How artificial intelligence is changing content marketing

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to machines with capabilities that mimic cognitive functions – especially in learning and problem-solving.

Potential uses of AI in the field of content marketing are already being researched by some institutions and integrated into everyday content marketing in an agile way – as is the case at Gosign. The initial aim is to automate recurring processes in content development.Consumer and user behavior changes almost daily. Editorial teams have the challenge of finding and reacting to this information behavior. Artificial intelligence helps marketers to decode this dynamic world – by analyzing user data and helping marketers to better identify user intent and translate it into content that precisely and predictably matches user expectations.

We’ve put together six ways in which artificial intelligence can and will intervene in content marketing.

1. Generate content automatically

Artificial intelligence allows marketers to automatically generate content for simple stories like stock updates and sports reports. You’ve probably even read content written by an algorithm without realizing it.The following opening sentence of a sports news story is written exclusively by an algorithm:

Dortmund leave nothing to be desired. 1899 Hoffenheim returned empty-handed from their away match against Borussia Dortmund.

Have we read this or something similar before? Probably. This is firstly because sporting events are extremely data-rich, and secondly because the language used in sports reports is typical and punchy. But it’s also because machines have been automatically generate this kind of text – and that we read it. Companies like dpa have been using it for a long time.

2. Using chatbots to interact with users

Chatbotsare computer programs that use artificial intelligence to mimic conversations with users. One example is Facebook Messenger, which uses chatbots to have quasi conversations with users and answer questions and concerns in real time.Companies such as Uber and Domino’s use Facebook Messenger chatbots to allow users to book a ride (without having to open the app) or select and order a pizza.
Although this has not yet been adapted much for the German market, you can see where the journey is heading. Facebook Messenger chatbots can also be used to send advertising content when a user initiates the interaction.

Chatbots help to streamline the customer support process. Instead of filling out a form, users can simply type in their request and receive a response in real time.

3. Custom news feed algorithms

Artificial intelligence enables social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to customize users’ news feeds. This way, they only see the posts that are likely to interest them.

These social networks analyze literally hundreds of variables and can predict with reasonable accuracy which posts a user will like, comment on, hide or mark as spam. Algorithms also give relevance ratings to social media ads so that users only see the ads that might interest them.This information helps marketers understand what kind of content visitors find appealing. This, in turn, helps them create similar content to increase social engagement. If we know which ads our target audience is likely to click on, we can also create our own Facebook ads.

4. Predictive intelligence

Predictive intelligencemakes companies more efficient. It helps companies to understand an individual customer and personalize content that meets their needs and interests.It also has a big impact on lead scoring – a scoring system used to determine where your prospects are on the buyer journey. Predictive lead scoring allows marketers to speed up the sales process by figuring out which customers are ideal to convert depending on their past behavior and history.A recent Gartner studyreports: “Predictive lead scoring can deliver significant ROI for technology vendor marketers, even at lower lead volumes”.
Predictive intelligence also gives marketers insight into what content is needed to appeal to customers. If you know where users are in the buyer journey (through predictive lead scoring), you can apply this information to determine the specific style of content they are most likely to engage with.When you see what content an audience responds positively to, you can create future content that drives better results.

5. Content curation and creation

Content curation is when one person (or team) consistently finds, organizes, comments on and shares the most relevant and high-quality digital content on a specific topic for their target market.

Curating engaging and relevant content on a regular basis is no easy task. Our AI tools help with researching which topics are trending and searching through that content. Not to mention curating something that is both relevant to what your audience wants to read and engaging.

After all, we don’t create content just for the sake of creating content. Our goal is to move a prospect through the different awareness phases to the call-to-action. Artificial intelligence helps us to create relevant content for your audience at every stage of the sales funnel.Algorithms make it easier to collect data about a target group. This can be about what they like to read, what questions they want answered and what reservations they may still have about the specific offer. Armed with this knowledge, relevant content can then be curated and created to address these specific questions. This increases engagement and ultimately conversion for any offers you provide to your customers.

6. Creating a better customer experience

You’ve probably heard of IBM’s Watson, the computer that has perhaps been most credibly trained with human thinking attributes to date. Unlike Siri and Cortana, Watson doesn’t just make suggestions, which it learns from queries and questions. Watson also has the ability to process voice commands and respond to them in a human-like way, either verbally or via text. Watson is AI because it understands, reasons, learns and interacts.Watson’s AI can also be used for IA – Intelligent Assistance.

Imagine one of your customers interacting with an intelligent computer to solve a problem instead of filling out a standard form. Watson will not only be able to help them immediately with their query. It will be able to direct them to relevant marketing materials that the customer might need in the future.An example that shows the first steps in this direction is the outdoor brand The North Face. The North Face uses a bot that attempts to replicate the in-store shopping experience. The bot asks shoppers a small series of questions about their jacket preferences and recommends options based on the user’s selection.

AI helps you understand your target audience based on the data collected and allows you to create personalized, dedicated pages for them. Personalized landing pages answer visitors’ questions via dynamically loaded elements. They are then more likely to click on a call-to-action button and fulfill your conversion goal.