How to Navigate the Marketing Landscape with AI

Digital marketing is evolving at a breakneck pace—and that includes the way companies are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to change the game and give their strategies a boost. AI technologies like ChatGPT have the potential to revolutionize how we approach marketing, but navigating this new terrain requires knowledge, understanding, and ethics. From the expert marketers at Salem Media Group, here’s how you can master the art of AI in marketing.

Learn How to Use the Right Prompts

AI's current capabilities are remarkable, but it takes the right prompts to get the results you want. Many people have given up on AI tools because they don’t like the content it produces. However, if they had only used the right prompts, they would have found their efforts to be far more successful. The key to giving AI tools the right prompts is specificity. AI tools won’t pick up on nuance or subtext, so be extremely clear and specific about what you want.

Whether you’re approaching a task as an email marketer or a creative copywriter, the context and persona you adopt will shape the AI’s approach and output. For example, if you want a blog post on the most effective digital marketing strategies for the new year, make sure to include exactly what strategies you would like the tool to include, as well as a tone of voice and target audience. All these extra details will help your AI tools create clearer, more specific content that provides more value to your audience.

If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again

AI technology is advancing by the day. If you tried an AI tool a few months ago and didn’t find it suitable for your needs, it may be worth your while to give it another try. Because technology advances so quickly, it’s very likely that the tool will now be useful enough to benefit your workflow. For example, early versions of ChatGPT could not search the internet. Now, the tool has a plug-in that will automatically browse the internet as it is generating content. While you still have to fact check the information and check for plagiarism, you won’t have to spend time finding reliable sources yourself.

AI is a Tool, Not a Replacement for Human Intelligence

While AI is a powerful tool, it’s important to remember that it’s exactly that—a tool. It cannot replace human creativity and insight, especially when it comes to marketing and creation. That's because the most effective marketing has a specific point of view and a clear goal. Much of the content AI produces is very general, and it only provides a surface-level look at a topic.

Plus, most of the time, AI will write content that is aimed at a very general audience. That’s why it’s so common to see spammy, low-quality content on the internet nowadays. Many companies are using AI as a replacement for content writers, leading to an influx of spam content that most customers are skipping over as they search for something with more substance.

Ethical Considerations and Risks

AI’s potential doesn’t come without risks. Privacy is paramount. Collecting data without consent is unethical and a privacy violation. AI’s predictive capabilities are impressive but not infallible; avoid unrealistic expectations. Many experts use the phrase “garbage in, garbage out” in relation to AI—without clean, accurate data, the output will be flawed. Make sure the AI tool you choose has been trained on reliable information and equipped with an efficient algorithm that can learn from past mistakes.

Source verification is another key area; always fact-check AI-generated content. Even if the tool can search the internet, be sure that you verify the sources. The tool might not be picking up the most accurate or reliable information from the wide world of the internet. The AI tool can make almost anything sound convincing, so don’t give your new article a quick skim and simply move on without checking for inaccuracies. A few minutes of review can save you a major headache later. You are ultimately responsible for the content you publish, even if it was originally produced using AI.

Incorporating AI Into Your Workflow

Wondering how you can incorporate these AI tools into your existing workflow? Instead of completely overhauling your operations, try integrating AI into smaller, manageable segments of your workflow. This could mean automating social media posts, using AI for email personalization, or using chatbots for customer service. Apply these smaller integrations into the areas of your workflow that could most benefit from some AI intervention. Whether it’s enhancing customer insights, automating repetitive tasks, or generating creative content, having clear objectives will guide your AI implementation. Make sure you’re choosing the right tools for the job; there is a plethora of AI tools out there that could potentially be helpful for different tasks.

Humans and AI

Remember, AI lacks the human touch—an element that is irreplaceable in marketing. As we progress into 2024, our goal should be to explore AI’s potential and limitations in the marketing world, ensuring that our applications remain impactful, meaningful, and driven by value. AI can inform, enhance, and streamline our marketing efforts, but it is the human element that will continue to define the success of our campaigns. When we use these tools to better our marketing efforts, we can discover new ways to engage our audiences and change the future of marketing for the better.

Create Effective Digital Marketing Strategies with Salem Surround Today

At Salem Media Group, we utilize a blend of innovative AI tools along with human creativity and ethical practices to promote your business. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our digital marketing strategies and how we can help your brand get noticed online.