Marketing constantly evolves. One of the more exciting aspects of the industry is that it's always changing, adapting and introducing improved ways to operate. When it comes to what PPC will look like in 2020 and beyond, marketing automation is set to be the defining trend and characteristic.
This may initially seem like a potentially worrying concept for marketers. We often hear that automation is set to make a huge number of jobs, even industries, obsolete. However, when it comes to creating an effective marketing automation strategy, it’s about finding ways to implement and incorporate automation effectively, as opposed to just letting AI handle everything.
So let’s examine marketing automation, and the effect it's currently having, as well as the long-term impact it can have on the wider industry as a whole.
PPC automation marketing
It's best to start by understanding what PPC automation is. Essentially, PPC automation is using technology, AI and machine learning to optimize your SEM efforts as opposed to relying on humans to perform these tasks.
As a result of the growing number of networks and platforms that are currently available to marketers, managing paid ad campaigns manually has become practically an impossible task to achieve. In some cases, it may even take a team of individuals who are dedicated specifically to maintaining this. This is why automation technology has become a fundamental aspect if brands are intending to scale their digital media efforts effectively and efficiently.
Through utilizing automation in paid marketing, marketing managers are now able to free up their time and resources to focus on other elements of their business, be that top-level strategy work, liaising with clients or focusing on growth, as the marketing efforts are able to be handled without worry.
In fact, around 75% of marketers are currently utilizing at least one form of an automated marketing tool while 63% of the current businesses who have successfully implemented marketing automation into their companies are planning to increase their budget for it in the coming years.
Benefits of using automation marketing
While freeing up time is obviously an important benefit that accompanies using automation marketing, here are other benefits:
Creating ad copy: It can take a great deal of time to create engaging, creative ad copy in relation to your marketing projects, especially when it comes to large accounts. When greater numbers of ad groups and campaigns are needed, using automation to optimize ad copy based on data can help streamline the process and format large amounts of copy in a more efficient manner.
Reporting: Receiving and utilizing quality data is the heartbeat of a marketing campaign and automation lets you observe the data you need, when you need it. Automating the process can help to generate greater insights that will inform strategic decisions without having to physically sit through and find the data you need while filtering out the data you don’t.
Managing bids: One of the most time-consuming aspects of marketing can be managing bids. However, with PPC automation, managing bids can be done immediately, with a much more precise level of accuracy that will ultimately make the entire process more profitable.
Error reduction: Humans make mistakes. Automation and machine learning however is much less susceptible to make a costly mistake than can lead to lost conversions.
Personalized content: Once the data has been collected, automation can help create incredibly personalized content at a much faster rate than a human counterpart would be able to achieve. By personalizing content, it's much more likely that your audience will engage with your ads.
Lead generation: As well as this data being used to form tailored content, it can also be used to find better quality leads. With automation working effectively, it will mean you're only focused on targeting leads which have a higher chance of converting. This saves time, resources and effort.
Create relevant content: AI helps to determine the type of content your audience is interested in. By knowing this, you can curate your online platforms for individual visitors to give them exactly the sort of things they want without them having to ask for it. This is something Buzzfeed has nailed with its newsletters that only feature content that the recipient is likely to connect with as opposed to sending out mass emails to all.
PPC automation tools
Minimizing the amount of human effort involved in the process is one of the main appeals of automation, but what are some of the specific tools that will let you achieve this? Some of the main ones that make up a marketing automation strategy include:
Automated bidding for shopping campaigns: This will help you to optimize your overall advertising spend. With advanced machine learning in place, monitoring campaign performance is simpler and you have the ability to set a bid in every auction to help you achieve your goals at a desirable ROI. You are left to focus on the bigger picture of running your business, while automated bidding ensures you place the right bid at every auction.
Automated ad testing: Finding and activating the best ad or ad copy can be an arduous process. With automated and responsive ads, you can simultaneously test a variety of headlines and descriptions. When machine learning is incorporated, you're able to track which are the most effective and make positive changes that have been driven by data to generate success.
Running bidding experiments: By running this, you have the ability to duplicate an original campaign and then change aspects without affecting your legacy campaign. This allows you to determine if an automated bidding strategy would in fact improve your campaign before having to alter your ad spend.
Clients want to do business with people who are on top of things. Stay on point, on task, and up to date with gentle reminders that prompt you to take the next step—like sending an intro email to a new lead. Try a demo here: https://t.co/JJw45nBY68 pic.twitter.com/gC2h9Ep9hA
— Keap (@KeapGrowing) June 1, 2020
The future of PPC agencies
So, will traditional PPC agencies die out in the age of automation? In a word, no. Instead, as with every new and exciting technology, it will shape the future of the industry and marketers will find ways to adapt and evolve with it. With advanced technologies such as AI and Machine Learning constantly updating and improving, digital marketing is becoming more of a sophisticated, data-driven science as opposed to a gut feel artform.
While these new tools and applications will likely never fully replace digital marketers, new technology will affect the industry as a whole, and will continue to do so with each coming year. As marketers have always been aware, you have to adapt, otherwise you get left behind.
About the author
David Pittaway is a creative content writer for Aumcore, a digital marketing agency that specializes in supporting clients with its approach to PPC advertising as well as helping with a variety of different marketing needs.
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