Digital Challenge
Trends.
You would have to go back some distance to when the word “trendy” was acceptable, I can see my teenage children wincing in my mind’s eye.
However, amid the tie-dye tees and beehive haircuts, we sought liberty, demanded change and trendy was to then, how AI feels today: time was marked before and after.
Trends form around the edges, a new thing to be adopted or disputed, a symbol of a group you’re in, a time you’re from or status you wish to project.
Fads on the other hand are a distraction, quick hacks, they come and go swiftly, trends can take a lifetime, and form cultural change.
Spotting the difference can be hard when you’re in it, generally, fads are “in the moment things”, they appear within tactics. Trends tend to be aligned with strategy and values.
Social media is a trend, adopted by nearly all internet users, selfies will come and go.
I used to consider social media to be a fad, the idea of rewarding noise still seems incorrect to me, however, the user’s community connection is the unwavering trend.
I fall back on integrity if I am unsure. If it stands for something, takes time to achieve and is hard to replicate then it’s a better bet for a trend, true also for a business.
I curiously googled the top trends for this year, and the common threads appear to be: AI, Influencers and video. That seems to represent a good starting point for me.
Social media and short attention spans seem to be the main driver for the rise in video, no surprise then it is also the content of choice for influencers. Video transmits personality and for the charismatic, it is quick to create.
When TV started there was no vying for attention, barely even a smile. We weren’t to know what this trend would become, but it connected us.
We stand on the edge of AI, there will be a before and after marker for sure, and I believe it will connect us.
But right now we are fearful, it’s not quite the doomsday prediction of Terminator 2, with the human skeleton still proving quite a mystery to replicate.
Instead, we seem to be integrating the tech into our own bodies, and I don’t just mean the subconscious reality of my phone ending up in my hand at any small pause in life.
Smart glasses can now augment new realities into our eyes, film what we see and play our favourite tunes as we go about it.
Prosthetics can enhance our physical experience long after our bodies are worn out and brain implants can even enable us to see colours through sound.
A future closer to the plot of “her” seems more likely then, if you aren’t chatting with your favourite AI then you are most likely missing some opportunities for growth, not to mention a potential relationship with a Scarlet Johanson voiceover 😀
Being right at the front of this new technology poses lots of questions and opportunities, as well as the enjoyment of it still being a bit crap sometimes, that promise comes with no takesies backsies.
So here are some good use cases we’ve discovered for AI in your marketing:
Develop your brand
You probably already know you can create content, written, images, video, audio, but if you want to avoid generic outputs then you need to be specific.
Use AI to build your brand tone, use it to build your personas, now you can create content or conduct research from the perspective of your customers and with your voice.
Analysis
Do you know who is top of Google for your services? Well, you can easily find out with a quick google. Do you know why they are there and you aren’t? I know someone who can help.
You can easily compare your webpages with the webpage at the top of Google and then ask AI to fill in the gaps. Check my article on Gap analysis from earlier in the year for some useful tips.
Automations
Being cautious of the Chrysler example above, chatbots and automations between systems are now easier to set up than ever before.
The examples are almost endless and could range from streamlining marketing, sales or operations to reviewing CVs against criteria to take away unconscious bias from the recruitment process.
A word of warning, the word is adoption.
Adoption is a big deal, bringing new tools into your workflow, means sharing your data with these tools, so don’t do it without asking the right questions.
Who can access it?
Who owns that output?
Can I claim it or sell it as my own?
Does the person buying it know where it came from?
Do they know how their data may be handled?
If I adopt this, can they opt out?
And what is the cost? AI can analyse and produce outputs faster than we ever hope to, but our digital habits and dependence has already seen annual energy use grow between 26-36%.
Considering we haven’t really touched the sides of what AI will look like in our world, I suspect it won’t be long before we are far more concerned about the impact of our digital footprint than our flights.
When adopting trends, it may be wise to take the longer view then, avoid the fads of AI by considering how you will harness this opportunity to change the impact of your work?
An AI policy might help. It will encourage you to document and vet AI tools within your organisation. Some useful questions might include:
On an individual basis, how will we use AI to allow us to work more on the things we enjoy and less on the things that get in our way?
At the organisational level what potential is there for us to make better use of AI across our operational, sales and marketing activities?
In delivery, how can AI integrate with our products/services? How can we equip our clients to grow stronger through their use of AI?
You will likely have heard that “AI won’t take your job, but someone using it will.”
We aren’t dealing with a fad, we are already on the early side of a new trend, and with a little thought we can embrace what is positive about that.
It has never been easier to strip yourself of repetitive tasks, to level up your skills with a dedicated tutor or have a highly skilled expert in your pocket,
Therefore, AI has the potential to release us as humans, to ask what it even is to be human.
We have the opportunity to dream a new future and create a better world.
The challenge then, is deciding what will you do with this autonomy.
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