Artificial intelligence (AI) has already shown its effectiveness at reducing certain types of inefficiencies in all kinds of organizations. According to Hootsuite, about a third of companies already use AI in some capacity. But it tends to pay off the most for big tech companies that handle enormous amounts of data, which leave the smaller players wondering how they can also use AI to help grow their companies.
AI can be used by anyone, but it needs to be leveraged in a way that is both smart and sustainable. When implemented the right way, AI tools can help you achieve a range of goals needed to stay ahead of the competition:
- Level the playing field for smaller businesses
- Predict which which products will sell best – and when
- Empower marketing teams to make decisions
- Decrease operational redundancies
- Increase productivity and profitability
That said, ChatGPT – the infamous chatbot launched in 2022 – won’t solve all of your problems tomorrow. AI comes in many forms, and it does need to be built into your marketing workflow properly for your business to reap any meaningful benefits.
So, How Might AI Reduce Inefficiencies in Your Growing Business?
When used in the right capacity, AI has the potential to empower small business owners and their marketing teams to leverage data in a way that grows business. But it’s not just about the technology; it’s about being open to new ways of doing things, rethinking your business models, and finding new ways to create value for your customers. Four key ways it makes this happen are by:
- Automating repetitive tasks
- Analyzing data
- Providing personalized experiences
- Reducing need for new hires
How Can AI Boost Your Marketing Efficiency?
With the right tools in place, AI can help you increase the performance of your marketing team. One of the most common ways that marketers are using AI is in the creation of digital content. In one recent study, 58 percent of marketers reported that content generation was one of the chief benefits of AI.
Here are some other ways you might be able to implement AI to your advantage:
- Use generative AI to help you process customer questions. Chatbots can be trained to process certain questions and direct customers to the right place to take the next step or get the information they need.
- Use it as a writing assistant to brainstorm and create first drafts. While AI platforms still leave something to be desired when it comes to creating high-quality content, they can be quite useful for brainstorming taglines, headlines or tweets on a particular subject.
- Let it help you automate repetitive tasks. Whether for crunching data, looking for anomalies, or processing customer service queries, it can be highly effective at crunching a high volume of inquiries.
Be Aware of Potential Limitations of AI
To implement AI successfully so that it can start growing your business, your team may need to develop knowledge in programming, statistics and web development. Some online coursework in the implementation of AI might be necessary. There will likely be a learning curve for your team. You may want to experiment slowly as you discover which tool or combination of tools saves the most time and provides the highest return on your investment.
Be Sure You’re Using Well-Designed AI Tools
Start exploring the many tools available in the AI universe. Perhaps a third-party tool such as AdCreative.ai that helps brands generate banner ads and “social creatives” will help your ad campaigns improve your conversion rates.
In the meantime, check out some of the most popular AI tools making waves in the world of marketing today, starting with some of the top ones:
- FeedHive – This tool says it can “create, schedule, publish, and easily manage your social media content at scale.”
- Grammarly – Let Grammarly scan your content and suggest corrections for spelling and grammatical errors.
- ChatGPT – “Train” ChatGPT to recognize common queries and provide the most helpful responses,
- DALLE-E – Enter a written prompt and it will generate an original image that can be modified as you see fit.
Use Connections Marketing As Your Trusted Partner in Digital Marketing
Not every SMB has the budget or bandwidth to implement its very own AI-powered digital marketing team. And whether or not AI tools prove beneficial to you, your brand may still need a trusted digital marketing partner to manage all the other tasks that can’t be performed by AI:
- Web development
- App development
- Social media campaigns
- High-quality branded content
- Digital marketing consultation
Contact Connections Marketing to speak with a specialist about digital marketing changes that can take your brand to the next level in the new year!