“Is it the end of Google’s search engine?” “Will SEO still matter?” “Does OpenAI even stand a chance?” These were just a few of the questions making the rounds. 

Well, the big announcement didn’t happen (at least not that specific one), but it doesn’t mean OpenAI’s search advancements are standing still.

An Ex-Googler as OpenAI’s Newest Vice President

OpenAI recently hired Shivakumar Venkataraman as its new Vice President. I know you might be wondering, “Who in the world is this guy, Iasmine?” Well, he’s no stranger to the tech scene—he’s a former bigwig at Google.

At Google, he led various divisions, including search advertising, Google Labs, and even the blockchain division. Venkataraman holds degrees in computer science and has worked at Hewlett-Packard Labs and IBM before Google. 

So, it’s safe to say they didn’t pick him out of a hat. With his expertise, he’s poised to be a real game-changer for OpenAI, especially if they’re gunning for their own version of “Google Search.”

Should Alphabet investors be worried? 

Even if OpenAI launched a new search engine tomorrow, Google is so well-established that it would be a tough challenge to dethrone it. 

Google holds over 90% of the search engine market share, while its next closest competitor—Bing, bless its heart—has only 3.64%.

But Will OpenAI Have Its Own “Google” or That’s a Tall Tale?

Here’s the kicker: creating a new search engine doesn’t seem to be on Sam Altman’s (CEO of OpenAI) to-do list.

In a recent interview, Altman mentioned that imagining OpenAI creating a Google clone “understates what [OpenAI advancements] can be.”

He says he’s more excited about helping people find information in entirely new ways. Altman doesn’t think the world needs another Google, but integrating a chat client like ChatGPT with a search engine? Now that’s “cooler,” he said.

Altman also expressed his dissatisfaction with ad-supported models like Facebook and Google, where advertisers can influence search results. He said that with ChatGPT, he knows he’s not the product being sold. 

But aren’t we training the machine every time we use it? Doesn’t that make us a kind of product, too? Just food for thought. 

What’s clear is that OpenAI doesn’t plan to monetize user data through targeted ads, which Altman believes is financially sustainable. Do you?

So, What Are OpenAI’s “Cooler” Plans? 

Real-time data 

Recent deals with publishers like Dotdash Meredith, Le Monde, and Prisa Media indicate a focus on providing ChatGPT users with access to real-time news content and links to original sources. 

Integrating real-time data into ChatGPT is pretty cool, indeed. But it won’t look like the blue links that Google makes available on the SERP; it will be more like a well-grounded conversation.

ChatGPT is now “omini”

OpenAI just introduced ChatGPT-4o (the “o” stands for “omni”), promising faster responses, voice conversations, and the ability to upload images and documents for summarizing, organizing, or asking questions about them. 

These are promises they have been talking about for a while. ChatGPT-4o is available on desktop MacOS and features a more user-friendly interface. 

Another “cool” feature they’ve rolled out is called “memory,” but it’s only available to some users at the moment as they’re testing it out. 

Essentially, it lets you ask ChatGPT to remember certain details, and then it uses that information to tailor responses in the future. Here’s an example they shared on their page:

“You mention that you have a toddler and that she loves jellyfish. When you ask ChatGPT to help create her birthday card, it suggests a jellyfish wearing a party hat.”

I don’t know about you, but it’s a little unsettling to me. It feels like I’m sharing a bit too much with a stranger.

Free users of GPT-4o will have a message limit that resets after a few hours, but at least there’s a free option, following Google’s Gemini steps.

And speaking of limits, the message you get when you hit it isn’t exactly pushing me to upgrade to the Plus version. It’s like, “You’ve reached your GPT-4o limit. Responses will use GPT-3.5 until your limit resets after 4:09 PM.” Well, for now, that’s fine by me, unless they seriously amp up the perks for Omni to make it irresistible.

What Else Is To Come?

In the future, they plan to make it possible to talk to ChatGPT through real-time video conversations and even predict users’ emotions based on what the platform hears and sees. 

As I mentioned in my previous article on ChatGPT, I can’t help but remember the relationship between Theodore and Samantha in the movie “Her.” At this point, it doesn’t even seem that weird—I can totally see some people I know falling in love with ChatGPT. Just kidding. I guess. 

Well, apparently, I’m not the only one who thought about the movie, as the very Sam Altman makes a clear reference to it: “The number of things that I think ‘Her’ got right, that [was] not obvious at the time […] that was incredibly prophetic,” he once said.

Is It The End of Search Engines?

Take a chill pill! The end of search engines isn’t likely to happen anytime soon (or ever). 

Sure, Artificial Intelligence is amazing, but let’s be real—there’s still a high demand for good old human-generated content, or at least a hybrid of AI and human input. 

Think about it: When you’re searching for something, you often need the nuanced, creative, and sometimes quirky touch that only humans can provide. AI can give you facts, but it can’t always give you that personal touch or deep insight.

Plus, users are showing they’re not ready to jump ship from traditional search engines just yet. A perfect example is people opting out of the generative AI features in Google. 

Despite all the hype around AI, many users still prefer the reliability and familiarity of standard search results. They trust the balance of human editorial judgment and algorithmic efficiency that traditional search engines offer. 

So, while AI is a powerful tool and a great supplement, it’s not going to replace search engines. Instead, it’ll more likely work alongside them, enhancing our search experience without taking over completely.

What About OpenAI’s Approach to Safety Issues?

Well, that doesn’t seem to be going too well. Jan Leike, a safety researcher who co-led the Superalignment team, resigned after having expressed concerns about OpenAI’s approach to AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). 

His co-leader, Ilya Sutskever, had already left hours earlier but sounded a bit more optimistic, saying, “The company’s trajectory has been nothing short of miraculous, and I’m confident that OpenAI will build AGI that is both safe and beneficial.” 

The Superalignment team’s page mentions AI dangers, including human extinction, if AI is not supervised and controlled. Are we in a sci-fi movie or what? The fact is, this group seems important, and it’s falling apart.

Leike also tweeted about the AI danger, saying, “Building smarter-than-human machines is an inherently dangerous endeavor. OpenAI is shouldering an enormous responsibility on behalf of all of humanity.” 

He expressed dissatisfaction regarding OpenAI’s stance on his research, stating, “Over the past few months, my team has been sailing against the wind.” He didn’t go into details but seemed to imply that his team had been left adrift in a sea full of terrifying creatures.

Sam Altman acknowledged Leike’s tweet and agreed, “[…] he’s right, we have a lot more to do […].” That’s definitely something we should keep an eye on.

So, To Sum Things Up: What Marketers (And Any Other Digital-World Professional) Need To Know

First off, don’t panic about a new search engine dethroning Google anytime soon. Google’s dominance in the search market is solid, with over 90% market share. 

However, keep an eye on OpenAI’s moves, especially with the hiring of Google veteran Shivakumar Venkataraman. 

While the fusion of AI and search is indeed thrilling—take the integration of real-time data, for instance—it doesn’t spell the end for traditional search engines. 

There’s still a hefty demand for good human-generated content, and let’s face it, AI alone can’t cater to every user’s whim.

About ChatGPT-4o, this new version is a game-changer. It promises faster responses, voice interactions, and the ability to handle images and documents. This is huge for tasks like data analysis and information compilation. Looking to the future, OpenAI has some ambitious plans.

But what about the elephant in the room—safety issues? It’s clear there are internal disagreements about the approach to AI safety. Sam Altman himself admits there’s plenty more ground to cover in this area, so it’s certainly a topic deserving of our attention.

Here’s a parting nugget of wisdom: Always approach rumors with a healthy dose of skepticism and double-check your facts before spreading the word. 

While OpenAI might have a trick or two up its sleeve, for now, let’s stick to what we do best: Optimize for Google and embrace the new AI tools that come our way. And let’s not forget to keep a keen eye on the broader ethical implications of these technologies.

The post Will OpenAI Have Its Own “Google”? What Marketers Need to Know About OpenAI’s New Advancements in Search appeared first on Rock Content.

Some chatbots, like ChatGPT, are text-based and operate on platforms, while others may use voice interfaces or be integrated into specific messaging apps.

For businesses, these are automated tools that can answer questions and even carry out full conversations with customers, and no human is needed on the business end.

Well, they’re important, and you need to learn about what makes the top AI chatbots and how they can work for your business. Without this knowledge, you might fall behind in critical ways.

What Are AI Chatbots?

The Role of AI Chatbots in Modern Business

Importance of AI chatbots in customer engagement

Chatbots offer immediate responses. That’s the long and short of it all, and customers hate wasting time. According to research by Tidio, 62% of customers across all industries prefer an immediate response from a chatbot to waiting to talk to a human.

