Technology continues to advance, becoming day by day, a very supportive tool for human beings. In the field of digital marketing, AI has long been used to introduce products and services to customers. But has the technology influenced marketing or does it only represent an aid for the marketer? Let’s find out more.
From marketing to digital marketing
When we talk about marketing we refer to all the activities a company uses to present its products and services. To be successful, marketing requires a combination of advertising skills, sales, and the ability to deliver products to end users. A process carried out by experts working in the company or for outside marketing companies.
In the past, the most widespread promotional activities took place through print, television, and radio, communication channels that still exist and are exploited today. The Internet, however, has brought about a marked change in the way companies reach consumers.
Here, then, is digital marketing, a form of marketing that originated in the late 1990s. This, involves the creation and dissemination of content through digital media channels, generating two-way interaction between customers and companies.
The figures to be included in the company for successful digital marketing
With the development of Web 2.0, it has been necessary for companies to adapt to the new frontiers of digital marketing, which is why they need to hire suitable professionals to fill roles in areas of interest such as:
- Content Marketing whose goal is to reach a specific target audience through the creation of valuable content, for example, by publishing podcasts;
- Email Marketing, which allows companies to connect with potential customers and anyone interested in their brand via email;
- Social Media Marketing, is used to create interaction and trust in the brand via social;
- Affiliate marketing, in which an affiliate promotes items or services on behalf of a vendor, typically getting a percentage of the sale as revenue;
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM), is the set of activities carried out to increase the findability of a website on search engines
All this is necessary for companies to engage consumers, who have gradually changed their purchasing behavior. Today, the customer has become significantly more autonomous in mastering new digital systems that are user-friendly, so even those who are unfamiliar with technology can use at least its basic functions.
The advent of AI facilitates marketing processes
Alongside the new technologies implemented to foster digital marketing, we find Artificial Intelligence, which is needed to process the countless amounts of data faced by companies. Artificial Intelligence in marketing takes advantage of the latest technologies, such as Machine Learning, which through algorithm models allows a computer to learn the context of data on its own, and Natural Language Processing (NLP), the technology that enables the exchange of information between computers and humans. These technologies are being integrated with statistical techniques, as in Behavioral Marketing, which enables customer targeting through behaviors assumed while browsing a website through cookie data, search history, browsing habits, and IP addresses.
This will provide Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) with tools and techniques that will enable them to understand target users’ behavior to define goals and strategies.
What are the benefits of applying AI in marketing?
AI becomes essential in marketing as it enables data mining and collection promptly, integrating with major marketing campaign management platforms and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that curate a company’s relationships and interactions with potential and existing customers.
In this regard, AI is leveraged through Advanced Analytics, a technology that, when properly programmed, leverages methods of analysis and data collection that will predict the likelihood of potential events occurring. In marketing, this is, therefore, used so that new customer interests and needs can be intercepted even before they become apparent.
Another feature of AI that is very useful in marketing is undoubtedly Computer Vision (CV), which, through, for example, facial recognition, will be able to distinguish and recognize customers entering a store, to whom it will then be possible to offer targeted promotions, with the possibility of increasing sales. The CV can then process images, videos, or other visual inputs, providing a wealth of information.
AI and marketing as an example of a perfect collaboration between machines and human
However, the adoption of AI is blocked by the fear that AI will completely replace humans. Unfounded apprehension, since, the synergy between AI and human intelligence can create perfect strategies. If AI offers accuracy and objectivity, human intelligence has creativity and nonlinearity, essential elements for successful marketing. So, taking an approach that integrates Artificial Intelligence into the user’s customer experience can lead to excellent results on the effectiveness of the strategies chosen.
Technology in the world of marketing: the MarTech
The combination of all these aforementioned technologies makes up MarTech (whose etymology comes from the union of the words marketing and technology), that is, the set of software that marketers use to achieve their goals.
In addition to MarTech, we also know AdTech, which was created to simplify the process of digital advertisements and is composed of all the tools needed to identify audience segments to which to propose advertising campaigns. If MarTech is leveraged to plan marketing campaigns, AdTech is concerned with influencing buyer behavior, through the promotion of offers.
The combination of AI and marketing is an example of how the synergy between machine and human can yield great results Click To Tweet
The future of marketing and the blocking of third-party cookies
Determining the future of marketing in the face of the huge number of innovations and changes we are confronted with every day is not easy. Consumers need to be intercepted by companies with offers related to what they need, which is why, currently, one of the cornerstones of marketing is personalization. This is where cookies, especially third-party cookies, help.
We are talking about small text files, embedded within websites. Through these, it will be possible to collect in-depth information about the user who is visiting the site, such as their interests or the sites they visit. In this way, it will be possible to refine the user’s profile to offer personalized advertising.
As of 2023, changes in cookie management for marketing campaigns are expected. Google will block, on its Chrome browser, third-party cookies. This choice taken by Google stems from the growing need to respect customers’ privacy, which translates into greater human respect. Customers are now aware, in fact, of the function of cookies, consequently, they feel a natural distrust of sharing their data with third parties.
What will be the elements that marketing will focus on?
The future sees digital marketing focus on developing the fusion of MarTech and AdTech, giving rise to MadTech, or the collection of a large amount of digitized data that companies possess, using it to market and advertise their brand in more effective ways. It will, therefore, be possible to ensure greater personalization, which will bring not only increased sales, but also greater and lasting loyalty to the company.
In addition, the spread of new realities such as the metaverse will open up great new opportunities given the resulting transformation of interaction through the Internet. It will only be possible, however, to define the future of marketing in this area when we get used to the idea of immersive technologies.
