AI can write. But it can’t read your mind.

If your AI-generated content comes out generic, off-brand or just plain meh, the problem isn’t the tool. It’s the creative brief — more specifically, the lack of one.

Most businesses prompt AI with a topic and a wordcount and wonder why the output sounds like it could have been written for anyone. Because without a brief, AI fills in the blanks with the most average, inoffensive version of what you asked for.

But a well-constructed content brief? That’s where AI goes from regurgitating filler to producing something publishable after you polish it.

The blank slate challenge
AI comes to every prompt knowing nothing about your business. It doesn’t know your clients, your competitors, your pet peeves or the grammar rules you’ve had to correct in three different writers (hello, Oxford comma).

It doesn’t know that you never use the words “comprehensive” or “robust,” or that your biggest competitor just rebranded and you’d rather not echo their messaging.

AI performs exactly as well as the instructions it’s given. Be thorough and specific, telling it who you are, who you’re writing for and what you’re trying to say before you ask it for anything.

The essential elements of every AI brief
Miss any of these and you’ll feel it in the boring, basic results that can sink your credibility.

• Not just “small business owners.” Give it details that will boost the relevancy and quality of its output. For example, “female founders, ages 35-50, running product-based businesses with small teams, who are comfortable with social media but overwhelmed by content strategy.” What do they already know about the topic you’re writing about? What are they skeptical of? The more precise you are, the more your content will resonate with the right reader.
• Don’t just say “professional but conversational.” What is your audience’s love language? Are they no-nonsense and data-driven, or do they respond to warmth and storytelling? Provide it with a post that nailed your style, or describe what you never want to sound like. AI takes direction well, but only when the direction is specific.
• Point of view. What’s the one thing you want readers to walk away believing? That’s your POV, and it belongs in every brief. Not “we’re writing about email marketing.” More like “email is still the highest-ROI channel most small businesses are underusing.” AI won’t take a stand unless you tell it to.
• Format and length. Should this be a scannable listicle or a narrative deep dive? Six hundred words or 1,200? Does it need subheads, a CTA or a pull quote? AI will make formatting decisions if you don’t, and they may not be the ones you’d make.

Before you hit the publish button
AI gives you speed, but you provide judgment. Read the draft like a skeptic, and add the texture AI can’t manufacture — a relevant client story, a strong opinion or an intriguing statistic. Fix anything that’s technically correct but feels off-brand. That’s what turns AI-assisted content into content that represents your brand.

Questions about your AI content brief? We’ve got answers

How long should a content brief be?
While there’s no set length, it should be long enough to be useful and short enough to actually use. For most pieces, one focused page is plenty. If your brief is running three pages, you’re probably writing the content — not briefing it.

Can I use AI to help write my brief?
That’s a great place to start. Ask it to help you define your audience or identify gaps in your guidance. Just make sure a human reviews it and finesses it before it becomes your standard. AI is good at structure, but you’re better at knowing what’s true about your business.

How do I know if my brief is good?
Test it out. Hand it to a human who knows nothing about the project and ask them to describe the piece they’d write from it. If their answer sounds like what you had in mind, you’re in good shape. If it doesn’t, keep going.

You already know what you want to say. A good brief just makes sure AI knows it, too. And it’s worth it every time.

The post The Real Reason Your AI Content Misses the Mark appeared first on FahouryInk.

A good friend is trying his hand at writing a novel and asked me to read a rough draft.

This is a dude whose personal reading interests lean heavily toward biographies, historical nonfiction (aka battlefield strategy) and classic literature. Case in point: He’s the only person I know who’s voluntarily read War & Peace. As an adult. For fun.

So he’s not exactly up on the common tropes and storytelling techniques that contribute to a compelling, well-crafted piece of contemporary fiction.

I found myself explaining the concept of “in media res”. That’s Latin for “in the middle of things,” a writing tactic that starts in the midst of the action rather than chronologically.

Some popular examples: The Godfather kicks off with Connie’s wedding, not with Vito’s rise to power. That comes later.

Raiders of the Lost Ark doesn’t open with Indy in the classroom, but rather in the middle of the dark jungle with a young, wild-eyed Alfred Molina (who you just somehow know can’t be trusted).

