6 Ways Brands Are Leveraging AI in Marketing
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way brands approach marketing, offering new and unique opportunities to connect with consumers, personalize experiences, and optimize campaigns. From predictive analytics to customer service automation, the latest advancements in AI are reshaping the marketing landscape.
Here are six ways brands are harnessing AI for their marketing strategies, along with practical examples and ideas for implementation.
1. Personalized Recommendations
AI-powered recommendation engines analyze vast amounts of data to understand consumer preferences and behaviors, delivering personalized content and product recommendations in real-time. This fosters deeper connections and enhances customer loyalty especially considering 80% of shoppers are more likely to buy from a company that offers personalized experiences (Source).
For example, Amazon leverages AI to personalize your shopping experience. By gathering data on your activity and analyzing it with machine learning algorithms, they can predict what products you’d like. Generative AI refines this process further, understanding the nuances of your preferences and even creating descriptions or themes for product groupings. This allows them to suggest relevant items, making the shopping experience more engaging and increasing the chances you’ll buy something.
Netflix also utilizes AI to enhance user engagement and retention by recommending movies and shows tailored to individual viewing history and preferences. Implementing AI-driven recommendation engines on your website or app can similarly drive higher conversion rates and customer satisfaction by suggesting products or content personalized to each visitor’s interests.
2. Experiential Proxies
In this day and age, AI tools are no longer just “assistants” to brands, they are becoming true partners. Artificial intelligence in retail, for example, is poised to revolutionize online shopping by bridging the gap between the convenience of digital retail and the personalized service of a physical store.
Imagine virtual shopping associates powered by AI that can not only answer your questions but also curate outfit suggestions, provide real-time promo updates, and check inventory levels. This personalized approach goes beyond simple transactions, creating a more engaging and fulfilling online shopping experience. For example, Sephora uses AI-powered chatbots to answer customer questions about products, recommend shades and styles, and even complete purchases – all within their messaging platform.
The holy grail of replicating the in-store experience lies in immersive product visualizations. Virtual try-on technology, like Warby Parker’s AI-powered solution, is a prime example. While historically these endeavors haven’t quite captured the magic of in-person shopping, AI advancements are paving the way for a more seamless and interactive online experience.
3. Predictive Analytics and Data Analysis
AI can be used to predict customer behavior and anticipate their needs. This allows brands to proactively engage with customers and deliver personalized marketing messages at the right time. For example, AI can be used to predict when a customer is likely to churn and trigger targeted retention campaigns to win them back.
AI algorithms analyze historical data to forecast future trends, customer behavior, and market fluctuations. This enables brands to anticipate demand, optimize inventory, and tailor marketing strategies for better outcomes.
A success story of the importance of predictive analytics can be found with the audio giant, Spotify. Spotify utilizes AI beyond its AI DJ feature, employing predictive algorithms to map customer journeys from initial interaction onwards. Ruchika Singh, Spotify’s director of data science and insights, highlighted in a recent interview that these models continuously evolve to meet changing business demands, ensuring competitive edge. By prioritizing a seamless customer experience from the outset, Spotify effectively converts users into paying customers, contributing to its market leadership with 226 million subscribers for Spotify Premium.
In a bid to retain customers, Verizon is also leveraging generative AI to improve customer service and reduce churn. Their AI tech predicts the reason for customer calls 80% of the time, allowing Verizon to connect callers with the most appropriate agent. This streamlines call handling and translates to similar benefits in Verizon stores, where GenAI personalizes the experience and potentially shaves 7 minutes off visit times. Verizon anticipates these improvements will lead to a happier customer base and less customer churn.
4. Content Creation and Optimization
Deloitte’s 2023 Creator Economy in 3D survey found that 94% of brands working with content creators are either currently using or have plans to use generative AI. Of those brands—55% are already using generative AI in some capacity and the other 39% have plans to use it within the next year.
It’s clear AI can be a tool for content creation… but why has it become so popular? AI is revolutionizing marketing by transforming content creation across all formats. From crafting engaging text for website copy and social media posts to generating high-quality static images and even producing captivating videos, AI tools are streamlining the process for marketers.
This allows them to explore the four key scopes of content creation – text, static imagery, audio, and video – with greater efficiency. AI can help write clear and concise website copy, design eye-catching social media creative, generate royalty-free product images, and even create personalized video ads – all while saving marketers valuable time and resources. This newfound agility empowers them to experiment with different content types, tailor messages to specific audiences, and ultimately deliver a more impactful marketing experience.
Coca-Cola took AI content creation to the next level in 2023 when they let their customers get involved in a fun and fresh way. They developed a platform called “Create Real Magic” that allows consumers to participate in the creative process. Their AI analyzed user-generated content and brand preferences and based on this analysis, the platform suggests creative elements like images, videos, and music. Users then played around with these elements to design their own personalized Coca-Cola artwork.
