Pros and Cons of AI For Marketing

Discover the pros and cons of using AI for marketing. We’ve all seen how technology is transforming the way we live and work, from self-service checkouts in supermarkets to online banking. Automation is replacing human interactions faster than we ever thought possible, with services becoming “more efficient” (are they really – that’s probably a discussion for another day!) to keep up with the pace of life. And, considering the way AI has impacted our day to day life, it’s not surprising, marketing is heading in the same direction.  

According to the latest data, 40% of global companies report using AI in their business. As a digital marketing agency, a common question we are asked is: “Do we still need marketers when we have AI?”   

While there’s no doubt AI offers exciting opportunities, it’s no magic bullet.!  

In this blog, we look at the pros and cons of AI for marketing and explain why the human element is still critical for businesses that are serious about getting the best results. After all, people buy from people – it’s an emotional thing! 

Ideas and Innovation  

There’s no escaping from the fact that AI is a great tool for innovation and ideation. Used in the research phase of a campaign, marketers are more productive thanks to the sheer volume of suggestions generated.  

It’s a good starting point for marketers to build on and develop digital content. AI also has a powerful role to play in previously time consuming (aka budget draining) tasks like keyword research and competitor analysis, giving you more bang for your marketing buck.  

Automating Time-Consuming Tasks 

As the saying goes, time is money. And that’s definitely true when it comes to your marketing.  

By automating repetitive tasks, like meeting minutes, social media scheduling, keyword research, and email sequences, more of your budget goes to creating top-quality content in line with your plan to support your business to achieve its growth goals. 

Research and Analysis 

All the eye-catching graphics, engaging socials and keyword-rich content in the world mean nothing if it doesn’t generate results for your business. 

Creating content for your marketing is just the beginning. Performance needs to be measured and evaluated against marketing objectives and engagement goals to ensure it’s hitting the mark. This is where AI is useful in streamlining the process. It’s also handy when analysing engagement data, helping identify the best days and times to effectively reach your audience. 

Avoiding the AI Content Trap 

A common misconception is that marketing is just fluffy words and pictures. It is an easy job for anyone to handle.. Right? With AI to generate content and design images, you wouldn’t be alone in questioning the need for marketing agencies altogether.   

And why stop at marketing? Surely AI can manage everything from end-of-year accounts to HR management! 

Ok, we may be exaggerating, but you get the point! AI is a useful tool, but it can’t replace the human interaction, strategic insight and years of experience professionals bring. 

We get it – AI offers exciting opportunities for you to create marketing content at scale – without an agency or experienced marketer. BUT, doing so also comes with risks. 

Take the Freedom team as an example, we have years of combined business and marketing experience across a range sectors. We apply our knowledge and experience in nuanced ways, and we think and communicate like your customers do (i.e. as people, not machines). This results in marketing output that builds trust in your business and the people within it, confidence that you really can do what you say you can, and authority in you as a source of truth about your products and/or services. 

Common AI Pitfalls 

We aren’t technophobes or luddites. We fully understand AI is a powerful tool. But it needs to be used responsibly to ensure that whatever you put out there is factually correct, legal and aligns with your brand.   

Here are some pointers to consider: 

Is the Content Legal and Factually Correct? 

We hate to break it to you but AI lies and makes stuff up!

Building trust and credibility with your audience is key to building long-term relationships. Don’t let robots destroy that trust! 

When using AI to generate content you must double-check that the information provided is true and up-to-date. You also risk infringing on copyrights and trademarks if your chosen AI tool steals someone else’s IP.  

And, of course, AI is like a sausage machine – the quality of what goes IN directly affects the quality of what comes out… and we all know there’s a WHOLE load of hogwash on the internet! 

Will It Sound Like You? 

AI can be trained to understand your brand’s voice, but it can sound like it’s been written by a robot, lacking personality and emotional intelligence. You’ve probably had the experience of reading something that just felt “off”. That’s our brain reacting with mistrust at incongruence.  

Our team takes the time to get to know our clients so that your content sounds like you, with your expressions, phrases, and emotions. You need to stand out from the competition and not sound the same as everyone else with the same AI-generated messages.  

Algorithms Can Devalue Content 

Although search engines like Google don’t penalise AI-generated content at the moment, recent updates have been designed to filter out low-quality or overly generic material. This means that AI content may rank lower compared to high-quality, human-written content. 

Will you save as much time as you think? 

To get the best out of AI, you have to spend time feeding it with detailed information from reliable sources, crafting prompts to hone the output, and then you need to take time to edit out all the AI-isms that will have your shortcuts rumbled in a flash! 

We’ve tested it – and creating an end product that meets our quality standards takes just as long if not longer, using AI than when we research, write and edit in real-time. We don’t even type less as those prompts need DETAIL! 

Need a Hand Telling Your Story 

We understand the lure of AI, in terms of time and cost opportunities. We get it!  

As a digital marketing agency, we want to run an efficient and reliable service for our clients, and AI tools help us automate processes, freeing up time dedicated to you and your business.   

Having discovered the pros and cons of AI for marketing, instead of heading to one of the many AI tools that sell you the dream and leave you disappointed, why not choose an outsourced content creator to tell your story?

We provide ongoing content creation for clients across many industries.  

Ready to learn more about working with the Freedom team? We’d love to hear from you. 

 

Our clients include:

Unlock Your Freedom to Grow!

For a marketing strategy and system as unique as your business, contact the Freedom-CS team and discover how bespoke solutions can drive your growth.