How much of a threat is AI to digital marketing agencies?*

Artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially pose a significant threat to digital marketing agencies, as it has the ability to automate many tasks that are currently done by mere mortals.

Some of the ways that AI could impact digital marketing agencies include:

  1. Automation of content creation: AI-powered tools like ChatGPT can generate written content quickly and with a high degree of coherence, which could make it harder for agencies to justify charging clients for writing services.
  2. Increased competition: As the cost of using AI-powered tools decreases, more companies may start to use them, which could lead to increased competition for digital marketing agencies.
  3. Decrease in job opportunities: AI may automate certain tasks that are currently done by human workers, which could lead to a decrease in job opportunities in the digital marketing industry.
  4. Improved targeting and personalization: AI-powered tools can analyze large amounts of data quickly, which can help companies to target their advertising more effectively and personalize their marketing messages.
  5. Improved ROI: With the help of AI, companies can make data-driven decisions, optimise their campaigns and get a better return on investment.

However…

It’s worth noting that these potential challenges should be seen as opportunities for digital marketing agencies to adapt and create new services by using new technology.

Some of the most significant opportunities include:

  1. Improved targeting and personalization: AI-powered tools can analyse large amounts of data quickly, which can help companies to target their advertising more effectively and personalise their marketing messages. This can lead to higher conversion rates and better customer engagement.
  2. Automation of repetitive tasks: AI can automate repetitive tasks such as data entry, campaign optimisation, and lead scoring, which can help agencies increase efficiency and reduce labour costs.
  3. Improved ROI: With the help of AI, companies can make data-driven decisions, optimise their campaigns and get a better return on investment.
  4. Predictive modelling: AI can help predict consumer behaviour, allowing companies to anticipate trends and create more effective marketing strategies.
  5. Chatbot and voice assistants: AI-powered chatbots and voice assistants can be used to provide 24/7 customer service and automate the sales process, improving customer experience.
  6. Content Generation: AI-powered tools can help to generate unique and high-quality content in a fraction of the time, which can be used for social media posts, email campaigns, blog posts and more.

With the right skills and approach, agencies can leverage AI to improve their services, increase efficiency, and offer new value to their clients.

*Disclaimer: The above article was entirely written by AI

Here at Terra Ferma Media, we’re not overly concerned about being replaced just yet. As you can see from the content above, this blog post comes across as devoid of personality and fairly mundane, even repetitive. Plus, currently, the most popular AI chatbot service has only gathered data up until the end of 2021. So – asking it to write an article about Rishi Sunak’s role as Prime Minister will draw a huge blank.

Furthermore, apps are being developed (as always) to counterbalance the onslaught of AI chatbots by easily identifying when content has been created by artificial intelligence. There’s even talk that Google Search may soon count identified chatbot content as spam, thus negatively impacting offending website rankings.

So tread carefully when deciding whether to use AI to instantly create your next copy project. There’s still some fight in us humans yet.

Oh, and what’s more, the real world is fighting back: AI image creator faces legal challenges from Getty

by David Fernando

Instagram update sees shopping cart exit left

An announcement this week let the world know that Instagram will soon be updating its user navigation to ‘simplify’ things for everyone.

The biggest change sees the shopping bag Shop shortcut icon disappear from the app’s home screen navigation altogether. The news has generally met with approval among users who have felt that the commerce side of the app has, over the past few years, been forced front and centre at the expense of its more creative shortcuts. The move will see the Create button move from the top right navigation to, once again, be the most central icon on the main navigation bar with the Reels icon making way by moving one step to the right. The Shop icon will no longer be seen here at all.

Does this signal a change in direction for Instagram?

Don’t panic (!) – buying and selling on Instagram is here to stay and will continue to be easily accessible via the Discover shortcut (the magnifying glass one) as well as direct from Posts, Stories and Reels. But placing the Create shortcut front and centre once again could be seen as an attempt to prioritise creativity over commerce for the average IG user experience. And we like that.

