Embracing The AI Wave
Recent breakthroughs in AI have brought it to the forefront of our culture. AI is pervasive, and whether you view it as a threat or a blessing, AI is here to stay. Its influence will touch every individual in some capacity. AI has been around in various forms for several years, from auto-spelling correction to chatbots, and smart devices to marketing automation systems.
The current buzz is around generative AI systems, which use deep learning (neural networks) and machine learning (adaptive networks) to generate content or make decisions based on minimal human input. The quantum leap in AI is a perfect storm, driven by substantial investments in data processing power, sensing and monitoring systems producing copious amounts of Big Data, and the opportunities for these advances to be exploited. AI has developed into a major field of study and applications. Let’s take a look at how it can impact your marketing and advertising to developers.
“AI won’t replace people—but people who use AI will replace people who don’t” – IBM Report
AI In Advertising
Programmatic advertising is the use of AI for media buying, and like many new applications of technology, the potential may not meet expectations (yet). The benefits of programmatic advertising lie in the fact that media buying decisions are rooted in data. And while that may seem like a good thing, a human is still required to decide what data is important to strategy. Because of the data-driven nature of programmatic advertising, target audiences may be easier to identify, and ads can be personalized to improve the effectiveness of an advertising campaign, generating more sales — the ultimate goal of any advertising initiative.
The potential pitfalls of relying on programmatic advertising are typical of any new technology, and it boils down to trust. Ensuring a high level of trust entails an ongoing investment in IT infrastructure to address the following points:
- Data Accuracy: Can you trust the accuracy of the data your AI is using to base its decisions and recommendations on? The Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO) factor still applies, and unfortunately, it’s amplified when you scale your efforts. To minimize the impact of inaccurate data, data models must include all aspects of customer behavior relative to your product and marketing. It would be prudent to have some data validation methods in place, and to test your outputs on a sample population before committing to a wider campaign.
- Privacy Protection: Do your customers or developer audiences trust you with their data, and are you doing all you can to protect their privacy? Advertisers and audiences are in a precarious position in the digital world. Advertisers ostensibly gather audience information to serve better content to them, but, conversely, audiences are becoming more protective of the personal information they are willing to share, and observation or behavior tracking, such as through CRMs or marketing automation systems, are both certain to become a bigger privacy issue in the future.
- Timeliness of Data: Can you trust the timeliness of your data? Human behaviors change over time, due to environment, age, life cycle stage, and other internal and external influences. AI systems must adapt to and predict these changes, and you’ll need to adjust your advertising efforts accordingly.
AI In Marketing
AI has the potential to augment and replace many traditional marketing functions. Content generation (such as this blog) and marketing automation functions are all fair game for AI. However, the standard change management argument applies here. The line of thinking for many is that AI will free marketers from mundane tasks so they can focus on higher-value activities such as customer relationships, creative, strategy, and design.
Yet, currently, AI on its own tends to regurgitate and reproduce what already exists. When it comes to content of a complex nature, the predominant belief is that this level of content, when produced by AI, is not up to par. In the current environment, the continued need for humans in marketing (effectively utilizing AI) is abundantly clear.
Submitted For Your Approval
- AI will revolutionize the fields of marketing and advertising. Audience interest and receptivity to generative AI content, as well as privacy concerns around programmatic advertising, are just some of the areas of AI that will need to be investigated further as the technology develops.
- While AI-assisted marketing and advertising is already a reality, the degree to which it can duplicate human understanding of the needs of the developer community remains to be seen. Will developers be able to discern the difference between AI-generated content and human-created advertising? Will they trust it? Developers, like scientists, are inherently skeptical, well-educated, and human, and they have their circles of trust. AI is revolutionizing many areas of marketing, but the cost remains to be seen. Marketing has survived and prospered in the digital revolution, showing that the system is flexible, but the AI revolution is another quantum leap.
- For AI to succeed, it has to be trusted, and it has to demonstrate a track record of benefitting its users. In the meantime, if you need help with your outbound marketing efforts, consider partnering with the humans at DeveloperMedia. They understand the developer community, and they will help you be understood.
Resources
DeveloperMedia
https://developermedia.com/
Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute
https://www.marketingaiinstitute.com/blog/the-future-of-business-is-ai-or-obsolete
ComputerWorld
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3705950/pew-research-finds-a-big-problem-with-ai-people-dont-trust-it.htmlResearch
Data To Biz
https://www.datatobiz.com/blog/artificial-intelligence-in-advertising/
Diagram
https://www.wearediagram.com/blog/will-digital-agencies-be-relevant-in-the-age-of-ai