Roughly two-thirds of your customers want a good chatbot, and that number is likely to grow.

Significance of streamlining communication processes

That same research by Tidio shows that customers hate waiting more than anything else. More than 50% of surveyed customers leave a site before getting to talk to a human representative. Faster communication keeps them engaged and happy.

For reference, customers hate waiting even more than rude agents.

Key AI Chatbot Features and Capabilities

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP is what makes a chatbot sound human. Older chatbots used an idea known as “canned responses.” You could select preloaded questions and get coded answers. There was no adaptability.

NLP allows you to say anything to the bot and still get a coherent response. It is arguably the most important feature for customer satisfaction.

Integration with CRM systems

Advanced bots work seamlessly with your existing resources. The bots can pull from information in your CRM to better respond to queries. The bots also lend their abilities to any work you might perform through CRM. Writing emails, creating advertisements, organizing information, and plenty more can all interact with your bot.

Multichannel support

Chatbots can operate through multiple communication channels. A common case is to put them on a webpage with their own dedicated channel, but they can participate in email support, forums, social media, and even phones.

Overview of Leading AI Chatbots

Introduction to top AI chatbot solutions

With so many chatbots circulating, you can find extreme specialties among them. For the sake of brevity, we can reduce the vastness of your choices and focus on the handful of truly exceptional chatbots in the business.

When you look for a chatbot, the benchmark of comparison is ChatGPT. It revolutionized this market and made everyone think again about AI.

The best AI chatbots of 2024 that sit alongside GPT are Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini.

Market share and adoption rates

According to Markets and Markets, the AI chatbot industry is already worth more than $5 billion and growing fast. Roughly 84% of company websites already use AI chatbots, and experts expect the bots to dominate customer support in just a few years.

Best AI Chatbots: Comparative Analysis

Comparing metrics

The metrics that separate the best artificial intelligence chat tools are token limits and neural nodes. Token limits determine how many characters a bot can handle at once. More tokens mean the bot can process more words at a time and give longer responses.

Claude 3 dominates in this category with more than five times the token limit of the next best bot.

Neural nodes represent the sophistication of an AI. While more nodes do not necessarily lead to a better AI, the general trend is that you want more nodes.

Unfortunately, some developers haven’t released this information. Among AIs with known node counts, ChatGPT 4 is the current leader.

User interface and experience

The user experience cannot be expressed in numbers and hard metrics. Using AI provides the best analysis and allows you to see for yourself how they work.

You can also take a shortcut and read reviews. According to reviews, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot lead the race for user interface and experience.

Scalability and customization options

For scalability, the big names in the industry offer a lot. Companies like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft already have such vast resources that they can easily expand the scale of their bots and keep up with your growth.

Customization does not necessarily follow the same trend. The more open an AI’s development, the easier it is to customize. For this, OpenAI is the de facto leader, and that’s why ChatGPT is adopted into more custom apps than the other leading AIs.

Currently, you can’t directly integrate ChatGPT into messaging apps. However, developers can build applications that leverage the ChatGPT API to integrate conversational AI capabilities into various platforms, including messaging apps. This allows users to interact with AI-powered chatbots within their favorite messaging applications.

User Reviews and Feedback on AI Chatbots

Incorporating user feedback

Chatbots exist for the customer experience. Fortunately, they are adaptable, and you can adjust how you utilize them according to customer feedback. Leaders in the space are already benefiting from this.

Real-world use case

You can find uncountable numbers of use cases and success stories involving AI chatbots. Let’s focus on one.

Domino’s (yes, the pizza brand) utilized a chatbot to automate orders. You can now order a pizza using a chatbot, making the process faster and easier.

More importantly, the bot integrates with social media so that you can order a pizza from Facebook Messenger and other platforms.

Best AI Chatbots Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What makes an AI chatbot effective?

An AI chatbot is effective when it can handle any input and produce a useful and accurate response, rather than just spitting out pre-programmed responses to pre-programmed questions.

How do AI chatbots improve customer engagement?

AI chatbots give customers fast responses. They don’t have to wait in line to talk to someone, and they don’t have to waste time scouring a website for answers. They get reliable, personalized answers right away.

What factors should I consider when choosing an AI chatbot?

Naturally, cost comes to mind. Beyond that, think about the complexity of the bot, how many characters it can take as input, how many it can output (often called tokens), what it can generate beyond text, and how it integrates with other systems. Chatbot security also merits comparison.

Which is the most advanced AI chatbot?

The current leaders in the industry include Claude 3, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini.

Which AI is better than ChatGPT?

Claude 3 is better at writing content. Copilot and Gemini integrate seamlessly with Microsoft and Google systems.

Is paying for ChatGPT 4 worth it?

ChatGPT 4 is considerably more capable than GPT3. That said, alternative AIs compete well with GPT 4, and it is probably not the very best chatbot for any specific use, although it is still one of the best.

Conclusion

Chatbots represent the future of customer service and customer interactions with businesses. They are growing rapidly in sophistication and capability, and they already streamline communication.

With many specialized AIs already, you can find something that tailors to your business style.

And speaking about AI, what about using an AI-powered tool to craft content for your audience?

WriterAccess uses the best of human creators and powerful AI tools to boost engagement and perfect communication. Start your 14-day free trial today.

The post Best AI Chatbots: Revolutionizing Customer Interaction and Business Communication appeared first on Rock Content.

Keeping an eye on how others use videos and tracking video content through reverse video search forms an important component of an effective video marketing strategy.

Let’s explore what you can do with a reverse video search and how to use this technique as part of your marketing plan.

What is Reverse Video Search and How Does It Work?

A reverse video search uses a single frame from a video to find that video elsewhere on the web. When you enter a particular shot from a video into a reverse video search tool, the algorithm analyzes components of the image, such as the pixels. It then looks for content that matches these criteria.

This method can help you track down the original source of a video, but it doesn’t work 100 percent of the time. If someone has changed something about the video, it is harder for the algorithm to match the snapshot with the original video.

Why Do a Reverse Video Search?

A video search can provide you with a wealth of information, but you may wonder why you need this data in the first place. Let’s look at some of the most common benefits of running a reverse video search.

Reverse video search matters in marketing

Monitoring brand mentions and user-generated content will keep you abreast of what your audience says about your brand. Keeping your customers happy is the key to success, and knowing what they have to say will help you achieve this goal.

Track videos that mention your brand name and videos created by end-users in your industry. Trace them to their original creators so you can address brand mentions and listen to the voices of your customers. This will help you get in front of potential negative feedback and improve customer service.

Find video source for copyright protection and content ownership

People view and share videos across numerous platforms. They watch videos on one channel, take clips, and repost them in new places.

However, you need to make sure you correctly attribute any videos you use or share with your audience. If you want to share a helpful recording you found online, tracking down the original creator will save you from any embarrassment or even penalties for misattributing a video.

Similarly, you can also monitor your own videos. Performing occasional reverse video searches may help you detect any misuse of your content. Someone who uses your videos maliciously could harm your brand’s reputation. Tracking down these instances and working to remove your videos from sites that misuse them can help protect your brand.

Competitive analysis and strategy development

Sometimes, the best way to get inspiration for your videos is to look at what others have done to promote similar businesses.

When you uncover a video that you think would appeal to your target audience, you want to know who created it so that you can get ideas about creating future videos. Performing a reverse video search will make it easy to track down the content creator and look at their other recordings.

Once you land on the competitor’s website, you can see more of their videos, benchmark your own content creation against theirs, and get ideas for future content. You can also watch how your videos perform compared to theirs and build a video content strategy that outpaces competitors.

How to Conduct a Reverse Video Search? Best Tools and Platforms

When you’re ready to search video by image online, you will find a few different tools available to help you. Let’s take a closer look at how to use some of the most popular options.

Google Images

1. Take a screenshot from your video.
2. Go to the “search by image” option.
3. Upload your screenshot and click “find image source.”

TinEye

TinEye offers an extensive image library to search with your video snapshot.

You can search this library in two different ways:

1. Uploading a snapshot from your video.
2. You can paste in a URL from the video.

Next, click the search button to get results from their library.

Bing Visual Search

1. Take a screenshot of your video.
2. Upload the image or drag and drop it into the search bar.

With all of these search options, you’ll want to keep a few important points in mind:

1. Take clear screenshots. By making sure your frames are clear, you give the algorithm the best possible chance to find matches.
2. Consider trying a few different frames. You might want to try this if your first attempt doesn’t yield the right results. Remember that a few slight adjustments to the video can make it harder for search engines to find a match.
3. When you create screenshots, view the video at its largest possible size. Taking screenshots while the video is in thumbnail form can make it harder to match details.

