How to Create an AI Marketing Strategy; The Ultimate Guide[2024]

What is an AI Marketing Strategy?

An AI marketing strategy uses artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing campaigns. 

AI in marketing can be used to analyze data, predict consumer behavior, automate processes, optimize content creation much more. This enables marketers to create more personalized and efficient campaigns.

So, in a nutshell, AI allows marketers to work smarter, not harder. 

But there’s a rider!

AI is not a magic wand for marketing. If you think that you can rely on AI to take care of all your marketing by itself, then you’re going to be hugely disappointed!

The fact is that 👇

You’ll need to combine artificial intelligence with human intelligence.

But there’s no denying that using AI in marketing does make your life much easier. 

Instead of relying on manual processes, AI handles the heavy lifting of analyzing data, predicting trends, and even automating content creation.

You can use the right AI tools to handle tasks that used to take hours or even days in the past to complete and added so much cost to your marketing.

Core Elements of an AI Driven Marketing Strategy

1. Data Collection and Analysis: AI excels at gathering and processing massive amounts of data. This is crucial for market research & competitive benchmarking, understanding customer behavior, preferences, and trends.
2. Audience segmentation: AI can help analyze user data to create highly specific audience segments which you can use for personalization.👇
3. Personalization: AI helps tailor marketing messages to individual customers based on their past behavior, demographics, and interests.
4. Automation: Routine tasks like sending emails, posting on social media, and running ads can be automated with AI tools, saving marketers time and increasing efficiency.
5. Predictive Analytics: AI uses historical data to forecast future behavior, allowing marketers to anticipate customer needs and trends.

You get the idea, right?

The goal here is to make your marketing campaigns more personalized and data-driven, improving engagement and return on investment (ROI).

How to Leverage AI in Marketing [Steps Included After This Section]

Leveraging AI in marketing goes beyond simply implementing a few tools. It’s about using AI to fundamentally change how you approach marketing.

Here’s how you can start leveraging AI in your marketing efforts.

1. Market Research

With AI, you can now collect data for market research and competitive benchmarking much quickly that earlier used to take weeks and even months.

You can use the right AI tools to gather and analyze data on current industry trends, customer behaviors, and competitive positioning.

For example, these are some of the AI tools we use for market research for our clients:

• Perplexity.AI: Used for gathering comprehensive data on market trends, competitors, and customer insights, as well as for fact-checking and verifying data.
• ChatGPT by OpenAI: Used for analyzing data, creating analytical reports, and drafting presentation content.
• Humata.AI and Jenni.AI: Utilized for summarizing long research papers and competitor whitepapers, reports, and case studies.
• Gamma.AI: Used for designing visually appealing and professionally formatted presentation slides.

[More on AI marketing tools later in the post.]

2. Personalization at Scale

Personalization is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Consumers today expect brands to deliver content and offers tailored to their individual needs and preferences. 

AI allows you to personalize your messaging and offers like never before. 

So how does it do that?

AI makes this possible by analyzing vast amounts of customer data and segmenting audiences based on behavior, preferences, and past interactions.

Instead of sending out one-size-fits-all campaigns, AI can analyze data on customer preferences, behavior, and demographics to tailor content for individual users.

Personalized emails, for instance, are more likely to get opened and lead to conversions. AI helps you analyze customer behavior in real-time, allowing for dynamic personalization.

For example, AI can help you personalize:

• Emails: Send personalized email campaigns that resonate with each segment of your audience.
• Website Content: Display personalized product recommendations or dynamic web content based on user behavior.
• Advertisements: Create highly targeted ads that appeal to different segments of your audience.

3. Predictive Analytics

AI’s ability to predict future trends is a game-changer for marketers. 

How, you may ask?

Predictive analytics tools help you understand what your audience wants even BEFORE they do. 

By analyzing historical data and trends, AI tools can predict future trends, customer behavior, and even market shifts, allowing you to adjust your marketing strategy accordingly.

Predictive analytics can further help you optimize inventory, develop new product lines, and create highly relevant marketing messages. 

Here’s the deal! 👇

It’s all about anticipating customer needs, adjusting market strategies accordingly and staying ahead of the competition.

