The Pros and Cons of AI + How It Will Affect Performance Marketing

With the rise of ChatGPT and subsequent AI integrations across all types of platforms, there’s no doubt that AI will quickly transform how the world operates in the years to come. Among performance marketers, AI is already becoming popular and it’s easy to see why. 

Economic downturn has led to declining budgets, with 30% of marketers cutting their ad budgets, and the money marketers do put into ad spend isn’t going as far. But with AI, there’s potential for improved targeting, campaign optimization, automation, and more.

However, there are still many factors to consider when implementing AI into advertising. Let’s discuss the pros and cons and explore how creators can help performance marketers beat AI’s biggest challenges. 

Pros and cons of AI in advertising

AI is already changing the advertising landscape, especially in the areas of search and paid advertising. And while there are many benefits to implementing AI in advertising, there are also several drawbacks to consider. 

The pros: 

• Enhanced audience targeting: AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data to understand audience behavior and preferences, allowing advertisers to deliver personalized content and ads that resonate with their target audience.
• Improved campaign optimization: AI can analyze ad performance data and provide insights to optimize campaigns, leading to better results and higher ROI. 
• Automation of ad creation and delivery: AI-powered tools can generate ad copy, images, and videos, reducing the time and effort required for content creation. Additionally, AI can automate the ad delivery process, ensuring ads reach the right audience at the right time.
• Measurement of ad impact: AI can analyze various metrics to measure the impact of ad campaigns, helping advertisers understand what works and make data-driven decisions for future campaigns. This in turn allows marketers to showcase tangible ROI to clients and stakeholders. 
• Identification of emerging trends and opportunities: AI can analyze data from different sources to identify emerging trends and opportunities, allowing advertisers to stay ahead of the curve and maximize the impact of their campaigns.

The cons:

• Potential for privacy concerns: The use of AI involves collecting and analyzing vast amounts of user data, which raises concerns about privacy and data security.
• Ethical considerations: The algorithms powering AI systems may introduce bias or make decisions that raise ethical concerns, such as discriminatory targeting or manipulation of user behavior.
• Dependence on technology: Relying too much on AI systems may lead to a reduced human touch and creativity in advertising, potentially affecting the authenticity and emotional connection with the audience.
• Skills and knowledge gap: The adoption of AI in advertising requires a skilled workforce capable of understanding and leveraging the technology effectively. The industry may face a shortage of professionals with AI expertise.
• Potential for ad fraud: AI-powered advertising systems may be vulnerable to ad fraud, where malicious actors manipulate the algorithms or generate fraudulent ad impressions, leading to wasted ad spend and inaccurate campaign results.

How can influencer marketing help brands beat AI’s biggest challenges? 

As we mentioned above, AI can provide efficiency and scalability in advertising, but it also presents many challenges when it comes to creativity, authenticity, and adding a human touch. That’s where influencer marketing comes in. 

Influencers have real influence.

Unlike AI, influencers are real people with real opinions and experiences, who have established an authentic connection and trust with their audience over a long period of time. The meaningful  relationships that creators have built with their audience have translated into higher ROI for brands over the years. In fact, businesses generate an average of $5.78 in revenue for each $1 invested in influencer marketing, with some seeing as much as $18! 

Influencer content is high-performing. 

Creative is the new targeting. In today’s saturated advertising world, better creative leads to better ad performance. 

Enter: influencer-generated content (IGC). IGC is highly engaging, diverse, and scalable — empowering brands to quickly source a goldmine of content that can be repurposed across all of their channels.

For example, you can take your paid ads to the next level by boosting influencer content through Branded Content Ads. These IGC-based ads allow you to personalize your ad creative to each of your audience segments and hyper target your messaging to resonate better, leading to better results. In fact, Meta’s studies have shown that Branded Content Ads drive 53% higher click-through rates and a 19% drop in CPA. 

You can also repurpose IGC on other branded channels to stretch its impact. Brands like Vitauthority work with influencers to produce 5x their branded content, which serve as the foundation of the company’s omni-channel marketing efforts and elevates the brand’s visual identity, as they incorporate this content across the website, social media platforms, and customer emails.

Influencers have built-in communities you can target. 

While AI can target broad audience segments, influencers with niche or specialized content can provide access to highly targeted and engaged audiences. Consider working with micro-influencers who have a smaller following but a more dedicated and loyal fan base. They often have a higher level of trust and influence within their specific communities.

When you build long-term relationships with creators who align with your brand values, they can tell your brand’s story in a way that they know will resonate with their audience — whether that’s by incorporating their personal experiences or sharing behind-the-scenes content. You can also collaborate with influencers to develop unique and creative campaigns that go beyond traditional advertisements. Give your creators enough freedom to present their creative campaign ideas, whether it’s interactive experiences, contests, or challenges. 

This kind of human element is much more engaging and memorable than purely algorithm-driven ad campaigns. By focusing on building genuine connections and pursuing engaging storytelling, you can differentiate your brand from AI-driven advertising approaches. 

Diversify your ad channels

Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize the advertising industry, offering benefits such as improved targeting, campaign optimization, automation, measurement, and trend identification. However, it is crucial for advertisers to address the associated challenges and ethical considerations to ensure responsible and effective use of AI in advertising.

Influencers can be the key to your growth marketing success. Learn more in our webinar, Using Influencer Content To Fuel Your Performance Marketing Channels. 

‍