AI in Marketing: Beyond the Hype and Into Practical Application
Despite the hype surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI), many marketing professionals are still grappling with mundane, time-consuming tasks that could easily be automated. Imagine spending hours drafting emails, analyzing campaign data, and managing social media posts—only to feel like there’s never enough time for strategic planning and creative innovation.
What if I were to tell you that AI could do more than just assist with simple tasks? What if it could become an indispensable extension of you and your brand, revolutionising the way you work, think and operate?
In this article, I share the industry hidden gems around using AI. By the end of this article, you will have an idea of what's possible with AI, particularly in marketing.
AI for Branding
What if I told you that every time you opened up Chat GPT, it could be trained on how to respond? Well, it's true! From deeply understanding your customer personas so that it writes copy that resonates with your target audience to writing client proposals in your brand tone of voice and tailoring the proposal to the interests of the user, AI now has the capacity to shape its output the way YOU want it to.
If we dive a little deeper, AI has the capacity to analyse the current online performance in your niche, learn the nuances of the way you converse online, be trained to improve its response and thus your brand, and adapt to evolve with the natural progression of your brand as it matures.
All these things (and more) are possible, but very few know the processes, knowledge and tools to achieve this.
"The power in AI lies behind the way you use it" - Danielle Bhatt
AI is Replacing People ... But Not in the Way You Think
The fear that AI will replace human jobs is widespread. In fact, when it first released, a manager at my previous employment said "I would be fired if I use Ai". What a mistake that would have been. I understand that reservations like this come from a place called "fear of the unknown", which was very common during the launch.
"Think of AI as an enabler of your talent, where you have an AI assistant trained to shadow everything you do." - Danielle Bhatt
However, it’s crucial to understand that AI is at a much different place now. It is used to complement human abilities, not replace them.
Think of AI as an extension of yourself—an assistant that enhances your capabilities and frees you from repetitive tasks. This shift allows marketing professionals to focus on high-level strategies and creative solutions, rather than getting bogged down by routine work.
This is a powerful tool that would benefit anyone with a small team or marketing coordinator juggling 4 roles within their role, as well as anyone who wants to free up time to focus on strategic marketing and high-quality output.
AI as Your Team ... Literally
It is a no-brainer that AI can handle tasks like copywriting, editing, data analysis, and even customer service with remarkable efficiency. Imagine having a virtual assistant that drafts your marketing emails, analyses campaign performance, and engages with your audience on social media, all while you concentrate on strategic planning and creative brainstorming.
The differentiator between the way you use AI and the way other professionals and competitors use AI platforms lies in the way it has been trained on your business and brand using custom prompt engineering.
My Ai experience: 3 weeks achieved in 3 hours
During my role at Mobile Skips, I was deep in our FYQ1-24 strategy and needed to have our customer personas built, content pillars and topic clusters built out all while building our ai automation flow that could self-generate high-quality SEO driven articles WITH internal link building and backlinking in 3 minutes.
I had 3 weeks to build our strategy while managing our other digital marketing responsibilities and juggling initiatives with third party providers. This was one small portion, yet crucial, part of the strategy. With time not on my side, I needed to have this information to inform our SEO strategy.
SOLUTION
I worked with Ai to understand our brand and business goals
Used a research based Ai platform with advanced prompt engineering to get current data on online users and general consensus
Used Ai to provide feedback on my strategy and developed an even BETTER solution that better aligned with our goals
Generated 10 topic clusters based on our personas and market research
Generated 128 highly searchable topics with primary and secondary keywords necessary to create SEO driven blogs and contribute to our organic traffic.
How long did this take me? Around 3-4 hours if I only count the time spend on these tasks.
How long would this have taken me if I didn't have a well-thought out Ai process? Approximately 3-4 weeks of planning, research, strategising, revising and writing.
Unlike most marketing professionals, I done a majority of the work with Ai using advance prompt engineering techniques which led to these results.
Without the right process, formula, prompting and knowledge on each Ai tool, I would not have achieved the quality output I was looking for and the results would have been like everyone else's.
Oh and by the way, here is my first article I wrote with Ai. It was created using an Ai process. This article took me under 15 minutes to research, draft and create. Bear in mind that I spent 5-8 minutes of this time shuffling through free stock images. Not bad for saving time AND getting quality content.
If I'm being honest, this article I created in 15 minutes would have taken me 2-3 weeks to make without Ai.
I look forward to seeing the organic results.
Back to the article.....
The Rise of Prompt Engineering
Prompt engineering is becoming an essential skill in the AI-driven marketing world. It involves crafting the right queries and commands to get the most effective results from AI tools.
As companies integrate AI into their workflows, prompt engineering will be a key component of onboarding and daily operations. Understanding how to communicate with AI, provide context, and refine its output is a critical skill that will set successful marketers apart.
What Will Your Job Be Then?
In this new era, marketing coordinators will evolve into managers of AI. Their roles will shift towards overseeing high-level strategy, creative implementation, managing tactical execution, and exploring new ways to innovate their AI suite.
The ability to harness AI’s potential and steer it towards achieving marketing goals will be a valuable asset. Coordinators will need to develop skills in prompt engineering and AI management, ensuring that these tools are used effectively and ethically.
