Without a doubt, digital marketing is an industry that never lacks excitement, surprises and innovation. For this reason, it was one of the first industries to start exploring the possibilities and limits of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data for improved performance.
Big Data in Digital Marketing
Chances are you are currently obsessed with a show on Netflix or you shop via Amazon. If nothing else, you use Google Maps and Facebook. By using these apps and tools, you are leaving behind a digital footprint of your behavior in different databases.
This is definitely not a new, shocking piece of information – this has been well-known from the moment the Internet went into mass use.
However, what’s new about big amounts of user behavior data is the way companies now use and leverage those footprints that we leave on our apps and sites. Big data has now become the keyword for behavioral marketing.
Companies are now increasing the resources they invest in big data analysis to improve user experience and hit their goals.
Interpretation and leveraging of big data are those challenges in digital marketing that are already completely transforming the industry. For marketers, it’s not enough to know that they are addressing an audience with particular demographic characteristics, but also how those characteristics fit into the bigger puzzle of the context where the user lives, works and shops.
This way, big data deepens customer relationships and strengthens their loyalty towards a specific brand. If you religiously follow House of Cards or Stranger Things, you have already unconsciously experienced the fruits of big data analytics on Netflix.
The footprints we leave on apps, platforms and social media now play a huge role in the very process of product development. When we add personalization, augmented reality and contextualization in the mix, it’s exciting to wait and see just what awaits the 2025 consumer.
AI and Machine Learning in Digital Marketing
According to Gartner, by 2021 80% of emerging technologies will be based on artificial intelligence. Forbes’ research shows that AI and machine learning are prioritized by marketing and sales more than any other department in an organization.
Content Publication
AI-powered ‘robot journalists’ write thousands of articles every month for Associated Press! This company has been at the forefront of utilizing AI in content marketing, but there are numerous others who are catching up on the trend.
“As content creators, many of us are afraid that machines will take over and there will be no more human-produced texts anywhere. This is absolutely impossible. There will always be a need for the human touch and semantic nuances, while the AI revolution will only give us writers more space to focus on creative aspects of our work”, says Estelle Leotard, a writer at Subjecto.
Chatbots
In digital marketing, chatbots for customer support and sales are among the most important current applications of AI and machine learning. Depending on the complexity of the chatbot, companies decide either to invest in basic QA chatbots or more complex AI-powered bots.
Futurists already predict that chatbot communication will enable engagement with customers through all senses – gestures, touch, sounds.
There has been a huge spike in the use of chatbots used for customer support because they decrease the waiting time for customers, take off some of the burden from the support staff and allows them to focus on more complex issues and tickets.
Internet of Things (IoT) in Digital Marketing
Even today, social media algorithms are so smart that they require just 50 or so likes and shares to find out practically everything about us. The Internet of Things will only contribute to the further personalization of this phenomenon.
In digital marketing, IoT will be applied as an omnichannel tracking possibility. When users connect different devices to a singular base, marketers will have no trouble finding out more about their behavior, even from a single device.
Taking the user experience and customer journey into account in the product or service development process is essential for modern-day marketing. In turn, this influence of consumer opinion is important because it creates a personal approach towards every member of the target group.
IoT will enable a truly individual approach toward any user, based on the analysis of their data, online behaviour and reaction to change. A personalized message or a piece of information shared with the user at the right time can make all the difference.
Digital Marketing Automation
Another important aspect of technological developments in the digital marketing industry is automation. Generally speaking, this term applies to software solutions that perform or simplify routine tasks related to email newsletters, social media management and other social media channels, as well as more efficient tracking of user behaviour.
Personalization is closely connected to automation because new technological solutions now enable a behind-the-scenes adjustment of content and messages according to user profiles.
A good example is a birthday discount email. If you have a piece of software that tracks users’ birthdays automatically, you can set it up to send happy birthday emails with personalized discounts and messages. This is an example of a marketing action that has a tremendous impact on customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
Without a shred of doubt, AI, IoT and Big Data will continue to disrupt the digital marketing environment. It’s no longer a matter of staying ahead of the curve – rather, these new technologies will be an essential part of any marketing strategy.
It all comes down to knowing more about our users and deepening the knowledge that we already have. These technologies definitely have the capacity to strengthen this insight into depths we can’t even imagine today.
Bio
Bio: Bridgette Hernandez is a Master in Anthropology who is interested in writing and is planning to publish her own book in the near future. She works with professional writing companies such as ClassyEssay and TopEssayWriting as a writer.
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