And in 1984, everyone is under totalitarian rule when the story starts, which draws readers in much more effectively than explaining how we got there. You’re already trapped in Winston’s claustrophobic world by the time Orwell reveals how society reached that point.

In media res in marketing content
The in media res technique can be a powerful tool to use in your content because it immediately drops your audience into compelling action or conflict (aka a pain point), bypassing slow-building  introductions.

Here are some effective applications:

Email subject lines and openers. Skip the boring stuff like “Our quarterly newsletter.” Instead, try something like “The client hung up mid-pitch—here’s what we learned.” You’re pulling people in with the most interesting part right away.

Social media posts. Don’t make people wait for the point. Hit them with it: “Three minutes before our biggest product demo ever, the server crashed.” Now they’re hooked and want to know what happened.

Videos. Open with the good stuff. Show someone celebrating their win, then reveal how they got there. People care more about the transformation than the detailed problem explanation.

Case studies and testimonials. Lead with the result. “Nick’s CPA firm increased its revenue by 300% in six months.” Now everyone wants to know how. Then you can walk them back through what actually happened.

Landing page headlines. Get to the transformation fast. “How Edison cut its battery sales cycle from 6 months to 6 weeks” hits harder than asking, “Is your sales process too slow?”

Blog post openings. Start with a moment that stops people in their tracks. “I spent $40,000 on a marketing campaign that got us exactly zero customers.” That kind of raw admission makes people think “okay, I need to hear this story.”

Everybody wonders how the (metaphorical) sausage gets made
Leveraging the power of in media res requires identifying the most compelling moment in your narrative and starting there, then filling in the context as you go. This works because once you show people something dramatic or surprising, they can’t help but want to know the backstory. It’s just how our brains are wired.

The biggest mistake B2B marketers make is assuming their audience needs context before they’ll care. They don’t. They just need a reason to keep reading.

In media res isn’t just a literary device. It’s a trust signal. When you lead with something authentic and compelling, you’re telling your reader: I respect your time, and I’m not going to make you work for the good stuff.

Who doesn’t want that?

The post Marketing Content: Start Where it Gets Good appeared first on FahouryInk.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty ruthless about unsubscribing. The last think anyone needs is another daily email promising to “revolutionize your workflow” or “unlock hidden potential.”

But these five newsletters (plus a bonus runner-up) have survived multiple inbox purges because they actually deliver something useful like a genuinely fresh perspective or an entertaining read.

Here are the faves we currently can’t live without:

Marketing Dive
Wide-ranging marketing gold in practically every issue. We especially value the intel on big-brand creative, clever AI usage, activations and video to see how we can apply them on a smaller scale for growing companies.

Austin Kleon
The author’s “10 things worth sharing this week” format is consistently a breath of creative fresh air. Includes ear-worthy playlist recommendations, must-read books and peeks behind the scenes at Kleon’s artistic process, latest inspirations and family life. A testament to the power of authenticity.

SmartBrief on Marketing Innovation
Great tidbits on what’s new in the marketing tech world, fresh tactics, brand collabs and notable content creators. SmartBriefs is a goldmine across a gazillion industries, not just marketing. Go down the rabbit hole here.

Marketing Brew
Touts itself as “marketing news you’ll actually want to read,” which is not an overstatement. Brand strategies, sports marketing, programmatic and more — it’s all here, in a quick-read format that keeps you in the loop without the noise.

Exploding Topics
This Semrush creation puts you way ahead of the competition with recaps of under-the-radar trends worth exploring — new product categories, tech, strategies and sentiments destined for greatness. The free version is fantastic, so imagine the power of the paid version.

Runner Up (of the moment): Pivot 5
This AI-focused gem is a daily quick scan of major players, start-ups and smart use cases to spark your next big idea. The old-school graphics are easy on the eyes and an oddly comforting relief from the usual neon gradients and AI-generated chaos.

The best newsletters aren’t trying to be everything to everyone
They pick a lane, stay consistent and respect your time. These six have earned their inbox real estate. Give ‘em a shot — and if they’re not your thing, the unsubscribe button is a quick fix.

