The prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) has many concerned about job security.<\/p>\n
AI writing<\/a>, AI images<\/a>, AI videos<\/a> \u2014 while the final products are far from perfect, they raise the question of what jobs AI could eventually replace, even if we don\u2019t want them to.<\/p>\n But, heck, if AI can create a marketing plan for me, I say, “Welcome to the team!”<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n A marketing plan<\/a> is a foundational piece of any marketing strategy. It keeps businesses organized and focused on their goals. However, with all the details it should consider and capture, it can be extremely time-consuming and tedious to put together.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where I\u2019ve discovered AI can help<\/a>.<\/p>\n After years of researching and compiling documents by hand, I recently used AI to create a marketing plan to see what it could deliver. Let\u2019s break down the steps I took, how the plans turned out, and how you can replicate them.<\/p>\n We at HubSpot probably sound like a broken record by now, but AI can help marketers work smarter<\/a>, not harder.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2014 plagiarism, bias, data insecurity, and poor quality are all concerns when generating content with AI. But when it comes to planning and research? The tools can save massive amounts of time and money<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In fact, one of our recent studies found<\/a> that 75% of marketers say AI and automation help them spend less time on manual tasks like research.<\/p>\n AI assistants like ChatGPT<\/a>, Gemini<\/a>, and even HubSpot\u2019s Breeze<\/a> perform research and optimization in real time.<\/p>\n The speed at which they can pull information from multiple data sources just isn\u2019t humanly possible. Add in tasks like data analysis, calculations, and formatting, and it\u2019s no wonder marketers report getting 12.5 hours back<\/a> weekly.<\/p>\n By using AI to create, or at least draft, your marketing plan, you can spend less time and money planning and more actually executing.<\/p>\n Now, speaking of spending less time on planning, enough of this background info. Let\u2019s get to the real action.<\/p>\n I tested two AI tools and approaches for creating a marketing plan<\/a>: a chatbot and a generator.<\/p>\n Below, I\u2019ll break down my process into specific steps and share my thoughts on how they did, along with some tips I learned along the way.<\/p>\n A few months back, HubSpot\u2019s Kieran Flanagan and CMO Kipp Bodnar used ChatGPT to create a marketing plan for the Marketing Against the Grain podcast.<\/p>\n I used this as my jumping-off point.<\/p>\n As they discussed, the quality you get from a chatbot or AI assistant like ChatGPT depends on the quality of your prompt<\/a>. It\u2019s like your creative brief.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t talk to AI like a search engine with incomplete sentences and keywords.<\/p>\n Instead, you want to speak to it like you would another person. Give your chatbot the same detailed information you would give your intern or freelancer to complete a task.<\/p>\n Most of the steps described below are focused on doing just that.<\/p>\n To quote one of my favorite Bollywood movies, \u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n Before AI could develop my marketing plan, it needed to know what it was marketing and who exactly my company was.<\/p>\n What I included: <\/strong>Following Bodnar and Flanagan\u2019s lead, I kept it simple, including being \u201chead of marketing for a technology company that sells a SaaS product for Sales Teams.\u201d<\/p>\n But this is really the bare minimum a tool needs to know about your company to craft a marketing plan. To get the best results, you\u2019ll want to dive into:<\/p>\n Your product\/offering Pro tip: <\/strong>You may even want to provide a SWOT analysis<\/a> or competitive analysis<\/a> so the AI knows the full scope of what you\u2019re dealing with. No information is too much.<\/p>\n For example, I borrowed this market information from Flanagan to include in my prompt:<\/p>\n \u201cThe market is getting crowded; there are a lot of apps with similar features. I also have to be concerned that the CRMs we integrate with will build the feature when they see its popularity grow. This means I need to scale demand and the product fast to take advantage of the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n What is your marketing team working on? What is it trying to achieve? Document these goals so your AI tool knows what all its suggestions need to work toward.<\/p>\n Use the SMART framework for goals<\/a> \u2014 in other words, make sure they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. This leaves less room for ambiguity in whether you accomplished what you were supposed to.<\/p>\n For example, in the past, I\u2019ve seen clients try to set vague goals like \u201cIncrease my presence on TikTok.\u201d But a SMART version could be, \u201cIncrease my TikTok following by 30% by June.\u201d<\/p>\n Notice the difference?<\/p>\n In the first, \u201cpresence\u201d could mean posting more videos, attracting more followers, or even getting more views. The SMART version makes it clear the focus is follower count.<\/p>\n What I included<\/strong>: \u201cThe goal of the marketing plan is to close 5000 new customers in the next 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n Pro tip:<\/strong> Including your average conversion rates and buyer behavior can help AI better understand your sales cycle and determine which strategies will be more effective for you.<\/p>\n For example, I added this line, \u201cAssume the conversion rate from traffic to customer will be 5%, which means I’ll need roughly 100,000 website visits. \u201c<\/p>\n Who is your buyer? Who does your marketing plan need to reach? AI needs to know this information to ensure its strategic suggestions align.