In a world increasingly driven by data and the promise of artificial intelligence, FWD London reminded us of a crucial truth: at the heart of every successful connection lies authentic human engagement. Their recent insights highlighted the importance of being present, fostering genuine relationships, and prioritising meaningful storytelling and behavioural insights over the relentless pursuit of isolated metrics.
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The Enduring Power of Storytelling
While the mediums we use have evolved, the essence of good storytelling remains unchanged. What has shifted is the increasing desire for personal, one-to-one narratives. This poses a fundamental question: how do we leverage the power of data while maintaining that vital authenticity?
Social media and YouTube, initially seen as barrier-breakers, paved the way for more personal connections. However, in the age of AI, there’s a risk that authentic stories will become vulnerable as the pressure to create quicker overshadows the pursuit of quality. While AI can enable more stories, what we truly crave are good stories – those born from humanity, vulnerability, and genuine connection.
We’ve embraced data so enthusiastically that, in some ways, we’ve lost touch with the very connection we set out to deepen.
The AI Conundrum: More Time or New Tasks?
Back in the 90s, Microsoft famously declared that their new products, Word and Excel, would grant people more time. They had a very popular ad that stated those that used Word and Excel had more time to spend on the golf course.
The reality, however, was a shift in tasks and responsibilities, not an abundance of free hours. We’re seeing a similar narrative emerge with AI. While the promise of increased efficiency is enticing, the reality is likely to be new tasks and new ways of working, rather than simply more leisure.
A stark warning needs to be remembered when using these tools. Using AI merely as a ‘hack’ to outsource tasks is a dead end. The less we engage our brains, the less capable our brains become. Outsourcing our thinking risks making us collectively dumber, potentially marking a peak in human cognitive ability.
It’s easy to brand AI as being a poor blog writer or social media caption generator, however nothing generated by AI is ever ready to go live without human intervention. While a human might provide a final draft needing only proofing, AI will deliver a first draft that requires:
- Verification: Is the information true and accurate?
- Branding Alignment: Does it match your brand’s tone of voice?
- Ethical Compliance: Does it align with your company’s ethics?
- Call to Action: Is the call to action natural and does it correctly reference your product?
The more effective approach to AI is to use it as an amplifier of human skills. By applying our critical thinking and steering AI in the right direction, we can reach new heights, using technology to enhance our abilities rather than replace them.
Ethics in AI, particularly within marketing, is an area that demands far more attention. Beyond the data sources and potential biases of AI models, we need to consider the ethical implications of how we apply these tools. AI can even be used to highlight existing ethical deficits in our businesses, prompting necessary self-reflection.
Data’s Double-Edged Sword
Data is undeniably powerful, but it demands responsible use. Getting too caught up in trends and generating content solely based on online happenings can lead us astray from our true audience. While data can inspire, it rarely provides the definitive answer. Creativity, true innovation, and genuine connection aren’t found in analytics dashboards.
If you’re stuck on creative stories to help sell your product, consider these fundamental questions:
- Why was the product made?
- Who is it for?
- How does it help people?
- What does it make you feel when you use the platform?
The best stories being shared in marketing are those that answer these questions from a deeply human perspective, offering insights that Google or Gemini simply cannot provide.
The danger of becoming a slave to data is creating content that mimics everyone else, leading to a sea of sameness. Instead, look to your comments sections for authentic human insights. Even copying your competitors’ comments into an AI tool can help uncover topics your audience truly cares about.
Standing Out in a Crowded Inbox and Beyond
In an increasingly cluttered inbox, standing out is a monumental challenge. On email, the mantra is simple: give, don’t take. The more value you provide without asking for anything in return, the more your open rates will flourish.
With the decline of social media reach, shifting focus to owned media is crucial.
Making social content has always been seen as one of the more creative and fun marketing tasks. However, there is no reason why email marketing can’t be as fun in displaying your brand message, as social.
With email, you need to remember to provide value. Don’t just talk about your product, instead offer expertise across your entire industry. And remember, emails are screens – they can be dynamic and engaging. Too many have a static hero, with a header and no movement or engagement.
Best practice is merely what everyone else is doing. At a certain point, it’s necessary to ignore it and forge your own path.
When it comes to inspiration, put down your phone. True creativity isn’t found by scrolling or asking ChatGPT. Get outside, move your body, and expose your brain to new environments. Physical movement often sparks mental breakthroughs.
Engaging emails are more important than ever. Each email needs to demonstrate a reason to stay in the recipient’s inbox. With a rise in fear of links in phishing emails, users have started blocking rather than unsubscribing, a far more detrimental outcome.
The Emotional Core of Customer Journeys
Every decision people make is inherently emotional. While we can map out customer journeys, it’s the underlying emotions that truly drive those choices. Avoid the ‘deadly hamster wheel of optimisation’ – endlessly testing random elements, copying competitors, sounding like everyone else, throwing tools at problems, and becoming enslaved by data.
Instead of talking about ourselves and listing product details, we need to ask: who are we truly selling to, and are we answering their questions?
The ’emotional targeting framework’ offers a powerful alternative:
- Customer-First Research: Move beyond AI-generated suggestions for landing pages. Focus on the data that truly matters.
- Identify Pain Points: What pain does your customer feel before finding a solution?
- Emotional Triggers: What emotional triggers drive their decision-making?
- Hesitations: What are their concerns or reservations?
Methods for uncovering these insights include:
- Customer Interviews: Talk directly to your customers.
- Review Mining: Analyse reviews, not just for your product, but related products or even books (e.g., reviews for “Accounting for Dummies” for an accounting software company).
- Social Listening: Platforms like Reddit are invaluable for honest, unfiltered conversations.
Understanding ‘clusters of emotions’ can also be highly effective:
- Self-Image: How do people want to feel about themselves (meaningful, smart, happy, successful)?
- Social Image: How do people want others to perceive them (smart, a go-to expert)?
When auditing your CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation), consider:
- Can prospects immediately and clearly see what’s in it for them?
- Are you describing their pains and challenges in their own words?
- Are you highlighting outcomes and feelings rather than just features?
- Do your design and UX support your main message?
- Can a prospect immediately see the action they need to take to achieve their desired emotional outcome?
Quantitative data tells you where the problem is, but not what it is. For that, you need human behaviour insight and expertise. If website experiments aren’t feasible, leverage your email marketing system for split testing and A/B campaigns.
Finally, embrace ‘zero-click marketing’. Not every action needs a measurable metric. Focus on providing genuine value to customers, rather than solely chasing vanity metrics and you will build long-term brand equity.
Stay Up To Date With Marketing
Digital marketing is ever-evolving, with new social media channels, new forms of searching for content and updates to algorithms and consumer changes. It’s important to stay up to date with the latest information to ensure your marketing is moving towards hitting your goals and targets.
There’s a lot to keep up with in marketing, which is why we offer a range of online and face-to-face marketing training courses and 1-2-1 consultancy packages that cover the latest trends and best practices that your organisation needs in order to succeed.
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