Garbage in, garbage out. This old computing adage has never been more relevant than in the age of generative artificial intelligence. Some enthusiasts have even designated it the official mantra for AI implementation.

In B2B marketing, AI writing prompts promise boosts in productivity and creativity — but they can be a double-edged sword. Diving headfirst into AI without understanding the nuances of prompting can lead to generic, off-brand content that does you precisely zero favors.

We’ve been talking about the partnership between humans and machines for a while now. And if we’ve learned one thing, it’s this: To use AI effectively, you have to understand how to craft the right prompts and when to reach in with a human touch.

AI writing prompts are sets of instructions given to generative artificial intelligence (genAI) tools to generate written content. Marketers can use these prompts to guide AI in creating content that aligns with their goals. High-quality prompts help make sure you get relevant output from your AI assistant.

AI writing prompts: Instructions given to AI tools to generate specific content. They serve as a guide for AI to create tailored written material based on a marketer’s requirements and goals.

At this point, most B2B marketers have heard of — and likely experimented with — generative AI tools. Some of the biggest benefits of using AI writing prompts in B2B marketing include:

• Increased efficiency. AI tools can process ideas and create content faster than humans. They can empower you to produce more material in less time — leaving you more time to focus on strategy and less on execution.
• Consistency in messaging. Find yourself flipping back through your brand guide to refresh your memory on key messages? AI remembers. Arming AI with these guidelines helps you build strong, unified messaging across all content.
• Scaling content production. Planning and executing a truly amazing piece of content still takes a heavy human touch. Repurposing that content for different platforms? Large language models can help. In a few clicks, you can use existing content to generate everything from social posts to sales emails.

Effective AI prompt engineering is about working smarter, not harder. The right prompts enable B2B marketers to create more content with consistent branding, and then scale it.

But what kinds of prompts can give you the most bang for your buck, so to speak? Let’s discuss the different types of AI prompts you can incorporate into your marketing processes.

Supporting your content creation efforts with AI isn’t as simple as asking ChatGPT to write your next blog post. There are many different types of prompts that can be used to create genAI content. Let’s explore four main types.

Creativity might seem like a uniquely human trait, but genAI can actually give it a boost. In marketing, creative writing often involves building on different perspectives, which is where these tools come in handy. The right prompts are great for things like:

• Brainstorming new campaign themes
• Developing and selecting a catchy tagline
• Working out unique content angles

💡 Example of a creative prompt: “Generate five creative metaphors to explain our cloud storage solution to small business owners.”

Wondering how your latest customer survey results impact your marketing strategy? You don’t have to guess. Reasoning prompts ask AI to draw logical conclusions and inferences about information and scenarios. Use these for:

• Analyzing market trends
• Predicting customer behavior
• Evaluating marketing strategies

💡 Example of a reasoning prompt: “Based on the survey data provided, infer how the adoption of remote work might affect our customer retention over the next five years.”

Being more specific often gets you the outcome you’re after. Instruction prompts provide explicit directions to guide the algorithm’s response. You can specify everything from target audience, to tone, to format. These prompts are useful for:

• Creating structured content
• Tailoring content to a specific audience
• Ensuring consistent output across content pieces

💡 Example of an instructional prompt: “Write a 500-word blog post about our new product launch. Include an introduction, three main benefits, two customer testimonials, and a call to action.”

Generative AI isn’t the end of search engine optimization (SEO). It’s simply an evolution. Keyword prompts help marketers focus content on specific terms and related topics. They can help with:

• Search engine optimized content
• Product descriptions
• Search intent-tailored content

💡 Example of a keyword prompt: “Write a blog post about supply chain optimization for users researching inventory management software. Include keywords surrounding ‘efficiency,’ ‘cost reduction,’ and ‘inventory management.’”

By understanding how different types of prompts help in different situations, you open doors to AI applications you might never have thought of before.

Did talking about the different types of prompts get your wheels turning? How, exactly, can B2B marketers use these prompts?

In a world that’s already saturated with content, marketers know that content strategy isn’t about quantity. It’s about quality — that is, creating truly valuable content and then, getting it in front of your audience via multiple distribution channels.

AI can’t read your mind — yet. 🫢

To get the best results with your prompts, follow these tips:

• Be specific. Clear, detailed prompts yield better output.
• Contextualize. Give background info to help the tool understand your needs.
• Break it down. Use multiple prompts for complex tasks.
• Iterate. Refine your prompts based on the results you get.