For example, AI can help you predict:

• Customer churn: AI can analyze patterns in customer behavior and predict when a customer is likely to leave, allowing you to take action before it’s too late.
• Sales trends: AI can forecast which products or services are likely to see a spike in demand, helping you prepare inventory and marketing campaigns.
• Marketing performance: AI can predict the performance of future marketing campaigns based on past data, allowing you to optimize your strategies before they launch.

4. Marketing Automation

AI marketing automation tools are revolutionizing how marketers manage their day-to-day tasks. 

From scheduling social media posts to running email drip campaigns, AI can automate a wide range of marketing tasks, saving you time and effort.

This leaves marketers with more time to focus on strategy, creativity, and high-level decision-making.

Here are some examples of AI-driven automation that we believe work pretty well as of 2024:

• Email marketing: Automate personalized email sequences based on customer behavior (e.g., welcome emails, cart abandonment reminders).
• Social media: Use AI tools to schedule posts at optimal times and automatically engage with followers.
• Ad campaigns: AI can optimize your ad bidding strategy in real-time, ensuring you get the best results for your budget.
• Process Optimization: You can comb through your current business and marketing processes, identify bottlenecks and areas of improvement and match the right AI tools to ensure a lean and mean marketing machine.

5. Enhanced Customer Insights

AI-driven analytics tools offer deep insights into customer behavior, preferences, and purchasing patterns. 

Insights from the right tools can allow you to:

• Create more targeted campaigns.
• Identify high-value customers and target them with personalized offers.
• Understand what content resonates most with your audience.
• Identify new market opportunities.
• Optimize marketing strategies based on real-time feedback.
• Make data-driven decisions to optimize your marketing campaigns.

With AI, you can analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, giving you a complete picture of your customer base and their needs. 

For example, AI can analyze customer feedback, social media interactions, and online behavior, giving you a 360-degree view of your audience.

In fact, we at Content Vista use LinkedIn Sales Navigator for Target Audience Identification on LinkedIn, for our clients. This helps us define the Ideal Client Profile (ICP) based on industry, job title, company size, and geographical location.

[Ask us how in case you want to know more about this.]

6. AI-Powered Content Creation

AI tools like Jasper and OpenAI’s GPT models are changing how content is created. 

Marketers can now use generative AI to create high-quality content in a fraction of the time it would take to do manually.

For example, AI can help you:

• Generate blog posts, social media captions, and email copy.
• Create personalized product descriptions.
• Develop engaging headlines and ad copy.

Question is, can you just automate the COMPLETE marketing content creation process with AI?

Well, even though AI drastically reduces the time and effort needed to produce high-quality marketing and sales materials, you cannot completely automate the process at this point in time!

Here’s the deal. 👇

While AI-generated content can work, it still requires significant human oversight and attention.

Think of AI like an advanced machine gun which requires a trained human to fire and control. Trying to let the gun go out of control can cause more damage than good.

You get the idea, right?

Steps to Create & Implement a Marketing Strategy Using AI

Now that you know how AI can be leveraged in marketing, how do you actually create an artificial intelligence based marketing strategy for your business? 

Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating an effective AI based marketing strategy:

Step 1: Set Clear Marketing Goals

Before diving into AI tools and technologies, you need to have a clear understanding of your marketing goals. What do you want to achieve? 

Are you looking to:

• Increase brand awareness?
• Generate more leads?
• Improve customer engagement?
• Boost conversions?
• Or something else?

Be specific about your objectives, as this will help you choose the right AI tools and tactics to achieve your goals, which is what we have covered in step 2 below.

Step 2: Choose the Right AI Marketing Tools

In 2024, there are countless AI tools available, but are all of them right for your business?

And this made us think!👇

We at Content Vista were one of the first in the industry to try AI marketing automation tools long before it was a trend.

Question is, can you use AI tools for everything in marketing?

And we believe the answer is NO!

After experimenting with a TON of AI marketing automation tools in the past few years, we have realized THIS. 👇

Using AI marketing tools is great in some areas of marketing while in other areas it is best to combine AI with human intelligence. [More on this in the last section.]

Each tool can serve a different purpose and you must choose a combination of tools that align with your marketing goals and budget.

And make sure to understand this 👇

The AI marketing tools you choose MUST align with your marketing objectives and can be integrated seamlessly into your existing processes.

