Maximizing the Potential of AI in Paid Media Creative
In today’s fast-paced marketing landscape, where economic demands require marketers to do more with less, the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) has become crucial for small teams to produce a greater output. Without AI, teams risk not meeting their goals due to limited resources. Additionally, advancements in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising have revolutionized how teams approach technology’s impact. Machine learning has changed the methods of targeting, designing creative, and structuring campaigns. This combination of human expertise and technology creates a competitive advantage for marketers.
One of the key ways to strike a critical balance between human touch and AI is by aligning ads to the customer journey. AI-assisted features on ad platforms like Performance Max, Meta’s Advantage+, and LinkedIn’s Predictive Audience allow marketers to find the right audiences at the right time. These features use algorithms to match creative to the most relevant audience for higher conversions. Marketers must optimize their objectives and create strong messaging and designs that resonate with their ideal customer profile (ICP) and their journey.
While using AI-assisted features can lead to cheaper traffic and engagement, the quality of these “smart” audience types may be questionable, especially in B2B. Marketers must decide if they are willing to cast a wider net to reach the right people alongside some less-qualified traffic. To resonate with a quality audience, humans must guide AI targeting with strong messaging and designs for audience engagement.
Another important aspect of maximizing the potential of AI in paid media creative is to feed the machine. With AI broadening audiences and brands competing for attention, it is crucial to design content for all possible placements where ads can be served. By testing extensively with various sizes and formats, marketers can maximize their audience pool. Variety is key while adhering to brand guidelines. Algorithms need significant differences in creative to test successfully.
To generate more output and save time, marketers can leverage generative AI tools like ChatGPT for tasks such as creative concepts and ideation, ad copy, localization/translation, audience research, and HTML5 code generation. These tools help teams complete tasks in a fraction of the time it used to take. Free and low-cost AI tools are available for teams on tight budgets.
While AI is used for efficiency, it is important to prioritize authenticity. AI should be used as a guide or a way to accomplish tasks faster, but the final product should always be reviewed thoroughly. Brand tone and voice should remain at the forefront of all designs and messaging.
Designing for short attention spans is another crucial aspect of maximizing AI in paid media creative. Consumers are consuming more video than ever, with tutorials or how-tos, educational content, and product reviews being among the highest-consumed video categories. Including video in the content mix can improve brand reach and engagement. It is important to be concise, as the attention span of the Gen Z generation is down to 2.8 seconds. The sweet spot for video length is 15 to 30 seconds, especially for cold audiences. Marketers must capture attention within the first five seconds and keep the video interesting enough to hold viewers’ attention.
In the rapidly evolving marketing landscape, brands need to embrace AI as a time-saving tool and leverage its capabilities to keep up with the volume of options algorithms need to find the right audiences. By getting leaders and creative stakeholders on board and quantifying the results, marketers can prove the impact of AI efforts. It is important to invest in channels where the target audience spends time and serve content in familiar formats. AI should be guided as an extension of the team, helping accomplish goals with meaningful outputs.
In conclusion, AI has become an essential tool for marketers looking to maximize the potential of paid media creative. By aligning ads to the customer journey, feeding the machine with diverse creative options, leveraging generative AI tools, prioritizing authenticity, and designing for short attention spans, marketers can enhance their ad campaigns, engage their audience, and drive superior results. With the right balance of human expertise and technology, marketers can meet the demands of the modern marketing landscape and achieve their goals.
