We’re living in a very particular moment. While there’s more and more content created by artificial intelligence, we’re also experiencing a kind of boredom. And this feeling is growing because a lot of this content is very generic and doesn’t usually provide real value for companies looking to generate impact with their marketing content.
You’re probably already familiar with this type of copy with an excess of emojis, buzzwords, and repetitive phrases. Or you have also seen hundreds of low-quality images, with plastic lighting and glare, deformed letters and numbers, or people with really unsettling hands and eyes.
That’s not the AI revolution we expected in marketing.
At Inclusion Cloud, we share this frustration with the low-quality synthetic content circulating on social media and email marketing. We believe that something better can be done—something great that creates real value and stands out, rather than being generic content that most people overlook.
We want to share with IT leaders the unbeatable marketing engine for 2025 with AI at the core. This engine leverages the immense capabilities of AI to drive digital transformation in marketing and sales, creating superior content through the proper use of AI tools and incorporating them strategically with the human touch. We believe this combination of people, technology, and agile methodologies is what will make a big difference in 2025.
With this guide, you will be able to:
- Create humanized, fresh, original content.
- Save invaluable time for your team.
- Put AI to work for you, while you focus on refining your brand’s development.
- Apply agile methodologies and work management software to keep everyone on the same page. No more bottlenecks.
- Scale the amount of content at least fourfold.
- Explore new digital channels with ease, as content adaptation becomes effortless.
We hope this guide is helpful, and remember, if you need personalized consulting to implement these methodologies and technological tools, you can schedule a call with us.
Why Do Business Leaders Need to Modernize Their Tech Stack with AI?
It’s not about stopping the use of AI. Quite the opposite. What we propose is to use GenAI wisely to take full advantage of this powerful technology that is transforming productivity across every workflow.
To put it into numbers, let’s look at some statistics that show the impact generative AI is having on marketers:
- 75% of marketers said generative AI helps them create more content than they would without it.
- 77% agreed generative AI could help create content more efficiently.
- 79% agree generative AI can improve the quality of the content they create.
- 70% of marketers see an average increase in ROI when they use AI.
These data make one thing clear: From now on, AI will be a fundamental part of any competent marketing strategy, and that isn’t up for debate. Therefore, we must create a roadmap suitable for this technology, understanding its incredible potential as well as its limitations.
Is AI Coming for Your Marketing Team in 2025?
This question has been resonating ever since generative AI became popular with tools like ChatGPT and (at the time) Bard. However, we don’t see this scenario as likely in the near future.
Therefore, we believe the key will be a good balance between AI tools for writing, image creation, audio, and video, and the good judgment, strategic thinking, and symbolic values that people bring. This combination ensures the creation of truly valuable content that meets your business’s needs and communicates effectively with current and potential customers.
The Methodologies
Let’s get to the main point of this article, how this engine works. In the world of marketing, you can think of methodologies as the chassis of an engine—they provide the framework and structure that everything else is built on.
Agile methodologies, although often associated with software development, can be applied to a wide range of disciplines, including marketing teams.
It’s now quite common for digital marketing teams to adopt these types of frameworks to organize their work, especially as they increasingly incorporate technological aspects to produce digital content.
One of the central aspects for the success of the marketing engine is iteration. Just as in traditional content production you never stick with the first version of an article or design, with AI we shouldn’t settle for the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) either. That’s why iteration is so important.
Agile methodologies provide us with an ideal framework for iteration and creating high-quality content. How? By working in short iteration cycles, called sprints, teams can work multidisciplinary (each contributing from their expertise) to know what everyone is working on, fostering the flow of creative ideas, and improving each product in the process. This great flexibility also allows adapting to changes in the market or client demands.
Later on, we will see how different AI tools will play an essential role in the entire creation process, but what we can already say is that it will make those short cycles truly short because generative AI has the capability to significantly reduce execution times for each task: A recent report indicates that employees who regularly use generative AI are saving an average of 1.75 hours per day.
This means: Almost a day a week and around 56 days a year. It’s truly astounding how these tools, when used within an appropriate framework, can elevate productivity to levels far above those who do not yet use GenAI.
Let’s now mention some of the most frequently used work methodologies that can be a productivity booster for marketing teams:
Scrum
Imagine you are organizing a marketing event, with a large number of tasks to accomplish. Scrum helps you divide it into short stages (“sprints”) of 1 to 4 weeks. In each sprint, you define clear objectives, work on them as a team, and deliver a functional product at the end.
For example, in sprint 1, you create the event’s website. In sprint 2, you design the social media marketing strategy, and so on, iterating and reviewing each part of the event checklist.
Kanban
Think of a board with columns representing stages of work (for example, “To-Do”, “In Progress”, “Done”). Kanban allows you to visualize the workflow and limit tasks in progress (“WIP”) to avoid bottlenecks.
An example of this type of organization could be a team managing their email marketing campaigns. The cards in the “To-Do” column represent pending campaigns, while those in “In Progress” are actively being worked on. This way, everyone can see who is responsible for each task, the dependencies among team members, and the status of the project.
