HOW AI IS TRANSFORMING ONLINE ADVERTISING

The name Artificial Intelligence may conjure up ideas of Sci-fi, human-like borgs taking over the world. This misconception still pervades many people’s thoughts surrounding what AI actually is.

AI, in simplistic terms, is a system which can perform tasks that humans normally would – except in a much quicker and sophisticated way.

Advancements in AI are impacting all industries, such as retail, medical, finance and banking. Online advertising is another sector undergoing radical change as innovations in AI evolve.

So, let’s look at the ways AI is currently being utilized within the online marketing sector.

AI can be used to curate content. YouTube, for example, produces video suggestions based on data gathered, such as age, gender, interests, location, and other personal details. Thus, appropriate advertisements can be displayed according to data gathered from viewers.

AI can also assist marketers in producing social media ad copy. It helps reduce the time needed to create copy, as well as improve the quality. AI can analyze the reach and impact of social media adverts, as well as detect trends. Therefore, you can make adjustments and formulate better strategies to improve your customer reach.

Furthermore, AI can help with writing product descriptions. Not only can it write faster, but product listings can be automatically updated without human input. AI can even write region-specific descriptions to appeal to certain demographics

No matter where we go, digital signage is everywhere. With digital information displays in shopping malls, airports, hotels, and electronic billboards on highways, advertising opportunities are aplenty.

AI is revolutionizing digital advertisement in many ways. Thanks to ‘big data’, AI algorithms can assist marketers in deciding where and when particular advertisements should be placed.

This allows businesses to manage their budget more efficiently by reducing the risk of wasteful advertising through displaying irrelevant advertisements.

AI can automatically adjust aspects of marketing campaigns to suit smaller target audiences.

For example, ad copy which aligns with cultural norms can help engage with customers more effectively. People in certain geographical areas may also respond differently to the visual appearance, or persuasive the call to action is.

Large brands are most likely to use AI to help with the strenuous task of optimizing marketing campaigns to target specific geographical locations. However, smaller businesses can also harness the power AI to enhance their marketing strategies. AI’s ability to analyze local trends, and spot nuances in ad copy can help every business improve their brand image.

AI can help companies formulate personalized email campaigns by analyzing ‘big data’ collected on individual consumers.

Data such as user behavior and recent searches can trigger automatic emails at the right time. Large enterprises can deliver personalized emails to individuals with relevant product recommendations, promotions and discounts.

What makes one customer open an email, and another toss it into the junk folder? Appropriate subject lines.

AI can help produce more enticing subject lines which ultimately leads to increased click-through rates.

Additionally, AI can determine the best time of day to send an email to a customer. Rather than wastefully send emails during a busy day at work, you’ll have a better chance at catching their attention during their break.

In a similar way, AI helps with outreach emails by helping marketers determine the best time to send follow up emails.

Many companies already offer machine learning services which involve pattern recognition and behavioral analysis to better understand why customers make certain choices.

Customers are continuously being bombarded with advertisements, so how can you make sure that adverts are actually relevant to their needs? By using AI algorithms which sift through ‘big data’ to learn about customer motives and habits.

Social media interactions reveal a lot about customers. For example, a customer may follow fitness instructors on YouTube, as well as participate on Facebook groups which reveal their likes and dislikes. The AI can comb through this data, as well as recent and previous purchases to gain a deeper insight into what their motives are.

What are their goals? To lose weight, improve fitness or build muscles? How experienced and committed are they? How much money do they typically spend on fitness products?

AI can help answer these crucial questions to determine which products and services are a perfect match to their situation.

It’s possible to go even further as AI can generate more personalized ad copy which has a higher chance of persuading them to make a purchase.

How well does your ad perform on different platforms? How does your target audience engage with your ad?

AI can assess user engagement more thoroughly than a human analyst. It can also drastically reduce the amount of time spent on measuring performance.

Ultimately, you’ll make faster progress by using AI to discover which areas of your ad copy garnered more attention and to determine what needs to be improved.

The days of human customer support agents are fading fast. Already large companies, such as eBay and Amazon, have incorporated AI chat bots and digital assistants which interact with customers.

AI chatbots are becoming harder to distinguish between real people. The more we interact with AI the more intelligent it becomes. They have the ability to answer customer questions and offer solutions to problems.

AI is capable of natural language processing (NLP) so customers can even verbally communicate with virtual assistants. This makes it possible for consumers to browse and purchase items using virtual assistants, such as Alexa and Google Now.

Chatbots can operate 24/7 and companies no longer need to hire employees. This increases revenue as companies can downsize their HR departments.

AI-based technology, that only large corporate bodies could afford, is now becoming more accessible for smaller businesses. This marks the end of an era where businesses are limited in their understanding of customer wants and needs. Therefore, adopting some form of AI is imperative to stay competitive in this industry.