Its influence on advertising is often overlooked but businesses need to focus on AI as technology advances and the benefits become more apparent.

AI has transformed the way in which we choose to advertise, as well as keeping businesses on the ball in an ever-changing world. So, here are some of the things you need to know about AI in the world of advertising.

How is AI used in advertising?

There are a number of ways in which AI is being used in advertising, and these are making all the difference. Here are some of the key ways in which AI is being used in modern advertising:

Search engine analysis

Google, for example, uses an AI system called RankBrain in order to analyse and organise search queries, and this helps provide better and more accurate results. RankBrain is one part of Google’s core algorithm which uses machine learning (ML) to work out what the most relevant results are for any search queries.

Recommendations

Online recommendations use AI to influence the choices we make and it can have an impact on advertising. Consider streaming sites like Netflix, that use Predictive Analytics to be able to offer more accurate recommendations to customers.

User data

Businesses are constantly looking for ways of producing user-friendly ads and relevant content, and this is one of the things AI is massively useful for, as it conducts research and analyses user data to help with this.

Social media

Facebook uses Deeptext to analyse and interpret content and find its meaning. It does this with machine learning and then provides relevant ads to users based on that content.

Read our article on AI’s influence on social media for more.

AI terms you should know

When looking to understand the importance and benefit of AI in the world of advertising, you need to make sure you understand key terms. Here is a list of some of the most important AI terms you are going to need to know.

Algorithms

An algorithm is a set of pre-programmed instructions that a computer will follow in order to achieve a particular outcome. This can be a simple process, but it is something that is actually genuinely used for more complicated problems.

Automation

Automation is the process of using automatic, usually digital, equipment to carry out tasks in the manufacturing and production industry.

Bias

Bias, typically known as AI bias or ‘machine learning bias’ is a phenomenon where data analysis and algorithms produce results that are prejudicial against particular groups of people.

Big data

Simply put, big data is an information asset that requires a new mode of processing in order to gain better insight, make clearer decisions, and adapt and diversify. It is a key component of AI in modern business.

Corpus

Corpus is basically a collection of data that is typically a body of text which is generally labelled with text annotations.

Data mining

Data mining refers to the process of extracting important and pertinent information from data that wasn’t evident or obvious before.

Machine learning (ML)

Machine learning refers to the AI application that provides algorithms that provide systems with the ability to improve and learn automatically without the need to be pre-programmed.

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

It is important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of AI when it comes to marketing and advertising, and these are some of the key things you need to consider.

Advantages

1. It’s more efficient

From a business perspective, one of the key benefits of using AI as part of your marketing strategy is the fact that it is far more efficient than having to deal with things yourself.

2. It’s cost-effective

Another advantage is that you can cut costs and save money by using AI, because it saves you having to hire people to do the same tasks.

3. Personalization

One of the key parts of marketing is trying to make it more personal and meaningful for customers. And AI can do this easily by collecting user information, and contacting them with personal recommendations.

Disadvantages

1. Lack of human interaction

Even in this world dominated by technology it does seem clear that a lot of people still value human interaction, and would still rather talk to a person. This is where AI is flawed as it doesn’t allow for people to do this.

2. Removes the emotional aspect

Another issue here is to do with the lack of emotional involvement that comes with AI. Machines are only capable of making logical, binary decisions, and the human aspect is lost a little with this.

3. Puts jobs at risk

One of the other drawbacks with the use of AI is the fact that it is taking away from a job that a human could be doing, and this can impact unemployment in a negative way.

Is AI going to take over advertising?

It will be interesting to consider how the marketing and advertising industry might look moving forward, as well as how much AI is going to have an impact on it. There are a lot of ideas you need to think about here, and there are so many ways in which AI can (and will) be integrated into the marketing and advertising arenas. In the wake of the global pandemic, we’ve all been facing, it is more important than ever for businesses to take positive steps and do as much as they can to reassess the way they are doing business. This could well lead to AI being integrated more into the business world in the future.

It would seem that there are a lot of advantages to AI in business advertising, and it certainly provides companies with a fast and efficient way of honing their company’s marketing and producing better results. However, this approach is not without its pitfalls, and companies need to make sure they are making the right decisions here. So it is important to think about the pros and cons of this, but there is no doubt that AI is transforming how modern businesses advertise.

This latest move is another step forward for Shopify in their quest to overtake WooCommerce as the eCommerce platform of choice.

What does this mean for existing Shopify users?

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an eCommerce subscription platform that allows sellers to create their own website and systems to manage, sell and ship their products to users. It is estimated that there are over 1 million active Shopify sites.

Three men—Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake—created Shopify after they were disappointed with their experience of trying to sell snowboarding equipment online.

Shopify is the second most popular e-commerce platform in the world, behind WooCommerce. It is popular with users because it’s relatively low cost, has an intuitive user interface and and a ton of great third-party apps. It is often a popular choice for those with minimal technical experience but who still want a professional online presence.