The End of the One-Person Band
The days of the one-person band—where a single marketer struggles to do it all—will come to a sweet end. AI’s integration into marketing teams means that tasks are distributed more efficiently, leading to better outcomes and less burnout. Instead of being a jack-of-all-trades, AI will be used to:
- Become the expert SEO copywriter
- Be the salesperson and handle client management and onboarding
- Be the assistant that answers emails, bookings, and phone calls
- Be the social media guru that writes high-quality copy and distributes it across all the platforms of your choosing (in a matter of 3 minutes).
This is NOT a theory or a thought. This is a strategy that can be implemented into your business or team anywhere between 3-weeks to 3-months depending on the size of your company, the level of sensitivity in information handling, and the depth and volume of your day-to-day processes.
The Key to the Future of Marketing
In the evolving landscape of digital marketing, the key to future success lies in effectively integrating AI into your marketing strategies. Here’s how you can harness the power of AI to transform your marketing efforts:
1. Master Prompt Engineering
Definition: Prompt engineering involves creating specific commands or queries to get the desired responses from AI tools.
Importance: By mastering this skill, you can tailor AI outputs to fit your brand voice and marketing objectives, making your communications more effective and personalised.
Implementation: Start by experimenting with different prompts and refining them based on the AI's responses. Over time, you will develop a set of go-to prompts that yield the best results for your needs.
2. Automate Routine Tasks
Task Identification: Look at your daily processes and identify tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming.
AI Application: Use AI to handle these tasks, such as email responses, social media scheduling, and data analysis.
Benefits: This automation frees up your time, allowing you to focus on more strategic activities like campaign planning and creative development.
3. Enhance SEO Strategies
AI Tools: Leverage AI-powered tools for keyword research, content optimization, and performance tracking.
Content Creation: Use AI to generate SEO-friendly content that ranks higher in search engine results.
Continuous Improvement: AI can provide insights into what works and what doesn’t, helping you continuously refine your SEO strategies for better results.
4. Personalise Customer Interactions
Customer Personas: Train AI to understand and interact with your customer personas.
Tailored Responses: AI can generate personalised responses and recommendations based on customer behaviour and preferences.
Enhanced Engagement: Personalisation leads to higher engagement and conversion rates, as customers feel more connected to your brand.
5. Analyse Campaign Performance
Data Collection: AI can aggregate data from various sources to provide a comprehensive view of your campaign performance.
Insight Generation: Use AI to analyse this data and generate actionable insights.
Strategy Adjustment: Based on these insights, you can adjust your strategies in real-time to improve outcomes.
6. Optimise Content Distribution
Platform Management: AI can manage content distribution across multiple platforms, ensuring consistent and timely posting.
Audience Targeting: Use AI to identify the best times and platforms to reach your target audience.
Performance Tracking: Monitor the performance of your content across platforms and make data-driven decisions to optimise future distribution.
7. Boost Social Media Presence
Content Creation: AI can help generate high-quality social media content that resonates with your audience.
Engagement: Automate responses to comments and messages to maintain a high level of engagement with your followers.
Trend Analysis: Use AI to track social media trends and adjust your content strategy to stay relevant and engaging.
8. Enhance Email Marketing
Personalisation: AI can personalise email content based on customer behaviour and preferences.
Automation: Automate email campaigns, including follow-ups and re-engagement emails, to maintain customer interest.
Performance Analysis: Analyse the performance of your email campaigns and refine your approach for better results.
9. Improve Customer Service
AI Chatbots: Implement AI-powered chatbots to handle customer inquiries and provide instant support.
Self-Service Options: Use AI to develop self-service options for customers, reducing the load on your support team.
Feedback Collection: AI can collect and analyse customer feedback, helping you identify areas for improvement.
10. Advanced Analytics Capabilities
Predictive Analytics: Use AI to predict future trends and customer behaviours, allowing you to stay ahead of the curve.
Sentiment Analysis: AI can analyse customer sentiment from various sources, providing insights into how your brand is perceived.
Market Research: Conduct market research with AI to identify new opportunities and threats, informing your strategic decisions.
Conclusion
AI is not just a tool; it’s a transformative force that is reshaping the digital marketing landscape. By embracing AI, marketers can move beyond the limitations of the one-man band and create more efficient, effective, and innovative campaigns. The future of marketing is not about replacing humans with machines, but about leveraging AI to augment human creativity and strategic thinking.
The end of the one-person band is not just a sweet end; it’s the beginning of a more collaborative, efficient, and dynamic era in digital marketing. If you want to learn more about how to use advanced AI methods to save time and amplify tactical output, reach out to me and ask about AI and automation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi there, thanks for reading. A bit about me, my name is Danielle Bhatt, I am a digital marketer who has found her passion through the power of Ai marketing automation. With over 6 years of experience in digital marketing, paid ads, creative production, SEO and branding, I have typically landed roles where I work autonomously across several roles (like a 4-in-1 package). With the rise of custom Ai and automation, I am excited to be at the forefront of the marketing industry - and bridging the gap for the "one-man-band".
My goal is to inform, educate and inspire more businesses and professionals on the use of Ai marketing and automation.
Ai and automation, together, can truly achieve what was once impossible, and surfaces the capacity to achieve so much more in 1 work day.
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