This approach had two benefits for Coca-Cola:
- Personalized experience: Consumers feel more engaged with the brand because they get to create something unique.
- Content generation: Coca-Cola gets a massive pool of user-created content that they can potentially use in future marketing campaigns.
So, Coca-Cola is using AI to not only create content but also to empower users and build a stronger brand connection. How can your brand get creative in the AI space?
Source: Coca-Cola
5. AI-Influencers & Avatars
AI influencers and avatars are the new hotshots in marketing, shaking things up and offering some exciting possibilities. While they are fairly new to the marketing world, these AI creations offer a new level of control for brands. You can craft their image, messaging, and style to perfectly match your target audience and campaign goals plus, AI can personalize content for individual users, creating a more engaging experience.
For example The Weather Network in Canada is using AI to deliver weather information in new ways. The network is using AI avatars to deliver more localized weather forecasts. These avatars are computer generated visuals that look like real people, but are not. The AI avatars will not replace human weather presenters, but will be used for specific purposes such as sponsored messages and hyper-local forecasts.
Source: The Weather Network
TikTok is also tapping into this trend by recently introducing Symphony Digital Avatars, a new tool that uses generative AI to create realistic avatars of real people. These avatars can be used by brands and creators to create more immersive and authentic content for TikTok. There are two types of avatars: Stock Avatars and Custom Avatars. Stock Avatars are pre-built avatars of actors that can be used by businesses of all sizes. Custom Avatars can be created to look like a specific creator or brand spokesperson. This will allow creators and brands to scale their content and reach a wider audience.
Source: TikTok
6. SEO
Marketers are increasingly utilizing AI to revolutionize SEO strategies. AI-powered tools excel in keyword research, analyzing search intent, and suggesting content topics aligned with current trends and user behavior. Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities enable marketers to optimize content to match how users phrase queries, enhancing its visibility in search results. Automated AI audits detect technical SEO issues like broken links and slow page speed, facilitating quick improvements to site performance.
AI also aids in evaluating backlink profiles and identifying opportunities for high-quality link building, which enhances website authority and search rankings. With insights into voice search optimization and user experience metrics, AI empowers marketers to optimize their websites comprehensively for improved organic search visibility and sustained traffic growth.
Many brands are taking this approach for hyperlocal content iteration at scale, but it’s also important to keep in mind the world of SEO is consistently changing with the rise of AI and LLMs.
AI Benefits for Marketers
Let’s dive into how AI can empower you to achieve more with less.
Time: Your Most Valuable Asset
Marketers are constantly juggling tasks. Between content creation, social media management, campaign analysis, and countless other responsibilities, time often feels like a luxury. This is where AI can step in. Repetitive tasks like scheduling social media posts, analyzing basic customer data, and generating reports can be automated with AI tools. This frees up valuable hours for you to focus on strategic planning, creative brainstorming, and building relationships with your audience.
Bandwidth Optimization
Imagine having an extra pair of hands dedicated to supporting your marketing efforts. AI acts as your virtual partner, handling the heavy lifting of data analysis and campaign optimization. AI can analyze customer behavior, identify trends, and recommend the most effective marketing channels to reach your target audience. This allows you to focus your limited resources on high-impact initiatives and maximize your bandwidth.
Improved Customer Experience
Today’s customers crave personalized experiences. AI empowers you to deliver exactly that. By analyzing customer data and preferences, AI can help you tailor your messaging, content recommendations, and product suggestions to each individual. This personalized approach fosters stronger customer relationships, increases engagement, and ultimately leads to higher customer satisfaction.
Measurable Results, Maximum Impact
AI helps you track the effectiveness of your campaigns in real-time, providing valuable insights into what’s working and what needs improvement. With this data at your fingertips, you can optimize your campaigns, allocate resources more effectively, and achieve a significant boost in return on ad spend.
Embracing AI Going Forward
Incorporating AI into your marketing strategy isn’t just about adopting cutting-edge technology, it’s about enhancing customer experiences, improving efficiency, and driving meaningful business outcomes.
“AI within the realm of advertising is both empowered, and constrained by data availability, and critically, the quality of that data. While the opportunity for utility is robust, AI will see much faster progress within the walled gardens that are rich with data over the external advertising environments. It is likely that we will see the major walled-gardens cross the ‘creative aligned with brand guidelines’ chasm by 2025.”
Simon Poulton EVP, Innovation at Tinuiti
By leveraging AI for personalized recommendations, customer service automation, predictive analytics, and more, you can stay ahead in a competitive marketplace, make stronger connections with consumers, and achieve sustainable growth.
Ready to elevate your marketing efforts with AI? We can help you explore these strategies today to unlock new possibilities for your brand. Check out our latest report on the Public Perceptions of AI in Marketing to learn how adults are thinking about it today. Contact us today to learn more.
You Might Be Interested In
