AI and Digital Content

Well, first let's start with "what the heck is AI??"

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Intelligence, or AI as it is commonly known, refers to intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans. So this means that we are talking about a machine "knowing" how to solve a problem and respond to or differentiate between people, objects, or situations. But it gets better. Rather than trying to "teach" a machine everything there is to know about something, we have discovered that the better plan would be to create machine learning, which means machines would have the capacity to learn from and adapt to the environment and build knowledge and make deductions based on past experience and new information. Wow, yeh, that's a mouthful, but you realize it's all around us, right?

Some of the most obvious consumer examples of this today is Amazon's Alexa, responding to voice commands, and Netflix, recommending programs based on the user's viewing history and preferences. Some business examples include virtual assistants for responsive customer service, and machine learning algorithms for better analysis of business performance.

So how does all of this affect the future landscape of digital marketing/content?

Undoubtedly, digital advertising is one of the areas that has reaped the most benefit from the adoption of artificial intelligence, utilizing platforms such as Facebook, Google and Instagram to provide the best possible user experience. These platforms analyze users' information, including gender, age, interests, demographics, and other aspects to show them the most relevant advertisements, improving the performance of digital ads.

According to eMarketer, digital ad spend worldwide was estimated to be $273.29 billion in 2018 and this is expected to increase further. With AI technology, marketers can spot microtrends and even predict trends. They can then make strategic decisions about where they allocate their budgets and even redefine their target audiences. As a result, brands can reduce digital advertising waste and ensure that their investment delivers the best possible results.

So what about marketing content?

With the utilization of AI, you can discover what content is most effective, according to the behavior of targeted customers, resulting in effective content marketing results.

AI suggests that 40% of millennials trust video content the most. This puts video content at the second most effective form of content marketing next to blogs...and this means that a brand targeting millennials will be better able to create relevant content using insights gathered from AI.

AI can be used to curate content, as well as create it. YouTube’s recommendation system provides suggestions for videos that users might be interested in based on their previous behavior and viewing history. Using a similar tool will allow you to suggest products, blogs, videos or other forms of content that a website visitor may have an interest in based on how they interact with your site. This becomes a more personal marketing strategy, which is much more effective in reaching and retaining your target audience.

Whether you are multi-million or table-for-one, AI is now more accessible for businesses and a valuable tool for digital marketers. AI largely influences the choices of your customers, helping to provide relevant recommendations and timely customer service. Determining how you can best implement AI into your marketing strategy will better enable you to grow your brand and meet the growing demands and expectations of your customers.