As programmatic marketing begins to take hold in the market place, it is equally important to understand not only the benefits, but how to make use of them properly. The key benefit stems from machine learning technology, aka artificial intelligence (AI), which has the ability to continually learn in order to determine what works and eliminate what does not. Let’s investigate how that can support targeted marketing using programmatic marketing.

Advantages of Programmatic Marketing: AI never sleeps and therefore it is always working on the company’s behalf to measure performance and optimize campaigns. AI makes it possible to reach goals faster by programming Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) into the software. It also makes possible to react to market changes quicker as well, since data, such as views, traffic, clicks, and conversions can be analyzed in real-time. Finally, it can reduce fraud, such as filtering low quality leads, preventing ads from appearing on less than desirable websites, and monitoring from where clicks are coming. Consider AI akin to an IT department that works around the clock, collecting data and using this information to work hard on the client’s behalf. Of course, all of this is connected to the company’s ability to work with the selected system and employ best practices. The following considerations should be part of any marketer’s programmatic buying strategy.

Programmatic Marketing to Reach Markets: While AI can be quite beneficial to marketing teams in quickly assembling critical data, human interaction is still crucial for determining the intended audience and developing a message that will resonate with them. The goal is to engage the audience in an experience. This requires creativity and innovation that does not come from a machine. The best practice is to use the data generated by AI to develop a campaign that will result in audience participation. This means that the messages are relevant to the audience (i.e. may have an impact on their lives or are related to their interests), speak to the audience on an relatable level, and are enjoyable. Programmatic marketing purchases should align with this and thus be focused on accessing the audience.

Cross-platform/Cross-device Capabilities: In order to reach as many potential customers at any given time, from anywhere, digital advertisements must always be viewable on many devices, from laptops and desktops, to mobile devices and tablets. More people today currently participate online using mobile technology, whether they’re searching at home, in the office, or while traveling. Therefore, in order to reach them in real time, it is critical that both the programmatic marketing provider, as well as the creative provider, must be able to work with any possible online environment in order for these efforts to be completely effective.

Fraud Prevention: The last places any company wants to see their advertisements are on less-than-reputable or unsafe websites, such as ones for scam opportunists, virus-producers, or other unsavory endeavors. Additionally, no company wants to pay for views generated by automated bots or low quality leads. Thus, it is wise to ensure that the programmatic marketing system selected is capable of eliminating such fraud by asking the provider if they have a blacklist of websites or types of websites that should be avoided. Transparency is also critical and buyers should be able to fully understand what they are purchasing with regard to programmatic marketing.

Programmatic marketing can be a true economic boon to any company. The return on investment for those who have utilized this technology to date has been tremendous, in some cases nearly doubling their reach and profits. These tips serve to help improve a company’s ability to capitalize on this burgeoning advancement in the marketing field.