One thing’s for sure: not using AI in social media advertising is a missed opportunity. AI’s transformative capabilities have reshaped the marketing industry, and businesses not adopting it risk falling behind in the race. The market for AI in the advertising industry was valued at $15.84 billion in 2021, predicted to soar to two trillion US dollars by 2030. It shows that AI is now an integral part of the future of social media advertising, including traditional marketing.

The Inevitable Future: Impact Of AI On Social Media Advertising

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not an intimidating force; rather, it frees you up from tedious, time-consuming tasks. Social media AI tools handle data analytics, and ad monitoring, allowing advertisers to focus on creativity. Despite AI’s increasing processing power, it still cannot replicate human intelligence, ensuring marketers remain indispensable.

Far from being a weakness, AI proves to be a strategic advantage. Social media platforms have recognized the potential of AI and utilized it to enhance their features and deliver superior user experiences. As we look toward the future of AI in social media, we can anticipate even more innovative tools and strategies to emerge. Let’s explore how AI is currently changing social media advertising and envision the transformative benefits it promises to offer in the future.

• What Is The Role Of AI In Social Media Advertising
• How Major Social Media Platforms Integrate AI In Their Processes
• What Other AI Tools Are There
• AI And Social Media: The Dynamic Duo For Modern Advertising

What Is The Role Of AI On Social Media Advertising

As a consumer and an advertiser, you’ve likely encountered several AI in social media examples without realizing it. Consider those product recommendations that match your preferences and browsing history. Or the seamless interactions with chatbots providing real-time answers. These instances merely scratch the surface of how AI is subtly reshaping social media advertising.

Let’s take a look at the reasons why AI is not just a passing trend but an essential force in shaping your marketing strategy:

Audience Targeting

One of the ways AI connects you to your preferred demographic is through lookalike audiences. By analyzing user data, AI algorithms identify individuals with similar interests and behaviors to your existing customer base. 

Advertisers can narrow their audience on Facebook by selecting a specific location, age group, and profession criteria. Here’s an example of audience-targeting AI on Facebook:

Based on these parameters, Facebook’s AI tool would estimate the campaign’s potential reach and possible conversions.*

* Note: The estimated reach and outcomes may vary depending on the allocated budget and campaign duration.

Additionally, AI-driven retargeting analyzes user preferences and behavior, allowing ads to be recommended to users. These platforms strategically display your ads to users who have previously shown interest in similar products or services. This approach ensures that your brand remains top-of-mind for potential customers.

Ad Placements

AI ensures your content is strategically displayed in the most appropriate format, maintaining a seamless flow throughout the user journey.

For instance, suppose your ad is an eye-catching photo you wish to showcase in Reels. AI provides the flexibility to present it as either an overlay ad or an interstitial ad. This prevents your content from appearing disruptive to the user – enhancing engagement and receptiveness to your ad message.

A/B Testing

With A/B testing or split testing, you can experiment with different ad variations and identify the most effective ones aligned with your campaign objectives. This technology allows you to test visuals, ad copy variations, or call-to-action buttons. AI efficiently analyzes the results to reveal which combination yields the best results. 

A/B testing on LinkedIn can be conducted on different levels – by ads, audience, or placement:

Real-Time Monitoring and Campaign Optimization

Platforms like Meta Ads Manager, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, and TikTok Business Center offer AI-driven real-time monitoring of ad performance. These platforms equip you with comprehensive tracking and analysis capabilities, keeping you informed about your campaigns’ progress.

Moreover, these social media AI tools can automate ad optimization by adjusting bid prices, ad placement, and creative elements. Changes can be done in real-time with minimal disruption*, while your ads are continuously running.

* When you make changes to your ads, it re-enters the learning phase. Only make adjustments to your ads when you believe they will improve overall performance.

How Major Social Media Platforms Integrate AI In Their Processes

Now that we’ve looked at how integral AI is in your marketing efforts, we’ll take a peek at the AI integrations within the major social advertising platforms:

Application of AI on YouTube Advertising

• YouTube, powered by Google AI, delivers your video ads across different environments based on your targeted audience and campaign objective. This allows your ads to be distributed across in-stream, in-feed, and Shorts placements, including a mix of connected TV, desktop, and mobile users.

Source: Google – Video ad formats

For example, opting for Video action campaigns lets you automatically scale your video ads, featuring prominent calls-to-action on various YouTube surfaces and partner platforms. Advertisers utilizing this feature witnessed an impressive average increase of 20% in conversions among automated audiences compared to manual targeting.

Related article: Advertisers’ Guide To YouTube Video Action Campaign Targeting

• YouTube’s internal A/B experiment revealed that incorporating at least one video of each orientation (horizontal, vertical, and square) resulted in a 13% increase in conversions. This is in comparison to using only horizontal video ads in your campaigns.
  
  Streamline your video creation process by utilizing a variety of formats, such as vertical video ads for YouTube Shorts. These ads can appear as a swipeable video or an image ad seamlessly integrating organic Shorts in the Shorts feed. This way, you can maximize your ad reach despite the YouTube ad format you choose to employ.

