AI marketing – is this the future of your small business?

From smart assistants in our homes to maps and GPS on our phones, it seems like AI is everywhere in our personal lives – and perhaps now in our professional lives too.

You may think you have no use for AI in your business, but with all the recent technological developments, there are so many different ways you can use AI for marketing. Whether you’re interested in testing the boundaries of technology or just looking to try out something new whilst on a budget, the internet is host to a whole range of AI tools for you to take advantage of.

What is AI marketing?

AI marketing is a way to use technology in order to make marketing decisions based on data, algorithms, trends, and market observations. Businesses can then use this information to make informed decisions about how to market their products.

It can be both a valuable research tool as well as a content creation tool. If you’ve already started working on your business’s marketing strategy but you’re concerned about time, budget, or staff restraints, AI can be of great help. Read on to find out how best to use AI for your business.

Ways to use AI marketing tools

Copywriting

If you’re a small business, then you may not have a full in-house marketing team to write bespoke content for your website and social channels. Luckily, online AI writing tools like ChatGPT and Copy.ai have become popular recently.

By feeding in a basic prompt, AI can now save you time and money by writing content for your website, social media posts, and emails. If you’ve already written your content, you can also ask AI to edit and simplify your words for your audience – making it a great resource for people who aren’t natural writers.

Tools like ChatGPT are a great way to generate ideas, test ad copy, and provide a basic outline for what you want to say. Once you add in your company expertise, your new content should be ready for market.

SEO content

One of the most important tools in any digital marketing strategy is SEO. SEO, or search engine optimisation, uses relevant keywords to promote your website to the right audience.

There are many free online SEO tools to help you find the right keywords and search terms to target – but using an AI content tool, such as ChatGPT, requires only a basic understanding of SEO. You can ask the AI for keywords based around your business or product and build out from there.

You can then add these keywords to your own content to help your website show up in search results. If you need a refresher on how to create a company website to promote your business, check out our handy guide.

Email marketing

Another way to use AI in advertising your business is with email marketing. A simple email template can be created with AI by feeding in a basic prompt or topic, tone of voice, and call to action. AI can also be used to create effective subject lines that will get you clicks.

You can also use specific AI email marketing tools such as Movable Ink Da Vinci, which uses artificial intelligence to learn what your customers are interested in and builds a personal relationship with them.

Analyse customer reviews

No marketing strategy is complete without analysing data and discovering the pain points of your customers. Small businesses are less likely to have data analysts on staff, meaning it’s a great opportunity to use AI. Tools like Feefo use this artificial intelligence to analyse your customer reviews and show the common positives and negatives in each.

Graphic design

As well as having a way with words, AI is also gaining traction in the media and art worlds. Need a quick logo or image for a website? You can use AI art tools like ​​DALL-E 2 and NightCafe to generate images quickly and cheaply.

If you’ve ever wondered how to use DALL-E, all you have to do is feed in text prompts or upload example images and wait for the AI to generate your image. You can specify the type, style, and focus of the image based on what will fit your marketing strategy.

You can use these pieces for commercial purposes such as advertising or licensing. However, users must credit DALL-E 2 with a watermark.

Chatbots

AI can also be used to add a more personal touch to your marketing. You no longer need to work for a large corporation in order to have a live customer support agent, as AI has it covered. The OpenAI playground is now also capable of creating chatbots. Embedded onto a website, this can act as a conversational agent to answer any questions from visitors in real time

AI in marketing – the strengths and weaknesses

It’s important to note that whilst there have been recent technological advances in AI, a robot still isn’t human and AI has its limitations.

AI content is limited and will need to be fact checked and edited in order to get the most out of it. Online plagiarism checkers will be quick to pick up plagiarised AI copy. A great rule is to use your AI copy as a starting point and shape it to be unique to your business.

The most important thing is to be creative. If you think of AI as a way to generate ideas and analyse research, it can be a real asset to your small business. A study by Qualtrics found that roles such as Market Research Assistant, Market Analyst, and Data Scientist are the most likely to be replaced by AI in 10 years – making this a great time to explore this new way of working.

Cost of living benefits

With 4 in 5 small business owners worried about the cost of living crisis, more and more people are turning to AI. When used carefully, AI can be a valuable tool for cutting costs whilst still elevating your business. Smaller businesses without dedicated marketing and data professionals can use AI to guide, research, and streamline their content.

The cost of a premium subscription to an AI software will be significantly less than hiring a freelance copywriter, digital marketing specialist, or data analyst. Many programmes even offer free accounts (with certain limitations) so you can cut costs even further.

Be creative about how you use them and these AI marketing tools can be a solid addition to your marketing strategy

Marketing guides for your small business

• 7 tips for advertising your small businesses – an expert guide
• 8 digital marketing trends 2023 for small businesses
• Brand identity: tips for designing and creating your brand
• What is business insurance?

Have you used AI in your marketing operations? Are you tempted? Let us know your experience in the comments.