How to Boost Your Marketing ROI With AI Tools

Marketing has come a long way from traditional advertising methods like print ads and billboards to the world of digital marketing, and now the latest innovation in marketing technology, artificial intelligence tools, are starting to become mainstream.

AI marketing tools are designed to help businesses automate marketing tasks and enhance the customer experience, helping you improve your bottom line by maximizing your marketing efficiency.

In this article, we'll discuss what AI marketing tools are, why you should seriously consider using them, and what the best small business AI marketing tools out there are.

Let’s get started!

What Are AI Marketing Tools?

AI marketing tools are computer programs that use artificial intelligence algorithms to automate marketing tasks and make them more efficient and cost effective.

These tools can perform a variety of functions such as lead generation, customer segmentation, email marketing, social media marketing and management, and analytics data mining.

There are two main types of AI marketing tools: rule-based systems and machine learning systems.

Rule-based systems use pre-defined rules to intelligently automate tasks while machine learning systems use training data instead of rules to improve your marketing performance over time.

What Are Some Examples of AI Content Used In Digital Marketing?

The number of use cases for artificial intelligence in digital marketing is vast and increasing at a rapid pace.

Here are just but a few examples of popular applications in small businesses today:

• Chatbots: AI chatbots can be used to provide customer service and answer frequently asked questions.

• Personalized email campaigns: AI can analyze customer data to create personalized email campaigns with relevant content and offers.

• Social media posts: AI can be used to schedule and optimize social media posts for maximum engagement.

• Website personalization: AI can be used to personalize website experiences based on customer behavior and preferences.

• Predictive analytics: AI can analyze customer data to make predictions about future customer behavior and preferences

• Content creation: AI systems can be used to create high-quality and relevant content such as blog posts, articles, and product descriptions in record time.

• Image recognition: AI can be used in digital marketing to recognize and categorize images and videos, making it easier to organize and analyze media assets.

• Voice-activated search: AI-powered voice assistants software can be used to search for products and services through voice commands.

• Sentiment analysis: AI can be used to analyze customer sentiment and feedback, helping businesses understand customer opinions and preferences.

• Dynamic pricing: AI can be used to adjust pricing based on market demand and competitor pricing, ensuring maximum profitability for businesses.

• Ad optimization: AI can be used to optimize digital ad campaigns by targeting the right audience, reducing ad waste and improving conversions.

• Product recommendations: AI can be used to provide product recommendations to customers based on their browsing and purchase history, helping to increase conversions and customer loyalty.

• Virtual assistants: AI-powered virtual assistants can be used to automate customer service tasks and provide personalized experiences, by using natural language processing and machine learning to understand customer requests and respond with relevant information and guidance.

What Are the Best AI Marketing Tools for Small Business?

There are several AI marketing tools available for your business, each with its own unique features and benefits.

Below you’ll find a list of the top 15 in the market:

1. Seventh Sense

Seventh Sense is a next-gen email marketing platform that uses AI-powered algorithms to analyze recipient behavior and optimize the send time and frequency accordingly, ensuring maximum engagement and deliverability. This results in increased open rates, click-through rates and ROI.

2. Hootsuite Insights

Hootsuite Insights is a social media analytics tool that uses AI to uncover useful insights about your audience in real time, such as their interests, demographics, and more, giving you a comprehensive understanding of your audience and their behavior.

This information helps you drive better engagement and reach on social media, and ultimately, improve its overall performance.

3. Pardot

Pardot (a SalesForce company) is a marketing automation platform designed to help you target and nurture leads effectively.

It uses AI algorithms to help you understand the behavior of your leads and their interests so you can target them with personalized content that is more likely to resonate with them.

4. Albert.ai

Albert.ai is a marketing platform that leverages the power of AI to help you plan, execute, and optimize your marketing campaigns.

Its data-driven insights and machine learning algorithms provide recommendations to help you make informed decisions so you can optimize your marketing ROI.

5. Marketo

Marketo is a marketing automation platform that leverages AI and machine learning to deliver more personalized experiences to your customers.

It uses advanced predictive analytics to anticipate customer behavior, helping you execute nurturing campaigns with a much higher conversion rate.

6. Personalize

Personalize is an AI-powered platform that helps you deliver more personalized experiences to your customers through any marketing channel.

By analyzing customer behavior and preferences, Personalize creates tailored content and experiences that resonate with each individual customer, increasing engagement and driving higher conversions.

7. Optimizely

Optimizely is an experimentation and optimization platform that uses AI to help you make data-driven decisions.

It uses machine learning algorithms to help you understand how your customers interact with your website, and provides insights and recommendations that help you improve their experience, leading to higher conversions.

8. MarketMuse

Marketmuse uses AI to analyze your market, your competitors, and your customers to help you create content that’s more relevant and effective for your target audience.

You can use MarketMuse to improve the performance of your content at every stage of your marketing funnel, from initial awareness to purchase-ready, increasing engagement and ROI.

9. Acrolinx

Acrolinx is a content optimization tool for businesses. This platform uses AI to help you create high-quality, on-brand content by providing you with real-time guidance and feedback on style, tone, and messaging.

