As artificial intelligence becomes more and more ingrained in marketing, concerns have arisen about what AI might mean for the industry. Fears of fewer opportunities and even technology rejection from consumers have made some marketers hesitant to fully embrace the capabilities of AI. In fact, a recent survey conducted by social media analytics platform Sysomos along with The Drum found that only 37% of marketers are actively investigating potential use cases.
I believe that we have reason to be optimistic about artificial intelligence’s impact on marketing. AI is already creating opportunities for marketers, giving them the tools and knowledge to solve some of the most perplexing problems we face. With the assistance of machine learning and intelligent providers, content marketers now have the ability to perform better than ever before.
Solving The Content Discovery Gap
Artificial intelligence is already aiding content marketers by narrowing the gap in content discovery. Consider that in 2016, only 30% of B2B marketers reported to the Content Marketing Institute that they considered their organizations to be effective at content marketing. This means we have great lengths to go in terms of creating content that is both actionable and efficient.
By using machine learning from the very beginning of content creation, marketers can drastically increase the odds of that content being discovered and acted upon by the right audiences. This can be achieved through a number of strategies, including capitalizing on local demand, gauging topic opportunity sizing and determining consumer intent. BrightEdge Content, which we've worked with in the past, is one such solution that leans heavily on AI to help content marketers develop characteristics of top competing content while giving real-time recommendations for improving content performance.
Beyond content curation and maintenance, machine learning can also dramatically improve chances of content discovery by using predictive intelligence to connect with consumers along their unique journeys. Companies like Salesforce are harnessing this type of technology to predict what type of content is most likely to be useful and engaged with for individual consumers.
Removing Educated Guesswork
Content marketers are familiar with content planning around information they assume will be in greater demand. In truth, such educated guesswork can be a budget bleed with little to no return. AI can guide marketers toward crafting content that is of greater value -- analyzing and strategizing in real-time to enhance discoverable content through pertinent keywords and schematics. One of the strengths of AI in this capacity is its ability to recognize content at its early inception of trending – particularly content that is meaningful to a specific demographic – by using algorithms to track and identify emerging conversations across the internet, especially on social media platforms such as Twitter. These products can also comb through published content to recognize irrelevant information, junk posts and discredited sources, allowing brands to focus on the most engaging content for their audience.
Staying Abreast Of Industry Changes
Many of us feel overwhelmed by the challenge of keeping up with the breakneck speed of the marketing industry, but the cost of your brand being left in the dust is too great to ignore. The ability of today’s machine learning platforms to crawl through millions of datapoints means we are no longer alone as content marketers in the struggle to stay up-to-date with the latest mercurial changes in SEO and best performing content formats. And due to the ever-changing nature of the search landscape, AI-based solutions can automatically adapt to changes in content formats and standards so that we don’t have to.
All of these advantages that artificial intelligence enables boil down to one thing that will keep marketers sane amid our current changing environment: smart content. Content that is self-aware and self-adjusting, enhancing its discovery and engagement from inception, may seem like wishful thinking for the overwhelmed marketer, but due to the capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, it is available to make our lives a lot easier. In many ways, the true power of smart content has yet to be fully developed, however, some current smart content abilities include altering content displays to customize for the customer, making specific content suggestions in real time and self-updating schema to match industry changes.
According to a report from Narrative Science, 62% of enterprises will use AI technologies by 2018. If these projections hold true, marketers would be wise to embrace artificial intelligence if they want to remain relevant and continue to engage consumers in the future.