Pricing plans start from around $29 per month for the basic setup and go up to $299 for an advanced system suited to larger businesses and scaleups.

Why has Microsoft Ads partnered with Shopify?

In 2018, Shopify launched Shopify Marketing, providing Shopify merchants with the opportunity to market their products on various platforms such as Google Smart Shopping, Facebook and Snapchat Story Ads. Once initial accounts and setups are complete, merchants can run almost everything from right inside the Shopify dashboard.

Shopify is the first eCommerce platform to partner with Microsoft Ads directly. By partnering with Shopify, Microsoft has opened its partner network to a huge number of potential advertisers, and Shopify has moved towards offering merchants an all in one marketing platform that has, up until now, relied heavily upon Facebook and Google advertising networks.

How to get started

To get started with Shopify and Microsoft, you will need to complete the following steps.

1. Create a Microsoft Ads Account

If you’ve never used Microsoft Ads before, you’ll need to create a new account. To do this, you will need details of your Microsoft Account and enter some details about your online business.

Set up billing and payment information and then return to Shopify and connect your Microsoft Ads account. You’ll then be asked to provide further information to complete your Microsoft Merchant Center profile.

2. Choose Your Microsoft Advertising Account

Once your Shopify and Microsoft accounts are linked, you’ll need to identify which Microsoft Ads account you want to use with Shopify.

If you created your Microsoft Ads account from within the Microsoft Ads app within Spotify, you’d have to set up a new Merchant Center too.

3. Microsoft Merchant Center 

1. Enter your details and target countries.
2. Create a new Microsoft Shopping Activity
3. Click Create Activity
4. Then go to Create Campaign > Create Activity
5. Select Add Activity 
6. Click Promote with Microsoft Advertising
7. Complete details and Publish Activity

4. Recommended Daily Budget

Like other online ad platforms, you’ll need to specify a budget and a maximum keyword bid. This will stop you from overspending and let Microsoft know how much you want to spend and the maximum you will pay when someone clicks on your advert.

Higher keyword bids will put your ads in a better position, so you need to choose them carefully.

Microsoft recommends a minimum daily budget of $10 per day and a minimum bid of $1.25 per keyword click.

5. Other Features 

Send Collections– by default, all of your products are sent to Microsoft Ads, if you want to define your selection, you’ll need to choose a collection or collections.

Variations– this setting will send all variations of products to Microsoft Ads (e.g. colours and sizes).

SEO Descriptions– Shopify merchants spend a lot of time optimizing their product descriptions. You will need to select these to be sent to Microsoft Ads rather than the default descriptions.

Conversion tracking– using conversion tracking will give you a much better understanding of your marketing efforts. If you are running different ad variations for the same products, then you will be able to track conversions and see which variation is performing better.

To set this up, you’ll need to create what’s called a Universal Event Tracking (UET) tag in your Microsoft Ads account. Once you have placed this tag on your website, you’ll be able to use the amazing amount of information it gives you to implement a solid remarketing and conversion strategy. When it comes to eCommerce, there’s no such thing as too much information.

What you need to know

It would be understandable for Shopify merchants to wonder if they should put the money, time and effort into advertising on Bing. After all, everyone’s on Google, right? Not quite. Bing has over 30% of the search market and has continued to grow, slowly but steadily. This is likely to continue as Microsoft loads its new computers with Edge and Bing as the default browser. Also, Shopify merchants can benefit from:

• Lower ad prices, make that daily budget stretch further
• Industry-standard analytics and reporting
• Highly focussed targeting and link retargeting
• Access to Yahoo users
• Those in B2B e-commerce can take advantage of Microsoft’s ownership of LinkedIn
• Ability to use ‘Sponsored Product’ placements.

Though Google remains powerful, the Microsoft corner of the internet is not insignificant and shouldn’t be ignored.

Conclusion

The partnership of Shopify and the Microsoft Ads network is a fantastic opportunity for Shopify merchants. The quality of the targeting and analytics within the Microsoft Ads network is ideal for those seeking out that extra competitive edge.

Lower ad costs and advanced retargeting features can make your money go a long way and seek out those customers you might otherwise have missed by focussing solely on other areas.

If you want to target Bing users effectively, you’re going to need to make use of the PPC platforms at hand, and delve into their deeper customisation options, one of which is demographic targeting.

Microsoft Advertising’s demographic targeting is one of the best tools on the market and one of the biggest options a business can invest in. Let’s run through some details of how to use demographic targeting for Microsoft Ads (formerly Bing Ads), and why you should always use it to better personalise your campaigns.

What is demographic targeting?

Demographic targeting is a type of advertising that allows advertisers to use demographic data to target online ads at users. For Microsoft, companies can take user search data from Bing and target them in a more proficient manner.

