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- What is AI Marketing: A Fusion of Technology and Empathy
- AI Marketing Campaigns: Balancing Technology and Human Connection
- Best AI Marketing Tools: Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Customer Engagement
- How to Use AI in Marketing: Strategies for Success
- Conclusion
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For many, AI tools are all about shortcuts and saving time. However, some marketers out there are really taking it too far when it comes to AI tools. You will get a message that is clearly written by AI, and is so irrelevant for your business that it almost hurts. In this post, we will provide an overview of how to use AI and marketing automation the right way; not too much, and not too little. Kind of a “Goldilocks” solution. We hope you will find value in this post.
As of 2023, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in marketing has become a hot topic among companies. I often write about the balance between AI and human interaction in my LinkedIn newsletter.
Using marketing and AI tools together can grow your business. You can use AI for SEO and even marketing automation. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great. Just like the atomic bomb; you can use the invention to destroy people or to empower them. It’s up to the individual what they would like to do.
AI and marketing automation have only been co-existing for a short period of time, but I have kept an eye on the developments. In this post, we will cover how to enhance your marketing with AI, what to do and what not to do, and how to use ethical marketing to grow your business.
I will also cover the shortcomings of artificial intelligence, such as emotional intelligence and personalisation, or language patterns. Please share this post with your contacts and comment with your thoughts.
What is AI Marketing: A Fusion of Technology and Empathy
Marketing -in our world - means knowing what your audience needs and selling them what they need. And for that, you need to know everything about your ideal client. And that is a research AI can help with, but cannot do alone.
Just like understanding the different events in history, but not being able to draw conclusions, your knowledge will be useless. And you will also need some creativity, which AI lacks.
For many, AI marketing is something like an “easy button”. There are loads of AI website builders out there, which can simplify the design, but will probably lack individual features and designs.
Using the latest technology has always been something we thrived on here at LMNts Marketing, and we have embraced tools. For research, for idea generation, and even for book or blog post outlines, you can get suggestions. But don’t just copy and paste it; tweak the content, and - most importantly - the language. After all, nobody wants to speak to a robot when browsing social media and blogs. (I stand corrected: it seems like some Gen Y people do).
The reason why you have to “supervise” AI in marketing is that it is still learning. And it generalises a lot. So, if you want to be super specific and relevant to your audience, you will have to make tweaks.
Personalisation tools are available through AI marketing tools, and they are great. But they don’t replace the human touch. That’s actually what we find in our business. People have the option to ask questions in person or through a chatbot, but they seem to be booking a meeting most of the time.
Being relevant for online AI tools is another area where you can improve your marketing. We have recently enrolled a couple of clients who found us using an AI tool, looking for a lead generation company with specific credentials. All the information that was pulled up by artificial intelligence was based on the (human generated) content we have got out there.
As a summary: use AI for marketing as a tool, not as a solution, and you will not only save research time, but also improve the quality of information gathered. However, you’ve always got to take it with a pinch of salt.
AI Marketing Campaigns: Balancing Technology and Human Connection
Most marketing platforms now offer AI assistance. But they don’t tell you that you should use them without supervision. And you really shouldn’t. We use a social media scheduling tool that uses AI. Our website builder can create a site from scratch using AI. But we don’t simply publish them. We revise and review them to ensure that they are right. And because we work very closely with our clients, and try to understand their market, their main issues, and their clients, we always implement changes.
Where AI technology has a great role in marketing campaigns is predictions and customer journey optimisation, as well as research. You can now check what your competitors are doing, what the top guy in your industry is planning, and so on… And - if you can use AI and marketing automation together, you will get a competitive advantage.
AI-driven marketing campaigns can improve your customer satisfaction by answering simple questions on your site. They can learn based on the questions and find relevant case studies. They can even increase your conversion rate based on predicting user behaviour based on the actions they have taken so far. AI tools can offer an upsell to customers who have purchased a particular item, email them, or follow up to request a testimonial. They can literally do everything a CRM system and marketing automation tool can, but faster. They will, however, need to be programmed just like other software.
At LMNts Marketing Limited, we emphasise the importance of infusing empathy into AI campaigns to create meaningful connections with leads and customers to build long lasting connections on an emotional level.
Best AI Marketing Tools: Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Customer Engagement
If you are only familiar with ChatGTP and other similar tools, you might want to get to know some of the latest platforms.
At LMNts, we use Merlin, which gives us the ability to create outlines, give us ideas, and even repurpose content. But there are other plugins with similar programmable features, which allow you to save and reuse prompts. For example, we use the tool to create quick drafts for meta descriptions, twitter quotes from existing content, or even social media posts.
Below we will feature some of the best AI and marketing tools that will save you time on content repurposing and research.
Content Repurposing AI Tools for Marketing:
Video:
AI Video Marketing Automator is a great tool if you want to repurpose your blog content as a video. It does it in just a few clicks, and voila! You have a shiny new video created from your blog using creative commons images. This reminds me of a tool we used to have with similar capabilities, called Lumen5. This tool costs $39/month for a basic licence. With the free plan you will only be able to create a video up to 1 minute long.
2Short.ai is another tool that lets you repurpose your existing videos into shorts on YouTube. However, nothing is stopping you to use the content as a Reel or TikTok content, either. The good news is that 2Short.ai has a free basic plan, so you can try the features. Video does the same, though.
