It’s fair to say the world of digital marketing is never boring. In fact, anyone keeping up with the latest news knows that almost every day, some platform adds a new feature, changes an algorithm, or introduces a new challenge. We as marketers, and of course, you, the retailers and ecommerce businesses, need to understand and adapt to.
And it’s safe to say that the latest of these innovations (and buzzwords) is none other than Artificial Intelligence (AI). In fact, AI now touches nearly every part of your marketing efforts, even if you haven't consciously changed a thing. Yes, that’s right it's already affecting your performance – whether you're ready or not. AI is accelerating everything from content creation to ad optimisation. That being said, speed without strategy can waste money, and AI will make choices for you if you don't tell it what to do.
So we decided to break it down in bite size chunks in our recent webinar “The AI Advantage: A New Era of Digital Marketing,” to help give you insights into how you can harness AI not only to achieve smarter campaigns and craft compelling content. The reality is we all need to know how to navigate this AI-driven world strategically.
Smarter Campaigns, Better Results
The first area we dived into the latest advancements in Google Ads, showing us firsthand how AI-driven campaigns can seriously boost business outcomes. She made it crystal clear that AI is now seamlessly integrated into our daily marketing tools, particularly Performance Max.
Key Takeaways:
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AI takes over the heavy lifting of bid adjustments and creative rotation, which means we're freed up to focus on strategy.
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It can analyse hundreds of signals in real-time for instant personalisation and efficiently shifts budgets to where they'll perform best.
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While AI offers immense benefits, it also presents challenges, and needs to be monitored closely to ensure that the correct results are showing.
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The effectiveness of AI largely depends on the quality of information we feed it.
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Human creativity and brand personality are more crucial than ever, as AI amplifies the creative input it receives, making our unique voice even more powerful.
Crafting Compelling Content with AI
Following this, we learned about different AI tools that can assist us in the process of content creation. From brainstorming to generating copy to predicting the best send times for emails campaigns.
Key Takeaways:
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AI is a practical, everyday tool for streamlining many marketing tasks, sparking new ideas, and help with brainstorming.
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Think of it as a “super smart assistant,” supporting every step of our content journey, making things smoother and faster.
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AI can significantly increase content output and help to drive higher engagement through personalised content suggestions for target markets.
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While AI provides a strong starting point, human creativity and expertise are essential for injecting that unique brand essence and making an unforgettable impact.
Strategically Navigating the AI-Driven Digital Landscape
In the final piece of this webinar, we looked into the broader changes in the that are being caused by AI and how businesses like yours can strategically adapt to these shifts. This included vital discussions on the impact of AI overviews on clicks, and how shopping features are now being integrating into AI platforms, having direct impact on the traffic to the site.
Key Takeaways:
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While AI tools boost search volume, actual clicks can decline, leading to higher Cost Per Click (CPC) because Google AI-generated overviews are a major factor in “clickless searches,” where users find answers directly without needing to click through to a website.
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AI platforms like ChatGPT are now integrating direct shopping functionalities, letting users find and browse products right within AI conversations – these are currently organic placements.
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To thrive, businesses need to broaden their marketing portfolio beyond just Google and Meta. Think TikTok, streaming services, and even traditional media.
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It's crucial to diversify campaign types within each channel, focusing on top- and middle-of-funnel activities for brand building and awareness. This helps future-proof against rising CPCs.
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What we all once called SEO is evolving into “Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO),” requiring us to optimise for natural language and conversational phrases to appear in AI overviews and responses.
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GEO strategies include focusing on long-tail keyword questions, embracing summaries and FAQs, and providing structured data on your websites.
This webinar truly brought home that AI isn't just a shiny new tool. From our own perspective, the attendance levels alone confirmed that businesses are eager to learn and adapt, recognising AI as a must. It's rapidly shaping everything from how we're found online and perceived as a reputable source, to the fundamental success of our digital marketing campaigns.
Feeling inspired and ready to dive deeper? We certainly hope so! For all the rich details and expert insights shared, you can watch the full webinar here. And if you'd like to explore how to adapt your marketing strategies, don't hesitate to contact us. We'd absolutely love to help you navigate this thrilling new landscape!
