AI in B2B Marketing: Does It Truly Work?

Do artificial intelligence (AI) and business-to-business (B2B) marketing form a match made in digital heaven? Or are they star-crossed partners in the ever-evolving world of marketing strategies? There’s a lot of buzz about AI and B2B marketing lately. And separating the hype from the tangible benefits is still challenging for many B2Bs.

This article journeys through the dynamic landscape of AI-powered B2B marketing. We delve into real-world scenarios to determine whether AI fulfills its promises in the digital marketing realm. You’ll see where AI applications shine and where they tend to fall short. Along the way, we’ll reveal a few of the most effective tools to leverage this transformative technology. But first, let’s answer the concern of every sales and marketing professional.

AI in B2B Marketing: Aiding or Replacing Humans?

AI systems have a lot to offer digital marketing, but they won’t be replacing human B2B marketers. AI might seem smart, and in many ways, it is. Even so, AI lacks human creativity, judgment, and strategic thinking. So, for now, use AI as a brainstorming tool in your marketing and to analyze large amounts of customer data. Human input is still critical for interpreting and acting on AI-generated information.

The Current Role of AI in B2B Marketing

Digital marketers are still skeptical about AI handling intricate and technical topics. After all, B2B marketing deals with a lot of industry-specific intricacies and nuances. AI simply lacks a deep understanding of the sector, its trends, and the unique challenges of different businesses. But writing off AI’s power and evolving capabilities would be a mistake. What AI can do is provide fast, practical, and valuable information.

Artificial intelligence tools currently offer B2B digital marketers five pivotal insights:

1. Customer insights: Enhancing customer understanding and segmentation.
2. Content insights: Guiding the creation of relevant, high-quality content.
3. Campaign insights: Optimizing marketing strategies.
4. Predictive insights: Anticipating trends, behavior, and market shifts.
5. Competitive insights: Identifying strategies for untapped markets.

Digital experts who embrace AI can stay ahead of trends, adapt strategies, and effectively engage target audiences. AI tools help marketers work faster and make better-informed decisions than those who don’t embrace automated intelligence.

Bold Entity’s Perspective: Leveraging AI in B2B

After rigorous testing, Bold Entity affirms that AI isn’t poised to replace B2B content creators. Thehttps://boldentity.com/9-basics-great-content-creation-strategy/best content creation strategies still need humans. However, AI shines as an ideas generation tool with its time-saving magic. Indeed, our in-house testing found that AI-powered processes increase efficiency in outlining objectives. At Bold Entity, we welcome this evolution and look forward to driving it in our digital marketing services.

AI and machine learning are still imperfect, and it can be harmful to view them otherwise.

Where AI Gets It Right in B2B Marketing

AI shines in generating ideas fast and breaking through creative blocks. We typed “blog ideas for best AI tools for B2B marketing” into ChatGPT. Seconds later, titles like “Maximizing Lead Generation with AI Tools in B2B Marketing” and “5 Must-Have AI Tools for an Effective B2B Marketing Strategy” emerged. These results showcase AI’s potential for inspiring content creators with fresh ideas, helping them think through the structure of a blog. AI can also help position content in ways that make the information easier for readers to process.

The table below highlights other strengths AI offers digital marketers.

The free AI-powered marketing tools, however, are limited in capability. Professional solutions can also be expensive, ranging from freemium to enterprise-level subscriptions with monthly or annual plans. There are also associated expenses to consider, such as implementing, managing, and updating or upgrading AI tools.

For many B2Bs, outsourcing AI-powered marketing to a professional marketing agency is the most cost-effective route. A professional digital marketing agency offers a range of services and expertise bundled into its pricing, making it a more affordable option than investing in high-end AI tools.

AI Shortcomings: What It Gets Wrong

AI is far from perfect. Analysts have consistently noted that the information produced from artificial intelligence falls short of complete accuracy. The problem is that the information generated always sounds plausible. We noticed that free tools often make stuff up rather than admit defeat. In our research, we would sometimes get results that were plain wrong.

Here’s a typical response by Google’s Bard when questioned.

There were similar flaws in ChatGPT. Both would quote studies that did not exist or weren’t accessible in the public domain. The programs would admit to giving false or misleading information when questioned, saying they made stuff up to illustrate a point. And we only quizzed these AI models if we knew or suspected something was false.

There are potential concerns with all AI-generated tasks, outside of content creation. Some examples could be legal and ethical risks, accuracy issues, and an over-reliance on data. AI programs also suffer from a lack of contextual understanding.

The point is this: B2B businesses have to cross-check AI-generated results for correctness. Your core mission is to provide trustworthy, informative content for an audience. Publishing inaccurate AI-generated content through automated campaigns can result in low-quality, irrelevant information lacking authenticity. These issues can jeopardize a brand’s credibility and SEO rankings and erode customer loyalty and trust if left unchecked.

Beware of Cheap Content Services

Be cautious of freelance writers or content-creation agencies that offer super-cheap blogs and other material with crazy turnaround times. Chances are they’re churning out AI-generated content with little to no pride or fact-checking. Remember, any references to critical research should always cite the original or a credible source.

The Wall Street Journal wrote a piece on how AI junk and misinformation are already polluting the internet. [1] Cheap content may be tempting, but the damage it can cause your B2B businesses can be costly or irreversible.

We’re not saying don’t use AI to assist content creation or improve marketing strategies, but use it wisely. For example, to flesh out ideas to uncover new ways to approach and manage campaigns.

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Types of AI Tools for Digital Marketers

AI tools and platforms are getting better all the time, but as you have seen, much of it needs human supervision. There are many programs out there, all designed to carry out specific marketing tasks. Here are a few of the more popular options used in B2B campaigns.

B2B content ideation AI: Tools for generating audience-aligned ideas and content. Google Bard, ChatGPT, HubSpot Blog Ideas Generator, and Jasper are all popular options.

Social media (SM) marketing AI: Best for streamlining SM tasks, optimizing posts, and offering data-driven insights. Check out CortexAI™, Socialbakers, and Driftrock AI.

One thing to note, while AI is great for automating tasks like publishing social media posts, it can’t create engaging SM content. Why? Because B2B social media is about building relationships and storytelling. AI simply can’t replicate that human touch. We’ve tested AI-generated SM content in many B2B industries, and it’s always dry and robotic, sounding disingenuous and unrelatable.

Email marketing AI: Enhances campaigns through personalization and optimal scheduling. Look into Phrasee, Boomerang, and Sendinblue programs.

Google Ads/digital advertising AI: Used to automate tasks, refine targeting, and improve ROI. The standout options at the time of writing are Google Ads, Albert, and Adext AI.

Closing Comments

AI is transforming digital B2B marketing, and there’s no going back. It can be invaluable for generating ideas, analyzing data, and automating time-consuming tasks. While AI is not a replacement for human B2B marketers, it should be a powerful addition to the marketing toolkit for those who know how to use it effectively. So make sure you augment your creativity and strategic thinking with AI but remember to cross-check its results for accuracy.

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Resource Links

1. https://www.wsj.com/chatgpt-floods-the-internet-with-spam/