Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Transforming Digital Marketing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Transforming Digital Marketing Every day people use artificial intelligence; most without realizing the amount of impact AI has on their lives. Chances are better than good that you’re using AI far more than you realize.

Netflix, Google, credit card companies, video games, customer support, social media, and many other industries use AI to streamline their business model and improve the customer experience.

This means that businesses large and small need to capitalize on what’s quickly becoming a thriving industry. For perspective, the artificial intelligence market is expected to grow from its current $600 million valuation, to over $36 billion in 2025.

Adding AI to your digital marketing strategy is crucial to staying relevant. Luckily, with a basic understanding, AI implementation is easier than you’d think.

What is AI, Exactly?

The first step to integrating AI into your digital marketing strategy is understanding exactly what artificial intelligence is, and what it can do for your brand.

Put simply, AI is an algorithmic computer system that can understand human context and carry out human tasks. Tasks range from simple bots like AIM’s infamous SmarterChild, to complex algorithms like Netflix’s recommended queue.

It’s important to understand that AI translates human language into “computer language,” and vice versa. This helps handle large amounts of consumer data, as well as create customer facing platforms that improve conversion rates and customer support services.

Artificial Intelligence in its Current Form

We’ve already touched on how some companies are using AI (Netflix queue etc.), but it’s also important to have an understanding of AI’s underlying technologies.

Sifting through large amounts of consumer information kick started the search for a better solution to constructing demographics.

Think Facebook Insights and the endless amounts of data the platform offers. It would take unreasonable amounts of time to outline demographics without AI compiling the data.

What artificial intelligence does specifically, is utilize two technologies that translate the “human” data into something computers can understand.

Natural Language Processing is what we call AI’s ability to understand and learn human language. You’ve seen the technology at work in cellphone messaging applications that suggest words while you type. The AI learns from your previous messages and suggests commonly used phrases.

Beyond NLP, semantic analysis allows AI to interpret context from human language. Marketers commonly use the technology to understand how people feel about their products.

For example, someone searching for “Beetles” could mean the car or the bug. Google uses semantic analysis technology to determine the user intent and deliver the correct search result.

Implementing Your Own AI

Small and medium sized businesses probably aren’t building complex underlying algorithms like Google or Facebook. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no AI application that could benefit your company.

Chatbots, or customer facing AI, are all the rage in digital marketing circles. The bots live in messaging platforms, offering both customer service and sales benefits.

The best way for your brand to start utilizing your own chatbot is Facebook Messenger. The platform has over 1 billion active users and is openly embracing the chatbot revolution. Your own bot can “live” within the Facebook Messenger program.

The real-world benefits of these bots are twofold. Namely, their ability to hold human-like conversation, and their “always on” nature. Imagine someone has an issue with your product.

That consumer can easily message your Facebook chatbot at any time, and receive help akin to a support representative. Not only is the support instant, but your chatbot can offer natural conversation that endears the consumer to your brand.

Everyone knows the struggles of subpar customer support, and contextual aware chatbots mitigate this issue. Because the bot is AI, there’s no human element to cause frustration.

Further, chatbots also offer consumers on-demand access to your “sales team” imagine this next scenario. Two friends are talking over Facebook Messenger about the great new hat line your company just launched.

Traditionally, these people would fall into the “awareness” or “consideration” phase of your sales funnel. Though there wouldn’t be any way to convert. With chatbots, these potential consumers can message your brand’s bot and make a purchase, all without leaving the Facebook Messenger app.

Removing the barriers to sales can move people directly from the awareness phase of the sales funnel to the purchase phase. All without the overhead associated with traditional sales teams.

Artificial intelligence is a growing niche that digital marketers need to capitalize on

Artificial intelligence is a growing niche that digital marketers need to capitalize on. And the easiest way to break into the market? Chatbots.

Third party companies can create Facebook Messenger chatbots that fit your brand’s needs. The ability to provide superior customer support and sales is well within reach.

As artificial intelligence continues to transform our lives, take advantage and let it transform your digital marketing strategy.

Nick Rojas is a self-taught, serial entrepreneur who’s enjoyed success working with and consulting for startups. Using his journalism training, Nick writes for publications such as Entrepreneur, TechCrunch, and Yahoo. He concentrates on teaching small and medium-sized enterprises on how best to manage their social media marketing and define their branding objectives.