Why Small Businesses Need AI: Key Benefits Revealed (Part II)

With the emergence of AI, there have been a plethora of ways to use AI. Whether its social media marketing (SMM), content creation, content curation, or developing marketing strategies, AI has proven time and time again that it can successfully help experts save time, energy, and optimize efficiency. For those who have been following from the first part of this segment until now, you might be wondering what other benefits AI can offer outside the scope of specific AI tools. Today, we will review lesser known benefits, popular benefits, the types of AI, and general support that AI offers to several industries. 

AI in the Global Business Industry

Since its conception, AI has evolved and faced countless innovations. Through AI, many studies show that data-orientated marketers have surfaced and explored new marketplaces or marketing dimensions based on the data gained from AI-driven social media marketing (Basri, 143). As a result, AI assisted social media marketing (AISMM) has become a highly used and desired tool for companies around the globe in need of help with the marketing side of business. An example of an international actor (country) that has utilized AI to boost its marketing capabilities is none other than Saudi Arabia. 

In Saudi Arabian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), AI helps boost business through the use of consistently updated marketing technologies. Companies in Saudi Arabia have been facing marketing challenges, however, AI makes data storage easier which in return, makes develop new marketing strategies easier. AI, combined with knowledge management, decision support, and data warehousing, enhances business management. It supports marketing and improves business performance. Recent studies show how AI enhances social media marketing campaigns which makes it an essential part of marketing in today's digital age. Saudi Arabian companies can and have been benefitting from this (Basri, 143). 

Customer Engagement and the Types of AI

As we already covered before, AI offers a plethora of ways to bring small business owners close to their consumers. However, we haven't discussed exactly how AI digests and provides information to those who use it. There are three types that is responsible for this process: robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL). RPA automatically processes information and by using linear algorithms, answer basic questions (Golab, 3025). The AI integrated in RPA helps with the process of data requests, but there is no learning or adaptation within this process. ML requires a large amount of datasets from which the algorithms that ML produces and learns information through trial and error. This learning occurs without the help of human eyes (Golab, 3025). Consequently, ML algorithms offer users more  accurate suggestions after the process is done.

Lastly, DL is in a way, a reflection of the human nervous system(Omeish, 2024). It is based on artificial neural networks and between the "input" and "output" process, it uses a large amount of layers in which data is transformed,  similar to how us humans think. The output from a given layer is used as input for the next layer, so it can easily be assimilated into the decision-making process (Golab, 3025). 

Marketing Communication

An important part of marketing that we have unofficially discussed is marketing communication (MC). MC refers to the act of using a number of tools, channels, and practices to communicate with potential and existing customers (Hafize, 64). MC's prerogative is to delivered clear, compelling messages about a brand or product to the desired target audience. AI plays an adjustment role in marketing communications that provides both important benefits and new opportunities to engage consumers in a more effective and efficient manner. As aforementioned, an integral use of AI in this field is personalizing messages. By analyzing a plethora of data focusing on consumer behavior, preferences, and past interactions, AI algorithms can created unique messages for each individual consumer. This ensures that the content is personalized, relevant, and appealing to every recipient (Hafize, 64).

Through the use of AI with MC, the quality of personalization improves customer experience, increases engagement rates, and makes marketing campaigns more effective (Hafize, 64). Additionally, AI helps in deciding the best timing, platform (in some cases), and placement of marketing messages. By studying data and understanding patterns in your customers' online behavior, AI can predict the best times to send messages on different platforms, such as email and social media. This increases the likelihood that the message will be noticed and considered by your consumers (Hafize, 64). 

Here is a quick video give a more in-depth explanation of marketing communication.

Long-Term Relationship Management

In relation to MC, both AI and ML give organizations the ability to develop long-term relationship management with a number of stakeholders. In the field of Telehealth, long-term relationship management is essential to improving the probability of success (Heung, 2023). Through the use of chatbots (computer programs designed to have conversations with human users on behalf of a company), AI can collect user data. Some examples of chatbots are Siri, Amtrak's Julie, Domino's chatbot, and Meta's BlenderBot. 

Companies can gather the data gained from conversations to gain a better understanding of their customers' wants, needs, and preferences. Additionally, chatbots can automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks related to stakeholder engagement, such as answering frequently asked questions, scheduling appointments, and providing information. This automation saves time and energy, allowing organizations to concentrate on other marketing strategies and is available to customers 24/7.

TikTok Algorithms

Most applications, platforms, and digital services that we use in today's age incorporate the use of algorithms to function. Algorithms are "encoded procedures for transforming input data into the desired output, based on specified calculations." (Kang and Lou, 27). Social media platforms such as Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok use algorithms to improve user experience, personalize content, and create a more engaging place for users to want to continuously use. With TikTok specifically, research shows that users are open to personalized experiences provided by machine agency (AI).

 However, through the interaction and influence that humans and AI have on one another, user agency (human ability to make choices in the digital realm) and machine agency also led to user–AI synergy (Kang and Lou, 27). Users intentionally influence content curation algorithms to cater more precisely to their needs and thus, AI facilitates users’ content creation and networking. The AI–user collaboration on TikTok significantly influences medium engagement and social-interactive engagement (Kang and Lou, 27).

What’s next on the agenda?

AI has continuously proven to offer a variety of support regardless of the location and industry. Now that we understand the different types of AI, we understand how information is processed, how answers are given to our questions, and how actions are carried out. Please read the next blog article to learn about the last AI tool that can help your small business turn into a popular and global phenomenon!

References

Basri, W. (2020). Examining the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Social Media Marketing on the Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises: Toward Effective Business Management in the Saudi Arabian Context. International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems, 13(1), 142–152. https://doi.org/10.2991/ijcis.d.200127.002

Gołąb-Andrzejak, E. (2022). Enhancing Customer Engagement in Social Media with AI – a Higher Education case study. Procedia Computer Science, 207, 3028–3037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2022.09.361

Hafize Nurgul Durmus Senyapar. (2024). Artificial Intelligence in Marketing Communication: A Comprehensive Exploration of the Integration and Impact of AI. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 55, 64–81. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v55i1.10651

Kang, H., & Lou, C. (2022). AI agency vs. human agency: understanding human–AI interactions on TikTok and their implications for user engagement. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 27(5). https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmac014

Leung, R. (2023). Using AI–ML to Augment the Capabilities of Social Media for Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring. Healthcare, 11(12), 1704. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11121704

Omeish, F., Khasawneh, A., & Khair, N. (n.d.). Investigating the impact of AI on improving 

customer experience through social media marketing: An analysis of Jordanian Millennials. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100464

Urwin, M. (2023, December 4). 18 Chatbot Examples to Know | Built In. Builtin.com. https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/chatbot-examples