Here are some AI tools that can help with different aspects of marketing:

• Jasper AI: Ideal as content generative AI, from blog posts to ad copy, social media updates, email copy and much more.
• HubSpot: A CRM and marketing automation platform that helps in automating marketing workflows and managing customer relationships through optimizing email campaigns and customer segmentation.
• Grammarly: For improving the quality of your written content.
• Hootsuite: For automating social media scheduling and management.
• Canva: Offers AI-powered design tools to create social media posts, infographics, and marketing visuals quickly.

[NOTE – We have covered these and more tools (with their use cases), in detail in the next section.]

Step 3: Collect, Organize & Analyze Data

To get the most out of AI, it needs data to function effectively. The more data you provide, the better the AI’s predictions and insights. 

So what can you do? 👇

Collect and organize data from various sources, such as your website, social media, email campaigns, and CRM. 

This data will feed into your AI tools, allowing them to make informed decisions and predictions.

The data you collect you should focus on may include these areas:

• Customer demographics
• Purchase history
• Website behavior (e.g., time spent on pages, click-through rates)
• Email engagement metrics

Now understand that the above areas are indicative.

Depending on your industry, you may need specific data for the AI to work optimally,

Once you have fed them the right data, the AI tools can then analyze it to uncover patterns, trends, and customer preferences.

Step 4: Train and Optimize Your AI Systems

So the question is 👇

Is only the right data sufficient to get your AI powered marketing strategy up and running?

Not really!

AI systems need to be trained and optimized to understand your data and produce accurate insights. 

That is why it is so IMPORTANT that you experiment with different AI systems and optimize them to work at their best!

So how can you do this?👇

By setting up machine learning AI algorithms that can analyze patterns in your data and make predictions. 

Some AI tools come pre-trained with industry data, while others may require you to provide training datasets.

For example, if you’re using AI to predict customer churn, you’ll need to train the algorithm with historical data on customer behavior and churn rates.

Step 5: Implement AI in Your Marketing Strategy

Once you have your data and tools in place and your AI systems are trained, it’s time to integrate them into your AI based marketing strategy. 

Here are a few pointers on how you can go about this:

• Segment your audience: Use AI to divide your audience into smaller segments based on behavior, preferences, and demographics.
• Create personalized content: Use AI to tailor your messages for each audience segment. An example could be implementing AI-driven chatbots to handle customer inquiries and personalizing content served to them.
• Automate processes and tasks: Leverage AI to automate repetitive processes and tasks, freeing up time for more strategic work. For example, using AI to automate email campaigns and social media posts.
• Optimize campaigns: AI tools can analyze the performance of your campaigns in real-time and suggest improvements. One example could be to use predictive analytics to optimize your ad campaigns.

Of course, there can be much more to this depending on your industry as well as your specific use case.

The key is to start small and gradually expand your use of AI as you become more comfortable with AI technology.

And if you need help, then get in touch with an experienced AI marketing consultant to guide you through the process.

Step 6: Monitor and Optimize

The work doesn’t stop once you’ve implemented AI in your marketing strategy. 

Why?

Because AI systems learn and get better over time!

Here’s the deal.👇

You NEED to continually monitor your campaigns, make adjustments and optimize them based on real-time data.

AI tools can help with this by providing insights into audience segmentation, how to adjust your content, campaign performance and suggesting other adjustments to improve engagement and conversions.

So keep an eye on your campaign metrics and use the insights generated by your AI tools to optimize your strategy.

AI Marketing Tools (With Use Cases)

So in the last section, we covered the six steps to create and implement a marketing strategy of your own using AI.

But here’s the deal. 👇

Your strategy COMPLETELY depends on using the RIGHT set of AI marketing tools. 

They are essential for everything you want to achieve in your marketing plan which may include automating tasks, analyzing data, enhancing customer experiences and more.

So let’s take a closer look at some of the top AI marketing tools available in 2024 and how they can be used in your strategy.

While some of these include free AI tools for marketing strategy, others are available with freemium and/or premium subscriptions.

[We could only cover a handful of tools in this post. You can check out our detailed blog post on AI marketing tools here.]

