Midway through 2017, Facebook filed a patent naming it “Offline Trajectories”. It entails predicting where you will go next using your current location data. This could transform marketing as it is today. If you pick-up a coffee from Starbucks every day on your way to work, Facebook will be able to pick up on that fact and serve you ads for Starbucks on your way to work every day. Using this technology, social networks, and search engines will develop into predictive platforms that are able to serve ads based on your momentary requirements. That’s an unbelievable level of targeting.
Before we delve into how this update will work, let’s explore how this insight can be applied to simple, organic content marketing. If you can guess your audience’s mindset at a certain time, you can serve content best-suited to them. If you’re not sure, use experienced writers who have experience in your niche. Order content from Godot Media today to work with our niche experts.
How predictive marketing will work
According to a Buzzfeed report, the new technology that will fuel predictive marketing will use probability to make predictions. The algorithm will use your current location data, the behavioral patterns of people similar to you and your historical location data to predict where you’re going, based on a probability. On making this calculation, the algorithm will pre-load your Facebook feed to suit the nature of your destination.
For instance, if many people your age are likely to visit the bar next to your tech park after work, you may begin to get Happy Hour or discount ads promoting the bar next door about the time you wrap up work every day.
Facebook has yet another patent that could further bolster the platform’s predictive marketing ability. The algorithm, titled “Location Prediction Using Wireless Signals on Online Social Networks”, tracks the strength of signals such as-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, and near-field communication (NFC) to track your current location and calculate with probability where you might be headed.
Past issues with predictive marketing
Early in 2016, Google Maps introduced a similar feature wherein maps would guess your destination based on your web history and current location data. This feature, which was referred to as “Driving Mode”, earned the wrath of the public. A spokesperson from Google later clarified that the feature could only predict your destination if you were headed to bookmarked destinations such as your home or work.
Predictive analytics for marketing
With AI growing its presence in marketing, more and more software and companies are trying to use data through AI to predict future outcomes. Articles about AI for marketing are gaining more of a readership on the internet because marketing executives want a way to look forward using their numbers, not just back for feedback. There are many existing technologies that are using predictions to enable better marketing. Here are five of them.
- Predictive analytics for customer behavior – There are companies like AgileOne of Silicon Valley using various prediction models to project customer behavior. Among the models used are cluster models, propensity models, and collaborative filtering. Cluster models run on average behavior or typical behavior, propensity uses “true” facts to predict customer behavior, and collaborative filtering uses past behavior to predict the future.
- Predictive analytics to filter and qualify leads – When you get tons of leads to follow-up on, which ones should you focus on? There are three use-cases in B2B marketing for lead filtering by predictions. They are predictive scoring, identification models, and automated segmentation. The first refers to the process of prioritizing prospects, leads, and accounts using their likelihood to act as a factor. The second uses the process of finding new prospects based on existing good prospects. The third segments leads by characteristics to enable automated, personalized messaging.
- Predictive analytics to launch the right products at the right time – Your business can boom or collapse based on what products you choose to introduce to the market and at what time. Machine learning and data visualization can help you predict the right products and decide exactly what is the best time to deploy them in the market.
- Predictive analytics for content targeting – This is the category under which Facebook’s predictive marketing falls. By using data to predict location, activity, and behavior, you can target your customers better and more effectively.
Predictive analytics for marketing strategies – Which marketing strategies to use when? Using predictive analytics you can evaluate various marketing strategies and decide on the best time to execute them. This can save you tons of time in terms of using the wrong strategies. It can also help you predict the best strategies to invest in based on several factors.
Predictive marketing could change marketing forever, making it better targeted and more effective, saving you costs and ensuring your success. So, are you ready for predictive marketing?
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