What’s also interesting is that the ever-so-slight re-positioning of the Reels shortcut may signal acknowledgement that the IG powers that be have taken on board the ‘Make Instagram Instagram Again’ backlash from users who are unhappy that the app seemed to have been copying TikTok more and more since 2021.

The new Instagram changes start to roll out this February.

See how Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri announced the changes >

by David Fernando

The rise in infographics on Instagram

If you are familiar with the social media app Instagram, you will know that its main purpose has been, traditionally, to share selfies and snapshots of one’s lifestyle. But there has been a significant rise in the use of educational infographics flooding everyone’s news feed, particularly in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Let’s take a look at how this has changed the way we use Instagram and how it promoting societal change for the younger generation.

What is an infographic?

An infographic is defined as ‘graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly.’

Instagram offer an image carousel with a maximum of 10 slides, which you can fill with whatever you like.

Users can take advantage of this feature, posting tailor-made graphics, with bold text, to explain elements of bite-sized concepts. They have proved to be a successful tool for education and spreading awareness, considering most young people consume most of their news on social media rather than on traditional news outlets.

The catalyst: Black Lives Matter

The trend of the Instagram infographic really came to the forefront following the tragic murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in the United States.  Our newsfeeds filled with selfies quickly turned into mini slideshows packed with cries for justice and equality, to define relevant words and phrases, and resources on how to support the Black Lives Matter movement.  This trend was picked up by not only the everyday users but also celebrities and influencers who had vast followings on the platform.

 

Since then, the infographic had been adopted by other causes and is used frequently all over Instagram as a way to circulate information and educate on specific subjects or topics. They seem to spike when explaining especially complicated/heated political or social topics, such as for sharing the experiences held by women of sexual harassment in the light of the Sarah Everard case, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 

Here are some examples of how infographics are being used as an activism tool on Instagram at present:

 

@SophJButler posts a weekly ‘Sunday School’ graphic educating readers on specific issues regarding disability.

 

@everydayracism_  Graphics to educate on the subject of racism and how it can be challenged.

 

@theslowfactory  Frequently upload carousel posts on a variety of topics using tailor-made graphics and citing sources along the bottom

 

How the infographic can be used for your business

 

The infographic is a brilliant way to condense a fair amount of information into a singular social post, which can be beneficial to a business selling any kind of product or service.

For example, Brigstock Skin & Laser who post infographics to their Instagram account to promote their monthly offers or to provide information surrounding their expertise.

Infographics can be utilised as a tool to answer frequently asked questions at a glance. This lessens the likelihood of a user dropping off because it has proved to hard to get the answers they needed.

Each slide of the infographic can be posted as an individual story for more exposure and saved to a highlight reel for future users to find.

The infographic tool allows a brand to share snapshots of what they are offering, without wordy, lengthy and frankly overcomplicated posts. Providing a call to action in the final slide or in the caption will allow users to find further information on your website, thus promoting traffic and hopefully leading to greater conversions.

 

How to get started with infographics

  •  The free tool, Canva, is going to be your best friend. It is a library of pre-made, fully customisable, social media content – including premade carousals and infographics! The great this is, you don’t need any prior experience with graphic design to get the most out of Canva.
  •  Customise your posts to reflect your branding and stick to your own colours and fonts. If Canva does not have your font in-built, you can upload it manually. Likewise, you can upload your own icons, images and logos.
  • Keep the information concise, with a clear message, keeping to your brand’s tone of voice.
  • Do not overpack each slide with text. It is best to make use of the 10 slide maximum to spread out the wording. Whilst you can download ready-to-go infographics with the text included, it is best to edit them so that people don’t recognise it from elsewhere and so it reflects your company’s mission.
  • Put a small watermark on each of the slide, so that others cannot repost your content without crediting your business. This could be with a logo or with your Instagram handle.

Whether this is your introduction to infographics or you wanted to find new ways to make your infographics more effective, one thing is for sure, they have made a huge impact in all corners of the digital world and every marketing and social media professional should be embracing them – as they are clearly here to stay.

by Sophy Knight