Hi friend 👋
Welcome to another edition of Marketing At Scale, where I provide actionable insights and practical guides within marketing and tech – that can all be consumed in your coffee break!
I’m a millennial born in the late 80’s and it’s so fascinating to me to look back on how much technology and marketing has changed during my lifetime. The Internet, smartphones, and social media are just a few examples of innovations that have completely transformed how we interact, how we buy and how we consume information. As a consequence, these innovations have also completely transformed marketing. And since things are moving even faster now, it’s hard to imagine how marketing will look 10 years from now. Yikes, even 5 years from now!
I recently stumbled upon an intriguing article titled “How AI will reinvent Marketing” which explores what happens in a world of infinite labor, infinite content, and mass personalization. This article really opened my eyes to just how much marketing as we know it today will most likely change in the near future. Of course, no one knows exactly what the future holds, but we can make educated guesses. If you want to get a glimpse into what the future of marketing might look like - I highly recommend reading the article as well as the comments.
AI agents are an innovation that is already here and will likely be a huge game changer for your online business. In this issue, I’m breaking down what they are and how you can get started—no coding skills required!
In this issue:
✅ Deep dive: What are AI agents and how can you get started today?
✅ Tech Tip – Our favorite design tool just got a major upgrade
✅ In case you missed it – Must-see tech headlines
Let's dive in 🏊♀️
🔎 Deep Dive
What are AI agents and how can you get started today?
Imagine you have a virtual assistant who never sleeps, never takes a break, and learns from every interaction. That’s what an AI agent can do for you.
Defining AI Agents
AI agents are software programs that can perform tasks autonomously, using artificial intelligence to learn and make decisions. Think of them as your digital assistants, capable of handling repetitive and time-consuming tasks. Using AI agents can free up your time, so you can focus on more strategic or creative activities.
AI agents can vary in complexity. Some are simple, rule-based systems that follow a set of predefined instructions. Others are more advanced, using machine learning to improve their performance over time. The most sophisticated AI agents use deep learning and natural language processing, which enables them to understand and interact with humans in a more natural way.
How Can AI Agents Help Your Business?
So how can you leverage AI agents today? And what are some of the best use cases for AI agents? Here are a few practical examples:
1. Customer Service Assistant: AI agents can manage customer queries 24/7. They can handle common questions, process orders, and even troubleshoot issues, ensuring your customers always have support when they need it. For instance, if a customer asks about the status of their order, an AI agent can quickly pull up the relevant information and provide an instant response.
2. Email Marketing Assistant: AI agents can personalize and automate your email marketing campaigns. They can segment your audience based on behavior, craft tailored messages, and send emails at optimal times, increasing engagement and conversions. For example, an AI agent can analyze customer purchase history and send personalized recommendations, boosting your sales.
3. Content Repurposing Assistant: AI agents can help repurpose your content across various platforms. They can take your blog posts and turn them into social media updates, email newsletters, or even video scripts. This ensures your content reaches a wider audience without you having to create new material constantly.
4. Prompt Engineering Assistant: AI agents can assist in creating and refining prompts for other AI tools like ChatGPT. They can help generate effective prompts that produce the desired outputs, saving you time and improving the quality of your AI interactions. For instance, an AI agent could suggest how to frame a query to get the best customer insights or generate compelling marketing copy.
Getting Started with AI Agents
You don’t need to be a tech guru to start using AI agents. Several beginner-friendly platforms are designed for non-coders. Here are a few examples:
• Zapier Central: Zapier launched Zapier Central in March this year. It is currently in Beta and combines the intelligence of AI with its popular automation platform. Zapier describes Zapier Central as “an experimental AI workspace where you can teach bots to work across 6,000+ apps”. Check out Zapier Central.
• Tars: Tars is an AI-powered conversational platform that enables businesses to engage with customers through chatbots and live chat. Check out Tars.
• Cassidy AI: Cassidy AI offers an easy way to create AI agents tailored to your business needs. With Cassidy AI, you can design agents for various tasks such as customer support, lead generation, and data analysis, all without requiring any coding skills. Check out Cassidy AI.
The Bottom Line
AI agents are transforming how online businesses operate, making it easier to manage tasks and improve efficiency. By leveraging platforms like Zapier Central, Tars, and Cassidy AI, you can start using AI agents today, even without technical expertise.
As you explore the potential of AI agents, remember that the goal is to streamline your business so you can save time and money while at the same time providing a better experience for your clients and your audience.
Start small, experiment with different tools, and gradually expand your use of AI to fully reap its benefits.
By staying up to date about the latest developments in AI and continuously adapting to new technologies, you can ensure that your business remains competitive in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
💬 What AI agents would you want to create for your business? Hit reply and let me know!
👀 Tech Tip
Canva Just Got a Major Upgrade
If you’re an online business owner who uses Canva for marketing, get ready to be excited! Canva recently announced some fantastic updates at their Canva Create 2024 event, and they’re set to make your life so much easier. Here’s a rundown of the most essential updates you need to know about.
- New design interface - Canva’s design interface has received a sleek makeover. The new interface is “purpose-built for a focused creative experience” and is currently being rolled out to users.
- New and improved Magic Studio - Canva’s AI powered Magic Studio has several exciting updates. For example, you can create graphics from text, use the highlight feature on longer videos to generate snapper and shorter clips, use the blend feature to merge elements from two photos into one, etc.
- Create assets at scale with Bulk Create - The Bulk Create feature (one of my favorites) got an upgrade so now you can also include images in your bulk creations and not just text.
- Create engaging Courses - Easily set up learning materials for onboarding or upskilling, just assign them to your team, and track their progress.
To learn more about these updates and how you can use them in your business, check out these two video resources 👇
The redesign + 8 NEW features just announced
Canva’s keynote from Canva Create 2024
📚 Recommended reads
In this section, I’m sharing carefully curated newsletters that I think are worthy of your attention.
A Good Reputation by Renee Lynn Frojo
Renee is a former business journalist, who now helps purpose-led businesses to create marketing that matters and build a brand people truly love.
In her newsletter A Good Reputation, she shares what works for a founder-led business making a big impact. She shares helpful resources and tips to sharpen your brand storytelling skills, create meaningful connections, and find your people—one example at a time.
I just love her own description of the newsletter: “Find out how to build your brand. Leave feeling hopeful about humanity.” I can highly recommend subscribing.
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A Good Reputation
by Renee Lynn Frojo
Learn how one founder-led business with a clear purpose used one approach to build their reputation. Come for lessons on how to build your brand. Leave feeling hopeful about humanity. |
📢 In Case You Missed It
Must-see tech headlines
ChatGPT is now powered by the new, more powerful AI model GPT-4o
In addition to snappier conversational skills, OpenAI says its GPT-4o model makes ChatGPT better able to make sense of images, including photos and charts. It can also store more information about a user in its “memory” to provide a more personalized experience. Learn more.
The CEO of Zoom wants AI clones in meetings
In a recent interview on the podcast Decoder, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan described how he thinks one of the big benefits of AI at work will be letting us all create something he calls a “digital twin” — essentially a deepfake avatar of yourself that can go to Zoom meetings on your behalf and even make decisions for you while you spend your time on more important things, like your family. Learn more.
Anthropic’s AI now lets you create bots to work for you
Anthropic is releasing a new feature for its AI chatbot Claude that will let anyone create an email assistant, a bot to purchase shoes or other personalized solutions. For instance, the tool can analyze data to create personalized product recommendations based on a user’s purchase history or provide quick responses to customer inquiries, such as tracking order status or offering real-time technical support. Learn more.
🥳 Just For Fun
Digital marketers be like…
That’s it for this edition!
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