Lean
Lean aims to eliminate waste and optimize team processes as much as feasible. It is about identifying and eliminating tasks that do not provide value to the team or the client.
For instance, if you are conducting more reviews than necessary for blog articles, consuming more time and personnel than required for that task, you can review the process and complete it more efficiently with the resources you have (which are always scarce).
Remember, these methodologies are not mutually exclusive. They can be combined to use a mixed approach that enhances more aspects of the engine. Now, to help you get started, we recommend some work management platforms:
Tools for Managing Work in Agile Marketing
Asana
Best for: Scrum and Kanban
Why: Asana is very useful for creating task cards and assigning responsibilities and deadlines. One of the keys is that it allows adding subtasks, making it easier to track the sprint stages you are in.
Trello
Best for: Kanban
Why: Trello’s card-based system is ideal for visualizing tasks and workflows. Its straightforward, drag-and-drop interface helps teams easily track progress through different stages.
Basecamp
Best for: Lean and Scrum
Why: Basecamp combines project management with team communication, making it suitable for Lean by minimizing waste and improving communication. It also supports Scrum by organizing tasks, deadlines, and facilitating discussions.
Jira
Best for: Scrum and Kanban
Why: Jira is highly customizable and powerful, making it ideal for managing complex projects. It is particularly strong in Scrum for managing sprints, backlogs, and burndown charts, and also supports Kanban with its flexible board configurations.
The Tools
Another essential part of the engine is the AI tools that will be put to work. These function similarly to pistons and cylinders, generating power and allowing for high-speed operation.
There are many tools available, and later we will provide a list of the ones we believe will be the most useful and powerful for your team. However, as mentioned before, the tools themselves are just devices or applications to be used by people to execute a task and achieve a specific goal. Therefore, what truly makes a significant difference in the quality and personalization of the content is the integration of these AI tools into the engine, interacting and dialoguing with people, methodologies, and brand expectations.
Looking ahead to 2025, the goal is not just to incorporate GenAI for content creation. It’s about using these tools to differentiate yourself, creating something much more personalized and engaging than the generic content you might get without a well-oiled engine.
Here are the tools that may prove most useful:
- ChatGPT (Text generation, Virtual assistant)
- Google Gemini (Search assistant, Text generation)
- Jasper AI (Content creation, Assisted writing)
- Notion AI (Project management, Assisted writing)
- Grammarly (Grammar correction, Writing enhancement)
- Ubersuggest (Keyword research, SEO analysis)
- Dall-e (Image generation from text)
- Midjourney (Image generation from text, Digital art)
- Runway ML (AI-assisted video editing, Visual content creation)
- Canva AI (Graphic design, Visual content creation)
- Adobe AI: Firefly & Illustrator (Graphic design, Image editing and creation)
- DeepL (Text translation)
- Google Analytics (Web traffic analysis, Conversion tracking)
- HubSpot (Marketing automation, Campaign analysis)
- Tableau (Data visualization, Data analysis)
The Unbeatable Marketing Engine for 2025: AI Does, Marketers Think
Let’s walk through how a well-oiled marketing engine works, step-by-step. We’ve had the opportunity to work with this engine firsthand, and we can tell you, when AI tools, marketers, and agile methodologies come together, the results are nothing short of impressive.
Step 1: Brainstorming
In the initial stage, we kick off with brainstorming sessions. Marketers play a crucial role here by guiding these sessions to ensure that ideas align with the brand strategy and objectives. They bring their expertise and creative insights to shape the first concepts. Agile methodologies like Scrum and Kanban set the stage for organizing these sessions. Scrum helps us divide brainstorming into focused sprints, while Kanban, visualized through Asana boards, allows us to track the flow of ideas.
We use AI tools such as ChatGPT and Jasper AI to spark ideas. These tools can generate dozens of campaign concepts, headlines, and even entire content outlines in minutes. Notion AI aggregates trending topics and potential angles based on our initial inputs, providing a robust starting point. Finally, we use Asana to jot down the best ideas and organize them into actionable items.
Step 2: Planning
Once we have a solid list of ideas, it’s time to plan. Marketers take the lead in defining clear objectives, assigning tasks, and setting deadlines, ensuring that the campaign plan aligns with overall marketing goals. We switch to Scrum mode for sprint planning. Using Asana, we break down the campaign into manageable tasks, assign responsibilities, and set deadlines. HubSpot is instrumental in planning the content calendar and automating parts of the campaign to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Our Trello board visualizes the entire workflow, from “To-Do” to “In Progress” to “Done,” helping us keep track of progress.
This structured planning phase allows us to clearly define what needs to be done, by whom, and by when, setting a solid foundation for the campaign.
Step 3: Content Creation
This is where the magic happens. Marketers oversee the production of high-quality, engaging content, ensuring it aligns with the brand’s voice and objectives. With our plan in place, the team dives into content creation, using a suite of AI tools.