1. Jasper AI

Use Case: Content creation and automation

Jasper AI is an AI-powered content generation tool that helps marketers create high-quality content for blog posts, email campaigns, social media content, ad copy, and more. 

Now we have been using Jasper AI since 2021; in fact from the time when it was in the beta testing stage! And that was long before using AI for content creation was even a thing! 😎

So how can it help marketers?

Well, Jasper’s machine learning capabilities allow it to generate human-like text based on specific inputs. Think of all the marketing uses you can put that AI generated text and you’ll know that it can be pretty useful.

2. Perplexity.ai

Use Case: Market Research

Though not too well known, Perplexity.ai is one of the most useful AI tools for conducting in-depth market research.

You can use it to gather a variety of data on industry trends, competitors, and target audience preferences.

3. HubSpot

Use Case: Marketing automation and CRM

One of the oldest players in the game, HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing platform that now uses AI to automate tasks like email marketing, customer segmentation, and lead scoring. 

With its AI features, you can optimize your campaigns, segment audiences more effectively, and improve management of customer relationships.

4. Grammarly

Use Case: Content editing and optimization

Another one of our favorite AI tools is Grammarly.

They advertise quite a bit so you’ve probably heard of it.

So what exactly does it do and where does AI come into the picture?

Well, Grammarly is now an AI-powered writing assistant that helps marketers improve the quality of their written content. 

It checks for grammar, spelling, tone, and readability. It’s perfect for ensuring your marketing messages are clear and professional.

In 2023, Grammarly also introduced a generative AI writing assistance feature that is on-demand and contextually aware.

And in August 2024, it has announced Authorship as a beta in Google Docs, which will automatically categorize text in a document to show if it was written by a human, generated by AI, or edited with AI. 

NEAT!

5. Hootsuite

Use Case: Social media management

Hootsuite is another tool for AI marketing that we are fond of.

It uses AI to optimize social media scheduling and engagement. 

And helps marketers schedule posts at optimal times, track social media performance, engage with followers in real-time, and suggest improvements for future posts.

6. Canva

Use Case: Design and visuals

Now this one is the tool we love the most.

Why?

Because Canva has made it possible for anyone to create amazing designs and visuals!

Canva’s AI tools make it easy for you to create professional-looking designs for social media, blog posts, marketing and sales materials. 

And like we mentioned, you don’t need any design experience—Canva does the heavy lifting for you. You can use it to design infographics, banners, and more, without needing a background in design.

7. ChatGPT by OpenAI

Use Case: Customer service automation, conversational AI and much more.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of years, you’ll have definitely heard of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Though it has a TON of uses, one of the ways you can leverage it is to create and execute your AI-driven marketing strategy!

ChatGPT is a powerful conversational AI tool that can be integrated into your website or app to handle customer queries, provide product recommendations, and assist with troubleshooting. In fact, ChatGPT’s natural language processing capabilities make it a valuable tool for improving customer experiences.

In fact, we’d have to create a whole section in this blog post if we tried to explain the ways you can leverage ChatGPT in your marketing.

8. Phantombuster

Use Case: Lead generation automation

Phantombuster is a tool which is mostly known to advanced marketers.

Using this tool, you can automate social media posting, follower engagement, and data collection from various platforms.

Ensure consistent and timely updates across social media channels, increasing visibility and engagement.

In fact, we use Phantombuster for precisely these things for our clients!

And now let us see some digital marketing examples of AI driven strategies in action.

AI Marketing in Action; Real World Examples of Artificial Intelligence in Marketing

So how are some of the leading brands in the world using AI in marketing?

Here are some real-world examples of companies using artificial intelligence marketing strategies to improve their marketing efforts:

1. Amazon

Remember those related products you see on Amazon when you are looking for something? Or those products in the “suggested for you” section?

You might think that is just a coincidence, right?

No, that’s AI.

Amazon uses AI to provide personalized product recommendations to its customers. 

By analyzing past purchase history, browsing behavior, and customer preferences, Amazon can suggest products that customers are more likely to buy. 

This personalized shopping experience has been a key driver of Amazon’s success, which makes it one of the best AI marketing campaign examples!

2. Netflix

Now think about all that “recommended for you” content after you have clicked on something on Netflix.

It turns out that Netflix’s recommendation algorithm is one of the most advanced AI systems in the world!

