As generative AI continues to entrench itself into the marketing profession, it’s important to understand how you can wield it effectively. AI can be a powerful tool to create social media captions, draft blog tools, streamline workflows, and boost productivity. But, like any other tool, mastering generative AI requires more than dropping in a quick prompt and hitting “go.” Crafting effective prompts – the instructions that tell AI what to do – is critical.

Here are three tips marketers can use to elevate your AI output – and make sure you take note of the 5 free prompts at the end.

1. "Garbage In, Garbage Out" Applies to Prompts

Just like with data, “garbage in, garbage out” also applies here. Vague or incomplete instructions will lead to bland or irrelevant content. Make sure your prompts are clear, concise, and specific. Target your audience, define the content type (e.g. blog post, social media copy, etc.), and outline the key points of the message you want to convey. The more specific and detailed your prompt is, the more focused and impactful the AI’s output would be.

Here's a quick example of a bad prompt versus a good prompt.

Bad Prompt: "Write a blog post about marketing."

This prompt is… fine. But it’s too broad. The AI won't know what specific marketing topic to focus on, what audience it's targeting, or the desired tone of the post. The AI won’t know a lot of specifics about the message you’re trying to convey, which audience to tailor it to, or even what topic you want to talk about.

Good Prompt: "Write a creative and engaging blog post for small business owners who are new to social media marketing. Focus on 3-5 actionable tips they can implement to start building a strong social media presence. Use a friendly and encouraging tone."

This prompt provides the AI with clear context:

• Target Audience: Small business owners new to social media marketing
• Goal: Build a strong social media presence
• Desired Outcome: 3-5 actionable tips
• Tone: Friendly and encouraging

With a more detailed prompt, the AI can generate a more relevant and useful blog post for your target audience.

2. AI for Creative Brainstorming

Coming up with new content ideas can be a frustrating experience. However, AI can help. You can use it to identify unique angles for your topics, explore alternative headlines, or generate a list of content pillars. Even if you don’t specifically use what it generates, it’ll help get your content ideation gears turning, spark creativity, and help you develop content that resonates with your target audience and fits into your marketing strategy.

3. AI is Not for Finished Products

With the right prompts, AI can generate some pretty good content. But it’s important to remember that it’s not a replacement for human expertise and creativity. Don’t just copy and paste the AIs output and call it a day – use it as a launch pad for your own creativity. Make sure you add your unique voice, expertise, and brand personality to elevate the content and make sure it aligns with your marketing goals. And don’t forget to fact check. AI is many things, but it’s not an expert in anything.

With these tips, you can better use generative AI to streamline your workflow and add to your creativity. Just remember that it’s a tool, not a replacement. It’s most effective when wielded with human expertise and strategy.

5 Free Prompts to Supercharge Your Marketing

Here are 5 generative AI prompts to help you get started with some common marketing tasks. And don’t forget tip #1 – “Garbage in, garbage out.” Ensure you include the target audience, goal, desired outcome, and tone.

1. Identify Content Gaps:

Prompt: Analyze our top-performing blog posts from the past year. Generate a list of related topics with high search volume that we haven't covered yet, focusing on long-tail keywords with lower competition.

2. Craft Compelling Headlines:

Prompt: Create 10 eye-catching headlines for a blog post titled "[Insert your draft title here]". Each headline should be under 60 characters and incorporate strong action verbs and keywords for SEO optimization.

3. Social Media Inspiration:

Prompt: Develop 5 engaging social media captions (for different platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) promoting our upcoming webinar on "[webinar topic]". Each caption should be under 140 characters and include relevant hashtags to increase reach.

4. Email Campaign Ideas:

Prompt: We're launching a new product, "[product name]". Generate 3 creative subject lines and email opening paragraphs for a welcome series targeting pre-orders. Focus on highlighting the product's key benefits and creating a sense of excitement. [List key benefits]

5. Craft Compelling Call-to-Actions (CTAs):

Prompt: We're offering a free trial for our productivity software. Generate 5 strong CTAs for our website and social media channels that encourage visitors to sign up for the trial. Each CTA should be clear, concise, and highlight the immediate benefits of trying the software.

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We’re always ready for a good conversation about this, and we’d love to connect! AMA | Rochester is a place for local marketers and communications professionals to collaborate, learn, and grow together. Reach out to us today.