Fast forward to the present. Many of us are working from home or in sterile office spaces (thank you, COVID), and a majority of our work is done in front of a computer screen. Lunches? Those are eaten at our desks. Late-night parties? If you consider pouring through emails a party, then we’ve got you covered. But don’t get so easily dismayed; marketing still has its glory, and the boon of Artificial Intelligence (AI) brought our field to the forefront.
Thanks, AI. Marketing will never be the same
Imagine that intern in a Hollywood blockbuster who comes up with that one great idea and saves the broken client relationship — that was AI in 2023. This past year, AI stepped up to the proverbial marketing plate and really made itself known as a player in the space. AI isn’t new to the field, but recent and continued advancements have allowed developers to create some pretty awesome tools to help us marketers do our jobs faster and better.
Marketing is not a field known for being static. How clients and prospects want to be marketed to seems to change often, and this recent bloom of AI tools has merely accelerated the change faster while also offering us a chance to be more efficient, improve communication and overall just be even more marvelous than we already are.
AI + Marketing = efficiency, personalization, automation and oodles of better data
So, what has AI done for you lately? Well, for starters, it catches all your spelling mistakes, and it runs your email and social campaigns (set it and forget it!). There’s also that blog post it just helped you write and the slew of client and competitor data it’s digesting into reports and recommendations tailored to your organization’s goals.
We predict AI will continue to bring some cool things your way next year and beyond. Marketing was already a pretty fun job, but thanks to AI, it’s gotten a whole lot more interesting.
Now I’m gonna hit you with some fun facts and stats about AI’s impact on marketing to really give you a taste for the holistic change these technologies are making:
- According to AI Time Journal, marketers can use AI tools to “improve their working efficiency and increase positive responsiveness by promoting the correct products to customers based on their personal interests.”
- PWC is forecasting AI-driven marketing to drive 45% of the total global economy by 2030.
- Sprout Social is all about how AI can impact omnichannel business strategies by using market segmentation to align campaigns with prospects and clients who would be most interested.
- Not to mention, an Accenture report is claiming “80% of chief marketing officers are planning to increase their organization’s spending on artificial intelligence and data for 2024” (up 57% from last year).
There are marketing AI tools for every possible need, ranging from free to expensive, all depending on your organization’s requirements and budget. New companies are sprouting up every day (hello, SaaS-explosion) and more tenured organizations are stretching their developer chops.
Our go-to-market bestie, HubSpot, recently announced four new AI tools that augment their current offerings in some pretty helpful and future-thinking ways. The Content Matterz team has embraced this AI revolution and explored many of the tools out there. We spent this last year researching, interviewing experts, testing and compiling a list of our favorites.
Long story short, AI has changed the way we work. It’s taken over the mundane and time-intensive tasks, and is doing pretty darn good at it. Who’d of ever thought marketing would become so high-tech?
The emotional impact AI has on marketers
Like any good Hollywood storyline, life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. While AI has brought many great things (mentioned above), it has also brought doubt and uncertainty to the marketing party. Budget cuts paired with having to prove our worth is a pretty common theme for marketers. During economic downturns, companies tend to make the fatal mistake of pivoting and putting money elsewhere, leaving many of us creating campaigns out of thin air.
Enter in your new AI coworker. They can do your job faster, probably better, and for a lot less money than you cost. That doesn’t make anyone feel good, and I’m guessing you didn’t offer to take them to lunch on their first day.
Your feelings and concerns are 100% valid. I see you, and I hear you.
In an article by Forbes Councils Member Matteo Pittaluga, his research and testing of AI tools confirmed some of our fears that job loss is imminent for some of us. He did call out one key insight that can’t be overlooked:
“It’s important to combine the power of AI with human expertise to understand the target audience and create effective marketing campaigns. This is why I believe the marketers who are able to combine deep knowledge in their field with AI possibilities will be the ones most able to create extremely successful campaigns with less effort, 10 times faster than anyone else.”
Rest assured, not all is lost.
After all, AI is plain and simple, a robot. As much as it tries to feel and think like a human, the technology isn’t quite there [yet]. To withstand this wave of new technology, my recommendation is to embrace the change, educate yourself and gather some skills in AI prompting. And don’t forget what you do best – be human.
Wrapping up this AI sandwich as we count down to 2024
As one year closes and the other begins, there are a few important things you can take with you as you venture forth into the marketing abyss:
- AI is here; it’s loud and proud, and it’s offering some pretty cool things that will make you the hero of your office. Don’t be afraid to make friends.
- You, the human, still have a lot to bring to the marketing table.
- When in doubt, phone a friend to join you on your AI journey
At Content Matterz, our job and goal is to make you the shining star of your marketing storyline. We are your human partner and can help you navigate the latest AI tools to ensure your next campaign delivers the expected results. Reach out today for a [human] consultation.