Prompt like a pro: How to create human-centric marketing strategies & content with AI

By Leanne Shelton

While you’ve dabbled with ChatGPT here and there, you’re probably still unsure of how to make the most of it for truly personalised and on-brand marketing content. Without sounding like a robot.

Am I right?

Well, it all comes down to effective prompt engineering. And learning how to prompt with GenAI tools (like ChatGPT) is one of the most critical skills for marketing managers, agencies, and business leaders to develop.?

To put it simply, without decent prompts to train and manage your AI, you’ll never get the desired results. The phrase I share in ALL my training sessions is - ‘Garbage in, garbage out!’

Look, I totally get that you’re busy. And you keep being told that AI is meant to make your team more ‘productive’. As a result, you’re feeling the pressure from management to do things quicker and better. Yes?

But without proper prompts, shortcuts are taken.?

And that leads to poorly planned strategies and generic, robotic content.?

And that leads to losing that know, like, and trust factor - which is essential when it comes to marketing!?

Don’t stress - I promise you that you WILL save time in the long run. And it IS possible to create quality strategies and content with ChatGPT. You just need to be willing to put in the initial effort with the input in order to be happy with the output.

How does ‘prompt engineering’ work?

While it sounds intimidating, prompt engineering is simpler than you think.

Let me put it this way - it’s not about what you ask AI to do, but how you ask it.?

I find that too many people are treating the ChatGPT message bar the same way they use the Google search bar. But these bars are NOT the same thing. You can’t just throw in a basic command and expect gold on the first go. It’s just not gonna happen.?

If that’s what you’ve been doing until now, that’s okay. You don’t know what you don’t know. Today I’m here to help turn that all around.?

Rather than making demands in the message bar, look at ChatGPT as a junior team member or assistant. This little tip is a massive game-changer for practically everyone in my workshops!

What would your first step be if you were meeting for the first time? Yep, you’d kick things off with an onboarding/training process.?

So that’s what you need to do with AI as well. Because to create authentic, high-quality content that speaks to your audience, you need to first train your AI assistant to understand your business, your brand voice, and - most importantly - your customer personas.?

That’s just step one.

You need to complete that step before you can start providing project briefs and making marketing magic together. And make ChatGPT a valuable extension of your team!

(Psst - If you need help with training AI to understand all these aspects, I’m here for you. It’s one of the key focuses of my team training sessions. Just pop me a DM to discuss.)

How to craft personalised (and human-centric) marketing prompts

When it comes to using AI for personalised marketing strategies and content creation, the real power lies in how you think about your prompts.?

Instead of relying on one of those 1,000 cookie-cutter prompts you purchased for $57 12 months ago, I encourage you to approach prompt engineering strategically.?

Remember this - unlike maths equations, there are no absolute correct prompts. So don’t rely on those prompts you see flung around LinkedIn.

You should be bringing your experience and expertise to the table instead.

1. Start with clarity and focus

The clearer you are about your objectives, the better your results will be. Before you even think about crafting your prompt, ask yourself these key questions:

• What outcome am I hoping to achieve with this strategy or content?
• What’s the call to action (CTA)?
• What background information do I need to supply for a proper AI briefing?

Taking the time to answer these questions before you start means you can give AI the guidance it needs, rather than letting it guess. And get it wrong. Again and again.

2. Personalisation begins with understanding

To craft truly personalised messages, the ChatGPT needs to understand who it’s talking to.?

Even if you’ve trained it up on your customer personas at the beginning, I’ve found it’s best to give ChatGPT a gentle reminder every time you provide a prompt. While you don’t need to provide all the details every time, ensure you reference key audience traits that relate to the particular project. Like their pain points or interests.?

For example, you could say:

"Please write a 700 word article about [Typical Q&A], focusing on how it solves [Specific Pain Point] for [Customer Persona]."

This is only a starting point prompt though.?

You’ll want to add a LOT more detail, including uploading or linking resources for ChatGPT to use to ensure the output is aligned with your target audience's needs.

3. Never settle for the first draft

AI isn’t perfect on the first try - and it won’t be. Especially right now when it’s like a baby in its abilities! The real magic happens when you treat it as a process of refinement.?

Don’t be afraid to ask AI to adjust tone, tweak language, or add elements like quotes and calls-to-action until it sounds just right. Every iteration brings you closer to content that truly reflects your brand and message. And it will ‘remember’ these types of things the next time the human and tool collaborate.

4. Use AI for inspiration, not replacement

While AI can help you craft personalised marketing strategies and materials, it’s not a replacement for human creativity or critical thinking. Nope, not at all!

In actual fact, I’ve found that I’m using even more brain power to get the prompts right. Like thinking ahead about my desired outcome and working backwards from there.?

I recommend using ChatGPT as a tool to spark ideas and speed up workflows. It removes that barrier to entry - especially when you’ve hit a brick wall and the words aren’t flowing.

Just remember to always review and add your unique human touch to whatever it generates.?

After all, true personalisation comes from understanding your audience on an emotional level - something AI is still learning to master.

To wrap up…

If you're looking to elevate your marketing game with AI, mastering prompt engineering is your key to success. I hope I’ve flipped the lid on some of your previous thinking!

By working strategically, guiding AI with clear objectives, and refining your prompts, you can create personalised, human-centric strategies and content that speak directly to your audience.?

Need some help with getting your team on the same page when it comes to prompt engineering??

Pop me a DM me to discuss how HumanEdge AI Training can highlight ways to optimise your marketing efforts and enhance your team’s skills. And ensure the human touch throughout the process!