Helping Small and Medium Businesses Achieve Their Full Marketing Potential | Digital Marketing Expert
The Future Of Generative AI & Digital Marketing
We’ve all heard of the singularity when the topic of AI is brought up, right? If you haven’t, then it’s pretty much the plot of The Matrix, where robots become sentient and take over the world. Human intellect becomes secondary; organic life becomes forsaken.
Fortunately for us, we haven’t quite reached that point yet. At the moment, exchanging words with AI is like talking to a child who happens to be a quantum physicist with metaphysical interests, a savant who can paint like Monet, and a globetrotter who’s lived in every country since the dawn of civilisation.
We’ve passed the point of pretending, testing, and observing. There’s no doubt: Generative AI is vital in digital marketing for extracting information and gifting us moments of creativity. In this article, we’ll have a look into the future to better understand AI’s budding relationship with digital marketers.
The Ethics of Using AI
We know—it’s like conversing with the most intelligent person in the world, who answers your every question at the speed of light. Although it’s easy to feel enamoured by AI’s infinite intellect, it’s also essential to consider ethical questions when using it. And no, we’re not suggesting you philosophise for days on end, but we’re saying to consider where you draw the line. Whether you’re using AI creation tools for creatives or merging generative AI and SEO, using it flippantly could end up being detrimental to your work.
As AI evolves, learns, and embarks on its journey to become our machine overlord, we, as marketers, must do our part not to become too reliant on it. It’s a tool—an innovative one at that. But the chances are, if you depend on AI, your skills will dull. This message is more geared towards the creatives, especially those who string words together and craft visuals. Use it, but don’t abuse it.
SEO Still Needs a Human Touch
Sometimes, and it’s not often, AI gets it wrong. And if we’re being honest, that might be due to our prompts lacking vital information—typical human error. But when it gets it right, you’ll end up with a piece of highly comprehensible content. Sure, you might need to double-check citations, but everything will at least make sense.
However, your generated piece, written somewhere in cyberspace, will not fool Google’s algorithms, no matter how eloquent it sounds. Google knows, Google sees, and Google is much smarter than you think.
According to the powers that be, the human touch is still the Midas touch. High-quality content is authentic content, and generative AI hasn’t quite nailed it yet. Recycled phrases, repetitive words, and a robotic lexicon are key traits that distinguish AI from us. That’s not to subtract from AI’s usefulness. Think topic outlines, consolidating research, and training a custom GPT that provides relevant feedback on keyword placement. There’s no doubting AI’s usefulness, but do remember: AI might generate your article titles, but your humanity gets that first-page ranking.
If SEO marketers hope to pass Google’s quality checks while embracing this technological shift, they’ll have to walk a tightrope, balancing the artificial and the human. It’s a delicate dance, merging generative AI and SEO.
AI's Weird & Wonderful Canvas
We’ve come a long way since finger painting in caves, haven’t we?
Recently, the world has seen an overnight evolution in AI image generative technology. Some are absolute masterpieces, while others are nightmarish (Italian brain rot comes to mind—don’t ask). You’ve likely scrolled across everything and anything, from Ghibli filters to cats colonising Mars.
In the old days of digital marketing (circa 2024), the perfect image for your campaign was something you sourced, not generated. Or, if you were an artsy, fartsy graphic designer, you’d spend hours in Photoshop making it from scratch. With AI content creation tools like DALL-E and Sora, it’s now possible to use a well-engineered prompt to conjure from code the exact visuals your campaign needs. No, it’s not always perfect, but that’s why we still have real humans with real skills to edit out those extra fingers.
Referring back to the ethics of using AI—I know, yawn. While AI-generated images allow content creators to express their creativity, it’s vital to ensure that the quality of what’s generated aligns with the brand’s standards at all times. Marketers are responsible for using these tools and carefully reviewing whatever comes out of the AI void. Used thoughtfully, generative AI isn’t just saving us poor marketers time and money—it’s reinventing visual narratives while making campaigns more dynamic.
Likes, Shares & AI Conversions
‘Dearest copywriter, can I get 60 captions, 10 Meta ads and some punchy lines for my 20 creatives by this afternoon?’
Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but you get the point. With AI’s assistance, marketers can at least get some inspiration without suffering from the fatal disease we have aptly called ‘caption fatigue’. Generative AI has quickly become a marketer’s best friend for paid social, too. Need five variations of a cold Meta ad opening line that combines wit, warmth, and all with different USPs? Done. In seconds.
Of course, there’s a catch. AI may shoot out captions at lightning speed, but human insight is still the king of the castle. Social media marketers must strategically review AI-generated copy, ensuring it genuinely speaks a brand’s voice and resonates authentically with an audience. Think of AI as your creative assistant, giving you fresh ideas, scrutinising your terrible grammar, but at least leaving the final touches and human nuance entirely in your capable hands.
In short, combining generative AI and digital marketing efforts will give you the freedom to make your social posts and paid ads even more creative, strategic, and engaging without losing that human element.
So, What Does the Future Look Like?
Nobody can honestly say for sure, but what we can do is look at what’s happening now. Generative AI is evolving at exponential speeds, and so far, it’s proven to be a handy tool for marketers worldwide. When used correctly, it can be like having five extra pairs of hands, which frees up time so that we can provide clients with more robust creative processes.
Do androids dream of electric sheep? Who knows. But marketers? We dream of more efficient ways to boost productivity and streamline workloads. Thanks to generative AI and its capabilities, doing just that has become more of a reality each waking day.
AI is becoming instrumental in successful businesses, and not adopting it might eventually cause marketing efforts to stagnate. The future isn’t tomorrow; the future is now. Get in touch today and discover how your business can leverage AI for better results.