If you haven’t found AI particularly useful yet, you might be victim to one of these common mistakes:

• Being too vague. Unclear prompts result in off-target content.
• Ignoring brand voice. Be sure to specify your target tone and style.
• Taking AI for its word: Always fact check AI-generated content.
• Removing the human touch. AI is a tool, not a replacement for human creativity.

Like any new-ish technology, AI is far from perfect. The discussion around the ethics of AI continues to evolve. Our top best practices:

• Be transparent. Inform readers when content is AI-assisted.
• Respect copyright. Steer clear of prompts using artist and brand names to avoid plagiarizing content.
• Look for biases. Build prompts into your content creation process to check for biases around race, gender, and other demographics.

Remember, AI is a powerful tool, but it’s not magic. It works best when guided by human expertise and creativity.

Marketing tools and tech are always evolving. Here are some of the AI models we’ve seen work best in the B2B realm.

The key to success with these tools is using them strategically. Every tool doesn’t belong in every marketer’s tech stack. But combining the right tools with your expertise creates a serious advantage for your brand.

You know the types, you know the tools — now where to start incorporating AI prompts into your marketing workflows?

The important thing is simply to start. Dr. Lisa Palmer, CEO and founder of Dr. Lisa AI, suggests: “Start practically. People are so overwhelmed at all of what’s possible that they’re a bit paralyzed, and so they don’t do anything.”

Our suggestion? Look at where you’re spending the most time and resources, and ask how AI can help in those areas. Here are a few of our favorite use cases.

AI can help draft scripts for product demos, explainer videos, and thought leadership content. Of course, you’ll have to polish these up as the brand expert, but getting something on paper (or screen) is often half the battle.

Streamline your team’s internal communication with AI-assisted writing. Think: Summarizing meeting notes, automating campaign reports, and sending reminders about upcoming deliverables.

Extend your content’s reach by repurposing it for different channels. For example, that recent thought leadership webinar you hosted? Literal gold. 🪙 AI can turn the recording into blog posts, social media content, sound bites, and more.

Speaking of social, AI can help in a wide range of applications here. Created an amazing infographic? Try a ChatGPT prompt to write captions for LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

Writing a multi-email nurturing sequence from scratch can be daunting. Brainstorm topics and draft the emails with the help of AI — then put the finishing touches on yourself. Pro tip: Ask AI to draft a few options for elements like subject line and preview text.

We often need product descriptions of varying lengths. Drafting these is the perfect task for AI. Provide plenty of information on your product and audience, and specify the length of the summary you need.

Let’s say you run event marketing efforts for a software solution that facilitates remote work for distributed teams. You’re planning a webinar on managing remote teams as part of your thought leadership content strategy.

Here’s how writing prompts might fit into your workflow:

1. Brainstorming. You give GPT a creative prompt like “Generate five unique angles for a webinar on remote employee management.” Then, you pick your favorite idea: fostering collaboration in remote teams.
2. Content outline. Using a tool like Jasper, you request: “Create a detailed outline for a 30-minute webinar on fostering collaboration in remote teams.”
3. Slide deck. Next, you ask Jasper to draft key points for each slide. For example: “Write concise, engaging bullet points for a slide titled ‘Top 5 remote collaboration tools.’
4. Promotion. After the webinar, you pop the recording into Content Lab to convert it into a teaser video for social media and blog post summaries of each key point.
5. Follow-up. Now, it’s back to GPT to draft a post-webinar email sequence: “Write a 3-email follow-up series for webinar attendees. Highlight the key takeaways and promote our free trial.”

By integrating different tools, you can streamline your webinar planning, creation, and promotion process. This AI-assisted workflow lets you focus on strategic decisions and personal interactions with attendees.

There’s a permanent place for AI in your marketing strategy. Where it lives — and the extent to which you rely on it — is up to you.

Figuring it out starts with a solid understanding of the different types of prompts, use cases, and the best tools for each job. Whether you’re writing scripts, repurposing content, or crafting emails, AI can be a powerful ally.

As always, remember that the goal is to enhance, not replace, your unique voice and creativity.

We’ve got the whole AI-powered content generation thing down to a science. Sign up for a free trial to see how you can turn one video into many assets in minutes.