1. Knowledge of ChatGPT
While AI has been around for a while in the background, what changed the game is ChatGPT.
Beneath all the hype, ChatGPT is an AI system based on a generative language model used to engage in conversations, gain insights, and automate tasks. While the technology only hit the mainstream in November 2022, countless people are already using it for various tasks, from ideation to content creation and analysis.
“You might type something in ChatGPT today and not be too impressed by the answer. However, tomorrow, ChatGPT will be twice as good tomorrow. And it’ll be four times better the next day! That’s how fast things move in this sphere,”Jim Leckinski, Kellogg School of Management
The important thing to remember about about ChatGPT is that it forms the basis for many future AI technologies. For example, image generator DALL-E 3 is built natively on ChatGPT and has evolved so you don’t need to use prompt engineering – a task that confuses many marketers.
As AI technology continues to evolve, so will the platforms and their abilities. So ChatGPT is a great place to start in terms of using generative AI technology and understanding what it can do and how.
Learn more: Watch our video on how to get started with ChatGPT and download our Guide to ChatGPT Prompting for your digital marketing plan.
2. Content Creation & Generation
Understandably, content marketers and designers would be worried about AI. After all, AI can generate content quickly and easily based on simple text prompts for both written content and imagery.
But content creation isn’t just about gathering and curating content that’s already out there. It’s about being creative. It’s about including a human perspective. It’s about collaboration and thinking outside the box.
Look at it from this perspective, AI can help you with your content creation. It can help drive content ideation, help find suitable keywords, or kickstart a blog introduction you’re having trouble with. It can also help to generate content for time-consuming tasks and free you up for more creative and enjoyable endeavors.
In 2024, generative AI technologies can help you with a range of tasks:
- Blog writing
- Sales writing
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Image creation
- Content ideation
- Video production
Whatever you need to use it for, AI should be part of your content creation strategy and process. You need to learn how to make the most of it and use data to feed into it to attract high-intent customers.
The more you know about AI, the more you will get out of it. A good understanding will also ensure you stay competitive when it comes to that promotion or job opportunity.
“People are using AI because it’s lower cost and highly scalable. But if you don’t have a good creative platform and it doesn’t come from creative and data-driven insights, then it’s just spray and pray really,”Mischa McInerney, CMO of the Digital Marketing Institute
3. Data Analysis
Most businesses aim to make more of their data. A report by Pecan AI found that more than four out of five marketing executives find it difficult to make data-driven decisions, while 84% say their ability to predict consumer behavior feels like guesswork.
Understanding your data means you can gain insights that help you learn more about your customers and ensure you design a user interface or campaign that delivers. It’s also about analyzing data at scale and quickly to get meaningful results that allow customer-based predictions.
AI enables you to put all data into the mix – not just what you get from GA4 – such as reviews, forums, and social media posts to get an idea of what your customers are saying. And text analytics can give insight into customer sentiment, discussions, and conversation trends.
If you want to successfully implement AI, you need to develop your data analysis skills. The more you develop these skills, the better you’ll be able to grasp the insights that AI can deliver. This involves honing your expertise in the following areas:
- Data collection
- Data visualization
- Data cleaning and management
- Data-driven decision-making
- Data protection and privacy
These data skills are critical for enabling you to set up and operationally deploy the AI systems that you need.
4. Marketing Automation
AI and automation go hand in hand. These types of automation tools can help you identify the best channels, platforms, and times to reach your target audience and enable you to do it at scale, quickly.
You can use automation for a wide range of marketing activities such as:
- Email marketing: Create triggered workflows and drip campaigns, segment audiences into lists, and drive personalization through insights.
- Lead generation: Find and nurture customers and segment your traffic for greater personalization.
- Social media: Use chatbots to respond to messages, schedule social posts across channels, and track social conversations.
- Content creation: Get ideas for content and generate compelling marketing content based on input parameters including style, tone, and subject matter for a range of formats.
- Performance indicators: Track the success of your campaigns by plugging in the most relevant and important metrics.