With the recent explosion in speculation about the implications of ChatGPT and similar AI tools, marketers are scrambling to figure out how these advanced tools can help them develop and optimize their marketing strategy and campaigns.
And while AI technology is developing at an exponential pace, there’s still no “magic bullet” that will help small business owners automate everything from their content marketing to their e-commerce development and user experience.
However, as AI tools continue to develop, their impact and benefits on everything from big data to content creation, customer data management, and predictive analysis can certainly play a critical role in your marketing efforts.
To better understand how AI can best be used in your digital marketing campaigns and help you reach the right audience at the right time with the right message, we gathered a panel of UpCity experts and contributors to offer their insights on the current AI landscape and the benefits that they see for your company’s marketing initiatives.
Whether your current focus is on SEO, social media, email marketing, or another digital advertising method, see how our panelists view the current role of AI in digital marketing, and what it means for businesses like yours.
Artificial Intelligence for digital marketing
Many big corporate players—from Google to Netflix to Amazon—are already working on implementing AI into their digital marketing efforts. Chances are that you’ve already encountered this type of chatbot technology while trying to contact customer service online. But automations like that are just one example of how AI can be used in the near future, especially when small businesses and small budgets are concerned.
“AI is a game changer that has now moved from infancy to a toddler stage. It’s walking and talking now, and…it has the potential to change the game in the content marketing space. This could be one of the biggest advancements since the world wide web allowed us to share copious amounts of information.” – Shawn Baldwin, CEO of BitWide
One of the primary concerns when a new tool or system becomes available is the impact that disruptive technology might have on jobs and industries. And while we’ve heard plenty of that concern, many of our experts agree that artificial intelligence will not replace digital marketers, writers, graphic designers, or content creators. Instead, they see it as a potential advantage that can help professionals do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.
“AI is able to analyze large amounts of data quickly, allowing for the rapid optimization of campaigns and real-time adjustments as customer behavior changes. It also helps marketers identify (new) patterns in customer behavior…allowing them to tailor their strategies more effectively. AI can also be used to recommend new products or services that complement the customer’s current preferences and interests, offering increased personalization for each user.” Brandon Schroth, Founder of Reporter Outreach
Our panel of expert contributors agree that the best potential for AI in small business marketing is as a useful tool that supports a larger strategy. From marketing campaign development to predictive analysis of customer behavior to segmentation and target audience development, they agree that the use of AI in digital marketing presents a useful addition to your larger marketing picture.
“I see AI as a supporting tool that you should use within your larger methodology. It can help (streamline) boring or tedious tasks, such as defining content marketing topics or keyword research. However, you can’t view AI as a replacement for strategy and creativity because to generate results in SEO, you still need two fundamental ingredients: innovation and differentiation from your competitors.” – Luca Tagliaferro, SEO Consultant at TAG SEO Consultancy
Risks and disadvantages of artificial intelligence for digital marketing
Just like with any new development in the marketing space, not everything is sunshine and good news. AI brings with it some potential disadvantages and pitfalls, and our experts were quick to warn small business owners and marketers about things they should watch out for in their use of artificial intelligence.
“The risks associated with using AI in digital marketing include high costs, dependence on data, lack of human touch, ethical concerns, and limited creativity. It’s important to understand that the technology should be used in a responsible and ethical manner, with the goal of augmenting human capabilities and NOT replacing them. Nothing can replace the human touch; there must be a balance between the two.” – Linné Garrett, Principal/Brand Director at 829 DESIGN
Many of our experts pointed to the temptation to rely too heavily on AI, and the reasons why this would be a bad idea. The convenience–while enticing–should never drive marketers to abandon their own expertise, planning, and ability to analyze their own, specific needs.
“I think the huge boon to efficiency may overshadow other values or opportunities. Especially if it’s so profound. I also worry that if we over rely on automation to craft customer experiences, we run the risk of creating efficient-but-joyless experiences. Like any tool, it’s about how it’s used…The risks and rewards are very significant!” – Ryan Dunkerley, Senior Consultant at Aspirant
Always keep in mind, our experts say, that the human brain is still far more nuanced and creative than the most powerful AI system available.
“AI can provide many benefits to digital marketing efforts. It can help to create more efficient and effective campaigns, and provide valuable insights into customer behavior. On the other hand, the cost and complexity of implementing AI-powered systems can be significant, and there may be ethical and legal concerns surrounding the use of AI in marketing. Additionally, there is a risk of bias in predictions or a lack of creativity and human touch in the content generated by AI.” – Ron Reichert, CEO of Internetworld.ca Corp
The human touch was mentioned again and again by our experts, and it’s easy to understand why. Maintaining control over your brand, your message, and your methods is a critical component to any marketing efforts, and this is especially true with AI marketing.
“One major thing digital marketers need to be aware of while adopting AI is to ensure any content they are creating still delivers high value to their community. AI can help in many ways, but it will still involve human effort to input relevant data and insights to ensure value is being delivered.” – Jason Davis, Founder of Ralli Marketing
The need for you and your marketing team to stay vigilant and keep a hands-on approach to any use of artificial intelligence in your digital marketing can be viewed as a potential disadvantage. In other words, even the best currently available AI tools may not be as plug-and-play as some might hope.
“The main disadvantage in my opinion is that it still requires you to do a lot of proofreading and text optimization, since it is almost impossible to specify every parameter that matters in SEO to the AI. Also, most of the texts that are produced by AI are written in a pretty boring way, so you still have to add your imagination to certain sentences or paragraphs.” – Bislam S., Technical Director at Ubunzo Ltd.
Another key consideration or concern is centered around cost. While many users can experiment with AI for free, utilizing it properly and making it a part of your business’ marketing strategy can involve a hefty price tag.
