AI Marketing: Why Your Plans Need Humans to Succeed
In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become indispensable for businesses aiming to stay ahead of their industry. AI offers marketers powerful capabilities, from automation to data analysis, and design to copywriting assistance. However, as with any technology, AI tools come with their own set of challenges. We take a closer look at how AI can support your marketing plan, but why it can’t replace the human touch…
ChatGPT Vs Copywriter
ChatGPT, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer, simply put it’s a language model that can respond to questions and compose various written content, including articles, social media posts, essays, code and emails. Like the automated chat services found on customer service websites, people can ask ChatGPT questions or request clarification to its replies. Sounds great, but just like those customer service chat bots, the content produced often has issues with accuracy, and lacks the much-needed human element. Open AI, ChatGPT’s creator, admits the chatbot has “limited knowledge of world events after 2021,” and is prone to filling in replies with incorrect data if there is not enough information available on a subject. It also has issues when it comes to racial and gender biases, and despite implicit bias built into technology being far from a new concept the problem remains an important one to note.
Fail to invest properly into your written communication, and people won’t bother listening to what you have to say. That’s why every business can benefit greatly from a professional copywriter, someone trained to skilfully craft messaging across platforms that speaks directly to your target audience. Copywriters are flexible and multiskilled, and are trained to write using tone, voice, and style suited to your business and key demographic.
ChatGPT’s writing often feels impersonal and disconnected because it cannot accurately replicate these human nuances. A huge part of a copywriter’s role is research; identifying gaps in the market, audience pain points and industry trends. Without the ability to conduct such research, ChatGPT cannot generate copy to such specifics, a key element of good business writing.
With AI writing tools easily accessible to all, it means if you rely on the technology to create your business content your competitors could be doing exactly the same. Suddenly your content will look very similar to your competitors, confusing your audience and Google search at the same time. ChatGPT can be a great tool to aid your marketing with idea generation and inspiration, but it cannot replace the human element of a talented copywriter.
Adobe’s Generative Fill Vs Graphic Designer
Adobe announced its latest AI feature, Generative Fill, for Photoshop. The tool allows you to fill areas in an image with imagery you’ve generated using a text prompt and generative AI technology. You can replace backgrounds, add objects, remove blemishes, extend your image with realistic new bounds, and much more. It can be a great asset to help generate creative banners and designs, providing inspiration for marketing and sales campaigns, but it can’t compete with a graphic designer.
We had some fun trying out Adobe’s Generative Fill for ourselves, asking it to simply place an image of Directors Jill and Rich in a rocket. The results speak volumes, they ended up in a cornfield with a rocket looking like it’s launching from Jill’s head! A great example of how a brief will get lost in translation with AI unable to fully understand a simple request. Whereas a graphic designer will take your brief and follow it to the letter, working with you to create the perfect result.
Directors Jill and Rich in a rocket – well according to Adobe’s Generative Fill…
A talented graphic designer can transform the visual identity of your business, strengthening your company’s message and ensuring it’s effectively conveyed to your customers. Every part of your digital marketing campaign, from email to social media, needs to be consistent and reflect your company’s individuality. A graphic designer will bring all of your branding elements together and build visual components that appeal directly to your audience, whilst setting you apart from competitors. Human touch is needed to ensure there is a clear link between the marketing materials customers view and your company’s values. At its heart great design is about effective communication, and as Sven Travis, associate professor of media and design at the Parsons School of Design, The New School, told CNBC; “AI can’t tell us when we have achieved effective visual communications.” He goes on to explain the only time designers will be left behind is when they refuse to embrace new technologies. Without the spark of human creativity in the form of a prompt for AI, technology won’t be able to recreate the transformative work graphic designers do for marketing campaigns.
Utilising AI for Efficiency
There are areas that AI excels in compared to humans, such as handling data analysis, automating repetitive tasks, and providing valuable insights at scale. AI can be used to empower your marketing plan with predictive analytics, enabling data-driven decisions to be made. Customer behaviour can be forecast by AI algorithms, helping to identify trends and ultimately optimise your marketing strategy. By leveraging AI’s efficiency, human marketing teams can focus their time and energy on strategic planning, creative ideation, and relationship-building areas of their work. When used correctly, AI can streamline processes, automate data-driven tasks, and enable marketers to work more efficiently.
Marketing will always need humans to succeed
Why Your Marketing Plan needs AI & Human Collaboration
The key to a successful marketing plan in today’s digital-led world is the careful collaboration between AI and human marketers. Both bring value to a stand-out marketing strategy, with experienced digital marketers understanding the unique strengths AI can bring to the table under human guidance.
The human touch remains essential in successful marketing, with humans able to create campaigns with authentic storytelling, and the ability to understand customers’ needs in a way AI is not able to recreate.
Ready to let humans transform your marketing plan? Get in touch with Attract & Engage today and see how we can help your business grow with great communications, graphic design and more.
