AI. AI does about 90% of the work, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any part in it.
Using AI to make creative
I think this is the most recent big step forward for AI. In the past, we relied on creative teams to make all of the material. A lot of the writing that we need for search is done by AI these days, though.
For flat ads, AI can do about 80% of the work; however, someone needs to be there at the beginning and end. People still do most of the work in video, but AI is a great helper and can save time. In general, this is the step where marketers should look for AI possibilities.
Running a campaign: The next big thing in AI
Execution is the next-to-last step. This is what I see as AI’s next big chance. Because the work is solid and repetitive, AI would be better able to take over this job in the long run. We take this step as a person today, though.
Use AI for measurement, analysis, and analytics
In terms of statistics, AI can look at the data first to see if there are any strange patterns. People will be in charge of deep dives and more exploratory analyses, but AI can be used strategically for specific jobs like cleaning up data.
We are moving from being the ones who do the work in data to teaching AI how to do the work we want it to do. AI helps us save time and is often more reliable than people. But people are still in charge when abstract thought is needed.
Using AI to help with marketing
As you can see, AI is becoming more and more important for running effective marketing efforts, and that role is only going to grow. I don’t think AI will totally take over because where will the competitive edge come from if everyone uses the same tools and methods? Still, you’re missing out on money if you don’t use AI in your work.
