Mastering the Basics of Using AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is constantly evolving and will become an important consideration for nearly every industry within the next decade. Learning how AI works and how to use it effectively will create an advantage in your small business. AI works by utilising algorithms and billions of data points from all over the world to form answers and generate predictions, based on your initial prompt.

Prompt Engineering

Prompt engineering is a useful skill to learn to get the best outputs from AI. When you are using any of these tools, consider the following:

Be clear and concise with what you are looking for. For the best results, inputting high-quality data is crucial. Make sure the information you provide is accurate, relevant, and free from biases. This will guarantee you effective outputs.

Ask it to take on a persona. If you want to know how your target audience would respond to a certain marketing campaign, implement your target audience data such as gender, age, job, country etc. This will give you an output that is based on this information.

Refine your prompts, you may not always get the correct output you desire from your first prompt, always consider editing and refining your prompt to gain a better output.

Be critical with the outputs AI gives you, it is still an evolving tool and may not always give you the correct information. Critically analyse the output through your own research and determine whether this is information that you can use. 

Prompt Examples

Bad Prompt - "Make a marketing plan."

This prompt is poor because it's vague, lacks context, and doesn't provide specific guidance or constraints. This will result in a generic, unfocused response that may not be useful for your specific business situation.

Good Prompt - "Create a comprehensive B2B marketing strategy for the launch of our new cloud-based project management software. The target audience is mid-sized technology companies (100-500 employees). Include the following elements:

1. A brief overview of the product's key features and benefits

2. 3-5 primary marketing channels to focus on, with justification for each

3. Content marketing ideas tailored to our tech-savvy audience

4. Suggestions for measuring the success of the campaign

5. A high-level timeline for a 3-month launch period".

This prompt is much more detailed and therefore better than the ‘bad prompt’ above. It is specific, structured and contains context. AI should produce a detailed, relevant and actionable response that you will be able to use.

There are so many different AI tools available for you to use, it can often be overwhelming to decide what one is best, start by asking yourself “what do you need the tool for?”. Is it for helping you to write content? Try using ClaudeAi , maybe to create graphics for socials? Try Canva Pro Image Generator, or if you are looking to help grow your sales, try apollo.io. 

As AI continues to evolve, staying adaptable and building your skills in effectively guiding these tools will be crucial. AI will inevitably become a large part of every industry , and those who learn to harness its potential will have a significant advantage in the ever-changing business landscape. Happy prompting!