Cutting-edge technologies are changing the world around us day by day. And as professionals, we should be ready to embrace these changes.
Today, we will discuss tech trends that can be applied to content marketing. We will talk about the use of artificial intellect, augmented reality, machine learning, and many more.
If you want to automate the process of content creation and distribution and to connect with your audience in a new meaningful way, just keep reading.
1. Augmented Reality
One of the current problems in content marketing is that customers are overexposed to content published by brands. Since buyers come across a bunch of sponsored posts and ads every day, they tend not to pay much attention to what they see. And it’s a big struggle for content marketers to create original content that will grab the audience’s attention.
This is where AR comes in handy. AR helps to craft unique immersive content and engage customers with a brand.
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that blurs the line between reality and the virtual world. It superimposes an image onto a user’s view of the real world and enhances it with virtual sights, sounds, and touches.
Let’s consider a few examples to understand how AR works and how the use of it can benefit your content marketing strategy.
Augmented reality on social media
Augmented reality quickly found its application in social media marketing – it literally took Snapchat and Instagram Stories to the next level. Brands, bloggers, and digital influencers have started to create their banded AR filters and encourage their followers to use them.
Adidas, Gucci, Swatch, Kylie Cosmetics, and many other famous brands used AR filters to create buzz for a new product launch. Here are a few examples of how these filters look like:
Screenshot sources:
https://www.instagram.com/adidasrunning/
https://www.instagram.com/kyliecosmetics/
https://www.instagram.com/swatch/
You can use the same tactic to draw the audience’s attention to your brand. You can design your very own AR filter for Instagram.:
- Download Spark AR Studio
- Browse tutorials in the Learning Center. Then follow the guidelines given and create a filter from scratch (or choose one of the templates available).
- Upload a 3D asset (for instance, your logo, or something that relates to your product or brand), and edit its behavior. Run a test.
- When everything is ready, you can press the “upload” button. Your creation will be reviewed within a few days. Once published, it will get available for all Instagram users.
Do you wonder why you should create an AR filter for Instagram Stories? The use of the AR filters will help you to present the personality of your brand and connect with your audience. Since AR filters are still a new feature, and not every brand is using them yet, you can be the first one in your niche and grab more attention.
Augmented reality in retail
The process of making a purchasing decision is always fraught with doubt. Before proceeding to checkout, customers question themselves: is this product a perfect fit for me?
The task of content marketers is to use new technologies, including augmented reality, to convince buyers that the product they liked is the best option. Let’s consider a few examples of how famous companies take advantage of AR to boost sales.
Visualized product catalog
IKEA released the mobile app IKEA Place that allows users virtually place true-to-scale 3D models of furniture in any place. For instance, if a customer wants to buy a new chair for a living room, he can use his camera to browse IKEA’s products and choose a chair that fits the interior design and size of the room the best.
Screenshot source: https://apps.apple.com/ru/app/ikea-place/id1279244498
Virtual makeup experiences
Sephora was one of the first companies that recognized the importance of AR for the beauty industry. Sephora launched a mobile app with an AR feature that allows users to virtually try on products like lipsticks, eyeliners, and mascaras. The use of new technologies helped the beauty retailer to enhance the mobile shopping experience and increase online sales.
Screenshot source: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sephora&hl=en
If you have a branded app, or if you consider creating one, you should think about adding an AR feature. Identify the doubts of your customers and find a way to address them.
Collaborate with qualified AR app developers and create the app that shoppers will find helpful. If you do everything right, you will skyrocket your sales and take your business to a brand new level.
2. Artificial Intelligence
Now let’s talk about artificial intelligence and its role in content marketing.
Artificial intelligence is an area of computer science that emphasizes the creation of intelligent machines that learn, work, and react in the way humans do.
AI is currently transforming the content marketing landscape. AI-powered tools are getting integrated into marketers’ life on multiple levels. They help to streamline content creation and distribution processes and also help to get a better understanding of the target audience’s needs.
Here are a few popular AI-enabled solutions that benefit content marketing the most.
AI-powered proofreading tool
Gone are the days when the only proofreading tool we used was that of MS Word. Today, we can enjoy all the benefits of AI-powered grammar checkers and readability checkers. We can get rid of spelling errors and typos, improve our writing style, and create more quality content in a hassle-free way.
What is the principal difference between the “old-school” proofreading tools and the new ones? The old tools are programmed in a certain way, and they can detect only specified mistakes.
What about AI-powered grammar checkers, they get smarter day by day, literally. These tools are able to learn new patterns of writing and spot even little incorrectness. AI tools suggest much more definite improvements than ordinary (non-AI) tools.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that AI grammar checkers are a game-changer for content marketers who are not-English native speakers. By using these tools, foreign copywriters can create the content of better quality without getting help from professional proofreaders.
