How is branded content evolving thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

• Read original article here

Without a doubt, 2020 was full of challenges and learnings for all companies, regardless of their industry or size, but one of the most significant lessons was the search for new forms of communication and approach with clients through the change of narrative in the messages.

Nowadays it is not enough to offer a good quality product or service and talk about these virtues through all possible channels, brands require a more complex and deep strategy that tells their customers which company is behind what They buy, what does it do for the community, what are its value propositions and what qualities are those that differentiate it from the others.

In this way, branded content -creation of quality content, whose objective is no longer to communicate the benefits of a product or service, but to transmit an experience to its users- has positioned itself as one of the most popular strategies. According to the Content Scope 2020 study, by the Branded Content Marketing Association, 62% of the companies surveyed consider that this strategy, as well as its measurement, is very important for their communication plan.

Some of the advantages of branded content are:

Improve engagement. You are not looking for a direct increase in sales, but to create more loyal customers. Build a greater emotional connection. He seeks to create a bond with the customer, which lets him know that the company will always be there for him. Improve brand positioning. Create a positive image of the company that customers and potential buyers associate with easily. But to reach customers and achieve effective communication, companies require the contributions of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a ‘plus’ that creates comprehensive communication strategies that listen to the customer, based on data and are traceable. The incorporation of AI in branded content is already the great differentiator between companies that are taking the user experience to the next level and those that are limited to providing basic attention.

How does AI help improve branded content strategies?

Although there are many advantages that AI brings to branded content, some tools based on this technology have shown better results, since they are flexible and can be adapted to any business model.

Big data. Big data is already a basic of any strategy. Companies can no longer afford to launch a campaign and wait for feedback, they require a statistical guide both to develop an idea and to track it through metrics. Big data can give an estimate of what is the best channel, time and content to achieve a specific goal, hence its importance.

Chatbots. Without a doubt, chatbots are and will continue to be essential for any business. Its availability, responsiveness, data analysis, and natural language processing make it an ideal tool. Chatbots can be programmed for different objectives, from the simplest such as solving common doubts, to those more complex such as making personalized suggestions, following up on purchases or closing sales. This tool has a strong impact on the customer experience and the way in which they perceive the service provided by the brand.

Omnichannel. A communication and customer service strategy must always be at the customer’s hand, regardless of the channel they choose to contact the company. For this reason, branded content must also follow this line of ‘always present’. This contributes to a friendly, accessible and hassle-free experience.

Hyper-personalization. Not only the channel is important, but also the content, which is why brands must channel their efforts to get to know their customers better, not as a group, but individually with unique preferences, tastes and habits.

Every day AI brings more advantages to marketing teams, so the question that these professionals ask themselves is no longer what does the client want or need? But how do I anticipate their needs to satisfy them?

And although the pandemic drastically changed many ‘traditional’ forms of marketing, the truth is that it also expanded digital channels so that this field opens up a range of possibilities, many of them yet to be discovered.