Shameless plug: Our monthly Creative Compost must be doing something right — it’s got a gratifying 56% open rate and pretty impressive click-throughs. Take it for a test drive.

The post 5 Marketing-ish Newsletters Worth the Inbox Space appeared first on FahouryInk.

Along the way, we’ve of course been following lively industry discussions about spotting AI-written copy.

As a lover of the m-dash, I’ve fought back when pundits claim our carefully honed drafts “must be AI-generated.” But there are definitely some scenarios — from turn of phrase to structural formulas — that seem to be the default for today’s generative AI.

A few egregious examples you may have noted:

• The suddenly ubiquitous phrase “turning chaos into clarity”
• Opening sentences like “In the ever-evolving world of…” and “In an era of XYZ…”
• Rhetorical questions (“Have you ever wondered why…”)
• Excessive use of adverbs like truly, incredibly, significantly or substantially

So we decided to conduct a little experiment. We asked two AI tools to create a blog on business challenges specific to the food manufacturing and distribution industry.

Once the post was generated, we then prompted the AI as follows: Can you revisit the copy you just generated and remove any of the usual AI “tells” like a specific sentence structure or vocabulary/phrasing?

Here’s the verbatim result from one of the tools:

Done. I’ve removed the common AI tells including:

• “Let’s be honest” opener
• “Here’s the thing/twist/paradox/reveal” constructions
• “Notice I said X, not Y” pattern
• “Translation:” explanations
• “This isn’t about X, it’s about Y” formula
• “Choose wisely” ending
• Clichés like “chickens coming home to roost”
• Overly neat “The opposite is true” structure

The content and stats are all the same, but it now reads less like an AI dispensing wisdom and more like a human who actually writes for a living.

Huh.

The other AI tool generated similar results and took it one step further — dialing down on the m-dash usage.

So we doubled down. “What are more common AI tells beyond what’s in this blog?”

That resulted in a pretty useful laundry list broken out by category:

Transition phrases
“Moreover…”
“Furthermore…”
“Additionally…”
“It’s important to note that…”
“It’s worth noting that…”
“That said…” (overused)
“With that in mind…”

Hedging language
“It’s crucial/vital/essential to…”
“The key is to…”
“Remember that…”
“Keep in mind that…”

Vocabulary red flags
Overuse of landscape, ecosystem, leverage, optimize, seamless, robust, comprehensive, delve, navigate, multifaceted, paramount
“Game-changer” / “game-changing”
“Unlock” (unlock the potential, unlock success)
“Harness” (harness the power of)
“Elevate” (elevate your strategy)
“Revolutionary”
“Cutting-edge”

Metaphors AI loves
Journey/roadmap metaphors
Building/foundation metaphors
“Goldmine” or treasure metaphors
War/battle metaphors (winning, dominating, conquering)
Sports metaphors

Conclusion patterns
“In conclusion…”
“The bottom line is…”
“At the end of the day…”
“So there you have it”
Ending with questions directed at reader (“What will you do?” “Are you ready?”)
“The choice is yours”

Now you know what to avoid to make your content stand out from the sea of AI-generated sameness.

Keep in mind, the real tell isn’t any single phrase. It’s the cumulative effect of writing that feels too clean, too balanced, too eager to please.

If you’re using AI to create marketing content and then trying to disguise it, you’re likely spending more time on the cover-up than it would take to just write the thing yourself.

Humans relate to humans, messy and imperfect as we are. Keep reminding yourself of that when creating your next piece of content and see how it performs.

The post When AI Snitches on Itself appeared first on FahouryInk.

Think your logo and color palette define your brand? Think again.

Your brand isn’t just what your marketing team creates in a conference room. From the receptionist who greets visitors to your delivery driver who drops off packages, each team member plays an important role in how the world perceives your business. That’s why branding requires an organizational commitment from the top down.

The not-so-hidden brand ambassadors
While marketing teams focus on external messaging, some of your most powerful brand influencers work behind the scenes. And these team members often have the most direct impact on customer satisfaction.

For example, your shipping department determines whether products arrive damaged or perfectly pristine. Your IT team influences whether your website loads quickly or frustrates visitors into clicking on the competition. Your maintenance and facilities team affects whether your physical spaces feel welcoming or neglected.