Screenshot source: https://app.grammarly.com/
Automatically generated content
New powerful content automation AI solutions emerge every day. There are lots of tools that use algorithms to rewrite the existing texts automatically. And there are tools that create readable documents from scratch by converting the list of the words into meaningful sentences. All of these tools are powered by natural-language generation, a technology that transforms structured data into natural language.
Well, we should admit that content automation AI solutions, no matter how advanced they are, cannot replace human writers. But, if you learn how to use these tools right, you will significantly boost your content marketing efforts.
Why should you use content automation AI solutions?
- To automate the content writing process and reduce manual mistakes
- To generate content at scale
- To create standardized reports
We want to pay your attention to the fact that Google penalizes websites for automatically generated content if it is intended to manipulate search rankings and not help users. Therefore, you should edit and proofread auto-generated content in the way it will add value to the readers. If you ever decide to publish “raw”, unedited auto-generated content, it will bring you more harm than good.
AI chatbots
AI chatbots can handle almost any task that customer support agents do. Chatbots can provide users with useful content, or help them to complete specific tasks: track a flight, schedule an appointment, order flowers.
You can add chatbots to your website and landing page. Or you can take advantage of social media chatbots.
Screenshot source: https://www.cbinsights.com/
How can the use of AI chatbot benefit your content marketing strategy?
- Your customers will be able to find the necessary information fast and easily. For instance, if a customer wants to know “how to reset a password”, he doesn’t need to browse the FAQ page. He just needs to write a short message in chat – and AI chatbot will provide him with an accurate answer promptly.
- AI chatbot will help you to personalize the customer experience and connect with your audience on a deeper level. Your customers will get the exact content they need, and that will make them feel special and valued.
- Properly designed AI chatbot can help you to strengthen your brand. Give your chatbot a name, and make sure that chatbot reflects your company’s style and tone. Draw your customers’ attention to your brand and its peculiarities.
Some content marketers believe that the creation of AI chatbot is an expensive thing. However, it’s not. There are lots of user-friendly platforms where you can design a smart chatbot for little or no money. You don’t even need to have any specific coding skills to create a chatbot – there are ready-to-use solutions available for marketers like you.
3. Machine Learning Algorithms
Machine learning is a subset of artificial intelligence that impacts almost every industry, including automobile, retail, finance, advertising, and content marketing.
Machine learning algorithms are programmed by datasets to learn on their own in order to perform specific actions. The self-driving systems adapt and change their actions in accordance with the collected data. The more information gets to the database, the more accurate systems perform.
Thanks to machine learning algorithms, content marketers can personalize content recommendations more precisely and can predict topics that will be trending on the web.
Smart content recommendations
As a content marketer, you know that it’s important to give your customers the content they want at the moment they want it. You understand that you should not only produce tons of high-quality content but also make sure that this content is displayed at the right place at the right time.
Well, a few years ago, it was challenging for marketers to predict the users’ behavior and provide the most relevant content. But the development of machine learning and predictive analytics has changed everything. Now, if you choose the right tool, you can develop a predictive customer journey in a few clicks.
Advanced solutions can help you to make the most of your content marketing:
- Save time to find suitable content. Smart “crawlers” will scan your website and automatically identify your content assets, including articles, videos, and infographics. You simply choose what content to recommend at different stages of a customer journey.
- Boost interactions. Allow machine learning-powered tool to put the most relevant content in front of each user across your website and mobile app.
- Use your existing content in a more effective way. Study the content consumption processes and analyze the behavior of prospective customers. Try to find out which content works best for each shopper.
With the help of personalization API, you can leverage an AI recommendations engine and provide personalized experiences based on content the user is browsing. You can do it automatically – there is no need to define and maintain personalization rules. You can spend fewer resources on creating engaging experiences, while also get in-depth analytics to understand how the current recommendations perform.
Content research
What content works the best and generates the highest engagement rate? Content that covers trending topics.
Striving to create high-performing content, marketers spend hours of their time trying to find the search intent of the audience and to come up with relevant content ideas. And pretty often, they ignore the assistance that machine learning tools can provide.
However, the truth is that advanced tech solutions can significantly ease the work of content marketers. With the use of machine learning algorithms, it’s possible to conduct in-depth research on trending topics and popular search queries. Also, it’s possible to predict the future behavior of the target audience and forecast what content will bring the best results.
In 2024, you don’t need to play “guessing games” with your audience and create tons of content. You can use advanced digital solutions to find out what specific content your readers want to access. You can maximize your efforts and enhance your working process like never before.
Final thoughts
If you want to achieve success in content marketing, you should be ready to embrace the changes that affect your niche. You should be eager to learn how new technologies work. Even more, you should strive to be the first one who implements advanced solutions.
Augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are the main tech trends you should leverage in your content marketing in 2024. Choose tools that suit you the most, and then nothing will hold you back from accomplishing your ambitious marketing goals.
