Getting Started with AI: Practical Tips

Looking to incorporate AI into your business, but don’t know where to start? Don’t let new technology be overwhelming.

Artificial Intelligence or AI might be the new buzz word in marketing, but it’s actually been around for quite some time. In fact, back in 2019, AI was used to create a global video featuring David Beckham, adapting his facial features to align to the voiceover in 9 different languages. (See a cool background video here: https://youtu.be/CF_e0kMCW2o)

Since this PSA ad to support awareness around Malaria went live, AI and marketing have come a long way. Goldman Sachs analysts projected that big tech companies are set to collectively spend over $1 trillion on artificial intelligence over the next five years! So how do you get started? START SMALL!

Here are a few AI tools to get started with:

1. ChatGPT – A perfect start into the world of AI
2. Grammarly – Content editing for that email, blog post, or headline
3. Brand24 – Great for social media monitoring & sentiment
4. Helium10 – Leverage their listing builder to create winning PDP’s
5. Dall-E 3 – Try your hand at image generation with AI

If that feels overwhelming, don’t forget you’re often using AI with a lot of your standard technologies and apps. Think Google AI, Meta AI, Canva, Adobe, and so many more! So starting with the OG ChatGPT, here are a few ideas for trying your hand:

• Business Planning – leverage ChatGPT to create a business plan. Try using a prompt like the following, but make it your own. The more detail you provide, the more tailored it will be. But keep in mind that ChatGPT is an open-source platform, so don’t disclose any confidential information!
  
  SAMPLE PROMPT: “Write a business plan for a CPG manufacturing company in the personal care industry whose Unique Selling Proposition is crowd-sourced and up-voted innovation with premium aesthetics. The company does the bulk of its business online, and relies heavily on direct to consumer traffic, CRM and Social channels.”
  
• Social Media Strategy – have ChatGPT create some different Social Media content ideas. This will highlight everything from channels, posting frequency, and content territories.
  
  SAMPLE PROMPT: “Create a social media content strategy for a premium protein powder brand with a focus on science, clinical testing, and performance. The brand’s core audience is men 16-25 who are focused on their appearance and fitness goals. Top performing content in the past has been around contests and giveaways targeted to generate UGC engagement”
  
• Tagline Ideation – AI is great way to get a lot of ideas generated quickly, and then refine them to your liking.
  
  SAMPLE PROMPT: “Identify 20 potential taglines for a new line of portable children’s fruit & veggie squeeze snacks with a positioning similar to Gatarade’s focus on performance and hydration. Keep taglines to 7 words or less.”
  
• Tentpole Activation – Get campaign, activation, and PR pitch ideas for a tentpole activation, including a potential creative hook.
  
  SAMPLE PROMPT: “Create a tentpole marketing event idea to be executed in Spring at large mass and grocery store retailers like Walmart, Target, and Kroger as well as in digital channels leveraging micro influencers. Primary objectives include driving awareness (including PR pickup) and trial for a new feminine hygiene brand launch, focused on women’s empowerment.”

As you can see, the opportunities are endless. After your initial prompt, you can talk to ChatGPT like a human, asking it to refine the idea or generate more iterations of one specific area your prompt generated. For me, this has helped to spark a lot of ideas quickly, allowing me to react and refine. It’s also great in writing briefs or project charters, as these prompts often deliver outlines with a lot of territories you may not have thought of (making it a great training tool for junior talent to use to help them think through how to approach a task!).

A few things to keep in mind:

• A lot of AI is open source – don’t reveal any confidential information! And when you’re ready to use this for more custom work, consider walled AI tools where you can upload your proprietary information for more robust responses.
• Don’t settle for your first response – refine your work with additional information and update prompts so you get closer to your desired end results.
• Practice, practice, practice! As you work with AI more regularly, you’ll start to hone your skills for how to prompt to get the results you want.

Good luck, and Happy AI’ing!