Consider the customer journey from start to finish. Whether potential customers discover you online during the consideration phase or visit your location to make a purchase, various team members represent your brand values at different points in the journey.

To build a cohesive brand experience, every department should understand how their work connects to the broader brand promise.

Here’s how:

Involve employees in the brand development process. Frontline employees often have the best insights into customer pain points and preferences. A customer service representative knows exactly which product features customers struggle with most frequently. And a sales associate can tell you which competitors customers mention most often and why. Leverage their input and perspectives to help refine your brand positioning.

Create detailed brand guidelines. This framework should extend beyond visual or content elements to include company-wide communication standards, problem resolution protocols and customer service expectations. Make these guidelines accessible and relevant across every role in your organization.

Conduct regular cross-departmental brand audits. Examine every customer interaction through a brand lens. Does your phone system reflect your values? Are your facilities consistent with your positioning? Do your employees’ behaviors align with your brand promise? Look for inconsistencies or any areas where your brand positioning is off the mark.

Provide regular brand training. Make sure employees know not just what to do, but why it matters for the overall brand experience. When team members understand their role in the bigger picture, they’re more likely to make brand-aligned decisions independently.

Measure brand consistency. Implement systems to monitor brand consistency across all touchpoints. This may include customer surveys that evaluate different departments or social media monitoring for mentions of specific team members. Pay attention to the feedback you’re not receiving. Remember: Silent customers often signal brewing problems.

Your brand is built one interaction at a time
Remember, your brand is crafted daily by every employee interaction, every process decision and every moment of truth with customers. By treating branding as a collective responsibility, you can create authentic, consistent experiences, lasting  loyalty and a sustainable competitive advantage.

The post Building Your Brand from the Inside Out appeared first on FahouryInk.

POST UPDATE: We have a new tagline champion!

My name is Lisa and I’m a tagline geek.

Why?

There’s So. Much. Power. in a company tagline. In a few short words, you can 1) express your brand promise 2) grab the attention of your target audience 3) skewer the competition, the list goes on and on.

Taglines are proof positive that words have power. And the creative pairing of the right words immediately sets you apart in a crowded marketplace. So let’s unveil our newest chart toppers for best tagline.

#2 Homes.com — We’ve done your home work
Why it rocks: If you’ve ever bought a home, you know how much effort goes into fact-finding — finding an agent, checking out neighborhoods, evaluating school districts, and basically looking for every clue you can to make a smart choice. Adulting is hard. That’s what makes the use of “home work” such an elegant choice. It accurately reflects what homes.com is all about, and harkens back to childhood — hey, you wanna to do my homework for me? Have at it.

#1 Farah & Farah — Make it a Farah Fight
Why it rocks: Just like John Deere, including your brand name is the unicorn of taglines. This one is a home run because it’s not only a memorable play on the firm name, but it also speaks to the brand promise. What chance does the little guy have when taking on big insurance companies? These attorneys level the playing field, giving you immediate confidence that they can get the job done.

Want a kickass tagline for your company or product? You know just who to ask.

 ———————————————————————————————————————————————

When you think of Hall of Fame-level company taglines, a manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment probably isn’t the first to come to mind.

Instead, most people think of “Just Do It.” “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” Or even “You’re in good hands.”

Those are good, for sure. But they’re not great.

Here’s why John Deere wins the tagline wars with “Nothing Runs Like a Deere”:

• It speaks to a major brand attribute. These products are FAST. So you can get more done in less time.
• It’s not limiting. When the company broadened its product lines beyond agricultural into industrial equipment, the tagline still captured its value proposition.
• There’s no confusion over exactly whose equipment you’re talking about. So unlike “Just Do It,” this tagline is too specific to be attributed to a competitor.

Writing a kickass tagline is tough, there’s no doubt. But you can increase your odds of creative success by analyzing and emulating just what makes a tagline great. In addition to being unmistakably tied to your brand like John Deere, highly effective taglines often follow one or more of these models:

Incorporating clever word play. Tropicana was onto something with “Squeeze the day.” A play on the English translation of carpe diem (popularized in the movie Dead Poets Society), the tagline reflected the energy-boosting qualities of orange juice (Vitamin C! Sugar!) in encouraging people to make the most of every minute.

