Smart social: three companies using AI to revolutionize social media marketing

In 2017, the global market for artificial intelligence (AI) driven social media marketing was valued at $465.2mn. According to a Markets and Markets report, that figure is predicted to grow to exceed $2.1bn by 2023. The ability for intelligent machines and applications to add value to the way companies engage with their customers, partners and employees is incontestable. Use cases range from chatbots that improve customer service to platforms that can identify and generate optimal cross-platform content. 

The jury remains out on the best practice applications for most of these technologies. According to a Forbes report, while most companies selling and buying AI-driven social media solutions seem intent on replacing their human workers, the tipping point where a content curator will be made obsolete may be some years away. “Facebook represents this contradiction. While publicly touting the company’s AI-driven future and investing heavily in building a world-class AI research staff, the company is also rapidly hiring human content moderators,” writes Kalev Leetaru, internet entrepreneur and Fellow in Residence of International Values, Communications Technology & the Global Internet at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

While the number of companies entering and operating in the field increases on a daily basis, and the final efficacy of AI as a job replacer remains to be seen, we’ve identified three leading AI companies with products, services and solutions capable of transforming a company's social media capabilities. 

Cortex

Small, Boston-based AI startup Cortex touches more lives on a daily basis than most major advertising firms. Founded in 2015, the company owns and operates a proprietary AI platform that reportedly eliminates the need for a dedicated social media data analyst. 

“Cortex learns what makes better marketing content and offers creative direction, social media insights, and competitive benchmarking based on his data analysis.” 

Trusted by diverse global brands like Heineken (achieving a 39% increase in engagement with the beverage giant’s Dos Equis property) and band Maroon 5, Cortex uses its algorithmic analysis of social trends to “know exactly what to post, when, how often, and instantly add the most effective photo or video. No more guessing, no more searching. Done in no time at all.”

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Invoca 

Founded in 2008, Santa Barbara-based analytics firm Invoca has spent over a decade selling the idea of relationship insights as direct value creation. The company is centered around its AI-powered call tracking and analytics platform that helps marketers get campaign attribution and actionable data from inbound phone calls. 

The approach is a less common one, given the focus of most social media solutions on internet engagements over social media apps. However, with the US outbound telemarketing market predicted to reach higher than $12bn annually by 2025, the application of AI to gain greater insight into the space has its appeal. 

In an interview in 2017, Invoca CEO Gregg Johnson said: “With the massive rise of mobile, which is driving 85 billion calls to businesses globally and influencing more than $1 Trillion in U.S. consumer spending, it’s becoming even more important for marketers to integrate call intelligence with their marketing automation solutions. As consumers increasingly combine their digital interactions with voice interactions, live conversation has become the new competitive battleground for customer experience. Call intelligence allows marketers to connect digital consumer interactions (clicking on paid search ads, browsing websites, etc.) to the voice experience (talking to a human), to have a holistic profile of the customer.” 

Drift 

Another Bostonian firm, Drift was founded in 2014 and has since become the world's leading conversational marketing and sales platform that helps businesses connect with their customers. With a focus on immediate revenue generation for its clients, Drift has undeniably displayed the trend with regard to its own development. 

After just two years on the market, the company has become one of the fastest growing SaaS companies of all-time and was named to the Forbes Cloud 100, LinkedIn Top 50 Startups, Entrepreneur's Top Company Cultures, Boston Business Journal's Best Places to Work, and SaaS Company of the Year by the NEVCA.

“Using Drift chatbots you can answer common questions in real time, route qualified leads to the right sales reps and start conversations with prospects in real time. Rep in a meeting? No problem, leads can book a time that works for them and your rep in seconds flat,” according to the company.