Gemini Prompt Engineering: Practical Techniques for Tangible AI Outcomes International Women’s Day 2025 

Mfonobong Umondia ● WTM Ambassador ● Community and Marketing Manager ● Technical Writer ● Entrepreneur (food and fashion) ● Building CM Growth Lab ● Tech and Productivity Shenanigans on YouTube 

Proprietary and Confidential What is Prompt Engineering? Prompt engineering is the art and science of writing clear, and effective instructions for AI models like Gemini or any other LLMs (for context, Large Language Model refers to a type of AI model that is trained on massive amounts of text data to understand and generate human-like language e.g Gemini, ChatGPT, ClaudeAI, Bard, Deep Seek etc.). It’s all about how you communicate your request to get the most useful and relevant response. Think of it as having a conversation with a highly intelligent partner who follows instructions literally so clarity is key. Some real-world applications: content creation, research, structures, customer service, automation etc. 

Proprietary and Confidential Why is it Important? Well-written prompts directly impact the quality of AI output. Strong prompts produce accurate, helpful, and actionable results, while vague or poorly framed ones can lead to confusion or errors. Mastering prompt engineering is essential for using Gemini to drive real-world results and meet specific objectives. 

Proprietary and Confidential Prompting Techniques ➢ Zero-shot prompting (ask without examples) ➢ Few-shot prompting (show a few examples) ➢ Chain-of-thought prompting (encourage step-by-step reasoning) ➢ Role-based prompting (assign the AI a persona or job) ➢ Multimodal prompting (combine text with images or other inputs) Each technique serves a different purpose depending on the task and complexity. 

Proprietary and Confidential You are a social media manager for a healthy food brand and want to ask AI to create a one week social media content calendar for you, how would you query AI? Case Scenario: 

Proprietary and Confidential Let’s tackle this: You are a social media manager for a healthy food brand and want to ask AI to create a one week social media content calendar for you, how would you query AI? 1. Let Gemini Know About Your Brand Voice and Audience ● Who are you speaking to? (e.g., Gen Z, working professionals, dog lovers) ● What tone should the posts have? (e.g., playful, informative, motivational) 

Proprietary and Confidential Let’s tackle this: You are a social media manager for a healthy food brand and want to ask AI to create a one week social media content calendar for you, how would you query AI? 1. Let Gemini Know About Your Brand Voice and Audience ● Who are you speaking to? (e.g., Gen Z, working professionals, dog lovers) ● What tone should the posts have? (e.g., playful, informative, motivational) 2. Platform-Specific Needs ● Are you posting on Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, or Facebook? ● Each platform has different styles, content formats, and best times to post. 

Proprietary and Confidential Let’s tackle this: You are a social media manager for a healthy food brand and want to ask AI to create a one week social media content calendar for you, how would you query AI? 1. Let Gemini Know About Your Brand Voice and Audience ● Who are you speaking to? (e.g., Gen Z, working professionals, dog lovers) ● What tone should the posts have? (e.g., playful, informative, motivational) 2. Platform-Specific Needs ● Are you posting on Instagram, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, or Facebook? ● Each platform has different styles, content formats, and best times to post. 3. Goals for the Week ● Brand awareness, engagement, sales, product launch, education, etc. ● This helps AI shape the type of content (e.g., memes vs. carousels vs. reels) 

Proprietary and Confidential Let’s tackle this: You are a social media manager for a healthy food brand and want to ask AI to create a one week social media content calendar for you, how would you query AI? 4. Key Themes or Campaigns ● Do you have themes like “Mental Health Week” or “New Product Launch”? ● Any important dates, events, or hashtags? 

Proprietary and Confidential Let’s tackle this: You are a social media manager for a healthy food brand and want to ask AI to create a one week social media content calendar for you, how would you query AI? 4. Key Themes or Campaigns ● Do you have themes like “Mental Health Week” or “New Product Launch”? ● Any important dates, events, or hashtags? 5. Content Types You Want ● Text post, image idea, video script, carousel, poll, story idea, etc. 

Proprietary and Confidential Let’s tackle this: You are a social media manager for a healthy food brand and want to ask AI to create a one week social media content calendar for you, how would you query AI? 4. Key Themes or Campaigns ● Do you have themes like “Mental Health Week” or “New Product Launch”? ● Any important dates, events, or hashtags? 5. Content Types You Want ● Text post, image idea, video script, carousel, poll, story idea, etc. 6. Posting Frequency ● How many posts per day? Or just once per day? 

Proprietary and Confidential Now let’s rewrite that prompt: 

Proprietary and Confidential I am a professional social media manager for a healthy and eco-friendly food brand targeting fitness and healthy eating Gen Z on Instagram and TikTok. In a tabular format, create a 7-day social media content calendar that includes two posts per day. Include a mix of content types: reels, carousels, and image posts. Each post should include the caption, suggested hashtags, type of content, and a short description of the visual. The tone should be bold, playful, and socially conscious. Focus this week on behind the scenes and healthy food ingredients used to prepare food. 

Proprietary and Confidential Tips Why it works Define the role of the AI "You are a social media strategist..." gives it context. Be specific about deliverables Mention you want 7 days, type of posts, etc. Include business or campaign goals Helps align content with outcomes. Describe desired content variety Keeps the calendar engaging and fresh. Clarify tone and voice Makes the copy consistent with your brand. Provide examples (optional) You can add: “Here’s an example of a great caption I love...” Mention what to avoid e.g., “Avoid sounding corporate or overly robotic.” Prompting Tips for Fantastic Results 

Proprietary and Confidential Mistake Why It Hurts Your Output Too vague (“Make me a content calendar”) No direction = generic posts Not specifying platform One size doesn’t fit all Skipping tone of voice May come off-brand No context about business/product Leads to irrelevant content Not reviewing and editing output AI gives drafts, not final posts Provide contradictory instructions It will get confused and repeat the same thing in different ways Common Mistakes to Avoid 

Proprietary and Confidential Now, guess what? 

Proprietary and Confidential No matter how good your prompting is, you can always follow up AI with other prompts like… 

Proprietary and Confidential Can you make this more Gen Z friendly? Add a CTA to each post. Shuffle between “Buy now”, and “Click the link in bio”. Make the Tuesday post more humorous. Add image ideas I could create with Canva. Use slangs like “Howdy” etc. 

Proprietary and Confidential “Act as a marketing consultant for a small suya business in Abuja. Write a short, engaging Facebook post to attract new customers for the weekend. Highlight the quality of the meat and the special pepper spice. Include relevant emojis and hashtags like #AbujaFood #SuyaLover #NigerianFood.” “Explain the importance of regular handwashing to prevent the spread of germs in simple Hausa language. Keep it under 5 sentences.” Other Prompting Scenarios “You are a business consultant. Create a go-to-market strategy for a virtual interior design service targeting urban millennials. Include target audience profile, messaging angle, preferred platforms, and launch plan. Use a professional yet creative tone." “You are a social media manager for a lifestyle brand. Write an Instagram post explaining how you're testing a new content strategy to increase audience engagement. Include one specific tip, such as optimizing posting times, and share the results you’ve seen so far. The tone should be transparent, informative, and a bit playful. Include relevant hashtags for visibility.” 

Proprietary and Confidential Q&A Can’t think of questions now? Ask me on X (formerly Twitter) @the_ladybella 

Thank you!