Depending on what keywords or other relevant information a company may be working with, the ads can be run on different levels. When using Microsoft Ads, a granular detail can be included in this process, whereas a more general and group related approach is taken with platforms like Google Ads. 

With this granular targeting, finding the right demographic for your ads is easier and more efficient. That’s not to say it won’t take a few attempts to find the right audience but knowing exactly who your audience is, and who you are trying to reach in the first place, will always ensure that you get it right sooner rather than later.

Once you’ve targeted the most appropriate users, Microsoft Ads allows Bing users to increase your bid amounts to ensure this demographic group is being reached as many times as is needed. 

Why should you use demographic targeting?

Here are a few reasons why targeting by demographic is in your best interests

1. It can boost your ROAS

Demographic targeting can help optimise your budget and improve ROAS (return on ad spend). Think of it this way – if you place ads with no consideration for who sees them, your impressions may be high but your clicks will be low, therefore producing a subpar CTR. That’s a waste of budget.

But by using demographic targeting, you’re placing ads for specific keywords and specific users, those impressions will come from users who have already shown an intention to buy. Impressions may be lower in comparison but, theoretically, the clicks will be higher and so will your CTR and your ROAS.

2. Demographic targeting is open to experimentation

There are multiple ways you can target a demographic through:

• Age
• Gender
• Day
• Time
• Device

There are best practices to follow (which Adzooma recommends in its platform) but through experimentation and finding what works for your business, you could find a lucrative path by targeting a unique subset of users. For example, you might find that older users are more likely to convert between 9pm-10pm on a Friday. But you never would have known without the necessary data and trial and error.

3. It could save a failing campaign

This is most relevant to a company that needs to make a change. For a company that’s struggled to put the right advertising campaign together thus far, demographic targeting could be the perfect solution, and it’s easy to upgrade to a function like this too.

With greater control over the number of demographic groups an audience can be split up into, demographic targeting is a must. After all, one of the biggest audience shares on Bing are people aged 35 and over, with an average annual income of $100,000, which is a much-neglected share of the market. Demographic targeting could fix that.

How to create targeted ads in Microsoft Ads

Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to creating targeted ads:

1. On the Campaigns page, click the Campaigns tab (or go to the main menu, click All campaigns and then Campaigns).
2. Select the name of the campaign you wish to alter.
3. Click Settings.
4. For location targeting:
   • Click Edit location targets.
   • Pick the locations you want to target or exclude. These include:
     • Countries
     • Regions
     • States or provinces
     • Counties
     • Cities
     • Postal codes
     • Specified radii around a postal code, set of coordinates, landmark, or designated area
   • Select the users who should see your ads, whether that’s people in your targeted locations, people searching for/viewing pages about your locations, or both.
5. For other targeting options, click Advanced campaign settings.
   • Day/time targeting: click Ad schedule. Adjust bid adjustments between -90% and +900%.
   • Device targeting: click Device. Target desktops (inc. laptops) and mobile devices (tablets and smartphones). Adjust bid adjustments between -100% to +900%.
   • Age/gender targeting: click Demographic. Adjust bid adjustments between -90% and +900%.
6. Click Save.

Knowing your audience

Knowing your audience can seem like a hard task to master. It’s expanding all the time, there’s a lot of different demographics within an audience, and putting together a marketing persona is essential at least every 3 months. A lot of time and energy goes into knowing your audience, and that’s exactly why using Microsoft Ads demographic targeting can make it all worth it.

There’s a lot of value for money on Bing. It’s a search engine in a battle with Google’s for its market share, but it does have a unique audience of 63 million people. Reaching this portion of the market could mean wonders for your advertising success, as long as you know who they are, and how to split them effectively enough to advertise towards them.

LinkedIn profile targeting

Back in 2018, when it was Bing Ads, Microsoft Ads introduced LinkedIn profile targeting. It came after Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn for $26 billion in 2016 and after Microsoft’s involvement in LinkedIn’s advertising efforts, its revenue increased by 37% in 2018 compared to the previous year.

By targeting LinkedIn profiles, Microsoft included three new demographics to target:

• Company
• Industry
• Job function

It was a major advantage over Google Ads at the time and still an underrated form of demographic targeting given LinkedIn’s userbase.

Read: How To Target LinkedIn Users Through Microsoft Ads

Summary – how effective is demographic targeting?

In recent years, demographic targeting in Microsoft Ads has seen significant improvements, particularly with its device OS targeting. Bing has made an effort to collect better data and, as a result, demographic targeting is more effective than ever.

With a platform like Bing, that isn’t oversaturated with search results and other advertising campaigns, demographic targeting is a lot more transparent, and the use of targeting rules can be employed on both campaign and ad group levels. 

Demographic targeting gives advertisers a better idea of who their audiences are, and how you to advertise to them effectively.