Applications of Reverse Video Search in Marketing

Reverse video searches have a variety of applications that help you create a more mature and complete content strategy. Here are some key ways you can employ them.

Brand monitoring and reputation management

With reverse video searches, you can regularly check for brand mentions and track your online reputation. As Jeff Bezos says, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” By tracking video content, you get to be in that proverbial room and do something about it.

If you find someone negatively mentioning your brand, you can track the video to the original creator and try to rectify the situation.

Publicly looking for ways to make amends or address misconceptions can help you win back customers, show your consumer base that you care about their experiences, and learn more about what customers expect when interacting with you.

As you monitor brand mentions, you will also have opportunities to amplify positive content. If someone raves about your products in a video, promoting that video can broaden your network and nurture relationships with those who love your brand.

Content creation and optimization

Using reverse video search also makes it easy to track down valuable videos for your brand. When you find a video you love, chances are that the creator has made other videos that offer value to you. Performing reverse video searches will bring you directly to their site.

Once you find a creator of quality content, you can use their videos for inspiration. If they produce content that your audience would value, without directly competing with your brand, you might also share their content yourself.

As you view their videos, you might learn about creating engaging content, the types of videos people like to watch, and the key topics that people create videos to cover. All of these strategies can help you amplify your brand.

Reverse Video Search Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can I reverse-search a video?

Yes, you can reverse-search a video using a single frame from the recording. Various search algorithms exist for this purpose. You can use Google Images, Bing Visual Search, or Yandex Image Search.

These tools can quickly uncover other videos that have similar properties to your video, helping you find the original recording. Once you have the original content, you can find inspiration for your videos, share and properly attribute videos, and improve your brand management strategies.

How to video search on Google?

To perform a video search on Google, you need to take a screenshot of the video you want to find. You will then upload this image to Google Image Search.

Next, the algorithm will search for recordings that contain your screenshot. These video sources can then inform your video creation strategy.

How do I find a video by image?

To find a video by image, you will first need to take a screenshot from the video you want to find. This image should capture the unique properties of the video so that the search algorithm can match those properties with similar images it finds online. You will then upload it to the visual search engine of your choice.

Why do a reverse video search?

Marketers should run reverse image searches because they help you find the source of different videos you come across online. Knowing the video source can help you fully understand the context of videos, properly attribute them when sharing, or find inspiration for your video marketing strategy.

Conclusion

Performing reverse video searches to locate video sources as part of your marketing strategy will give you excellent opportunities to magnify your brand.

Using reverse video search tools will not only help you with your brand management efforts, but it can also inspire the content development process and help you capture all that video content creation can offer.

To explore the above-mentioned tools and develop a sophisticated content creation process, consider using WriterAccess to streamline your marketing practices. Discover how you can amplify your brand when you have professional writers with a 14-day free trial.

The post Reverse Video Search: Why and How to Do It? A Guide for Digital-World Professionals appeared first on Rock Content.

It represents the fine line between having a one-time customer and having a repeat customer who is happy to spread the news of your brand’s products and services. 

Customer service bridges the gap between a purchase and a return customer by providing help, answering questions, and handling complaints or issues. 

Unfortunately, departments often prioritize other marketing or sales activities, leaving them understaffed and unhappy. 

Thankfully, Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is changing the name of the game regarding customer service. 

AI makes new tools, platforms, and techniques for managing customer requests possible. 

In this article, we’ll discuss how AI is changing customer service, how it benefits customer service teams, and how to use AI in customer service applications today.

How AI is Changing the Face of Customer Service

For generations, the quality of customer service behind a brand has been determined by employee headcount and bandwidth. 

Customer service representatives struggled to manage workloads with the influx of questions and calls from customers. 

AI has completely changed the way customer service runs in a business setting. 

With extra time, customer service representatives have time to do more and improve the customer experience. 

When customers feel like they have more connections to your brand and that their concerns are quickly and efficiently addressed, they are more likely to return. 

Encouraging repeat customers is the most effective method to manage marketing expenses, garner favorable brand feedback, and boost sales.

What are the Top Benefits of Knowing How to Use AI in Customer Service?

Understanding how to use AI in customer service can help your brand grow and keep your customers delighted. 

AI offers numerous benefits to customer service teams by assisting them in tasks they may not have the time or ability to manage independently. This fosters a better work culture and ensures that efforts are on important tasks.

Personalization

Personalization is a common buzzword in marketing. 

In short, personalization refers to the practice of tailoring messaging, offers, content and experiences for audience segments based on key identifying factors. 

It ahelps to increase customer satisfaction and deliver what each customer is looking for, rather than treating every person the same. 

AI helps in personalization efforts by taking data and generating buyer personas which it can then connect products and services with, making each customer’s experience unique. 

A common example of this is a recommended viewing list from a streaming service or a related products list email from a retailer.

Rich Productivity

Employee productivity and efficiency are key elements of any successful business. 

Not only does it ensure that everyone is doing their job, it means that employees feel satisfied in their positions. 

AI automates the daily recurring or repetitive tasks that take up much of our productive time. 

When certain tasks can be taken off the plates of customer service teams, they have more time to focus their productivity on more important tasks that grow the business.

Speedy and Always-Available Response

Is there anything worse than calling a customer service line and spending hours on hold? 

Or typing in a live chat box to speak with a salesperson and being left waiting for a response? 

Customers expect speedy responses at any time of the day. 

AI helps to improve the customer experience with always-available bots that have immediate answers. 

While these are obviously more limited than a real personal conversation, they still provide a wide array of possibilities to answer questions and let customers know they are being heard.

Multichannel Support

People want to reach your brand on their favored platforms. 

Just having a Facebook bot or a website plug-in isn’t enough to satisfy today’s customers. 

Thankfully, many chatbots and customer support AI platforms have built-in multichannel capabilities, meaning you don’t have to recreate your experience across different platforms. 

After setting up your bot, the same program will be implemented across your network.

Reduction in Churn Rate

“Churn” refers to the number of customers that leave your brand to go to a competitor.

While there are many reasons for churn, like a better product or price, there is a significant amount of churn as a result of a bad customer experience. 

AI can improve the overall quality of experience your customers have while on your website or social platforms, which in turn reduces the churn rate in your company.

Examples of AI Tools to Improve the Customer Experience

Today, you have access to several AI tools which can help improve the customer experience, including the five discussed below.

1. Zowie

You can easily get started answering users’ most frequently asked questions by automating the process with the aid of Zowie, the AI-powered software and chatbot provider.

Zowie allows you to easily scan your current FAQ page, creating a knowledge base that the chatbot will use for your customers.

As an additional bonus, the AI software can analyze your questions and apply the resulting answers to differently worded variations.

The chatbot will provide answers quickly to customers and can do so in over forty languages. It is easy to set up and can be integrated with various software, including Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Shopify.

2. Aisera AI

The Aisera AI chatbot integrates with the various systems you may already have in place to deliver top-notch customer service. You can use it to help effectively cut down on wait times with its automatic interaction with customers.

Aisera AI integrates with various case management, ticketing, or CRM systems, including Salesforce and Zendesk, to escalate a customer to a live agent. This, in turn, can empower your support agents, allowing them to focus on the more unique issues that require direct interaction.

3. Yuma AI

A variety of AI tools are available today to help speed up response times, including self-service chatbots and voicebots, agent-assist solutions, conversational analytics, and AI-driven coaching.

One tool, in particular, that is beneficial for those on Shopify is Yuma, which provides an AI Ticket Assistant to help speed up procedures for responding to customers.

This software can reply in writing to customers’ inquiries, adjust writing styles when perceived to be necessary, automatically translate into 15 different languages, and also connect with your help-desk software.

4. Freshdesk

If you are searching for a tool to help you manage your customer service process across different channels, including any combination of live chat, emails, mobile apps, and social platforms, Freshdesk can be advantageous and time-saving.

With it, you can better automate your customer service workflow and provide your agents with a 360-degree view of each customer to better facilitate resolutions. It can also route tasks to where they can best be supported more efficiently, helping reduce call wait times for your customers.

5. Eddy AI

To streamline your customer support process, Eddy AI Assistant may be all you need. Its AI-powered chatbot can be integrated seamlessly with your different channels, including websites, social media pages, messaging apps, and mobile applications.

The Eddy AI Assistant meets customers at the initial point of contact, answering already established FAQs. For those questions not on that list, Eddy AI transfers the customer to a live customer service agent.

