What is AI Marketing and Why You Should Try it in 2023?

The recent fast-paced development of artificial intelligence caused a revolution in many fields. One of them is digital marketing, which gained many new possibilities thanks to innovative AI technology. From this article, you will learn how AI marketing works and what are its benefits and downsides.

Grand View Research predicts that the worldwide AI market will increase to an estimated $1,811.8 billion by 2030. That’s a significant growth from $136.6 billion in 2022. Thus, no wonder how fast AI appears in new fields and finds usage in new cases.

The AI implementation can be a real game-changer for marketing strategy. Today I’ll show you where you can use AI marketing technologies and the pros and cons.

But first things first.

Let’s start by explaining what AI is and how it works. If that part is too obvious for you, skip immediately to the topic of AI marketing.

1. What is artificial intelligence, and how does it work?
2. What types of AI are there?
3. What is AI marketing?
4. Where do we find AI tools in marketing?
   • Media monitoring
   • Data collection and analysis
   • Content creation
   • Other
   • Quick wrap up
5. What are the benefits and downsides of using AI?
   • Pros
   • Cons
6. How to use AI marketing solutions wisely?

What is artificial intelligence, and how does it work?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an exciting field of technology. It aims to create computer systems capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.

But what does that mean for you?

Well, imagine having a personal assistant who can understand your needs, learn from your interactions, and provide intelligent solutions. That’s where AI comes in.

At its core, AI uses advanced algorithms and vast amounts of data to train computer systems. This enables them to recognize patterns, make predictions, and take actions.

It’s like teaching a computer to think and learn like a human.

By analyzing data, AI algorithms can identify relationships, detect trends, and extract valuable insights. It can work on massive datasets that would be difficult for humans to embrace.

The process begins with training the AI model using an extensive database. It contains examples and information that the model can learn from. It’s all about giving the AI system a wealth of knowledge to draw upon. Through a process called machine learning, the model learns to recognize patterns and make predictions based on this training data.

But it doesn’t stop there. AI models can continuously improve and adapt through a feedback loop.

As the model interacts with real-world data, it refines its understanding. It becomes more accurate over time as it receives feedback on its predictions.

It’s a constant cycle of learning and improvement.

One key aspect of AI is its ability to handle ambiguity and uncertainty. It can make decisions even when the information is incomplete or ambiguous, using techniques like predictive analytics. This allows AI systems to handle complex tasks and provide valuable insights in a wide range of domains.

What types of AI are there?

There are 4 types of AI considering the level of advancement. Here they are, from the least to the most advanced:

Reactive AI

Reactive AI is the simplest form of artificial intelligence that operates purely in the present moment. It responds to immediate stimuli without any memory or the ability to learn from past experiences.

This type of AI analyzes the current situation and provides an output based solely on the available information. It can’t anticipate future events or understand context beyond the present interaction.

Limited Memory AI

Limited Memory AI builds upon the reactive model by incorporating a limited memory capacity. It can recall past events and use that information to make decisions in the present.

This type of AI can retain a short-term memory of recent data or experiences. It allows it to make more informed choices. However, it cannot learn from long-term memory or adapt its behavior based on evolving circumstances.

Theory of Mind AI

Theory of Mind AI represents a significant advancement, as it can understand and attribute mental states to others.

This type of AI can infer individuals’ intentions, beliefs, and emotions. This enables it to predict and respond to human behavior more effectively.

Theory of Mind AI allows for better social interaction and collaboration with humans by considering their perspectives and intentions.

Self-awareness AI

That is the highest level of AI. It involves machines exhibiting self-consciousness and an understanding of their own existence. This type of AI can introspectively recognize its internal state, goals, and capabilities.

Self-awareness AI goes beyond mere data processing and decision-making; it reflects upon itself and can adapt its behavior, learning, and goals based on self-reflection and self-improvement.

Luckily, as far as we know, self-awareness AI hasn’t existed yet. So, there’s no need to worry about AI technology attempting to take control of the world. We can all breathe a sigh of relief!

Now that you know the theory behind it, let’s move on to AI marketing. We’ll see how these technologies translate into innovative tools and solutions supporting digital marketing efforts.

What is AI marketing?

Simply put, AI marketing relies on artificial intelligence to automate tasks and make work easier. Thanks to self-learning mechanisms, it is possible to streamline many tedious tasks in digital marketing. These tasks previously had to be done manually, which was taking way longer.

AI marketing tools can mimic humans and effectively analyze data, create content, or answer questions.