It analyzes user behavior to suggest TV shows and movies that align with the viewer’s interests and preferences, leading to higher engagement.

In fact, its recommendation AI algorithm is so advanced that it can predict what users want to watch next with incredible accuracy, leading to longer viewing times!

3. Sephora

For those who have not heard of Sephora, it is a French multinational retailer that sells beauty and personal care products.

So how does it leverage AI in its marketing?

Well, one of the areas it uses artificial intelligence is by employing AI-powered chatbots to assist customers with personalized beauty advice, product recommendations, skincare advice, and online shopping. 

The chatbot can answer customer inquiries 24/7, such as answering questions about skincare routines, makeup tips, and product availability, improving the overall customer experience.

4. Spotify

Spotify’s AI-powered recommendation engine is one of the best AI marketing campaign examples out there. 

The platform uses machine learning to analyze listening habits and suggests songs and playlists to users based on their listening habits.

In fact, the platform’s personalized playlists, like Discover Weekly, have become one of its most popular features.

5. Coca-Cola

One of the oldest brands in the world, Coca-Cola also uses AI to create personalized marketing campaigns for its customers to drive engagement and brand loyalty.

By analyzing data from social media,  user-generated content, customer interactions, and sales, the brand tailors its messages to specific audience segments.

Best AI Marketing Strategies for 2024

Now that we’ve covered how AI is transforming marketing, what are some of the best AI marketing strategies that you can adopt in 2024? 

Here’s a list of must-try strategies for your business that we recommend:

1. Personalization Through AI

Personalization is one of the most effective AI marketing strategies in 2024. 

And as you read in the section above, many brands are leveraging AI precisely for personalization! 

With AI, marketers can analyze customer data and create personalized experiences at scale. This includes personalized messages, offers, and content.

Whether it’s email marketing, product recommendations, ads or website content, AI can help marketers deliver highly relevant content to each customer.

2. AI-Powered Automation

In 2024, process automation with artificial intelligence is key to improving efficiency, reducing manual work, and automating repetitive tasks.

This can save you a TON of time and effort.

AI can automate everything from email campaigns to social media scheduling, allowing your marketing team to focus on strategic and creative tasks.

In fact, this is one of the areas we excel at!

Having executed a number of AI powered automation projects for a variety of clients to optimize outreach and engagement as well as the handling of repetitive tasks efficiently, this is something we can help you with if you want. 

Schedule an AI marketing consultation if you need help!

3. Design & Multimedia

So you probably already know about Canva which has been around for a while.

But here, we are talking about using AI for designing much more than just images.

Did you know that you can use AI to streamline the creation of high-quality videos, presentations and most of your other marketing and sales materials!

Having used AI for designing marketing and sales collateral for various clients, we can say with conviction that you’ll be amazed at some of the results it can create!

4. Predictive Analytics for Optimized Campaigns

AI-powered predictive analytics tools help you forecast trends and customer behavior to help optimize your marketing campaigns.

So what can you use these insights for?

Well, as it turns out, for quite a lot of things!

You can forecast trends and analyze historical data to predict future behavior.

And you can make data-driven decisions about your content, advertising, customer outreach strategies and more.

And how will that help you?

Well, you’ll be able to create more effective marketing strategies, anticipate customer needs, and stay ahead of the competition!

5. AI Chatbots for Customer Engagement

AI-powered chatbots are becoming increasingly popular for providing real-time customer support. 

They can handle customer inquiries, recommend products, and even process orders. 

This improves the customer experience and allows your team to focus on more complex issues.

In fact, some of the top brands in the world like Sephora, H&M and others are using AI chatbots.

6. AI Market Research

This is one strategy which has not become too popular yet.

But if used correctly, it has the potential to create a TON of value for you.   

In fact, we at Content Vista, are pioneers of this strategy having executed already this for a number of clients.

We recommend using AI in market research for deep data mining and trend analysis 

This can help you attain comprehensive market insights. 

Once you interpret these insights, you can develop tailored strategies to leverage specific market opportunities.

[Talk to an AI marketing consultant if you wish to know more about how to use AI for market research.]

Benefits of Using AI to Create and Implement Marketing Strategies

You now know the HOW of creating and executing an AI powered marketing strategy.

