Artificial intelligence is a top digital marketing trend in 2022; it has become mainstream across many different industries. Also known as AI, it has already made a huge difference in how brands interact with their audience.

Artificial intelligence has been around for several years but is growing year by year, making it a significant part of the modern-day world.

Here are some interesting statistics by Tech Jury:

• AI-powered voice assistants to reach 8 billion by 2023.
• By 2025, the global AI market is expected to be almost $60 billion.
• The highest number of Alexa’s inventory skills are accessible in the US – about 66.000 skills.
• Global GDP will grow by $15.7 trillion by 2021 thanks to AI.
• Already 77% of the devices we use feature one form of AI or another.

In a 2018 analysis of over 400 advanced use cases by McKinsey, it was discovered that marketing was the realm that would benefit the most from the use of AI. As well, according to Salesforce, 84% of marketing leaders used AI in 2020.

So how can your business integrate Artificial Intelligence into your marketing strategy?

This guide by Bold x Collective’s digital experts breaks down everything you need to know to get started.

So, let’s start with the big question, for those that don’t know… What exactly is Artificial Intelligence?

Before Bold x Collective begins to identify the importance of AI and how it can be utilized by your business, it is necessary to understand what AI is.

Artificial intelligence, put simply, is the ability of machines such as computers or robots (controlled by computers) to perform tasks that are typically carried out by humans as they require human intelligence and the ability to make a judgment.

It encompasses computer science and large datasets to build smart machines that can understand, act, and respond to problem-solving tasks like Bold x Collective does but with the goal in mind to be more efficient than humans.

Now that Bold x Collective has established what Artificial Intelligence is, let’s discuss how it impacts the marketing industry.

What Is Artificial Intelligence in Marketing?

AI in marketing (also referred to as AI Marketing) is a method of leveraging AI technology to collect data and consumer insights to improve the customer journey by anticipating your customer’s next moves.

With AI for marketing, marketers and businesses can further develop their understanding of consumer behaviors which will ultimately help businesses target consumers with the right strategy in a more efficient manner.

Gaining all this insight into your consumers can also be used to increase your return on investment (ROI) of marketing campaigns by better targeting your audience.

Without even consciously recognizing it, virtually, all of us have experienced some form of AI Marketing at some point in our lives; particularly in the most recent years as AI technology has expanded.

For instance, chatbots that can be found on websites for customer support or even targeted ads showcasing products similar to what consumers (us) were previously browsing is a very common method of AI that Bold x Collective experiences without even realizing it.

Why Is AI Important for Your Business?

Consumers want to shop from businesses that understand their needs and expectations. With AI marketing, your business can filter through an enormous amount of marketing data and analytics from all of your platforms (social media, website, e-commerce site, emails, etc.) at a speed superior as compared to the speed of a person.

AI technology can give businesses the ability to filter through billions of data points and group that data together into useful information to then receive deeper consumer insights than what was possible within the same time frame as a human. 

Here are some ways you can integrate AI into your business:

1. Chatbots

Arguably one of the most common and early forms of AI used in a business is chatbots. Chatbots, or chatterbots, is a type of software that allows consumers/shoppers to speak and ask questions online via text on a company website/application and then receive automated responses for any basic circumstance/interaction rather than having to call a customer service helpline.

According to the latest State of Conversational Marketing report by Drift, chatbot usage increased by 92% from 2019 to 2020, the fastest growth compared to any other brand communication channel.

If your business has noticed “frequently asked questions”, having a chatbot that easily allows your customers to ask those questions and automatically be responded with their answer or directed to where they can find that information can be very helpful and even timesaving rather than having to respond to emails, texts, and phone calls.

2. Email Automations

As a business, you might already have set up email automation and unknowingly have integrated AI into your marketing! If not, this is a great place Bold x Collective agency would recommend starting.

Email automation is key, as they don’t only save you time from having to send out emails yourself, but also ensure that there is an email sent out for every customer milestone.

Have you ever experienced receiving an educational email from a business? – Or even a coupon code from your favorite online shop? Receiving emails like this is a form of email automation.

There are many different types of automation that can be sent out, including a welcome email, abandoned carts, reminders if products are running low in stock, and more.

Some of Bold x Collective’s favorite tools for this include Mailchimp, Salesforce, Klaviyo, and Privy.

3. Personalized Suggestions

If you’re an e-commerce business, personalized product suggestions are a must. Consumers are getting less and less motivated to search for items themselves and now expect brands to already know them and what they like.

With that said, using AI technology to monitor the shopping patterns of every individual consumer and then recognize their behavior, interests, and needs is necessary and will let your brand and its AI naturally offer personalized product suggestions for each shopper.

This means, if a consumer has been browsing your e-commerce website and clicking on every blue mug or ripped pair of skinny jeans that they see, then your AI software will automatically suggest different blue mugs or ripped skinny jeans that they haven’t yet seen.

Examples of this can be seen on many well-known e-commerce websites from a variety of industries, from Amazon to Sephora, from The Bay to IKEA, and more.

When asked about the benefits of personalization in a 2017 survey conducted by Evergage (Real-Time Personalization), 61% of respondents recognized improved customer experiences, and 63% mentioned increased conversion rates.

Thereby, your business will benefit greatly from using AI technology to make recommendations for your customers.

4. Receive Increased & In-depth Customer Insights

While it takes humans an infinite amount of time to distinguish consumer behavior shopping patterns, especially when diving further into individual consumer behavior patterns, AI technology will continuously be providing insights for your business.

Using billions of different data, an AI algorithm software will distinguish and group like-minded consumers together. This can help your business successfully target specific campaigns to the right consumers as well as even possibly predict future customer behaviors based on their previous actions. 

As an agency, one of Bold x Collective’s favorite tools for customer insights is Google Analytics, which is a free tool.

It is very informative when it comes to observing website data; you can explore which sources your website traffic comes from; your website bounce rate; how many unique visitors your website has had, the most popular pages on your website, and more.

As marketers and business owners, Bold x Collective highly recommend installing Google Analytics for your website.

Conclusion

The possibilities with artificial intelligence in marketing and your overall business strategy are limitless. Integrating AI into your business can not only save yourself and your employees an enormous amount of time but is more efficient.

It will ultimately produce deeper insights and results than what could be done ourselves.

If you’re seeking additional support on how to grow your business with the use of Artificial Intelligence, the expert Bold x Collective digital team is ready to assist. Book a complimentary consultation to get started.