Someone asked me how to get started with AI content generation, and was surprised when I told them to use ChatGPT do the heavy lifting FIRST. In short, have the bot ask you questions about your project so it gets all the information it needs — then tell the bot what you want done with that information.

Here’s a detailed example.

(my first prompt to ChatGPT for this sequence, the second is near the bottom)

Me

Start asking me questions, one at a time, until you have enough information about my project.

ChatGPT

Understood! Let’s proceed with one question at a time:

What is the title or main concept of your project?

Me

I’m trying to create a marketing campaign on LinkedIn for my business news publication.

ChatGPT

Great! A LinkedIn marketing campaign for your business news publication sounds interesting. Here’s the next question:

Can you tell me more about your business news publication? What kind of news do you cover, and what sets it apart from other publications?

Me

My publication is called bizblip and it focuses on news about early stage tech startups. All news stories are event driven, and are about events that would lead one to believe the startup may grow.

ChatGPT

Thank you for providing more information about bizblip. It sounds like an exciting publication that caters to early-stage tech startups and focuses on event-driven news that indicates potential growth. Here’s the next question:

What are the main objectives of your LinkedIn marketing campaign for bizblip? What do you hope to achieve through this campaign?

Me

I want LinkedIn members in my local business community to follow bizblips page on LinkedIn

ChatGPT

Got it! Your main objective is to increase the number of followers on bizblip’s LinkedIn page within your local business community. Here’s the next question:

Who is your target audience within the local business community? Are there any specific industries or job titles you want to reach with your LinkedIn marketing campaign?

Me

My target audience is technology startup founders, CEO’s, co-founders.

ChatGPT

Understood! Your target audience consists of technology startup founders, CEOs, and co-founders. Here’s the next question:

What key message or value proposition do you want to convey to the technology startup audience through your LinkedIn marketing campaign? In other words, what makes following bizblip’s LinkedIn page valuable for them?

Me

They can hear how other early stage founders secured the resources needed to advance their businesses, and may learn valuable approaches that apply to their own startup.

ChatGPT

That’s a compelling value proposition! Hearing success stories and learning from other early-stage founders can indeed be valuable for technology startup entrepreneurs. Here’s the next question:

What is the duration of your LinkedIn marketing campaign? Is it a short-term campaign with a specific end date, or an ongoing effort to build a continuous following?

Me

It’s an ongoing effort to build a continuous following.

ChatGPT

Understood. An ongoing campaign provides opportunities for consistent engagement and growth. Here’s the next question:

Have you already set up a LinkedIn page for bizblip, or do you need assistance with creating and optimizing the page for the marketing campaign?

Me

I already have a LinkedIn page set up for bizblip.

ChatGPT

Great to hear that the LinkedIn page is already set up. Here’s the next question:

What types of content do you plan to share on your LinkedIn page to attract and engage your target audience? Will you be sharing news articles from your publication, industry insights, interviews, or other types of content?

Me

I share headlines of news stories that link to the bizblip website. Most of those stories are behind the bizblip paywall. I also publish LinkedIn only content; a weekly poll, information about my pitch competitions

ChatGPT

Thank you for providing insight into your content strategy. Sharing headlines and driving traffic to your website is a smart approach. Here’s the next question:

What is the overall tone and style of your LinkedIn content? Is it more formal and professional, or do you aim for a more conversational and approachable tone?

Me

It is more formal and professional.

ChatGPT

Understood. A formal and professional tone aligns well with LinkedIn’s business-oriented audience. Here’s the next question:

Do you have a content calendar or plan for your LinkedIn posts, or do you prefer to post content spontaneously based on current events and developments in the startup ecosystem?

Me

I post articles on LinkedIn as I publish them to my website, generally three to five of them a week.

ChatGPT

Thank you for sharing your posting schedule. Posting articles as they are published on your website provides a steady flow of content. Here’s the next question:

How do you plan to promote your LinkedIn page and content to reach your target audience of technology startup founders, CEOs, and co-founders? Are you considering any specific promotional strategies or partnerships?

Me

I tag entrepreneur support organizations and social influencers in my area in posts that concern them, for them to repost or ‘like’. I also tag in educational institutions, venture capital firms and investors and the founders and businesses mentioned in the specific article.

ChatGPT

That sounds like a well-thought-out strategy to increase visibility and engagement with your content. Here’s the next question:

Have you considered running any LinkedIn advertising campaigns to further promote your page and content? If not, would you be open to exploring LinkedIn advertising as part of your marketing efforts?

Me

I have tried it several times, and not seen any effect.

ChatGPT

I see. It’s essential to assess the effectiveness of advertising campaigns and adjust the approach if needed. Here’s the next question:

Are there any specific analytics or metrics you are tracking on your LinkedIn page to measure the success of your marketing campaign? If yes, which metrics are you currently monitoring to evaluate the performance?

Me

I track page views, unique visitors, custom button clicks, total followers, new followers in the last 30 days, reactions, comments, reposts, number of (and what kind) of post made that week by me to the feed

ChatGPT

That’s a comprehensive set of metrics that can provide valuable insights into the performance of your LinkedIn marketing campaign. Here’s the next question:

Based on your experience with your LinkedIn page and content, have you identified any specific patterns or trends in the metrics that correlate with increased engagement or follower growth? For example, do certain types of posts or topics tend to generate more reactions or comments?