We use ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Jasper alternately (or sometimes simultaneously) to create written content. This includes blog articles, infographics, carousels for social media, email marketing texts, and website content. We create a rough draft of the text, which we refine in the next step.
For graphic design, we commonly use tools like Dall-e, Midjourney, or Adobe Firefly for image generation. While these tools are generally easy to use, skilled designers can significantly enhance the quality and speed of the outcomes. An expert can craft highly detailed prompts, incorporating technical aspects such as visual styles, lighting, colors, and angles. Talented designers understand how to describe these subtleties, ensuring that the final product completely matches the desired vision.
We also use Canva, which has magic tools, powered by AI to make edits (it also has an image generation option), enabling us to make various changes to images or photos simply using prompts. For more complex edits, we turn to Adobe’s advanced AI editing options.
This method considerably speeds up the development process, allowing us to create banners, social media posts, branded items, and more. As previously stated, the goal is to iterate with various technologies until we get the desired result, always relying on human ingenuity and vision to produce something that will appeal to the target audience.
Finally, a prompt engineer can help optimize prompts to achieve more precise results.
Step 4: Refinement
After the initial creation, it’s time for refinement. Agile’s iterative nature shines here, allowing us to continuously improve our content. Marketers review, edit, and refine the content to ensure it meets quality standards and brand guidelines. We hold regular review meetings to provide feedback and make necessary tweaks. Grammarly steps in to polish our text, ensuring perfect grammar and style. DeepL helps us translate content accurately for our international audiences, making sure we reach a global market effectively.
During our review meetings, we discuss what works and what doesn’t, iterating quickly to enhance the content’s quality. It’s like having a rapid prototype cycle but for marketing content. This iterative process ensures that every piece of content is polished to perfection before it goes live, maintaining the high standards expected from our brand.
Step 5: See How It Performs
Finally, we launch the content and keep a close eye on its performance. Marketers track performance metrics, analyze data, and make data-driven decisions to optimize future campaigns. Tools like Google Analytics, Tableau, and HubSpot are indispensable at this stage. Google Analytics monitors website traffic and user engagement in real-time, providing valuable insights into how our content is performing.
Tableau helps us visualize this data, making it easier to spot trends and insights that can inform our strategy. HubSpot tracks the performance of email campaigns and social media posts, giving us a comprehensive view of how our efforts are paying off. We hold regular stand-ups to review this data, discuss what’s working, and make data-driven decisions to tweak our strategy. The ability to adapt on the fly is invaluable, and it’s what makes this engine so powerful.
TLDR – The Dos and Don’ts of Using AI Tools in Marketing
If you want a quick overview of best practices and what to avoid in the marketing engine heading into 2025, here’s what you need to know:
Dos:
- Integrate with Agile: Use AI tools within agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban to stay flexible and iterate quickly.
- Use AI for Brainstorming: Leverage AI tools like ChatGPT and Jasper AI to generate creative ideas and themes.
- Plan Thoroughly: Use Asana, Trello, and HubSpot to organize tasks, set deadlines, and manage workflows.
- Refine Content with AI: Use Grammarly for grammar checks and DeepL for translations to polish your content.
- Monitor Performance: Track and analyze your data with Google Analytics and Tableau to make informed decisions.
Don’ts:
- Don’t Rely Only on AI: AI is great, but human creativity and strategy are irreplaceable.
- Don’t Skip Human Review: Always have marketers review and refine AI-generated content for quality and brand fit.
- Don’t Ignore Data: Analyzing performance data is crucial for improvement—don’t skip it.
- Don’t Overlook Personalization: Use AI to enhance, not replace, personalized and engaging content.
- Don’t Forget Integration: Ensure AI tools fit smoothly into your existing workflows for maximum efficiency.
The Results
According to what we see in the cases we have worked on, and in particular, in our own marketing team experience, the changes were significant and the results quite surprising:
- 4x increase in social media content production: The team was able to produce four times more content for social media platforms (LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook), ensuring a constant and engaging brand presence online.
- Tripling the capacity for strategic and creative tasks within the marketing team: With AI handling repetitive tasks, the marketing team could focus three times more on strategic planning and creative thinking.
- A threefold rise in lead generation: The efficiency and quality of AI-driven content led to three times more leads, boosting potential customer interactions.
- A 500% boost in blog article production within a year: The production of blog articles increased fivefold, providing a wealth of valuable content for the audience.
- Significant increase in digital engagement: Digital engagement metrics soared, with clicks growing by 1900% and impressions by 3100%, reflecting the heightened visibility and interaction with the content.
Put the Engine on the Move
If you’re looking to implement a cutting-edge marketing engine that integrates AI tools seamlessly with your CRM or other existing systems, book a call with us! With our extensive experience in leveraging AI to boost productivity and drive results, we can help you transform your workflows and achieve unparalleled success.
And follow us on LinkedIn for more strategic tips for AI adoption.