In addition, machine learning allows for algorithms’ continuous development and improvement. As a result, AI marketing tools become increasingly accurate in performing their tasks and improve smart marketing solutions.

Where do we find AI tools in marketing?

Media monitoring

AI shines in marketing when it comes to media monitoring.

With AI-powered tools like Brand24, you can keep a close eye on what people are saying about your brand. You can also monitor your competitors and industry trends. That’s a crucial solution when it comes to digital marketing.

You can track mentions, analyze sentiment, and gain valuable insights into how people perceive your brand online. This lets you respond promptly, engage with your audience, and protect your brand’s reputation.

Here’s a media monitoring project for the keyword Nike:

Brand24 is also helpful for digital marketing campaigns. It can track your branded hashtag or slogan.

For instance, here’s a media monitoring project of the Adidas campaign performance Impossible is nothing:

As you can see, the mentions have assigned sentiment (positive, negative, or neutral). That’s one use of AI. The model learned to recognize emotionally charged words. On this base, it decides on each comment’s overall sentiment.

Data collection and analysis

Data analysis is another crucial aspect of AI marketing.

Artificial intelligence algorithms can process large volumes of customer data, including demographics, browsing behavior, and purchase history.

By analyzing this data, AI can uncover valuable patterns and correlations that help you understand your customers better.

This, in turn, enables you to segment your audience. You can personalize your messaging and deliver targeted campaigns that resonate with each customer.

We also use automated data analysis in Brand24. For any project, you can get an automatically generated PDF report.

What’s more, it is fully customizable, so you can choose the information and metrics you want to find inside.

To learn more about AI marketing tools and the uses of AI in Brand24, read my previous article: Best AI Marketing Tools to Try in 2023 | Brand24

Content creation

When it comes to content, AI may be a game-changer. Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms can generate human-like content, including blog articles, social media posts, and product descriptions.

This can save you time and effort in creating engaging content while maintaining a high posting frequency.

AI can also help optimize your content. It can suggest keywords, improve SEO, and predict which types of content are likely to perform well.

There’s a lot to choose from if you want to automate marketing tasks in your company.

Other

In addition to media monitoring, analysis, and content creation, AI has many other applications in marketing.

Chatbots, for example, use AI to provide instant customer support, answer frequently asked questions, and guide users through their purchasing journey. If implemented reasonably, this can be a real game-changer for improving customer experience.

You may also use AI for dynamic pricing. Algorithms can adjust prices in real time based on demand, competition, and customer behavior.

There are also AI tools supporting marketing campaigns and email marketing. They analyze customer data and help you reach your target audience at their optimal response time.

And that’s not all! There are countless AI marketing automation tools out there. The ones we’ve covered so far give you a great introduction to the world of AI marketing.

Quick wrap up

Let’s sum up this part. AI marketing leverages the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance various aspects of your marketing efforts. AI finds usage everywhere, from media monitoring and data analysis to content creation and customer support.

AI can help you make smarter decisions, engage with your audience more effectively, and deliver personalized experiences.

The impact of AI and machine learning on modern marketing operations is enormous. Nobody would have guessed it more than a decade ago!

When used properly, AI in marketing can bring enormous benefits and significantly streamline time-consuming tasks.

But unfortunately, AI-powered marketing tools are not a perfect ten. Let’s discover their pros and cons in the next paragraph.

What are the benefits and downsides of using AI?

Pros

AI has the potential to revolutionize many aspects of your professional life, especially in marketing. From personalized recommendations for your target audience to advanced data analytics, AI can enhance your marketing strategies and make your campaigns more effective and efficient.

Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of AI in marketing so you can make informed decisions.

On the positive side, AI brings efficiency and productivity to your marketing efforts.

AI saves you time by automating repetitive tasks like data analysis and customer segmentation. It allows you to focus on more strategic activities. AI helps you understand your customers better by analyzing vast amounts of data. It identifies patterns and trends that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

With AI, you can personalize your marketing campaigns, delivering tailored messages and offers to a specific target audience. This will lead to increased customer satisfaction and engagement.

Another benefit of AI is optimizing marketing campaigns in real time. By continuously monitoring and analyzing data, AI can make data-driven decisions and adjust your marketing strategies on the fly. This adaptability enables you to stay ahead of the competition and maximize your return on investment.

Let’s take media monitoring, for example. You can quickly identify customer feedback and dissatisfaction by tracking your online mentions. This way, you can resolve problems before they escalate to the size of a PR crisis.