This platform also gathers detailed analytics on customer engagement and more, providing you with clues as to how to improve your customer service, marketing, and sales efforts.

Factors to Consider When Choosing an AI Solution for Customer Service

When deciding on an AI customer service solution, it’s crucial to weigh various factors to ensure you make the best choice for your business.

Compatibility

Firstly, compatibility with your existing systems is paramount. Look for a solution that seamlessly integrates with your current software and infrastructure to avoid disruptions and maximize efficiency.

Scalability

Scalability is another essential consideration. Your chosen solution should have the capacity to grow alongside your business, accommodating increasing volumes of customer interactions without sacrificing performance or reliability.

Ease of implementation

Ease of implementation and configuration is key to getting up and running quickly. Pick a solution that offers straightforward setup processes and intuitive user interfaces, minimizing the time and resources required for deployment.

Customization options

Customization options are also important. Your AI customer service solution should be flexible enough to adapt to your unique business requirements and workflows.

Look for features that allow you to tailor the solution to meet your specific needs, whether it’s customizing chatbot responses or configuring automated workflows.

Pricing

When evaluating pricing, consider the overall value proposition. While cost is certainly a factor, it’s essential to weigh it against the features, functionality, and benefits offered by the solution.

Look for transparent pricing structures and consider the long-term return on investment.

Customer support

Finally, robust customer support is crucial. Pick a vendor that provides excellent customer service and support resources, including responsive technical support, comprehensive documentation, and user training.

Having reliable support ensures that any issues or concerns can be addressed promptly, minimizing disruptions to your customer service operations.

By carefully considering these factors, you can select an AI customer service solution that aligns with your business goals and delivers tangible benefits in efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction.

Here’s a table that summarizes the main factors to consider:

5 Ways to Use AI in Customer Service Experiences

Now that you understand the benefits of knowing how to use AI in customer service experiences, let’s take a deep dive into some of the ways your business can utilize machine learning. 

Outsiders to AI might think that it requires dedicated teams of developers and engineers, but the opposite is true. 

AI can be woven into your marketing strategies in many ways with simple tools you might already have access to with your software.

1. Solving Users’ Most Frequent Questions

Customers will often have similar or even the same questions regarding your brand, your products, and services, or your policies. 

While creating a FAQ page on your brand’s website is always a best practice, sometimes customers want to get that information in other ways. 

Chatbots and AI communication tools can connect customers to the answers they are looking for in a friendly, interactive, and engaging format. 

Many customers prefer the experience of a conversation, even if it’s with a bot.

When your customer service teams aren’t fielding the same questions every day, it frees up a lot of time in the day to focus on other, high-level tasks. 

Both customers and your customer service team will benefit from bots.

2. Learning Customer Behavior Patterns

While your marketing and sales efforts are taking in a large amount of data, parsing through all that data and gaining actionable insights isn’t as easy. 

AI can go through massive data sets and pull out information related to customer behavior patterns. 

When you understand the patterns exhibited by your customers, you can better predict the solutions or alternatives that will appeal to your audiences, as well as be able to predict important events and trends.

One way to accomplish this is with the use of an AI-powered solution called Ion.

While this platform provides you with the ability to easily create interactive content for your potential and existing customers, it can also do more.

Ion is an AI-powered solution for learning, measuring, and generating insights into your customers’ behavior patterns. With it, you can learn how your customers are engaging with your interactive customer service content by way of the platform’s clear and accurate reporting abilities.

It also easily integrates with your CRM or automation tool, and you can export the data for review and use by your sales and marketing teams.

3. Speeding Up Response Times

In today’s fast-paced world, customers don’t want to wait for answers. 

When a customer sends a message through a chatbot or a customer service form, they want an immediate response to their concern. 

If you can’t respond promptly to customer needs, they may quickly become frustrated with the experience and either switch to a competitor or lose faith in your team’s customer service capabilities.

Responding quickly is key to increasing customer satisfaction and AI can help with that.

Whether it’s a chatbot that talks to the customer in place of a representative or an automated response that directs customers to an after-service line, there are many ways AI helps speed up response times.

4. Measuring Customer Wait Times

Companies can use AI not just for shortening the gap between responses in chatbots — it can also use AI to measure wait times for customers online, on the phone, or even in person. 

AI can measure how long your customers wait for responses in live chats, calculate hold times, and determine the time it takes for a customer to be seen after checking in for an in-person appointment.

When you understand how long customers are waiting, you can start to strategize on how to improve and expedite to make the experience better for your audience.

5. Capturing Large Amounts of Data

While forms or purchase histories can provide some data, AI can dive much deeper and capture large amounts of data. 

AI tools can mine complex data that most team members wouldn’t know how to interpret or even collect. 

Even more so than capturing data, AI can comprehend and organize the data into actionable steps and clear insights. 

AI finds patterns that people won’t notice and transforms complicated data sets into easy reports.

Challenges of Using AI In Customer Service

Before getting started on incorporating AI into your customer service process, it will also be beneficial to gain a sense of the various existing challenges. The most common ones are listed below.

Identifying where to insert AI

Before adding AI solutions into your customer service process, you must first fully understand your customers and determine where to insert AI most effectively.

You’ll need to determine these first, finding where to introduce AI solutions to help both you and them without going overboard.

Anticipating escalation of customer needs

Over the last few years, customers have become increasingly comfortable with self-service options on digital channels. Automated first points of contact are increasingly being accepted as the norm.

However, when it comes to additional or more complex customer needs, customers prefer human interaction, whether through a call center or assisted chats online.

Where the challenge comes in is that companies today must anticipate where the escalation of customer needs occurs and how to transition. This adds a degree of complexity, as the mix of AI and human solutions must intertwine at some point.

Handling increasing customer expectations

As with shopping online or using the self-checkout at the local grocery store, consumers today are becoming more comfortable and reliant on quick, straightforward, self-service options and fast response times.

The downside to all of this is that it can result in rising expectations of other self-service options or faster responses from human agents within your company.

If you don’t continue to progress in how your AI-powered or assisted solutions function, you will be unable to meet those increasing customer expectations and suffer the consequences.

It’s the double-edged sword of providing too much vs. providing too little, with the potential for failing to meet your customers’ needs and expectations either way.

Meeting the expenses of implementation

For implementing AI-powered or AI-assisted solutions, costs can be high and, for some, even prohibitive.

Every company will need to consider this, measuring potential costs against the expected benefits.

Another factor that will contribute to the cost of implementing and using AI in customer service is the need for the required infrastructure. Since AI solutions require high volumes of data to be efficient, your business must have the infrastructure to facilitate this.

Maintaining a trained workforce for AI-assisted customer service

While AI may be the wave of the future, it is not at a point where companies can dismiss human oversight. You will need to ensure you maintain enough customer service employees to keep everything in check and keep the service efficient and acceptable.

Yet, with such bold changes in the workplace, you now face the dilemma of potentially lacking enough experienced customer service employees. These essential workers will need to continue to monitor customer service outcomes while also supporting the AI programs and tools you are using.

Today, the labor market is tight when it comes to finding workers for these roles. For those you hire, you’ll likely need to train them to understand how your customer service process integrates AI and human solutions. This training will naturally incur costs and can be highly time-consuming, especially if you experience a high turnover rate.

Wrap-Up: AI is Changing the World of Customer Service 

And it’s also making things easier and more efficient for customer representatives and teams. 

With new tools, techniques, and applications for AI and machine learning, marketing teams are changing the ways in which they operate and moving forward with digital transformations.

If you are wondering how AI can help improve your marketing efforts and the overall customer service experience, start with a look at what Ion can offer. Request a demo today!

The post Learn How to Use AI in Customer Service appeared first on Rock Content.

There are some questions you need to consider:

• What’s the healthy and effective balance between AI and human content creation?
• What should we be aware of to make the best use of the available resources?
• How can I prevent my brand from being exposed to any issues when generating content assisted by AI?

This article will explore those questions and recommend a portfolio of tools to enhance your content creation assisted with AI. By equipping you with the knowledge to make the most of these innovative resources, we ensure that you remain true to your creative vision!

Before We Start

It’s crucial to remember that AI is not just a single field of study. From a summarized perspective, it began in the 60s, and since then, numerous subfields have emerged for exploration.

These include:

• Privacy: Questioning the boundaries of data usage,
• Security: How these boundaries impact our safety and
• Philosophy: Pondering the ethical considerations and implications of AI.

One of these subfields is Generative AI, which has been under research for several years. It’s natural to wonder: If it’s not exactly new, what was the pivotal change that brought AI into the spotlight? The answer is undoubtedly ChatGPT.

