Marketers are under more pressure than ever to do more with less, and AI is quickly becoming one of the most powerful tools in the kit, if you know how to use it properly.

That was the focus of the recent Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) webinar, “Mastering Prompt Engineering: Boost Your Marketing Productivity with More Effective Prompts”, which explored how marketers can get better, faster, and more reliable results from AI tools by improving the way they ask questions.

Why prompt engineering matters for marketers

The session opened with a simple truth; AI is only as good as the prompt you give it. Vague instructions lead to vague results, while clear, structured prompts can turn AI into a genuinely useful marketing assistant, helping with everything from content creation and campaign planning to research, strategy and reporting.

The webinar walked through practical examples showing how small tweaks to wording can dramatically improve outputs, save time while improving quality.

A practical framework you can use immediately

One of the most useful takeaways was a clear framework for building effective prompts. Instead of just asking AI to “write a post” or “create an idea,” marketers were encouraged to include:

• Context – who the audience is and what the goal is
• Role – asking AI to act as a strategist, copywriter, editor, etc.
• Format – specifying structure, length and tone
• Constraints – what to avoid, what must be included, and where the content will be used

This approach helps reduce rewrites, speeds up workflows, and makes AI far more reliable as a marketing support tool.

AI as a productivity partner, not a replacement

A key theme throughout the webinar was that AI isn’t here to replace marketers, it’s here to free them up to do more strategic, creative and human work. When used well, AI can handle first drafts, ideation, summaries and variations, allowing marketers to focus on decision-making, insight and impact.

The session also touched on responsible use, reminding marketers to sense-check outputs, maintain brand voice, and stay compliant with copyright and data considerations.

What this means for businesses

For small teams, solo marketers and growing businesses, better prompting means:

• Faster content creation
• More consistent messaging
• Less time staring at a blank page
• Better use of limited marketing resources

And importantly, less frustration with AI tools that “don’t quite get it”.

Final thoughts

The webinar was a timely reminder that AI skills are quickly becoming core marketing skills, and prompt engineering is the foundation. Even a few small changes in how we interact with AI can unlock huge productivity gains.

If you’re curious about using AI more effectively in your marketing, this session was packed with practical ideas you can start using straight away, no tech background required.