So much of operating a successful business centers on marketing. Generating revenue is about customers: bringing them in and keeping who you have, all the while doing what you can to outmaneuver competitors and work around business climate challenges. To slip through the obstacle course and achieve those objectives, you must think and execute strategically and that includes making use of resources available to you. Among the most powerful and most discussed resources can be found in the many groundbreaking technological developments that have so radically reshaped our lives over the past hundred years.

Some of these useful and exciting tools are capable of delivering significant advantages to your organization—quick access to relevant data, the analysis and interpretation of that data and automation of routine functions such as email marketing and social media posting among them—all can be yours with just a few taps on your keypad. Your task is to stay abreast of the fast pace of emerging technologies and recognize the tools that will give you operational efficiencies you need most at a price you can afford.

The tool that’s got everybody talking is, tah dah, Artificial Intelligence. Open AI/Microsoft (Chat GPT), Google AI, Nvidia AI and Amazon (AWS machine learning) are among the leaders in the race to dominate AI technology. It’s imperative to start your learning curve and figure out the right way to use AI in your business. Maybe you’ve already started and have a chat bot on your website? That’s a great tool to enhance customer service and there are more marketing functions that AI can successfully support.

More than a trend

AI’s gift to marketing rests on its data-driven insights that help you personalize the customer experiences your company provides. Freelancers and small business owners are able to affordably access AI generated data that is actionable, meaning you can convert whatever insights you’ve gleaned into marketing strategies that can be expected to move the needle and set your organization apart in a highly competitive marketplace.

Personalization builds relationships

Marketing thought leaders have already pointed out that the future of effective marketing is personalization. Creating a memorably satisfying customer experience has replaced the hard sell. Now, the task is to lead customers to develop a connection with your business and give them reasons to continue doing business with you. Promoting connection through the inclusion of personalized marketing tactics is how to build relationships now, as you discourage churn and encourage repeat business.

New technologies, AI and otherwise, enable you to precisely personalize your company’s marketing strategies and tactics. The data that AI et al. delivers enables you to deepen your understanding of the customer persona by amassing demographic info that, among other insights, gives you actionable data about their buying habits and preferred experiences that you can use to make them feel valued. You can use recently developed technological tools, including AI, to create a more trusting and mutually beneficial relationship between your company and customers that ultimately leads them to give your marketing content more responses and followers that result in more sales, donations and growth for your organization.

Personalize and optimize AI prompts to personalize and optimize marketing content

The good news about AI technology is that it enables users to create both text and visual content. The downside, if you want to call it that, is you must “tell” your AI tool the result you want; to make it happen, you must learn to write instructions known as prompts. AI prompts can be divided into two categories: text prompting and image prompting. The prompt is how users communicate with the chosen AI tool—think key words and long-tail phrases. With prompts, you “tell” the AI what you want and how you want it to be done. You must describe what you want to see as a result.  

In text prompting, you’re “talking” to a natural language processor like ChatGPT. If your prompt is a general query, e.g., “how do you bake bread?”, you’ll be given a generic answer. But if your prompt is a more specific query or statement, e.g., “explain in simple terms how to bake whole wheat bread”, then you’ll likely end up with an acceptable recipe. When your goal is to create an image, you’ll use image prompting words to describe that image. The AI image generator is a text-to-image tool that was designed to make it easier for digital marketers and content creators to create images online. The text-to-image models you’ll use will include DALL-E2, Google’s Deep Dream Generator, Jasper.ai, or Stable Diffusion.

Incidentally, know that while AI tools are designed to process language, they have a different way of understanding than your average human. When using a natural language text prompting tool, you may receive outcomes that are incorrect or downright nonsensical, so it may take several tries, using different phrases to develop the prompt, to arrive at the outcome that you want. 

A cheat sheet of prompts written by someone else most likely will not produce optimal results. Your own words, perfected through a process of trial and error, in the end will breed success. Before you get started with AI prompts, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. There’s no magic prompt. The Internet is flooded with AI prompts, but it might take some trial and error before you figure out which type is most effective for your particular use case. 
2. Clarify your desired outcome. A good rule of thumb: the response will generally be as broad or specific as its prompt. In some cases, it might actually be preferable to skimp on the details—like if you’re brainstorming blog post topics and want more varied and diverse answers. Something more complex, like a sales playbook or chatbot script, will almost always require more details.
3. Garbage in, garbage out. The quality of the output depends entirely on the input. AI enables teams to move a lot faster, but it’s still important to take the time to flesh out your prompts. Otherwise, you could find yourself drowning in responses that are unclear, inaccurate, irrelevant or just wildly off-base.  

Marketing copy text prompts

Ramp up your creativity with prompts like “craft a brief, captivating story of a summer trip” or “compose a social post introducing a new skincare product for winters.” The suggestions that you get for these prompts can inspire imaginative content. Another strategy is to tailor your content based on audience preferences — from short-form copy to artwork, music and videos. This can help generate more tailored, engaging content for social media posts or emails. 

Informational text prompts

Hone in on the most relevant metrics and other info that’s buried in big data by using prompts like “provide a brief overview of Adidas’ top-performing footwear collection.” This is perfect for informed decision-making and finding out what’s still trending. 

Reasoning text prompts  

These prompts go beyond facts. They help AI provide thoughtful conclusions about a subject, adding depth and insight to your content. This includes prompts like “what is the impact of sustainable practices on corporate profitability?” Such lines of questioning can go a long way in helping you with industry knowledge and competitive analysis questions. 

List text prompts

Compile lists effortlessly by using prompts like “create a list of engaging podcast topics in the realm of artificial intelligence.” They’re ideal for generating concise, bulleted options, be it for email subject lines or blog titles. These prompts help structure your thoughts in a more systematic way. 

Instructional text prompts  

Guide your content creation with prompts like “detail the process of setting up a home automation system from scratch.” Utilize them to provide step-by-step guidance, which is incredibly useful for creating how-to guides or informative content. 

Interactive text prompts  

Interactive prompts initiate conversations. This includes prompts like “imagine you’re a travel guide giving recommendations for a solo trip to an exotic destination.” They create engaging scenarios, which are ideal for training sessions or interactive content. 

Keyword text prompts  

Keyword prompts pinpoint words or phrases. They are used for tasks like drawing insights from data or aiding in image and video creation. Take the example of this prompt: “Generate creative ideas for nutritious meal options that are easy to prepare at home. Focus on incorporating fresh ingredients and simple cooking techniques.” This keyword prompt guides the AI by specifying terms like “nutritious,” “easy-to-make,” “fresh ingredients” and “simple cooking techniques,” providing a clear direction for content generation related to healthy and easy-to-make meals. 

Image prompts

Use a phrase to describe what you’re looking for. A few specific details about the object or character, including a description of the character or object that will be in the foreground or background and the setting you’d like to see in your preferred image design.

Thanks for reading,

Kim