Making AI accessible and user-friendly has revolutionized how we interact with technology, democratizing its use across a broad audience. This approachability is a significant factor behind its explosive growth, notably achieving one million users in just under four days. Its simplicity and speed in content generation have set a new standard for digital tools.

While it appears remarkably “easy” to prompt an AI to generate content, the critical question arises: Will the output meet the standards of your audience?

This convenience carries with it significant responsibility, leading us to confront a pivotal concern in the realm of generative AI: The phenomenon of hallucination.

Do Not Let AI Hallucinate!

AI hallucination occurs when an AI system produces incorrect or imaginary information, as explained by Russell and Norvig in Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach. It might seem complex, but let’s follow some examples to understand it better:

• Google Bard incorrectly claimed that the James Webb Space Telescope had taken the first image of a planet outside the solar system.
• A lawyer created a legal brief for a case in the Federal District Court that was filled with fake judicial opinions and legal citations, all generated by AI.
• AI Chatbot goes rogue, confesses love for a user, and asks him to end his marriage.

It is definitely not true that all AI is filled with fake information; however, understanding the associated risks is crucial, particularly for the brands we represent.

We might have some risks when AI hallucinates, and even though researchers are putting a lot of effort into it, marketers still need to ensure everything is true, especially the facts.

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Uma publicação compartilhada por Rock Content (@rockcontent)

Incorporating human expertise into the content creation process is crucial for ensuring accuracy and authenticity. Human intervention plays a vital role not only in addressing AI hallucinations but also in enriching the content with perspectives and real-life experiences that AI alone cannot provide.

Such human contributions forge a deeper connection between the reader and the content, ensuring it resonates more personally.

Furthermore, human reviewers are instrumental in tailoring content to the audience’s needs and aligning it with strategic goals, leveraging their intuition and understanding to guide the content strategy effectively.

Some tools, however, will help in some of those tasks to enhance the content creation, and this is exactly what we are going to show next!

Tools to Level Your Content Up

The written content itself represents merely the tip of the iceberg. Before the actual writing begins, numerous preparatory steps are essential, including the ideation phase, which determines what to write and for whom.

Additionally, when AI assistance is involved, it’s crucial to identify the human talent needed to refine and polish the content. Let’s explore several solutions that assist in navigating this journey.

AI Persona Builder

Find out more here

The foundational step in crafting your content strategy is to understand your audience thoroughly. This knowledge is pivotal as it shapes the various strategies you’ll employ to connect with them, making it an essential aspect of charting your content’s journey towards engaging users.

However, achieving this understanding is not straightforward and involves a series of steps.

Fortunately, Rock Content offers a tool designed to simplify this crucial process. By providing some fundamental details about your domain and company, you can leverage this tool to gain valuable insights into your audience, facilitating a more targeted and effective content strategy.

Regardless of whether you’re an agency, utilizing an AI Persona Builder allows you to store multiple persona profiles. This capability is crucial for content creation, both AI-assisted and otherwise.

Moreover, ensuring alignment with your content guidelines will not only enhance the impact of AI-generated results but also equip human talent with the necessary insights about your audience, securing the competitive advantage your content deserves.

Read also: Tested and Approved: AI Persona Builder for creating buyer personas in minutes

AI Content Wizard

Find out more here

Now that you’ve defined your persona, the next step is to decide what content to produce. Imagine having the ability to identify and exploit the gaps in your competitors’ strategies to your advantage. This is precisely the function of the AI Content Wizard.

By inputting your domain and identifying your competitors, the AI Content Wizard conducts a thorough analysis to pinpoint keywords that represent significant opportunities for ranking. This strategy aims to direct organic traffic to your domain.

After running this diagnosis, the AI Content Wizard will be able to offer you some topics to write about together with content briefs so you can produce content that will deliver results.

Furthermore, should you seek content recommendations through alternative methodologies, rest assured that we offer a comprehensive portfolio of solutions. These can be conveniently accessed via our menu, ensuring you have a broad range of options to meet your specific needs.

AI Content Idea Generator

Find out more here (free version)

The AI Content Idea Generator alone offers three content idea generation methods:

• Generate with Domain Only: Uses the user’s website URL to create relevant ideas quickly.
• Add Company Details to Generate Ideas: This method requires more information, such as the company website, keywords, target audience, and product/service description, for more tailored ideas.
• Add Recent Orders to Generate Ideas: It suggests new content based on the user’s previous orders, which is ideal for exploring previous topics further.

Smart Match Me Up

In recognizing the critical role human expertise plays in the success of content creation, this tool is designed to streamline the talent acquisition process to meet your brand’s unique requirements. Utilizing a sophisticated diagnostic framework, we assess potential candidates based on five fundamental psychological dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

This comprehensive analysis enables us to curate a list of talent whose profiles are optimally aligned with your project needs.

You will then have the opportunity to peruse through the selected talent pool, gaining insights into their individual skills and expertise. The selection facilitates a well-informed decision-making process, allowing you to choose the ideal candidates for your projects with confidence.

AI Copilot

AI Copilot is Rock Content’s new tool for creating content using artificial intelligence. AI Copilot helps you create everything from blog articles to social media posts, emails, ads, and more.

When creating blog articles, you receive humanization recommendations and have the option to request editing of your content by a specialized professional to ensure that the final version is revised with a human touch.

Our skilled human writers make corrections related to brand adherence, fact-checking, and whatever else is necessary so your content can reach its full potential and be safer regarding SEO risks and brand reputation associated with publishing AI-generated content without human supervision.

BONUS: WriterAccess Humanizer

Find out more here

While this is not exactly an AI tool, it is highly related. Recognizing the demand for a combination of human effort plus AI and the importance of human editors to serve it best, Rock Content has created WriterAccess Humanizer.

Through this tool, you can hire professional editors who analyze content generated by AI, verify data accuracy, the relevance of information, the significance of citations, and adjust the material to be in harmony with the brand’s voice and strategy.

This process ensures that AI-generated content not only engages the target audience but is also aligned with the best SEO practices.

Take Away Those Final Thoughts

• Navigating AI’s Established Terrain: AI is far from a nascent field, bringing with it rich discussions around privacy, ethics, and other considerations critical to responsible use. Awareness of these aspects is essential as we integrate AI into our processes.

• Guard Against Hallucination Risks: The phenomenon of AI “hallucinations” — generating false or irrelevant information — poses significant risks to brand integrity. It’s crucial not to mistake AI’s ease of content generation for guaranteed relevance or accuracy.
• Enhancing Ideation with AI: AI excels in the ideation phase, providing a unique opportunity for human-AI collaboration. This intersection is where creativity is sparked, and innovation flourishes, leading to truly impactful content creation.
• Ensuring Content Relevance through Human Insight: The involvement of humans in the content creation process is pivotal for ensuring relevance and resonance with the target audience.

WriterAccess offers sophisticated tools designed to connect you with the finest talent, ensuring your content not only reaches but also engages and convinces your audience.

Hopefully, this post helped you to understand some opportunities and how to leverage your content creation with some AI tools provided by Rock Content. Enjoy your ride and make sure you try WriterAccess to deliver to your audience the best they deserve.

The post AI Hack and Tools to Enhance Human Content Creation appeared first on Rock Content.

It’s no secret that content marketing continues to be at the forefront of any successful strategy.

Whether you are an entrepreneur, in-house marketer, or part of a content marketing team working with organizations of all sizes, knowing how to rock a strategy is imperative today.

Feeling overwhelmed, many of you may have resorted to hiring a content marketing agency to scale content and help you achieve results sooner.

If not, you may be considering it now. You can find various online lists of top content marketing agencies, each one offering expertise and experience that can benefit your brand. For example, if you find you are too inexperienced or busy to spend the time required to create, execute, and monitor a strategy, look for a list of B2C or leading B2B content marketing companies to consider.

Yet, there is another option.

With the increase in accessible technology that has become easier and easier to use, maybe it is time to do it yourself and avoid agency constraints.

Content Marketing Agency: The Key to Independent Success in 2024

As experience deepens and technology gets easier to navigate, unlocking your potential for marketing independence is more of a reality than ever.

Embracing self-service ad platforms, creating high-quality content through professional freelancers or even generative AI, and gaining an understanding of valuable SEO tactics can lead to marketing independence in 2024.

You just need to find the right combination of tools and get comfortable with what they can offer your company or brand.

The first rule for going independent is not to let yourself get overwhelmed. Develop a strategy, such as how you will create the content you need, and research how to achieve this goal with one or more of the available tools.

Strategic Autonomy: Buil ding a Personalized Marketing Approach

Turning over your marketing to an agency may seem like a good idea that leaves you to handle other important aspects of your business. Still, you are never truly removed from the process, nor do you really want to be.