Realtor.com has also mastered the art of wordplay with “To each their home.” Same with Universal Studios Theme Parks’ “Let Yourself Woah.” Check the price of a wand at Diagon Alley and you’ll be saying “Whoa!” with a slightly different emphasis. (Yes, the spelling is a nit-picky annoyance but it’s still a pretty decent tagline.)

Evoking an emotion or mindset that makes sense for your brand. It took me a minute to grasp the sly, multilayered power of LL Bean’s “Be an outsider.” First, Be an = Bean, so it kinda sorta sneaks in the name of the brand. Next, there’s the multiple meanings of the term outsider. It connects to the brand as a purveyor of outdoor apparel, but it also speaks to everyone’s secret desire to be a nonconformist. In addition to being a powerful tagline, it’s also now a brilliant hashtag.

“Long Live Dogs” from The Farmer’s Dog also falls firmly in this category by planting a super-subtle seed of fear in the mind of every dog owner. Of course I don’t want to shorten my furry BFF’s time on this earth by feeding them inferior brown pellets from the (gasp!) grocery store.

Leveraging familiarity without being repetitive. American Express struck gold in the 1970s with the long-running “Don’t leave home without it.” And they were smart enough to leverage the extraordinary equity it built with a new iteration four decades later: “Don’t live life without it.”

Capital One achieves the same goal in a slightly different way. Though “What’s in your wallet?” doesn’t change, the rotating cast of celebrity spokespeople delivering it does. Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Garner appeal to slightly different fan bases, but their delivery of the same brash tagline provides continuity across audiences and platforms. It even earned its own meme generator.

Going head to head with the competition. My personal favorite is the non-so-subtle difference in brand values reflected in the taglines of Home Depot and Lowes a few years back. The somewhat begrudging “You can do it. We can help.” was a sharp contrast to the more inviting and collaborative “Let’s build something together.”

Another classic example is car rental company Avis. After years of playing catch-up to brands like Hertz, Avis decided to lean into its #2 position in the market with “We try harder.” Because who doesn’t root for the underdog?

Most importantly of all, make sure your tagline is 100% reflective of your brand positioning. Imagine walking into a garbage-strewn Magic Kingdom filled with broken-down rides and peeling paint. Your first thought would likely be, “The happiest place on Earth? I think not!” A tagline that misses the mark is worse than no tagline at all.

It’s time to unleash your creative best self, leverage your brand positioning and competitive strengths, and come up with a tagline that will serve your organization well for years to come.

All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

The post The Incredible Positioning Power of a World-Class Tagline Part II appeared first on FahouryInk.

Last time we checked, not too many profitable businesses take the summer off. But strangely, their potential suppliers and service providers often do when it comes to their marketing efforts and visibility.

If you sell B2B and scale down your marketing when the heat hits, you may be missing out on significant sales opportunities. Think about it: who will be top of mind when a customer is ready to buy — the vendor who kept in touch via a creative mix of channels, or the ones who fell completely off the radar until after Labor Day?

To maintain positive momentum during the summer season, consider these seven warm-weather marketing strategies:

Add some topical PR to the mix
Can you tie in your product or service to an annual seasonal event or offbeat holiday? The lazy days of summer are ideal for less serious creative approaches. For example, who knew that August boasts National Hypnosis Day (August 2), Mustard Day ( August 4), Bad Poetry Day (August 18) and even Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night (August 8)?

Turn your tie-in into a tongue-in-cheek media release
For example, a healthy-foods company could write an op-ed piece to suggest changing “Rocky Road Day” to “Hit the Road Day” in an effort to fight childhood obesity. Or a mental health practice could tie into World Juggling Day with a tip sheet on stress-free juggling of work and kids when school is out.

Lock in fall business
Offer customers a discount on future projects or purchases if they book or buy now. Position your offer as a “budget extender” that lets buyers get the resources they need at terrific savings.

Or, consider mailing an elegant “save the date” card or exclusive invitation promoting a special offer that starts September 1st.

