From one (wo) man show to a full marketing team (in six months)

Within six months, my work changed from a solo operation to a collaboration with an entire marketing team.

Where I used to do everything myself — from strategy to content and campaigns — I now work daily with five colleagues, each with their own specialty.

Lisette is working on our SEO strategy. Sophie dives into everything about GEO. Kim writes content for TeamValue and Bizure. Charlotte monitors the strategic lines. And Nova will soon join as SEA and campaign specialist.

So a complete team. With focus, short lines of communication and each with their own expertise.

And no, I did not receive any additional FTEs (current: 0.9 fte). So... how then?

Exactly. With AI.

Because all these colleagues are virtual. Created with a prompt, fueled by our strategy, sensitive to nuance. They know TeamValue and Bizure inside and out, understand our tone, sense the market and know what works.

Why am I telling you this?

I'm a marketer at TeamValue Group. And in this digital organization, the innovative ideas sometimes fly around your ears.

Develop new propositions, do market research, focus personas, set up campaigns and create content that works? Yup. I do all of them. Alone.

And in order to keep up with all those professionals and women at TeamValue and Bizure, I actually have to double myself. Or better still: quadruple.

I need people to spar with. Who are fast, can think critically, speak the same language and provide the right input.

That's why I work with AI.

Collaborating with AI makes me more productive. Much more productive. Sometimes up to three times faster.

But, and that's important, it also requires critical thinking. AI is not an omniscient oracle. You have to keep checking, keep thinking. Because AI can also be wrong.

And just as important: keep talking to your human colleagues and hear what customers are saying. Share insights, ask questions, listen carefully. Because that's where the real value comes from.

From single prompts to a smart team

Now I hear you thinking: but these are just prompts, right? I've been using that for a long time.

True. But the difference lies in how you work with it.

Instead of separate prompts with random names, I work with virtual colleagues. Consciously chosen roles, with a clear division of tasks.

Because if you think about your prompts as if they were real colleagues, you automatically become sharper.

What is their expertise? What are they responsible for? What better not to do?

This is how structure is created. You provide your 'team' with frameworks. You know exactly who to go to for SEO, who helps you with strategy and who sets up your campaigns smartly.

Are you still missing someone in your virtual team? Then it's time to create a new colleague. Not just a prompt, but one with a clear role and responsibility.

Create AI colleagues

By now, I know what works. And what not. That's why I'll share how to build my AI colleagues step by step below. So you don't have to invent the wheel yourself.

It starts with a good briefing. Here are the steps that I use myself:

1. Assign a clear role

Start with the basics: who is this colleague? For example:

You are an SEO marketer within TeamValue. You are responsible for creating, writing and optimizing SEO content. You work according to our content strategy, contribute ideas about keywords and take tone of voice, internal link structure and metadata into account.

2. Feed your prompt with the right information

Does your AI colleague need a strategy to steer? Then give it along. Think about your SEO approach, tone of voice, preferred writing style, sample content, and things you definitely don't want to see again. The more concrete you are, the better the result.

3. Agree on structure

Do you want fixed components in your content, such as headlines, internal links, metadata, or a CTA? State this clearly. This prevents post-processing and makes output more consistent.

4. Teach you to ask questions promptly

Add that your 'colleague' should always ask questions when something is unclear. This is how you encourage AI to think critically instead of indiscriminately producing something.

5. Let AI learn from you

Are you happy with previously created content? Let your prompt analyze them. Ask AI to store key style elements and apply them in future output. This way, every new SEO blog is increasingly tailored to your style and standard.

6. Provide context for each assignment

Even though you promptly know the strategy, tone of voice and structure, it's smart to briefly repeat the context with each assignment. Think about: This blog is part of a campaign about X whether This post is intended for target group Y. This way, you prevent AI from going into autopilot and you can continue to focus on relevance.

7. Start with an outline or trial

Have your prompt set up first before asking for the final product. This way, you can make timely adjustments and prevent AI from working in the wrong direction.

8. Work with a feedback loop

Give AI explicit feedback after each output: what went well, what could be better? Also, ask for a brief summary of that feedback in one line. This is how you build a mini log that gets sharper the more you work together.

AI on site

Be careful about what you share with your virtual colleague. It's better not to just put things like personal data, turnover or internal information into an AI chat. Many AI tools (temporarily) store your input to improve their models. And if you work according to ISO 27001 — the standard for information security — that is simply not allowed.

That's why I'm glad that we at TeamValue will soon have our own AI environment. Built in Azure, fully enclosed and secure. Including the smarts of ChatGPT. Everything you put into it stays within our own environment. Nothing is stored or shared outside of us.

Soon, my virtual colleagues will simply work in their own, safe AI environment with the same smart support, but completely under our control.

A nice step forward. And the nice thing: I will soon be able to continue building on this proposition so that your organization can also work safely with it. Of course, together with my virtual colleagues at my side.

You're hiring!

Whether you're just getting started with AI or just getting started, the difference lies in how you work with it. Don't see it as a trick, but as a team member that you need to train properly. Give direction, give feedback, and build something that helps you move forward in your work.

Time to hire your first AI colleague? Let's go!

Want to know more about building colleagues with AI? Please feel free to mail me [email protected]