Today, however, you don’t need a marketing agency to achieve success. Breaking free from an agency’s constraints can open you up to being more creative, streamlining your budget, and bringing you closer to understanding how marketing works best for you.

Most importantly, accessible technology can put you in control. All you have to do is embrace that power and get started.

Building a personalized marketing approach is the act of controlling the process from start to finish. It doesn’t mean that you take on every task yourself. That, in most cases, wouldn’t make sense or even be beneficial.

It simply means that you own your marketing process, decisions, and strategies.

To determine the best approach, start with the following:

• Set marketing goals and objectives. What do you want to accomplish with your marketing efforts? Know where you want to go and how to get there.
• Review market research or collect customer feedback, if necessary.
• Develop and manage the overall marketing process. Start by devising a marketing strategy that may include both online and offline elements.
• Determine how you prefer to communicate with your target audience (e.g., email campaigns).
• Establish a marketing budget.
• Find partners to help you achieve your marketing goals. These partners may be online tools, such as WriterAccess and Ion, or influencers who can help you get your brand’s name out there.

If you start to feel overwhelmed, focus on one part of your strategy and build from there. With more experience, you’ll become confident in where you are and where you want to go.

Master DIY Marketing: The Essential Guide for Content Creators

As mentioned above, content remains at the heart of any marketing strategy.

The goal is to reach your audience and improve brand awareness, build authority, increase engagement, and, ultimately, boost sales.

Continual practice will make you a better content creator, so stay on it, building skills as you go along. As your confidence grows, so too will your success.

When you combine what you already know with the latest technology, you’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish.

We suggest that you take the following steps to master your marketing efforts as a DIY content creator:

• Identify your target audience: Determine who your audience is, and consider creating a buyer persona to guide you.
• Choose content formats: Select the content types and formats that you wish to create and that your audience will appreciate. Examples include blog posts, ebooks, white papers, listicles, how-tos, and social media posts.
• Select content channels: Pick the channels that you will use to share your content (e.g., email newsletter, Facebook, etc.), and research the best ways to succeed on each platform or channel.
• Establish a budget: Examine your budget and determine if you need to purchase software, sign up for online accounts, hire a professional freelance writer, or pay for other services.
• Set up a publishing schedule: Craft a publishing schedule so that you remain consistent in your offerings.
• Become familiar with SEO: Review the latest search engine optimization tactics, and learn how to incorporate them so that your audience and search engines can find you. Look for helpful online tools, such as SEMrush (if your budget allows).
• Find reputable resources: Identify references to use, link to, and quote in order to raise your credibility. For example, check out this list of health information resources for marketing in 2024.
• Conduct topical and keyword research: You already know your business and industry, so conducting topical research for a content marketing strategy will take less time. You can also utilize various keyword search websites and AI-assisted topical idea help.
• Create content: Sit down and produce your content, or work with a freelancer with a set deadline. You could also try generative AI content and make edits to match it up with your brand’s voice. Incorporate relevant keywords and phrases throughout and add SEO elements. If you don’t have time to do this yourself, there are plenty of options that can help ensure your content is high-quality and SEO-optimized for your target audiences.
• Promote content: You can do content promotion by sending email messages, posting on social media, connecting with influencers, and posting ads. An effective promotional plan needs to be established early in the process. Again, there are sites that can help you accomplish this through digital ads or teach you about effective methods.
• Analyze results: Examine the results and use what you learn to make your content serve you better. Today, seeing how your content is performing is easier than ever. Tools are available that help measure results and interpret analytics (e.g., Google Analytics). With this information, you can refine, revise, or continue to create the content that works for your strategy.

Embrace the Power: Technology and Autonomy in Content Creation

Every year, new digital tools become available to marketers, making the process that much easier to decipher and master. WriterAccess and Ion are two online tools that will boost your marketing strategy and save you time.

WriterAccess: Your On-Demand Content Marketing Agency

Even with all the strategic steps in place, if you don’t have high-quality content that appeals to your target audience, then you are missing the point. Not everyone is a good writer or has the confidence to share what they write.

Fortunately, you no longer have to worry about this because effective, convenient solutions abound.

WriterAccess is a content creation platform where you can work with professional writers, editors, and designers. It is your gateway to partnering with those who specialize in crafting exceptional content that not only meets your goals but strategically benefits your brand.

In addition, WriterAccess offers strategic tools to help you in your marketing efforts, from SEO guidance to innovative AI-assisted features.

The platform is also easy to use, with a comprehensive dashboard and several options to choose from.

You can use it to accomplish any or all of the following:

• Ideate topics, either through professional writers and market strategists or the platform’s AI-driven topic generator.
• Develop various content marketing strategies.
• Conduct keyword research.
• Receive SEO guidance.
• Choose from a wide range of talent, with a variety of experience and skills. You can peruse profiles, count on AI to select the right professional for your needs, or work with a WriterAccess manager who knows the talent and can make recommendations. You can find:
  • Content marketing strategists
  • Professional writers
  • Editors
  • Proofreaders
  • Translators
  • Designers
• Create a detailed order brief to guide the talent you select.
• Review, edit, and/or send the content back for revisions.
• Generate content that is ready to publish on your website, blog, social media pages, email newsletter, and more.

Ion: Elevating Your Content Distribution to New Heights

Interactive content is on the rise today, and consumers are eating it up. This material engages viewers, improves their experiences, and makes them feel more involved with your brand.

Also, creating such content no longer requires coding or other special skills.

You can invite and achieve higher engagement with the creation of interactive content through platforms like Ion.

Ion is a comprehensive marketing platform providing the tools you need to easily produce effective and memorable interactive content that will engage your audience and drive results.

With Ion, you have access to all of the following:

• A straightforward, no-coding process
• Over 180 templates that can be customized to meet your particular needs
• Seamless integration with marketing automation and CRM systems
• Access to managed services that help you achieve your content goals

Marketers are able to create various content pieces that are unique and speak to specific audiences. This material may include:

• Interactive quizzes
• Questionnaires
• Infographics
• Calculators
• Assessments
• Polls
• Interactive ebooks
• Lookbooks
• Mini-games
• Interactive videos

In addition, Ion offers SEO optimization, analytics, A/B testing, and many other valuable resources.

Interactive content offers a unique way to help you stand out from the crowd. Its personal approach can also assist you in capturing information that will help your business and marketing strategies going forward.

Strategies Unleashed: Maximizing Impact Without Agency Ties

While there are situations where working with a marketing agency will be beneficial, you can meet your marketing needs without agency ties in many cases. When it comes to content, in particular, you have options that can help create what you need, including access to professional writers, editors, and designers at WriterAccess. Sign up for your 14-day trial today and see where it can lead you.

The post Rock Your Marketing Strategy Without the Agency Constraints appeared first on Rock Content.

Setting the Stage: A Brief Historical Context

Once upon a time (well, in 2020, to be exact), TikTok burst onto the scene with its infectious short dancing and comedy clips, setting off a short-form video arms race.

Suddenly, everyone, from Facebook to YouTube, was racing to keep up with TikTok’s popularity, especially among the coveted teen demographic. Fast forward to today, and TikTok, once the reigning champ of short-form content, is making a pivot towards the longer side of the video spectrum.

The TikTok Evolution: From 15 Seconds to 30 Minutes

TikTok’s evolution has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride. It started with a humble 15-second video limit, gradually extending to a minute, then three, five, and finally, ten minutes. And now, rumor has it that TikTok is testing the waters with an eye-popping 30-minute video upload option. Yes, you heard it right – thirty whole minutes of TikTok goodness.

This move signals TikTok’s bold entry into YouTube’s territory, challenging the established norms of short and snappy content. Matt Navarra, the Sherlock Holmes of social media, spotted this in the iOS beta version, and the murmurs are spreading to the Android realm as well.

The Clash of the Titans: TikTok Takes on YouTube

TikTok’s journey towards longer videos isn’t just a random leap; it’s a strategic move to compete head-on with YouTube. The battle lines are drawn, and it seems TikTok is beckoning creators who traditionally call YouTube home. The question looms large: Can TikTok truly dethrone YouTube as the go-to platform for longer-form content?

As industry analyst Krysten Stein aptly puts it, “TikTok is now thinking, ‘We need to show advertisers that we can keep people staying on one video longer.'” The strategy seems clear – attract creators with longer videos, keep the audience engaged, and watch the ad revenue flow.