“AI sounds great on paper, but there are a few downsides to consider. For one, it can be pretty pricey to implement and keep up with, so it might not be the best fit if you’re a small business. Another thing to remember is that AI-powered campaigns can feel a little robotic and lack the personal touch of a human-led campaign. And even though AI can be super helpful in adjusting campaigns in real-time, it can also be inflexible regarding unexpected changes or new market conditions.” – Joel Mehler, Co-Founder/Digital Marketing Director at Double Up Digital
This means that it’s imperative for marketers who do decide to experiment with AI to remember who is in charge and examine AI-powered output with a critical eye.
“The main disadvantage I can see is if you take everything the computer spits out as gospel. You still need to think about the information provided and confirm that it fits with your client and your client’s customer base. But in my opinion, if you use the technology properly, it offers more reward.” – Matt Holovach, Owner of Colorado SEO Design
Benefits of AI marketing for small businesses
Far from casting artificial intelligence in an entirely negative light, our panel agrees that AI has remarkable applications in digital marketing, with numerous benefits to be gained through its responsible and appropriate use.
One of the key benefits identified numerous times was AI’s ability to expand your concepting and brainstorming results by surfacing ideas that no single person or small team could come up with on their own.
“When you’re able to engineer well-designed prompts, ChatGPT can generate detailed, thorough, and even relatively creative outputs. Other AI tools can uncover optimizations and relationships between data that some businesses might never have found otherwise.” – Seren Nurgun, SEO & Blog Strategist + Founder at SweetSea Digital
Content marketing was a frequent area mentioned when it came to benefits. Utilizing AI to generate ideas, concepts, and even connections between those concepts can help marketing teams save time and identify new options along the way.
“Specifically as it relates to copywriting, AI tools can help decrease the common writer’s block that creeps up from managing the voice for several social media accounts. Outside of some simple social media copywriting assistance, I think it’s important to not become too reliant on artificial intelligence and not to take away from the character of someone’s brand.” – Brandon Forschino, CEO of Out of Dust Marketing
Of course, everyone agreed that the content being generated should never be considered a final product. Instead, our panel found AI to be useful in getting started with first drafts, outlines, and even rough plans for marketing content.
“I think it will create a TON of first drafts. Some will be overly confident and just let it generate scripts, but smart folks will always give it a second look…Asking ChatGPT to give you five ideas with certain parameters can get you started where you otherwise may be stuck. If I can have 10 ideas and drafts within five minutes of asking, I’m days ahead in my process.” – Bryce Anderson, Partner at Lightswitch Video
And human wordsmiths can rest easy knowing that AI content generation tools are still nowhere near duplicating the talents of an experienced, thoughtful writer. Instead, these tools can serve more as a tireless writer’s assistant and muse.
“While AI’s copy output is still no match for a human copywriter, AI tools can act as a starting point for getting copy ideas flowing, and may be useful if you find yourself with writer’s block. There’s even more reward if you have a solid strategy and foundation in place, since AI tools can be very powerful for specific use cases in a marketing org.” – John Hargan, Director at Velocity
As far as digital marketing strategy and content marketing, many of our panelists found AI to be helpful with analysis and decision making. Whether utilizing AI to help your data analytics team find and review new metrics, or assist your content team in developing effective, personalized marketing assets, there are a variety of potential benefits to incorporating artificial intelligence into your marketing plan.
“AI is helpful to quickly see what’s already out there. You can digest what’s already been said to help you get creative and contribute new ideas and experiences. And you can take your content global. AI use for machine translation is growing exponentially as we have billions of words that need translation and human translators could never keep up with the volume.” – Kim Karmozyn, CEO of Aplomb Translations
Overall, our panelists sounded most excited about the potential for new and increased efficiency in marketing and marketing automation. From product recommendations to search engine optimization content, content curation and content generation, subject line development, and much more, the time savings and “head start” that AI can offer for small businesses are among the top considerations.
“It’s going to make digital marketers much more efficient. For those who use it properly, it will save huge amounts of time in generating outlines, lists, topic ideas, article outlines, imagery… Just don’t assume anything you get from AI is ‘client ready.’” – Michael Miller, President of Good Ideas Marketing
One crucial element of written communication that AI will never be able to truly replicate? Genuine human emotion.
“Artificial Intelligence (AI) aids in automating tasks that were previously carried out by people. This includes content development like articles, blog posts, social media posts, creative content development, campaign automation, and results analysis. BUT, AI lacks the personal touch that is still required to properly connect people with people. Empathy, compassion, and narrative are all qualities that technology cannot replace.” – Melih Oztalay, CEO of SmartFinds Marketing
Looking at the bigger picture, there are a lot of areas where AI can play a role not only in digital marketing, but in data analysis and business growth.
“With the right implementation, businesses will be able to stay a step ahead of the competition as well as constantly provide their customers with the best possible experience. (These areas) include improved demographics targeting and personalization, enhanced customer experiences, predictive analytics, and better insights into consumer behavior. Using AI can be a great way to optimize processes and target potential customers with relevant messages and offers.” – Joshua Kimmes, Marketing Agency Owner at Bear North Digital
Artificial intelligence: the next frontier in digital marketing
Combining two fields that are constantly evolving—like digital marketing and artificial intelligence—can certainly lead to more questions than answers. But with every new tool you can apply to your marketing efforts, there are both serious considerations and the potential for a significant return on investment.
And while it can seem overwhelming, there are numerous digital marketing experts who have already begun strategizing uses for AI in marketing, and who have significant experience applying it for small business’ benefit.
Take a look at a few of these great examples of AI use in marketing, and reach out to our top-rated digital marketing experts available through UpCity to learn more about the ways you can begin taking advantage of these new tools available for small businesses.