<\/p>\n You can share a full buyer persona<\/a> with your AI tool, but at the least, you want to include the following in your prompt:<\/p>\n Age What I included:<\/strong> \u201cOur audience is primarily sales reps at small-to-medium-sized businesses. Their teams are usually small, with 2-4 reps on the team total. They are concerned with meeting their sales goals, prioritizing the right prospects, and streamlining their sales process. Our CRM offers automation and data enrichment tools to make this easier.\u201d<\/p>\n This point is pretty straightforward \u2014 How much can your company spend on your marketing plan to achieve your goals? Defining your market budget<\/a> in your prompt gives the chatbot parameters to work with.<\/p>\n You know, so it doesn\u2019t suggest running a Super Bowl commercial<\/a> or recruiting Beyonce as a celebrity ambassador.<\/p>\n What I included: \u201c<\/strong>Our marketing budget is $10,000 for the year. Cost-effectiveness is a top priority.\u201d I added the second line to clarify that while I have this total to spend, I want it to be distributed in proven areas.<\/p>\n Like your budget, your timeline gives your chatbot further direction on what suggestions are plausible and which aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n For example, if your timeline is only one month, it wouldn\u2019t make sense to suggest leaning into SEO and blog articles, as those can take months to gain traction.<\/p>\n What I included: <\/strong>My timeline of \u201c12 months\u201d was established in my goal and referenced throughout my prompt.<\/p>\n How will you track and report on your success? Some company stakeholders expect to see specific data. If so, your prompt is your chance to loop your chatbot in on this expectation.<\/p>\n But if you don\u2019t include them, it\u2019s not make or break.<\/p>\n Usually, KPIs are linked to your tactics and strategies. So, if you\u2019re waiting to see what our marketing plan suggests to set metrics, no worries.<\/p>\n Pro tip:<\/strong> You can also ask the chatbot to suggest KPIs based on its proposed strategy.<\/p>\n What I included:<\/strong> I left KPIs out of my prompt so ChatGPT would focus on tactics and strategy.<\/p>\n Do you have specific campaigns you admire? How about marketing frameworks like StoryBrand or thought leaders like Ann Handley or Neil Patel?<\/p>\n Once again, sharing these examples with your chatbot in your prompt helps it understand what you\u2019re looking for from your marketing plan.<\/p>\n What I included:<\/strong> I added to my prompt: \u201cI want your answers to be heavily influenced by marketing greats:<\/p>\n Seth Godin’s approach to branding You can also take this time to add what I call \u201cextras\u201d to your prompt.<\/p>\n For instance, Flanagan made it a point to tell ChatGPT that he didn\u2019t want to see best practices. You can mention if there are specific channels you want to include or exclude, or maybe even global holidays.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got all the pieces from steps 1-9, compile them into one prompt. Make sure that it\u2019s conversational, and each sentence is short and precise.<\/p>\n\n Once you get your results (like mine below), you can use this as a first draft to elaborate on or ask for edits.<\/p>\n\n Flanagan asked ChatGPT to flesh out specifics about the suggested campaigns and tactics and make them more actionable. Remember, ChatGPT is like your intern or freelancer. Refine and clarify until the finished product meets your needs.<\/p>\n Honestly, I wasn\u2019t super impressed by the results I got from my initial prompt.<\/p>\n The answers were quite similar to what Flanagan and Bodnar got which goes to show you, how generic your results can be if you don\u2019t give specific details about your business.<\/p>\n But perhaps if I made follow-up requests like they did in the podcast episode, I could have uncovered some unique gems.<\/p>\n Easy to skim through the ideas Suggestions were fairly generic Small-to-medium-sized marketing teams that need help brainstorming strategies but don\u2019t necessarily need anything cutting-edge.<\/p>\n By the way, marketing plans aren\u2019t the only things ChatGPT can do with the right prompt.<\/p>\n Our free guide, \u201c<\/strong>How to Use ChatGPT at Work<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d<\/strong> talks through some of the most effective use cases and shares over 100 prompts you can use immediately.<\/p>\n After ChatGPT, I tried HubSpot\u2019s AI-powered Marketing Plan Generator<\/a>.<\/p>\n\nWhy use AI to create a marketing plan?<\/h2>\n
How to Create a Marketing Plan with AI<\/h2>\n
Creating a Marketing Plan with a Chatbot<\/h3>\n\n
1. Summarize your business (i.e., Your product, company, unique selling points).<\/h4>\n
\n What makes it different (specific features, capabilities, etc.)
\n Company mission
\n Company values <\/p>\n2. Outline your business goals.<\/h4>\n
3. Describe your target audience.<\/h4>\n
\n Location
\n Company, job title, industry (if B2B)
\n Goals
\n Personal challenges
\n Pain points you solve <\/p>\n4. Define your marketing budget.<\/h4>\n
5. Establish your timeline.<\/h4>\n
6. Set key performance indicators (KPIs).<\/h4>\n
7. Share examples and \u201cextras.\u201d<\/h4>\n
\n Gary Vaynerchuk’s approach to social media marketing
\n Andy Crestodina\u2019s approach to web and digital strategy\u201d <\/p>\n8. Compile information into a prompt.<\/h4>\n
9. Enter the prompt into a chatbot.<\/h4>\n\n
10. Review and refine.<\/h4>\n
What did I like about this AI marketing plan?<\/h5>\n
\n Clearly considered my examples and requests
\n The conversational nature of the chatbot made it easy to use. <\/p>\nWhat could be improved?<\/h5>\n
\n It takes iterations to get more detailed and specific results
\n Putting together the creative brief is very time-consuming
\n Formatting is informal <\/p>\nWho is this best for?<\/h5>\n
Marketing Plan Generator<\/h3>\n