Creators Caught in the Crossfire: Cheers and Concerns

This shift, however, has left some TikTok creators scratching their heads. Once celebrated for its short, quick scrolls, TikTok is now nudging creators towards longer content. Creators like Nikki Apostolou, known as “recycldstardust,” express their concern, stating, “I don’t always have a minute of content in me.”

TikTok’s new initiative, the “Creativity Program Beta,” replaces the original “Creator Fund,” requiring creators to embrace the world of one-minute-plus videos if they want a piece of the monetization pie. Aly Tabizon, with a significant follower count, expresses her fear, questioning whether the attention span of today’s generation aligns with longer videos.

The Business Play: Monetization and Revenue Sharing

From a business perspective, this move makes sense. Longer videos mean more ad possibilities and enhanced monetization. Scott Kessler, from research firm Third Bridge, notes: “It’s a lot easier to monetize content when it’s longer-form.”

TikTok’s confidence in this transition is evident in promises of higher pay for creators under the new Creativity Program. The enticement for creators to make the switch is real, as some have already reported making thousands of dollars in their initial months.

The Viewer’s Dilemma: To Scroll or Not to Scroll

Yet, amidst this strategic move, TikTok must navigate the delicate balance of user preferences. TikTok has been synonymous with short, snappy videos; longer content might not resonate with its audience. The platform’s testing of a horizontal full-screen mode and the option to fast-forward through videos indicates a careful attempt to cater to diverse preferences.

The Future: Will TikTok Truly Rival YouTube?

As TikTok expands its maximum runtime, the question remains: Can it truly compete with YouTube? The lines between short-form and long-form content are blurring, and TikTok seems determined to redefine its identity in this evolving landscape.

In the words of TikTok spokesperson Zachary Kizer, “We value the feedback and direct insights from our community to help inform our decisions.” The battle for your video minutes rages on, and TikTok vs. YouTube is a saga we’ll be watching with bated breath.

So, whether you’re Team TikTok or Team YouTube, one thing is clear – the battle for your attention is only getting started! Stay tuned as the video titans duke it out for supremacy in the ever-expanding world of online content.

The post TikTok vs YouTube: Is TikTok trying to become YouTube? appeared first on Rock Content.

The Cookie Story Revealed

Google’s shift away from third-party cookies marks a significant development in the ongoing debate around user privacy and the pursuit of personalized ads. This change is prompting businesses to reassess their advertising strategies, nudging them to get creative in a landscape where user privacy takes center stage.

What This Means for SaaS Platforms

For companies in the Software as a Service (SaaS) world, heavily into targeted ads, the lack of third-party cookies brings both challenges and opportunities. Without these cookies, SaaS folks gotta rethink their ad game. That might mean diving into their own data pool, trying out different ad styles, or bringing in smart tech like Artificial Intelligence for laser-focused targeting.

Navigating Changes in B2B Marketing

In the business-to-business (B2B) sector, saying bye to third-party cookies calls for a strategy rebuild. B2B pros should consider embracing tactics such as account-based marketing, refining content strategies, enhancing customer relationship management (CRM) systems, exploring collaborative initiatives within the B2B community, and assessing the impact of this shift on industries like manufacturing, finance, and healthcare.

Privacy Sandbox: Google’s Game Plan

No need to worry; Google’s got a game-changer – the Privacy Sandbox. This initiative intends to revolutionize how we track user data, ensuring a robust privacy atmosphere. SaaS and B2B teams can capitalize on this, striving to strike the perfect balance between offering users a personalized experience and safeguarding their data.

Collaborating within the Privacy Sandbox community can foster team spirit, empowering teams to overcome challenges, seize valuable opportunities, and navigate global privacy regulations.

Easy Moves for SaaS and B2B Adaptation

Check Your Data Handling:

SaaS providers and B2B marketers should thoroughly review their data practices, ensuring alignment with evolving privacy standards. Collaborating on data audits within industry groups adds an extra layer of insight and promotes uniformity.

Smart Use of First-Party Data:

SaaS platforms can put their first-party data to work strategically, keeping those targeted ads on point and playing by the privacy rules.

This might involve coming up with appealing rewards for users who share data and creating some cool services based on the information they provide directly.

Getting Cozy with Contextual Ads and High-Tech Stuff:

B2B enthusiasts can navigate towards contextual ads, immersing themselves in the essence of content and understanding how users engage with it. They’re also sliding into the tech side, leveraging Artificial Intelligence to refine their targeting. Collaborating with tech experts enables them to stay ahead in B2B tech trends and grasp the implications of the Metaverse for advertising.

Cluing Users In and Keeping It Real:

Both SaaS and B2B squads can score big by keeping users informed. Providing essential insights into data practices openly builds trust. Plus, offering users information on why targeted ads are appealing can create a savvy and cool user crew. 

Shaking Things Up for Marketing Pros

Marketers are taking the wheel in this wild ride. The switch from third-party cookies is like a GPS reroute, pushing marketers to flex their skills with new data, cook up killer contextual campaigns, dig into snazzy tech, build teamwork vibes within the marketing crew, and stay on top of what’s hot and what’s not in their industry.

Riding the Privacy Wave: What’s Cooking in Data Privacy

Taking a Peek at What’s Next:

Beyond the buzz of Google’s cookie shake-up, let’s zoom out and catch the vibes of the bigger picture shaping the future of data privacy. The spotlight is on things like giving users the nod, global rulebooks like GDPR and CCPA contributing their insights, and the rise of cool tech that hands back the data crown to the users.

Collaborating with industry peers to align with these trends can set businesses on a path for long-term success in an era where data privacy is non-negotiable.

Where Privacy and Cool Ideas Collide:

Sure, privacy rules can be a bit of a head-scratcher, but they’re also the secret sauce that makes innovation sizzle in data and advertising tech. SaaS and B2B rockstars can use this transition time to cook up fresh ideas, not just to follow the rules but to set new standards for how data gets treated.

The spot where privacy and cool ideas meet is where the real magic happens – with cutting-edge tech focused on user approval, transparency, and treating data like the VIP it deserves to be.

Wrap-Up Vibes: Navigating the Digital Shift Post-Google’s Cookie Move

Summing It Up:

As SaaS and B2B crews ride the wave of change in the digital marketing scene after Google’s cookie switch-up, it’s all about joining forces and thinking ahead.

Going big on privacy, schooling users on the ins and outs, handling first-party data like a pro, and diving into fresh tech aren’t just reactions to a challenge – they’re smart moves to shape a digital world that’s ethical, user-friendly, and bursting with innovation.

In this era of digital transformations, where privacy is the golden ticket, businesses excelling in these principles aren’t just checking compliance boxes – they’re at the forefront of fostering positive vibes.

The journey ahead calls for keeping the groove, joining the chatter in industry circles, and sticking to a promise of an online space where users kick back feeling safe, valued, and steering their digital ship.

Closing In:

In a nutshell, the decline of third-party cookies isn’t a final act for personalization; it’s an open stage for businesses to redefine how they engage with their audience. Navigating the ever-evolving privacy standards, SaaS and B2B squads aren’t just enduring the journey – they’re forging a path for the future of digital marketing.

The journey’s still on, but the final stop promises a digital scene that’s all about rocking both innovation and user privacy.

Consider this article your backstage pass, giving marketing pros the lowdown and strategies to navigate the twists and turns. As the digital arena keeps flipping, being in the know, riding the change, and building those industry connections will unlock success.

Imagine the future of digital marketing – a scene where privacy, innovation, and putting users first shine. It’s a world where leading businesses steal the show, becoming the true game-changers in the ever-evolving digital scenario.

Embracing the future of digital marketing demands more than just insights – it requires mastery. Ready to redefine your content game post-Google’s cookie shake-up?

Elevate your strategy with WriterAccess, your backstage pass to a world of skilled professionals, innovative AI, and 14 days of limitless creativity. Transform your approach; start your free trial now.

The post Google is killing cookies, but not really: What you need to know appeared first on Rock Content.

If your business has tried an e-commerce website and failed, the problem might not be your brand or products. It might be the tools you used to build and maintain the virtual store. Today’s consumers are looking for more than just some nice product pictures and a blurb about the company.

They want to buy from websites that are easy to use and navigate. They look for key features such as search engines, chat customer service, options, and state-of-the-art security. According to Tech Jury, mobile buyers make up 67.2% of all online purchases, so they want responsiveness, too.

Setting up and managing a successful e-commerce website is a big hill to climb, but it is necessary. Brands must meet customers where they spend their time, and that is online. E-commerce websites generated 856.8 billion dollars in revenue in 2022.

An e-commerce platform is an effective tool to help you find success in the digital marketplace. This article will discuss e-commerce platforms, their use, and why you need one.

