Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain are technologies that are set to give a new look to the digital marketing industry. Because of the lack of understanding, they can easily be perceived as trending buzzwords that will only gain importance in the coming decade. But the accelerated use of new technologies witnessed by the world over the past decades, points towards AI and blockchain making their presence felt sooner that we may imagine.
AI has the potential to automate a number of human tasks such as content creation, Target Group (TG) identification for brands, and influencer selection. On the other hand, blockchain technology is all set to start a revolution by bringing more transparency, trust and value into the web world.
The Inevitable Impact of AI on Digital Marketing
AI is a technology that learns on its own and makes complex decisions to perform human-like tasks.
The impact of AI on the digital marketing industry will be more and more evident with time. The efficiency of automated tasks that were previously done by humans, has given rise to pragmatic advertising. We may see an increase in the number of replacements of human tasks with AI. The complex task of creating the most effective media budget may soon be assigned to AI. Apart from the improvement in effectiveness and TG targeting, AI will also be creating original advertising. We humans may find it daunting to create automated, personalised and large scale digital advertising campaigns. Most of the automated advertising these days, results in irritating ads that keep popping up to show you that car you researched about but weren’t interested in buying. To find a solution to this problem, emerging start-ups are developing AI tools that can instantly create a personalised copy for social posts or advertising depending on distinct inputs.
Certain start-ups are using AI to select the right micro-influencers for brands. Social listings are used by automated algorithms to match influencers with brands, considering the demographics and TG. Brands can also monitor their campaigns and get detailed reports through AI supported tools.
The Effect of Blockchain on the Future of Digital Marketing
Blockchain is a technology that creates a transparent record for every action performed online. Any transfer of information related to that particular action is used to create a chain of data, which is stored in blocks. No company or individual can modify the transactions or information stored on blockchain. It discards the need for trusting a third-party to verify transactions and limits the chances of fraud.
Trust issues pose a huge challenge in front of the digital marketing industry. The click farm wave has given brands a good reason to doubt that they are getting good value for money. Another factor is ‘brand safety’, which means trust in the placement of advertising.
Brands are looking for more transparency in the advertising supply chain, and blockchain is ready to step up to solve the problems of marketers all over the world. Media supply chains based on blockchain create a transparent record of every action, like the details of an ad that was placed by a brand. Blockchain is also expected to bring relief to the ones who are frustrated with advertising in its current form. Ads will be delivered to consumers, based on the information within their browser. The choice of ads that they see will be with their browser, instead of multiple servers of advertising technology companies. Blockchain will act as a filter for both brands and customers, as the right ads will reach the right customers. So, if you are a foodie, the only ads that will pop-up on your screen will be directly or indirectly related to food, and if you’re a luxury brand, you know that the consumers viewing your ads have an history of buying luxury products. This is a total game-changer, as consumers will be able to choose whether to accept advertising or not. And if they do, their valuable attention will be rewarding for them. A portion of the amount paid by brands for advertising will be credited to their Digi-wallet. This will create a stronger bond between brands and consumers.
Advocates of AI and blockchain are increasing as the two technologies are ready to mark a new era of automation and trust in the world of digital marketing.