You can use Acrolinx to better align your content with your brand's messaging so that it reaches your target audience more effectively.

10. Phrasee

Phrasee uses deep learning algorithms to generate high-performing email subject lines, ad headlines, and other types of marketing copy.

By analyzing customer data and behavior, Phrasee can help you craft copy that resonates deeper with your target audience.

11. Crayon

This AI-based intelligence platform helps you monitor, analyze, and understand your competitors, by collecting and aggregating data from multiple sources.

Crayon allows you to get insights into your competitors' strategies, products, and marketing efforts, and use that information to improve your own business.

12. Yotpo

Yotpo is an AI-powered customer review and user-generated content platform that helps you increase engagement and gather valuable insights about your audience.

For example, you can use Yotpo to create a strong community of brand advocates and use customer reviews and feedback to drive business growth.

13. Adobe Marketing Cloud

Adobe Marketing Cloud leverages AI to provide a suite of tools to create data-driven customer experiences, including personalization, optimization, analytics, and cross-channel orchestration.

Its goal is to help you create a seamless and personalized customer journey from first contact to purchase.

14. IBM Watson Marketing

IBM Watson Marketing is an AI marketing automation platform that helps you deliver personalized and engaging customer experiences at scale.

Using AI and machine learning, this platform analyzes customer data and provides insights to help you create effective marketing strategies to reach your target audience, increase engagement, and drive revenue growth.

15. Chatfuel

Chatfuel makes it easy to create and manage conversational experiences on messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.

Using AI and natural language processing, the platform helps you respond to customer queries quickly and effectively, oftentimes without the need for human intervention.

Now, when choosing an AI tool from the list above, it's important to consider your business needs and budget. Most tools are better suited for small businesses, but you’ll notice that some are more suited (and priced) for enterprise-level companies.

I decided to include those on the list nonetheless to give you a 30,000-foot view of the best tools available so you can make an informed decision.

Are There Any Free AI Marketing Tools?

While most AI marketing tools are available only with a paid subscription, there are some useful free tools worth mentioning.

Now, keep in mind that free tools either have very limited functionality or their learning curve is very steep, as you’ll likely have to do a lot of the data-mining semi-manually and on your own, with little or no support other than forums and knowledge bases.

Some examples of free AI powered marketing tools include:

Google Analytics: A web analytics service that provides insights into website traffic and user behavior, using AI and machine learning algorithms to identify patterns and trends.

Hootsuite Insights (free version): A social media analytics tool that provides insights into your audience and competitors, using AI to identify key trends and metrics.

Tars: A chatbot builder that uses AI and natural language processing to help businesses create conversational experiences for their customers, available for free for basic use.

MonkeyLearn (free for academic use only): A text analysis tool that uses machine learning algorithms to classify and analyze the sentiment of customer reviews and other text-based data.

Segment (free plan): A customer data platform that helps you collect, manage and analyze customer data from various sources.

Google AdWords Keyword Planner: A free keyword research tool that helps you find the right keywords for your PPC campaigns, using AI algorithms to analyze keyword data and provide insights (note: a free Google Ads account is required for tool access.)

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do AI Marketing Copywriting Tools Work?

AI copywriting tools use advanced machine learning algorithms and natural language processing to generate marketing copy based on input data and specific parameters.

These tools can create everything from product descriptions to blog posts, social media posts, email campaigns, ad copy, marketing pop ups, headlines, bullet point, and much more.

They use data from a variety of sources, including previous content and customer preferences, to create written content that is both relevant and engaging.

Why Should I Use AI Marketing Tools?

There are several benefits to using AI marketing tools, including increased efficiency and productivity, enhanced customer experience, and improved marketing ROI:

Increased Efficiency and Productivity — AI marketing tools automate repetitive tasks such as data entry and analysis, freeing up time for you to focus on higher-level tasks like strategy and creativity.

Enhanced Customer Experience — They also allow you to personalize your marketing efforts and provide a better overall customer experience.

For example, AI can analyze customer behavior and preferences to tailor emails and offer personalized product recommendations.

Improved Marketing ROI — Finally, they can help you make more informed marketing decisions and improve your ROI by providing real-time data and insights that can be used to enhance your revenue and profits.

How Much Do AI Marketing Tools Cost?

The cost of AI marketing tools varies depending on the specific tool and its features. Some basic AI marketing tools are available for free, while more advanced tools can cost hundreds of dollars per month.

Some tools offer flexible pricing options, such as a monthly or annual subscription with a discount, or the ability to pay for only the features you need.

Conclusion

AI marketing tools are becoming more essential for small businesses looking to stay competitive every day. The benefits are numerous, from increased efficiency and productivity to enhanced customer experiences and higher revenue.

Now, keep in mind that this is a very fast-paced space, with new game-changing technologies entering the market  every year.

So, even if you’re not ready to implement an AI tool into your marketing stack right now, it’s important that you become aware of what’s available to your competitors.

Having said that, if you want to stay ahead of the competition, you might want to consider taking a look at some of the tools on this list. Most offer free trials or have a money-back guarantee.