Ramp up your newsletter
The most difficult aspect of publishing a newsletter is creating useful content, so use your slow season to map out an editorial calendar for the next 12 months. Be sure to include upcoming product launches or enhancements, scheduled webinars or podcast appearances, industry trade shows (promote your attendance in advance or plan to write a post-show recap), and seasonal trends that may be of interest to your audience.

Do some preliminary research on high-performing content that covers topics of interest to your audience. Then improve on them using the skyscraper technique and slot them into your calendar. Use the most promising info to pen several “evergreen” pieces that will remain timely for at least six months. These will serve as the basis for your next few issues and put you ahead of the game come deadline time.

Having a tough time finding content? Try digging through recent customer service correspondence. If someone asks a great question, or certain issues crop up time and again, turn them into a regular newsletter feature.

Get the competitive juices flowing
Hold an internal contest to follow up on stagnant proposals and lapsed leads. Encourage your staff to meet with as many prospects as they can — perhaps over a leisurely summertime lunch — to network, gather information and try to re-ignite the relationship.

Coach your team to gently probe for details on why the project or proposal might have derailed. Maybe it was as simple as a personality issue with someone who no longer represents you. Even if no deals are closed as a result of these casual lunches, you’ll gain some useful intel on friction points in your sales process, pricing or other hurdles that are holding you back from closing deals.

Try some training
Maybe you’ve hesitated to add video to your mix because you’re not comfortable on camera. Or you haven’t upgraded your martech stack in fear of a too-large learning curve. There’s no time like the present to schedule that media training or AI prompt-writing workshop.

Everyone in an organization needs a regular dose of professional development. The right training not only brings necessary skills up to speed; it also can spark new ideas, invigorate jaded old-timers, and send a clear message that you value your staff’s input and think they’re worth investing in.

Personally, we love resources like MarketingProfs to stay on top of our own craft, Exploding Topics for trend-watching and Harvard Business Review for big-picture webinars on the state of business and economics.

Finally, test drive a new piece of the puzzle. Been itching to integrate interactive quizzes or assessments into your marketing arsenal, or see what the vibe coding hype is all about?

Use the summer to take new AI tools for a test drive, then map out a plan for selective testing with your audience. If it’s well received, you’ll feel comfortable rolling out the latest and greatest in the fall.

Summer not exactly your slow season? Don’t use that as an excuse to stagnate. Every industry has its down time, so pick yours and use it to ramp up and reinvigorate your marketing efforts. Then, you can take that much-needed vacation with a clear conscience — and come back refreshed and ready for more.

The post Summertime: Your Secret Marketing Weapon appeared first on FahouryInk.

You’ve likely invested a lot of time and resources to create engaging, thoughtful marketing content. And repurposing that content is a great way to extend its lifespan and reach a wider audience.

Before you redistribute older content, take a few minutes to run down this five-step checklist to ensure it remains relevant, accurate and still appealing.

Gather insights. Before tweaking any content, make sure it’s something your audience is still interested in reading.

Analyze metrics such as page views, engagement rates and conversion rates, so you can identify which pieces have resonated with your audience. Use this data to inform your content strategy and prioritize assets that have performed well in the past.

Also consider the latest guidance on making your content AI-search friendly. Use natural language, include informative “sound bites” where possible and add Q&As to help increase your visibility.

Check your stats. Are you using the latest studies or research sources for your data? For example, if you’re creating an infographic from a blog post you wrote six months ago, you don’t want to reference a study with outdated numbers.

Making sure all statistics are current shows your audience that you stay on top of industry trends. Remember, accuracy is key when it comes to content creation, so always double-check facts, sources and links before publishing refreshed content.

Swap out old images. Visual content can help break up text-heavy articles and provide additional context for your message.

Keep things new and interesting by replacing old images with high-impact visuals that align with your brand’s current aesthetic and messaging. Consider using tools like Canva to create custom graphics that are fresh and relevant.

Update dated references or examples. Content that references past events, trends or pop culture examples can quickly become irrelevant. (Yeah, COVID, we’re looking at you.)

It’s worth the energy to replace dated examples with current information to position your brand as an industry thought leader and maintain credibility.

Refresh keywords. Search volumes change all the time. Make an effort to update your content using the latest keyword data to take full advantage of current search trends.

