Why does briefing matter? Because whether you’re priming AI, briefing your agency or prompting your platform, people and AI don’t read minds… they follow clear signals.
If you’ve been generating a vague AI response, concerned about agency misalignment or business disconnects, it’s time to go back to your briefs.
According to my AI tool “Priming sets a baseline instruction, and then your prompts build on top of it,” but if your priming is vague or ineffective and your prompt is anything but powerful, the responses will be mediocre, lacklustre, generic. A clear and compelling brief does more than articulate what you want, it creates context, brings your business to life and can even help to create a competitive advantage.
Here are our top tips for writing briefs, priming and prompts that set the foundations for success:
- Start with the end in mind. Define your business objectives & what you need to deliver or achieve. Do you want to establish a new brand in market? Attract new customers? Encourage existing customers to buy more, spend more, or buy more often? Write copy? Or create a pipeline of new clients? Different business objectives will lead to fundamentally different plans and it’s critical that you clearly define what you want to achieve before you start priming or drafting.
- Provide background and powerful priming. There’s a genuine magic in knowing what to include and what to leave out. Conveying everything that’s in your brain to another person, team or platform can be trickier than you’d think! It’s not just about telling them what you need, but providing some shape around how you see it coming to life. If you can include background, context and information that will help shape where you are and give them some clues about where to help you go next, you’ll be well on your way.
- Don’t be afraid to be specific. The very act of typing your brief and articulating your intent forces clarity and this is the time to manage expectations up front. What do you want from the recipient, what’s in – and out – of scope and how do you want them to respond? This is the time to clearly communicate whether you are happy for them to be creative and think outside the square or would prefer them to implement your established vision, what lens to apply to their response, your business personality and tone and any creative mandatories. Set clear, specific requirements, outline your desired outcome and business goals and then let them do what they do best.
- Briefing is an underrated leadership skill. By setting clear expectations and focusing on your key message you’ll provide a distinct clarity that will reduce the number of rounds of refinement online and help to drive alignment offline. Before you even start talking about your creative vision, what is your unique selling proposition (USP), what will make people choose your business over another… and what is the functional or emotional benefit you offer to clients, consumers or stakeholders? Be realistic about your role in the market and what you offer and capture reasons to support it to give them confidence that you will deliver.
- Use your brief or prompt as an opportunity to create a competitive advantage and bring your strategy to life. Tell your story, share your business strategy, convey an insight, or even include a mood board. Think about how you can create some engagement through the briefing process to really help them understand what you’re trying to achieve and put them in your ideal customer’s shoes. If you’re launching a product for children, hold the brief in a café next to a park, include quotes from parents about the problem your product will solve, explain your vision, your story or what’s driving the business. If you’re priming an online tool or platform then consider including references and examples to add some richness and make sure your prompts stand out from their other requests. While it may feel contrived, you’ve been working on or thinking about your brand for a long time, and this is a great way to get other people up to speed quickly.
Once you’ve briefed it in, listen, and I mean really listen to any questions, to the responses and to where there’s a disconnect. If your agency or AI tool isn’t clear then your customers won’t be either. This is the right time to clarify your objectives and tighten your messaging before it goes to market.
As Kevin Hart said “Give your team the opportunity to be your team” while you may need to revise and refine what comes back, you’ve engaged experts for a reason! Considering their feedback & advice and building plans together won’t just save you time, it will save you money!
Whether you’re writing a brief, a prime or a prompt, the same principles apply to business partners, marketing agencies or developers, while it may take a little more time upfront, it will pay dividends for many years to come, building your brand and growing your business!
Not sure where to start? Get in touch to find out how we can help you grow your business.