But what are the real benefits you can get?

Here we have listed several key benefits to using AI in your marketing strategy:

1. Increased Efficiency

Forgive us for sounding like Captain Obvious here! 😏

But AI in marketing automates repetitive and time-consuming tasks, allowing marketers to focus on high-level strategy. 

Tasks like social media scheduling, email campaigns, and customer segmentation can be handled by AI, saving hours of manual work.

Now that does sound like something every business can get more of, right?

2. Cost Savings

AI in marketing can reduce the need for a large marketing team by automating tasks that used to require human input. 

AI also improves targeting, reducing wasted ad spend and increasing conversions.

This leads to cost savings and improved ROI. 

And what does that mean?

Well, MORE profits of course! 💰🤑

3. Better Personalization

With AI, you can create highly personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with your audience. And you can do this at scale! 

This personalized content leads to higher engagement, better customer satisfaction, and increased conversions.

4. Real-Time Optimization

One of the limitations of the human mind is the inability to think and execute in real-time.

With AI marketing, this problem gets solved big time!

AI tools can monitor the performance of your campaigns in real-time and suggest adjustments to improve engagement and conversions. 

This helps you stay agile and optimize your marketing strategy as needed, which can help you achieve maximum impact.

5. Better Decision-Making

AI provides data-driven insights which reduces the need for making decisions based on thumb rules.

These could include insights related to customer behavior, campaign performance, market trends and much more.

These can help reduce human errors that in the past may have cost you millions in marketing spends!

And you can make more informed and strategic decisions.

Potential Challenges Faced in Creating & Implementing AI Marketing Strategies

The impact of AI on marketing has been largely positive but it is not without its own set of problems.

While it offers a host of benefits, there are also challenges that you need to be aware of:

1. Data Privacy Concerns

AI relies on vast amounts of data, which raises concerns about privacy and data security.

In the past few years, we have already seen such cases with some of the leading companies in the world. 

So, as a marketer, you need to ensure that you comply with data protection regulations like GDPR and CCPA when collecting and using customer data.

2. High Costs

Yes, AI can save you a TON of money in the long run, but the initial costs of implementing AI tools can be high. 

So as a marketer, you need to budget for AI tools, employee training, and data storage solutions.

Here’s the deal!

You must think of implementing AI marketing strategies in your business like an INVESTMENT (which can be significant). But the returns do come a little down the line!

3. Complexity and Learning Curve

AI tools can be complex, and marketers need to invest time and resources into learning how to use them effectively.

In fact, some tools can be extraordinarily complex and may require highly specialized knowledge.

Also, integrating these tools into existing processes can be challenging and may cause conflicts (more on this in the point below).

So keep in mind that there is a learning curve and it can be steep for teams unfamiliar with AI technologies.

Plus, it can be expensive as well because of this reason.

If you do not wish to create an in-house capability for integrating AI into your marketing, you could consider outsourcing it.

4. Integration with Existing Systems

Like we mentioned above, integrating AI tools with your existing marketing systems and processes can be challenging. 

As a marketer, you NEED to ensure that the AI tools you have chosen work seamlessly with your current CRM, email marketing, and social media platforms.

You can go for an AI marketing consultation in case you are looking for help with integrating AI into your existing marketing.

Final Words

So if you’ve made it to this final part of the blog post, then you NEED to know this about using AI for your marketing strategies in 2024.👇

AI marketing is no longer the future—it’s the present. And AI is revolutionizing the marketing world!

If you want to stay competitive in 2024, you need to adopt AI-driven strategies that help you work smarter, not harder.

By leveraging AI tools, automating tasks, and personalizing content, you can create more effective and efficient marketing campaigns. 

Use the insights from this guide to start building your AI marketing strategy [And reach out to us if you need help doing this].

Remember, it’s all about continuous learning and optimization. 

The more you experiment with AI, the better your results will be. 

Start small, monitor your progress, and expand your AI efforts as you gain confidence.

As we already mentioned at the beginning of the post; AI is not a magic wand for marketing. Combine artificial intelligence with human intelligence and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish!

Now’s the time to embrace AI and unlock the full potential of your marketing strategy. 

You can check out some frequently asked questions on this topic below.