Here’s an example:

Brand24 detected a negative mention of McDonald’s. The customer complains about the undercooked meat.

Of course, this could have been a one-time incident but forewarned is forearmed. It’s better to be aware of these situations and monitor if they don’t occur more often.

AI has made significant strides in content generation, but there are still a few caveats to consider. AI-powered content generation tools can help automate the creation of articles, blog posts, social media captions, and more. These tools analyze data, identify trends, and generate written content quickly. It can be a time-saving solution, especially for high-volume content needs.

That would be on the plus side. Let’s now talk about the potential drawbacks.

Cons

One of the challenges of using AI in marketing is the need for high-quality data. AI relies on accurate and reliable data to generate meaningful insights. If your data is incomplete, outdated, or biased, it may lead to inaccurate predictions or recommendations. Therefore, ensuring data quality and integrity is crucial to leverage the full potential of AI.

Another consideration is the ethical aspect of AI. As it uses machine learning to identify patterns and make decisions based on historical data. There is a risk of perpetuating biases or discrimination. It’s vital to monitor and evaluate AI systems to prevent unintended consequences and ensure fairness and inclusivity in your marketing programs.

For instance, here’s an interesting mention detected by the Brand24 media monitoring tool. The user tricked ChatGPT into pretending it was a Christian and denying other religious or philosophical viewpoints.

What’s brilliant about Brand24 is that when you come across an intriguing mention, you can immediately go to its source. This allows you to read the whole thing posted and follow the entire thread.

When it comes to content marketing, you should remember not to rely solely on AI.

One drawback is the lack of human expertise and creativity. AI algorithms, although advanced, don’t possess the same level of subject matter knowledge or storytelling abilities as human writers. The human touch, with its emotion and empathy, may be missing from AI-generated content.

Another challenge is the potential for generic and standardized content. AI algorithms aim to create content that appeals to the masses. Thus, there’s a risk of producing cookie-cutter texts lacking originality and failing to stand out. In a world inundated with content, uniqueness, and creativity are essential for capturing and retaining audience attention.

To address these limitations, it’s recommended to strike a balance between AI-generated content and human-generated content.

By embracing AI as a complementary tool in a content generation rather than relying solely on its capabilities, you can ensure that your content maintains a human touch. This approach helps it resonate with your audience and stand out in the vast sea of digital content.

What’s also interesting, people seem to hate ChatGPT way more than AI in general. I compared the sentiments of both using the Brand24 AI marketing tool and here are the results:

47,5% of negative feedback for ChatGPT vs. 29,6% for AI in general. That is an intriguing metric you should remember while implementing AI marketing in your company.

You can also use AI for image generation. Sometimes it’s a brilliant option if you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for graphic services or copyright. But in this area, common sense and guarding are also needed.

I decided to use Brand24 to see what people think about AI. An interesting mention led me to an even more interesting Twitter post.

Look closely at the generated pictures. That’s exactly what I warned you about. AI used all its information about India, in result creating stereotypical or irrational images.

In conclusion, AI offers numerous benefits in marketing, empowering you to streamline processes, gain insights, and optimize campaigns.

However, it’s important to consider and address several factors when leveraging AI in your marketing efforts. These include data quality, ethical considerations, as well as the necessary resources and expertise to maximize its potential.

By carefully weighing the pros and cons, you can leverage AI effectively to enhance your marketing strategy and achieve your goals.

How to use AI marketing solutions wisely?

In summary, AI is a powerful technology that enables computers to think, learn, and make decisions like humans.

Through training, machine learning, and continuous improvement, AI models can analyze data, recognize patterns, and provide valuable insights. With its potential to transform various industries, AI holds tremendous promise for the future.

AI and machine learning have already revolutionized the field of marketing. It enabled marketers to automate tedious tasks and analyze and interpret data faster and more effectively.

As a result, AI marketing has become extremely popular and widely used in various areas, such as modern media monitoring, creating content, customer communication, and many more.

When used properly, AI marketing can bring many benefits, but it’s essential to use these tools reasonably.

In addition, we should all remember that AI in marketing is just a tool. It does not replace human intuition, knowledge, and experience. Although AI marketing can provide valuable insights, the final decision-making process should always be made by humans. They can assess and verify the results obtained with the help of AI marketing tools.

Overall, as the market for AI marketing tools continues to grow, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. I recommended you experiment with different marketing AI tools to see which ones work best for your niche and needs.

Whether you’re a small business owner or a marketing professional, incorporating AI marketing tools can benefit you and help you stay ahead of the competition.

Good luck!