Me

News about startup funding get the most interest

ChatGPT

That’s valuable information to know. News about startup funding tends to garner more interest from your audience. Here’s the next question:

Are there any particular trends or topics related to startup funding that have performed exceptionally well on your LinkedIn page? For instance, have you noticed specific types of funding (e.g., venture capital, angel investors) or industries (e.g., fintech, healthcare) that consistently generate higher engagement?

Me

Venture capital funding at the seed, pre-seed and institutional levels get high interest, regardless of industry

ChatGPT

Thank you for sharing that insight. Venture capital funding at the seed, pre-seed, and institutional levels seems to be consistently engaging for your audience. Here’s the next question:

To further tailor the visual prompts for your marketing campaign, could you provide more details about the format of the images you would like to use? For example, do you prefer static images, infographics, or any other specific formats?

Me

I generally use pictures that depict the product or service of the small tech startup about which the story is written

ChatGPT

Got it. Using images that depict the product or service of the small tech startup can be a great way to visually engage your audience. Here’s a summary of the information I have gathered:

Project Summary: You are running a LinkedIn marketing campaign for your business news publication called “bizblip.” The focus of the publication is on news about early-stage tech startups, with a particular emphasis on event-driven stories that indicate potential growth. The objective of the campaign is to increase followers on bizblip’s LinkedIn page within your local business community, targeting technology startup founders, CEOs, and co-founders. The content shared on LinkedIn includes headlines of news stories with links to the bizblip website (most of which are behind a paywall), as well as LinkedIn-only content such as a weekly poll and information about pitch competitions. The overall tone of the content is formal and professional.

Promotional Strategies: You promote your LinkedIn posts by tagging entrepreneur support organizations, social influencers, educational institutions, venture capital firms, investors, and the founders and businesses mentioned in the specific articles. However, LinkedIn advertising has not yielded significant results in the past.

Metrics and Insights: You track various metrics to measure the success of the marketing campaign, including page views, unique visitors, custom button clicks, total followers, new followers in the last 30 days, reactions, comments, reposts, and the number and type of posts made to the feed each week. News about startup funding, particularly at the seed, pre-seed, and institutional levels, receives the highest interest from your audience.

Visuals: You generally use pictures that depict the product or service of the small tech startup about which the story is written to accompany your posts.

Now that I have enough information, I can generate tailored visual prompts for your marketing campaign. Please let me know if you have any specific preferences or further instructions for the visual content, and I’ll be happy to create the prompts for you!

(my second prompt to ChatGPT)

Me

Using the information you have about my project, create a detailed marketing plan that can achieve my goal.

ChatGPT

Creating a detailed marketing plan for your LinkedIn campaign requires a structured approach. Below is a step-by-step plan based on the information you provided:

Step 1: Define Clear Objectives

Increase the number of followers on the bizblip LinkedIn page within the local business community.

Engage technology startup founders, CEOs, and co-founders with valuable content.

Step 2: Target Audience

Technology startup founders, CEOs, and co-founders in your local business community.

Step 3: Content Strategy

Continue sharing headlines of news stories from the bizblip website, focusing on event-driven stories about early-stage tech startups’ potential growth.

Utilize LinkedIn-only content, such as a weekly poll, information about pitch competitions, and exclusive insights.

Highlight news about venture capital funding at the seed, pre-seed, and institutional levels across different industries.

Step 4: Posting Schedule

Publish 3-5 articles per week, coordinating with the publication schedule on the bizblip website.

Ensure consistency in posting LinkedIn-only content, like the weekly poll, on designated days.

Step 5: Engaging Visuals

Accompany each post with images depicting the product or service of the featured startup to grab audience attention.

Use eye-catching visuals that align with the formal and professional tone of your content.

Experiment with infographics and data visualization to present funding trends and statistics attractively.

Step 6: Audience Engagement

Continue tagging entrepreneur support organizations, social influencers, educational institutions, venture capital firms, investors, and featured founders/businesses in relevant posts to increase reach and engagement.

Respond promptly to comments and messages to foster meaningful interactions with your audience.

Step 7: LinkedIn Advertising

Reassess the effectiveness of LinkedIn advertising by refining the target audience, ad format, and content.

Consider sponsored content or sponsored InMail to reach a broader audience.

Step 8: Analytics and Insights

Regularly monitor LinkedIn analytics to track page views, unique visitors, custom button clicks, reactions, comments, and reposts.

Analyze trends and patterns in engagement and adapt your content strategy accordingly.

Step 9: Collaboration and Partnerships

Collaborate with influential startup founders, industry experts, or business leaders to co-create content or participate in live discussions.

Step 10: Community Building

Foster a sense of community by engaging with your followers and encouraging them to share their experiences and opinions.

Step 11: Measure Success

Set measurable milestones and review the marketing plan’s progress regularly.

Adjust the plan as needed to optimize results and achieve the desired goal of increasing followers and engagement.

Remember that success on LinkedIn often requires continuous refinement and adaptation based on audience preferences and platform trends. Stay agile and open to new strategies as you execute the marketing plan. Good luck with your LinkedIn marketing campaign for bizblip!

That’s it!

If you made it this far, please follow bizblip on LinkedIn.. and if you want to get in on the discussion about uses of AI please join the bizblip Discord channel.

Paul Riat, publisher, bizblip