Decoding e-Commerce Platforms: A Comprehensive Guide

A practical place to start is with a basic definition.

What is an e-commerce platform?

An e-commerce platform is software that facilitates the process of buying and selling goods and services online. It is an application that manages a business’s websites, online sales, and omnichannel marketing.

What does an e-commerce platform do?

It is responsible for coordinating the consumer’s relationship with the online seller.

If that all sounds vague, it’s because different e-commerce platforms offer additional features. At the basic level, this software will:

• Allow site users to search for products
• Provide a digital shopping cart
• Handle the payment process

Many platforms do much more than that, though. They might offer data analytics, for example. When shopping for an e-commerce platform, you need to find one that fits the company’s budget. At the same time, it must offer the features necessary to allow your customers to order products and services seamlessly.

Understanding the Role of e-Commerce Platforms in Your Business

An e-commerce platform serves as the operational hub for online sales and marketing. It provides the basic infrastructure to run an online business.

The ultimate goal is to streamline the process of selling products and services where many people shop. Businesses could do this without an e-commerce platform, but the process would be more difficult. The administrator would have to handle the components of the virtual store individually, often using third-party vendors. For example:

• Inventory management
• Payment gateways
• Customer service
• Product fulfillment
• Content marketing

These are pieces that fit together to make an e-commerce website work. They are necessary components available individually, but an e-commerce platform puts them under one roof to simplify the management.

Key Features to Look for in an e-Commerce Platform

Choosing the right e-commerce platform can be a challenge. Finding a platform that fits your business needs will allow you to:

• Control costs – This includes the set-up fees and any maintenance costs.
• Allow growth – Once the websites are up and running, the next step is to allow them to grow. Some platforms make that difficult or expensive.
• Enhance customer engagement – Many brands make this a primary focus because engagement can bring a customer back repeatedly.
• Prioritize customer service – Providing customer support means better conversions and enhanced loyalty.

What are some key features to look for on an e-commerce platform?

Hosting and platform type

There are two types of platforms: self-hosted and cloud-based. With a self-hosted or on-premise platform, you do much of the legwork. For example, you would need to find a host for the website, manage the installation, and do the administration. That will give you more control but requires more time and technical knowledge. One person would be responsible for things like source coding and software updates.

A cloud-hosted platform means you work via the cloud. Cloud-based platforms can be further broken down as SaaS or PaaS. A SaaS platform such as Shopify is all-inclusive. You simply pay for a website, provide the content, and choose a look for the site. You have access to additional apps, themes, and data analytics.

A PaaS cloud-based platform adds a hardware element. It falls between shared hosting and SaaS. The platform manages the operating system and software. You provide content, some code, and databases. A PaaS platform separates the business from the server administration.

The significant difference between the two is the coding. With SaaS, you don’t provide custom source code. It is more of a WYSIWYG option. PaaS gives you more control over the coding aspect.

Pricing

Pricing is an obvious consideration. You can expect most platforms to have a monthly fee. The exception to this might be open-source. The cost varies from platform to platform and may differ based on the features you choose and how much bandwidth and storage you require.

Integrations

Businesses must think ahead when choosing a platform. What systems might you want to integrate with the e-commerce platform initially and in the future? Some options would include:

• Accounting
• Email marketing
• Shipping
• Payment
• Marketing
• Customer loyalty programs

Not all platforms allow for integrations.

Extensibility

A typical e-commerce platform provides the basis necessary to launch a website. They often come with ready-made integrations. You might need a more advanced PaaS platform if you want more than that.

Scalability

The other side of that coin is scalability. You want to be able to grow your website or scale it down during slower seasons.

Administration

How easy is it to add or delete products or establish inventory counts? What about changing prices? How do you upload images? You need to know how much effort it takes to make changes to your website.

Comparing Websites and e-Commerce Platforms: What Sets Them Apart?

E-commerce platforms and websites are terms sometimes used interchangeably, but they are quite different.

About an e-commerce platform

An e-commerce platform is a software-based platform that lets businesses sell products and services online. There are three main styles:

• Open-source – gives you complete access to the source codes and more control over how shopping is done through the site. Some examples of open-source platforms include Square Online, WooCommerce, and Joomla.
• SaaS is a cloud–based platform that is an all-in-one service. The platform handles everything; the business chooses a theme and provides the information. Examples of SaaS platforms include Shopify Plus and Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
• Headless – A headless platform separates the back end from the front end of customer-facing operations. You create the website using programs like WordPress or Drupal. The e-commerce platform provides cart and payment services. Examples of headless platforms include Spryker and BigCommerce.

That is different from an e-commerce website.

About an e-commerce website

An e-commerce website is any site with e-commerce features. In other words, any website where you can purchase something off it.

Many brands allow you to create an e-commerce website without the versatility of an e-commerce platform. They may offer a plug-in that serves as a payment gateway to allow for purchasing.

Having a basic website lacks the capabilities of an e-commerce platform, though. It won’t be scalable, for instance, or customizable. It will likely have very few features to choose from. The theme will be set in stone with no room for changes.

A simple website may be enough for small businesses with little online sales. For many companies, though, it will be too limiting.

Choosing the Right e-Commerce Platform: A Step-by-Step Process

The first step is to determine what feature the business needs. The platform should meet your needs for:

• Inventory size and management
• Payment methods
• Level of support
• Integration

Next, focus on your budget. Many e-commerce platforms offer pricing structures based on things like storage and bandwidth use. If you find one that meets your needs, see what pricing plan you can afford.

Ease of use

This applies not only to the business but also to its customers. How easy is the client interface to use? What about the website navigation and purchasing system? Is it easy to navigate?

Search for reviews on the internet to see what current and past users say about the platform. This will give you insight into whether it is the right pick for your brand.

Payment security

This is another consideration critical to both the business and the customers. Find out what payment methods the platform supports and what security features they offer. For example, is there a two-factor authorization system in place?

Does it meet your scalability requirements?

Perhaps you amp up your product selection during the holidays and then scale back? Is there room to grow on this platform?

Customer support

If you have questions, is there customer service available? Do you talk to a person? Does the company display a phone number to call?

Also, consider whether there is a contract you must sign to get an optimal price. For example, is the billing done yearly or monthly? Is there a choice between them? If so, you can test the platform for a month and then opt for the less expensive annual billing if you are happy.

Exploring the #1 e-Commerce Platform in 2024: What Makes It Stand Out?

For small and medium-sized businesses, the best e-commerce site is likely Shopify. Shopify is scalable and provides features that come in handy, although you might have to pay more for them. For instance, Shopify Fulfillment offers faster and more affordable shipping but comes at an added cost.

Shopify has a number of these ala carte features. That allows businesses to pick and choose what they need instead of paying for something they won’t use.

The Top 15 e-Commerce Platforms for Your Online Store

If Shopify doesn’t fit your needs, here are 15 others that might:

1. Wix
2. BigCommerce
3. Adobe Commerce
4. WooCommerce
5. Squarespace
6. Big Cartel
7. Square Online
8. Shift4Shop
9. Volusion
10. OpenCart
11. Hostinger Site Builder
12. PrestaShop
13. AbanteCart
14. Ecwid
15. Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Building Your Online Store: Best Practices and Strategies

The top priority for online and offline businesses should be the customer. Create a website that is easy to navigate and engaging. Choose a color palette and fonts that are also easy on the eyes.

When developing your website strategy, SEO is king. Do keyword research to see what will increase organic searches and drive traffic to the site.

Finally, think beyond the basic website. What content marketing can you do to increase the brand presence and add more traffic? For example:

• Make sure you have a blog.
• Use social media and post regularly.
• Create email strategies for things like cart abandonment

The e-commerce platform is the main component of your marketing strategy. Create a tight connection with other marketing assets, so everything draws the right audience back to your site.

Also, consider ways to add urgency to your pages. For example, you might have a page for flash sales or provide coupons on social media with short lifespans.

Optimizing Your e-Commerce Website: Tips and Tricks for Success

Consider other ways to optimize once you have a website that will engage the customer and draw in traffic, including:

• Add a title on each page, and include a target keyword.
• Add headings to pages using the proper HTML tags and include more keywords in them.
• Create a meta description for each page with a target keyword.

ION by Rock: Transform Your Online Experience with Advanced e-Commerce Tools

Using the right tools, like an e-commerce platform, is the best strategy for website success. ION by Rock Content lets you build personalized interactive content that will improve your website quickly and easily. Create interactive content with ION today without writing one line of code.

The post Elevate Your Online Business: Exploring the Top e-Commerce Platforms of 2024 appeared first on Rock Content.