Marketers are increasingly relying on AI to help them in their work. Andy Martinus from Team Lewis says using technology correctly can help win the war against ever-increasing demands.
The dilemma of today’s marketer is that we already feel overloaded, but the number of demands demanding our time and attention will only increase. Ding. This is Slack. Ding Dong. Here’s a Zoom bomb. Buzz. Another customer request via WhatsApp. Never mind keeping an eye on project channels, updating timesheets, and juggling requests for proposals (RFPs). Nor the searches, emails, chats and meetings that occupy 60% of our day, according to Microsoft.
As the demands placed on us increase, so do the expectations. Modern job descriptions require an ever-increasing commitment to responsibility, coupled with expectations of excellent time management skills and a range of other attributes. Yet it’s no secret that modern workers prioritize flexibility. And, as they strive to achieve a better work-life balance, many are wondering how AI could help them achieve the right balance. In fact, despite the fear and skepticism within the industry, many marketers are already using AI to make their lives easier.
But are marketers using AI because we’re overwhelmed or because we’re lazy? And are we using it in the best possible way?
Use AI to Unleash Brain Power
Marketers face more challenges than ever. Whether it’s finding needles in data haystacks, helping to inform campaigns and strategies, or staying abreast of rapidly evolving technological innovations and developments. During this time, we are expected to understand the impact of these advances on customers and consumers. When it comes to AI, many in the industry are not only evaluating how their customers can use it appropriately and usefully. But also how they and their teams could benefit from it.
Recent research by my colleagues on the Lewis team found that 72% of global marketers are already using AI in their marketing efforts. According to HubSpot, 60% view AI tools as a useful assistant to support their rolesestimating that it can make repetitive tasks and time-consuming processes easier and save them up to two and a half hours per day.
As for the creative teams, half of the writers are already using AI to improve the performance of their content. In the UK, the top creative use cases for generative AI are content ideation or brainstorming (52%) and creating visuals (47%). Although many people initially feared that AI would replace them in the future, it appears that technology is increasingly being used in creative disciplines to solve problems, rather than to think and act. The question we must ask ourselves is: why?
Marketing Productivity Alone could increase between 5 and 15% of total marketing spend thanks to generative AI, estimates McKinsey. This indicates that because so many of us spend our working hours on tedious and time-consuming tasks, it is possible that our brain power is being used in mundane activities, instead of creative executions. Which leaves us – not too lazy – but too tired to land on big thoughts that elevate our output.
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Maximize creative potential
Humans possess a capacity for nuanced understanding, thought processes, and emotional intelligence that AI simply does not have. But that doesn’t mean AI can’t help us. Its benefits can go beyond sending meeting summaries and streamlining operations. This can also be leveraged to improve our marketing. While some are already using AI to analyze consumer behavior and preferences, others are using it to spark or develop ideas, both of which can improve our creative output.
In fact, AI may have a role to play in creating relevant campaign messages that target and reach the right audiences. More than three quarters (77%) marketers say generative AI helps them create more personalized content. And this is important, with 93% of marketers say this personalization drives sales. This highlights that, when used effectively and in collaboration with humans, AI can help increase the impact of marketing.
There is no denying that AI carries risks. Especially when it comes to privacy, ethical use issues, and data governance. There is much to discover about the role it could play in marketing and society as a whole. And as the industry continues to evolve, it doesn’t seem like it’s getting any easier to keep up with developments. However, consumers are increasingly wary of marketing efforts, tired of generic, one-dimensional or AI-generated content.
So, when used wisely to unlock creative capacity, AI can help us stand out from the noise of a cluttered digital landscape. This, in turn, can give us time to spend on the things we do best. Create. And allow us to prove that less overhead leads to less “laziness” and more impactful marketing.
