On the cutting edge of martech: Our top columns of 2017

It was a banner year for marketing technology. More data and tech flooded an already crowded digital marketing ecosystem, and the technologies that had previously been available to us became ever more sophisticated, providing even greater value to organizations than before. To get a taste of just how rapidly the space is growing, you need look no further than Scott Brinker’s oft-cited Marketing Technology Landscape infographic, which grew from a measly 150 martech and ad tech companies listed back in 2011 to nearly 5,000 today.

Meanwhile, as companies grappled with transparency and trust, many brands looked toward emerging technologies to help solve the issue. After all, while technology can’t replace human judgment, we’ve at least reached a point where we can use it to solve marketing problems faster, more cheaply and more efficiently than humans.

Our readers were especially eager to learn more about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning and how to apply them to an organization’s marketing structure to hone processes and services. Some of the most popular columns of the year predicted the future of AI in marketing and described how current technologies can be used to automate your digital marketing program.

For these topics and more, check out our top 10 columns of the year on MarTech Today:

1. Four trends that will reshape marketing in 2017 by Russell Glass, published on 1/11/2017.
2. Should PPC agencies be scared of automation? by Anna Shirley, published on 3/8/2017.
3. The future of AI marketing applications in retail by Daniel Faggella, published on 8/8/2017.
4. Voice search and data: The two trends that will shape online marketing in 2017 by Jim Yu, published on 4/4/2017.
5. From algorithms to advertising: 7 steps to introducing AI to marketing by Tomer Naveh, published on 3/1/2017.
6. The modern marketer’s guide to machine learning algorithms by Sean Zinsmeister, published on 4/26/2017.
7. B2B applications of AI in marketing: Two use cases that matter by Daniel Faggella, published on 7/10/2017.
8. Kiss your personas goodbye (and say hello, AI)! by Venkat Nagaswamy, published on 2/8/2017.
9. 5-year trends in artificially intelligent marketing by Daniel Faggella, published on 3/20/2017.
10. The value of applying artificial intelligence in display advertising by Adam Grow, published on 6/9/2017.