It’s worth it to polish your gems
Nothing lasts forever. Giving your content library a touch-up can be a valuable investment to help maintain the relevance and impact of your messaging over time. Be strategic, prioritize what’s been shown to drive results, and make that content continue to pay dividends for the future.

The post Does Your Content Library Need a Glow-up? appeared first on FahouryInk.

There’s no doubt that using AI tools for content generation can enhance your content marketing strategy. But to really up your game, not just any prompt will do. You need to communicate with your AI system, using clear, concise and robot-friendly instructions.

Unlike traditional AI, which relies on predefined rules and structures, generative AI uses algorithms to generate content autonomously.

This technology can be trained on various datasets, such as text, images and videos, to learn patterns and pump out quasi-original content for you to refine. In other words, it can be tailored to fit your specific needs as the user.

When crafting prompts for generative AI, it’s essential to follow certain guidelines to ensure you get accurate and detailed responses:

Tell it exactly what you want. Instead of vague instructions, be particular. Don’t skimp on the details.

For example, instead of prompting, “Write a blog post about marketing tips,” you can say, “I need an 800-word blog post geared toward B2C marketers on the 5 most effective strategies to improve their digital content marketing efforts, including the quantitative data to back it.”

Define your audience and channel. Be sure to specify your intended target audience and content platform when crating your AI writing prompt.

Whether you’re writing Facebook ads geared to working moms of teenagers or a high-level blog post for CPAs on improving their advisory services, these details will help AI give you the best response.

Take a colloquial tone. You’re not a machine — AI is! So write your prompts like a human in a friendly, conversational style.

Avoid using technical jargon, slang and complex language that the AI might not understand.

Set a persona. Did you know you can also improve the quality of responses by requesting answers from the perspective of a specific individual?

You can ask AI to formulate its response as a microbiologist, a teenager, a high school English teacher or even Warren Buffet!

Specify length. Do you need three sentences or three paragraphs? Guide the generative AI to produce the right amount of content to get the job done.

Ask follow-up questions. This is a great way to delve deeper into your topic. If you don’t get enough information after one go-around, ask follow-up questions to build on your initial prompt and extract more customized details.

Teamwork makes the dream work
AI can be a valuable player in your content marketing strategy — as long as you’re willing to put in the work. AI is intelligent (as the name implies, duh), but you guide the AI output with the quality of your prompts. The old saying, “Garbage in, garbage out” has never been more applicable, so go practice those prompts!

The post Rules for Generative AI Prompts That Deliver appeared first on FahouryInk.

Having a distinct brand voice has always been important to the Fahoury Ink team.

Why? It positions us for success in attracting like-minded clients.

Clients and copywriters have a unique relationship. We ask lots of questions and dig down deep to understand your business model, your target audience(s), and what makes your organization uniquely positioned to do what you do.

So, if the client/copywriter personalities don’t mesh, the best outcomes aren’t always achieved.

When a potential client finds us on social and is put off by our tagline, we see that as a self-qualifying process. If it doesn’t make you either smile or think to yourself, “WTF? Tell me more!”, we’re likely not the content agency for you.

Of course, we didn’t invent cheeky.
But we are noticing a rise in its popularity, especially among more traditional brands — and have a theory as to why.

Here’s a hint — it starts with A and ends with I.
Artificial intelligence is notorious for churning out soulless, clunky content with no creative spark — adding to the sea of mediocrity that already exists and making it even more difficult for your brand to be noticed. It actually just got a formal — and 100% fitting — name: slop.

Of course, you have to tread lightly, because cheeky isn’t right for everyone. Nobody wants glib from the surgeon replacing grandma’s heart valve.

Keep in mind that cheeky is a continuum. On the low end, it tends toward crass, and continues to smirky, clever and onto full-out humor. Even an unexpected play on words can bring a smile to a buyer’s face. And when you find the right fit for your brand voice, it can showcase your humanity and authenticity in very powerful ways.

A quick recap of some recently spotted faves:

Cheeky gives your brand broad opportunities to show a pinch of personality in unexpected places — even dry, transactional communications like an out-of-order escalator sign.

In a sea of sameness, take Dr. Seuss’s sage advice: “Why blend in when you can stand out?”

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