Dripped Digest #34: Marketing Predictions P2

I failed several times this week. I tried new Aeropress recipes and something was wrong the whole time. ?

Not just the recipes, but my clumsiness. And that's completely normal. ??

When you learn something new, it rarely works the first time. I'm even grateful to the circumstances for making me aware of my blind spots.

I also had no idea that it would be more difficult for me to experiment with coffee and challenge my brewing skills than to do the same in my marketing job. ??

And drinking my failed cups today has nothing to do with the marketing predictions I am about to share with you.

And that's totally ok too, not everything supposed to be in perfect sinchonicity all the time.

3 out of 5 of these predictions were covered in a previous digest:

Today are the following:

Pred 4: "Acoustic brands" will differentiate themselves as AI-free

Pred 5: AI will reduce brand visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs)

“Acoustic brands” will differentiate themselves as AI-free

Finally, there’s a real chance for AI fearers and haters.

Differentiate yourself by standing out to others (your customers and possible ones) who believe that AI-free brands place more value on authenticity and ethics. ??

And there’s a real market for it.

According to Gartners stats, 72% of consumers believe AI-based content generators could spread false or misleading information.

And well of course it could. ??

But the thing is that it only generates something on demand, and that there is a human pilot who corrects it.

And yes, of course there are cases of fake AI content getting through, but there’s also another counterargument: AI content detectors and concerted efforts by brands to create authenticity guidelines and general guidelines for working with AIs. But.

Consumers also have serious concerns about AI in terms of content bias, discrimination, safety risks, jobs and other issues.??

You could just tap into that market of doubters. But as nice as that sounds, it’s still a challenge.

Brands that embrace this sonic positioning can differentiate themselves and potentially appeal to premium or safety-oriented markets. ??

What does this opportunity sound like?

• Identify where customers are most wary of AI-powered experiences and content to determine potential branddamaging risks.
• Be clear, cautious and strategic about customer-facing AI and where AI will be beneficial in enabling operations versus customer-facing experiences.
• Test how acoustic positioning and AI-free experiences impact customer engagement and behavior.

For those who don’t want to rule out AI but are now a bit scared because of the size of the market, consider this:

Align GenAI's practices with consumer expectations.

When you use GenAI for content creation and other tasks, you anticipate that consumer perceptions will change:

? Stay ahead of consumer and public opinion on these issues to protect your brand's reputation.

? Work with cross-functional partners to implement GenAI best practices that protect customer data and intellectual property.

? Anticipate additional consumer scrutiny of GenAI practices within financial, legal or healthcare industries.

? Start with limited trials and ensure visibility into the organization’s GenAI policies and controls.

AI will reduce brand visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs)

The decrease is inevitable. ??

Search Generative Experience (SGE), a GenAI Q&A form, takes the top organic position in over 90% of popular search queries and almost half of consumers prefer SGE over traditional search results. ??

The Gartner Digital IQ Index also identified that brands experienced a 9.5% decline in organic site traffic this year.

Expansion of GenAI in search engines, including Google and Bing, will reduce organic search traffic for brands.

Buckle up! ??

We must prepare for the disruption to revenue and lead generation by adapting channel investments and focusing on conversion-focused keywords, gated content and potentially repositioning traditional channels like email.

The last is the funnies one to my liking.

What else could we do?

• Use unique branded content to maximize search mentions.
• Highlight brand credibility with audience-centric content.
• Optimize on-site modular content with metadata that enables search engine bot scraping.
• Test channels like advertorial or mobile marketing to diversify customer acquisition and retention.

Create an effective search marketing strategy.

Google Search’s “helpful content system” encourages brands to create helpful, reliable, people-first content, rather than search-engine-first content. As a result of their optimized on-site content, top brands are increasingly identified as a trusted and strong source of information by Google. ??