Social Media:
AI Social Content Generator is another tool that allows you to repurpose your post into multiple social media posts. It’s great tool if the main focus of your marketing is social media. You can create up to 200 posts for only $35/month.
Repurpose.io is another great AI tool for marketing that allows you to repurpose your existing videos into other social media content. You can turn podcasts into clips to post on social media, and format the size to suit different platforms. The price is $25/month. Mind that if you have Canva Pro, you can simply use “Magic Switch” to do the same.
Use these AI and marketing tools with care. Emotional intelligence is the key to success, and that’s something AI still lacks.
Research Tools for AI and Marketing
Whether you are doing market research or are looking for a content idea, there’s a huge number of AI and marketing tools that will help you. We have to first mention the SEMRush Market Explorer, which is a great addition to the platform. It provides a holistic overview of your market, competitors, and trends. If you’ve got an account with them, start there. If not, check out the below tools.
Competitor Research:
Crayon is a great tool that allows you to legally “spy” on your competitors. You can track their sites, press releases, and even social media posts. You can get alerts when someone posts about them. If you are engaged in the “battle of brands”, this is the AI marketing tool you need.
Customer Research:
Insight7 is a great tool to summarise interviews and learn from them. It simply plugs into the emails as well, so you can understand the problems your customers have and their language. It’s best for defining the tone and topic of brand conversations.
Algolia is another tool you can use to tap into the mind of your audience and customers. It can create and distribute surveyed automatically, collect and analyse data, and create custom reports.
Social Listening:
If you have a nemesis in the marketplace, you might want to know what they are up to without them knowing. It’s now possible with Brand24. It’s kind of scary, as we have previously blocked a few of our competitors for copying our posts almost word-for-word in minutes… If they have those tools, they might still be doing it! Not that we care!
Marketing Task Automation Tools
If productivity is one of your main problems, and you run a marketing agency or marketing team, you are not alone. Thankfully, there’s an AI tool for that.
Our favourite tool is the Zapier Central which is an experimental artificial intelligence workspace geared towards users who hate admin. We have recently tried out the marketplace, and created a chatbot that basically takes content from our site and answers questions. We understand that people want immediate answers, and they might not have time to read the full blog posts…. (yes, you’ve already read 1,500 words, sorry!). You can try this here.
If you are looking for better project management, Monday.com has some AI features that will make your life easier. Asana is a little bit more advanced, and has loads of pre-built AI prompts for project management.
Mem helps you create projects from meeting notes, and it’s great if you promise clients a fast turnaround and hate doing admin like me. In fact, we have such an effective team here that I am constantly playing catch-up with them on project creation. The best thing is that you can connect MEM to Zapier, too.
How to Use AI in Marketing: Strategies for Success
As artificial intelligence lacks emotional intelligence and empathy, you will need to fill the gaps for every tool you use. Explain the main problem a client might have and guide them to their preferred solution. Give them a tone, a brand identity, and allow them to browse your website to learn more about your business and offerings.
AI tools should enhance and not hinder your marketing.
How AI Helps Marketing: The Power of Data and Empathy
For decades now, most smart people have said that information and data are the most important assets your company can own. This can be data about your market, competition, and your ideal clients. You can also use data to identify trends in the market. It gives you competitive advantage, when used well.
AI tools can also make your marketing more impactful based on research and learning. They offer productivity and marketing automation tools that will help you grow your business faster.
To fully utilise AI in marketing, however, you will need to understand that empathy and emotional intelligence are the blind spots of AI tools. And as every purchase decision is made based on emotions, we cannot emphasise this enough.
Use technology the smart way; not to cut corners, but to improve customer journeys and marketing results.
How We Use AI and Marketing Together:
At LMNts Marketing, we offer a personalised experience for every user, so we create content that suits them the best. We have an automation set up for every single action a prospect takes; booking an appointment, cancelling an appointment, becoming a customer, or taking a quiz. These marketing automations were built well before AI was on the scene, but the tools we used already had AI built in. (As I always say: “It’s always better to be the leader than the follower”).
We have the human element of a blog post and newsletter with images from our holidays, which cannot be created with AI. We have a LinkedIn newsletter and social media engagement. But again, we also have email marketing automation and chatbots. So, finding the right balance is the key to our success.
Conclusion:
Going in full on AI when marketing your business is something we advise against. Use the tools available to your advantage, but supervise the work. One wrong placement of an image can offend the majority of your audience and do more harm than good.
AI is extremely useful for repurposing content, research, and creating ideas. But it’s not smart enough yet to deal with complex problems or to work with little or no supervision.
Treat AI in marketing as an apprentice. You want to give them training and clear instructions. The clearer the instructions are the better the outcome and the more you will get out of the AI tools. Take time out to learn about and test a couple of the tools we have featured above, and don’t be afraid to switch; there are plenty more out there to choose from.
Want to supercharge your marketing automation with AI? Contact us to find out how we can help.
References:
1 AI And EI: Balancing Empathy And Artificial Intelligence In Marketing
2 Artificial empathy in marketing interactions: Bridging the human-AI gap
3 Emotion AI in Marketing: Striking a Balance with Emotional Intelligence
5 Artificial empathy: the upgrade AI needs to speak to consumers
9 Empathetic Marketing: The Power of Emotional Connection
10 https://hbr.org/2021/07/how-to-design-an-ai-marketing-strategy
11 https://insight7.io/7-best-ai-tools-for-marketing-research-projects-2024