The Future of AI in Performance Marketing

As data becomes increasingly more complex to process for performance marketers, the significance of artificial intelligence grows to be more essential.

The abundance of information available calls for careful handling, as mishandled data can result in uninformed decisions and unapplied analytics, leading to ineffective campaigns and missed revenue opportunities.

Erik Huberman, founder and CEO of Hawke Media, joined Phonexa CMO Talar Malakian on the debut episode of Amplify to talk about “How AI is Changing Marketing Without Losing the Human Touch.”

The duo discussed new ways in which marketers can leverage AI to optimize ad spending, identify trends, drive results, and refine marketing strategies with better accuracy and time efficiency.

Hawke Media is one of the fastest-growing marketing consultancies in the United States. Huberman has grown the company valuation to over $150 million by working with over 3,000 brands worldwide and expanding the company portfolio with Hawke Ventures and Hawke AI.

Huberman’s insights on the advancements of AI shed light on why the human touch is still needed to thrive in the competitive space of performance marketing. The key for affiliates, lead generators, and influencers alike is understanding that what an AI tool can do, and what it is needed to do, are two very different things.

As Huberman stated, “This all takes years; it’s not like tomorrow. I come across a lot of people really stressed out and a little over-focused on what’s the next tool. Just go build your business, go do the things you’ve been doing, and slowly add this stuff over time. Then, you’ll be fine.”

Let’s dive into Huberman’s insightful input and uncover some of the essential takeaways centered around AI and performance marketing.

Your Ultimate Guide to Using AI for Performance and Affiliate Marketing

Using AI Effectively to Optimize Marketing Efforts

The conversation started with an in-depth discussion on how marketers can leverage AI to avoid wasting time sifting through data to determine where problems are, and why they’re happening.

“All of that is easy to automate. We can get to the point where the four hours of research you do a day, we’re just going to give that back to you,” said Huberman. “So, instead of spending four hours on research and four hours on implementation, you can spend 30 minutes double-checking insights and go for seven and a half hours on implementation.”

For those skeptical of how AI fits with marketing initiatives reliant on the human touch, Huberman reiterated that AI automates processes that ultimately allow marketers to have improved and efficient use of their time and resources.

Ad & Content Creation That Maintain Tone & Brand Identity

The discussion then shifted to marketers using AI to create ads and content while keeping their tone and brand image intact.

“It’s a great way to get started. You can get some good ideas from it, but it needs a human touch still,” said Huberman. “We’ll sit here and go, ‘What’s a good tagline?’ and we’ll be like, ‘I don’t know. What about this? What about that?’ You just run it through ChatGPT, and it’ll come up with 30 taglines that fit this parameter, and then from there, you actually could get some good ideas.”

With regard to the trends brands are seeing with AI-driven offer development, Huberman suggests that marketers must clearly define how using AI-powered tools can actually benefit them before implementation.

“When you talk about offers, the reason offers need to work well — what’s going to get someone to buy? what’s going to get an affiliate to want to run it? — is AI can’t account for all that and how people are going to react to that yet,” said Huberman. “So, what it can do is see what the results are and maybe adjust, but at that point, you’ve already burned out a bunch of people and a bunch of affiliates. It’s not at a point yet where a computer can do that piece.”

Integrating AI into Your Brand

Huberman also explained best practices around integrating AI into a business.

“Don’t get super distracted by shiny objects and hear AI all the time and think, ‘We’ve got to change everything,’” said Huberman. “We’ve watched other agencies go full AI, and it’s not there yet. So congratulations, you just wasted a ton of attention, a ton of effort, a ton of sweat and tears to do no better than you were doing before.

“You’re in the hype cycle of AI right now — everyone has an AI tool. Most of this stuff is going to be a waste of time. There are going to be tools that are interesting, and we’re playing with some, but is that going to change the base of our business?

“Don’t get too stressed out on the fact that the whole world hasn’t shifted yet. There’s a lot coming, too.”

To learn more about upcoming Amplify webinars, connect with Malakian on LinkedIn.

Read our guide to learn more about using AI for performance and affiliate marketing.