• Through strategic collaborations with third-party providers like OpenSlate, VuePlanner, and DoubleVerify, YouTube provides brand suitability controls that uphold maximum brand security. 

YouTube’s brand safety settings extend to content exclusion, allowing advertisers to exclude unsuitable content types from ad placements. Google also employs AI on YouTube to assign digital content labels akin to movie ratings (e.g., G, PG, etc.). With these advancements, advertisers can trust that ads are placed alongside content YouTube deems safe for brand association.

AI Integration in Facebook and Instagram (Meta) Campaigns

• Meta is dedicated to providing an engaging experience for users through its advanced discovery engine. This discovery engine AI in Facebook makes sure that individuals discover content aligned with their interests. Since the launch of Reels, there has been a remarkable 24% increase in time spent on Instagram, indicating the widespread popularity of short-form videos.
  
  Notably, over 40% of advertisers already utilize Reels ads to promote products and services. Because of the positive social experience, Instagram has become an engaging platform for brands to foster genuine connections with customers.

• The Advantage+ placements feature provided by Meta enabled the automatic delivery of ads across the most effective placements at any given time. This has kept costs low while ads are performing at their best. 

Furthermore, the Advantage campaign budget feature automatically distributed the budget in real-time to the best-performing ads. This automation AI in Facebook streamlined the ad campaign creation and management process, setting it apart from the manual account and ad setups.

Monos, a Vancouver-based luggage brand, tested Advantage+ shopping campaigns (ASC) in January-February 2023. During this run, they achieved a 58% decrease in incremental cost per purchase. Additionally, Monos observed a notable 35% increase in incremental return on ad spend compared to their usual campaign setup.

TikTok’s AI Algorithm and Ad Tools

• According to insights gathered by Roth MKM analysts, the platform boasts a 33% higher brand sentiment than other social media platforms. In addition, 73% of users feel a deeper connection to brands advertising on TikTok.
  
  These numbers can be attributed to its predictive AI, commonly referred to as the “TikTok algorithm.” The TikTok AI algorithm creates a personalized feed for each user based on their content interactions, time spent on each video, and content preferences.

• Automated Creative Optimization (ACO) is a TikTok AI tool that streamlines ad management by automatically identifying high-performing combinations of creative assets. Simply upload images or videos, write ad text, and select your call-to-action buttons.
  
  ACO then creates multiple ads for your campaign and continuously explores, evaluates, and optimizes them to find the most effective combination of variables. The system then presents the best-performing creative to your target audience.

Source: TikTok Business Learning Center

• TikTok Search Ads is an upcoming feature that enables brands to position themselves in front of potential customers searching for relevant information. By targeting specific search terms related to their products or services, brands can effectively engage viewers during their exploration. For instance, creating captivating videos centered around popular search terms like “coffee at home” presents a valuable opportunity.

What Other AI Tools Are There

Aside from the platform, as mentioned earlier tools, advertisers have access to a range of AI tools for social media advertising. These technologies offer unique functionalities that can significantly enhance advertising strategies and streamline campaign management, acting like an AI social media manager.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT quickly and easily generates high-quality content, including social media posts, ad copy, headlines, and calls to action (CTA). Further, ChatGPT can provide helpful suggestions and improvements to refine existing content.

However, it’s essential to fact-check and review ChatGPT’s answers to avoid errors the machine introduces. Keep in mind that ChatGPT’s knowledge is limited to information available up to 2021.

Bard

Another emerging AI tool that highlights the benefits of AI in social media marketing is Bard, which goes beyond ad copy generation. It can craft codes, scripts, emails, and more, adding a touch of innovation to marketing efforts.

Bard’s advantage lies in its integration with Google Search, allowing access to and processing real-world information. The recent update includes Google Lens integration, allowing you to include images in your prompts. Bard also provides suggestions with images and/or helpful links to support its answers. 

Not sure how Bard works just yet? Here are 25 Bard AI prompts to get you started!

CampaignLab

According to Xuebing (Bing) Bu, our esteemed Data Expert and Director of Technology, CampaignLab is designed to “help us reduce all the tedious work so that we focus on the creative parts.” Strike Social’s proprietary technology utilizes extensive machine learning AI in social media ad campaigns. This has allowed us to gather audience insights and use them to monitor and forecast campaign outcomes. Since its development, CampaignLab has emerged as the driving force behind our numerous successful client campaigns.

AI And Social Media: The Dynamic Duo For Modern Advertising

The transformative capabilities of AI have revolutionized the marketing industry, and businesses that adopt this powerful alliance are poised to thrive in the digital era. The impact of AI in social media advertising extends far beyond mere automation. It liberates marketers from mundane tasks, empowering them to channel their energy into harnessing their creativity.

While AI handles data analytics, ad performance monitoring, and audience insights, the creative process remains an area where human ingenuity shines. This dynamic interplay between advertisers, AI, and social media is key to achieving campaign success. Indeed, the synergy between AI and social media is the driving force behind the future of advertising.