So, you work in marketing, and you need a competitive edge while chasing the best possible business results. You have a team of creative professionals adept at personalizing campaigns to target the right audience. But legacy tasks can be daunting and time-consuming. This is why AI automation is being harnessed to ensure that pertinence and novelty are delivered at scale. Really, we can refer to AI-powered marketing campaigns as “hyper-targeted.” Think of the live support customers access through chatbots and virtual assistants. Engagement is king, so marketing personnel are ever attentive to ways to personalize their work. This may, in turn, give insight into valuable customer sentiments and behaviors. Implementing AI as a complement to existing practices can be a game changer.

Mark Bailey, Jr. is a marketing director with global insurance broker NFP. As a millennial with 20 years of marketing, communication, and project management experience, he brings a valuable perspective to AI best practices. “I think the hardest part of any marketing campaign is just getting started,” reflects Mark. So, when it comes to leveraging AI as campaigns are launched, Mark observes that “it helps you if you’re trying to figure out copy for a webinar…you could ask it for 10 different headline examples.” Mark remembers spending an hour composing 10 titles followed by 10 subtitles, for example. “Now AI can just speed up that process exponentially,” says Mark.

We have seen AI operate in the wild for some time now. We can now tease out some “do’s and don’ts.” This won’t be an exhaustive list, but consider two do’s published at thehoth.com: creating relevant content and using the right tools. In terms of relevant content, there exists AI software designed to do meaningful SEO keyword searches. Discerning which keywords are trending among your audience’s online searches can prove to be a treasure trove.

When it comes to using the right tools, time spent researching will prove to be time well spent. Reviews (both user and professional) go a long way. Gaining an understanding of competitors is also valuable. For instance, before deciding to use an API like ChatGPT, you might see what Google’s BARD has to offer. In the end, exerted effort will go far, and marketers won’t feel as though they are striking the air, as it were.

There are, of course, don’ts to bear in mind when using AI as a marketer. We’ll consider just one (also published at thehoth.com): don’t rely excessively on AI. While the tools mentioned in this article potentially make tasks more efficient, they are not perfect. It has been observed that AI tools are inclined to either misconstrue prompts or, perhaps worse – to provide factually incorrect data. The human mind is fascinating in its ability to dream up and curate content. So don’t lose sight of your creative human colleagues when it comes to things like design work and writing copy. After all, in our recent past, AI had no place in marketing. There is no replacement for an authentic, human touch.