AI is making waves across industries, particularly in marketing and creative fields. But instead of fearing its rise, marketers should understand how to leverage AI to boost their work.
I'm here to offer a perspective that embraces AI as a tool to enhance marketing strategies, rather than a threat to replace marketers.
Why AI Isn't Coming for Your Job (Probably)
The concern about AI taking over human jobs is understandable. AI operates 24/7, without the need for breaks or benefits, and without the complexities of human interactions. It's easy to focus on these advantages, but AI isn't a cure-all for the contributions of human marketers.
AI can automate and assist in innovation, but it falls short of replicating the precision and nuance that humans bring. AI performs well when tasks are clearly defined, but it struggles with vague, open-ended assignments requiring interpretation.
Consider how often marketing projects begin with ambiguous directives. AI can't solve problems and contextualize information like experienced marketers can.
AI can't replicate the subtleties of human interactions, it needs prompts and can't be inspired. AI is a valuable tool. Harness it to free up time, create impactful content, launch successful campaigns, and deliver value to customers.
How to Leverage AI to Be a Better Marketer
AI is revolutionizing marketing. Use it to gain insights, automate tasks, and create personalized experiences that drive engagement. If you're not using AI in your workflow, now is the time. Here are some ways to build AI into your strategies:
Generative AI and Personalized Content
AI can generate personalized content, such as product recommendations, tailored emails, and targeted ads. AI-driven tools analyze customer data, preferences, and behaviors to deliver content that resonates with customers.
AI and SEO
Optimize SEO strategies with AI to reach your target audience. AI-powered tools analyze data to identify keywords, generate content ideas, and analyze competitor strategies. Use AI to create SEO strategies tailored to specific audiences and boost search engine rankings.
Operational Benefits of Generative AI
AI can automate mundane tasks and streamline operations, including data entry, report generation, and lead nurturing. Automate workflows to free up time to focus on strategy.
(Understandable) AI Concerns
Generative AI helps and hurts marketers. Access to content generation is supercharging the industry, but it's important to keep the concerns and drawbacks in clear view.
One watch-out is the lack of a human and personal touch in AI outputs. While content-generating tools allow you to input brand guidelines, they're not perfect.
Edit AI-generated content. Remember, just because you can create lots of content doesn't mean you need to. Promote originality and stay true to your messaging. Edit all content for tone, voice, and accuracy.
The risk of AI inaccuracy is another watch-out. Generative AI takes a snapshot of what's on the internet, what's most popular or most produced, and uses that as the model for production. This is causing problems in the fight for accurate information.
Statements and claims need to be verified and validated. By approaching AI-generated content with the same level of QA you would any human-created piece, you remove the risk of additional risk.
From One Marketer to Another...
AI isn't coming to make you obsolete, but to provide you with the opportunity to free up time and resources so you can focus on strategy, connecting with customers, and championing your brand. Give time to understanding the limitations of current generative AI technologies, and don't ignore them.
AI alone can't make you a better marketer. It's up to you to create workflows and use tools that allow you to do impactful work.