324: How to make your marketing stand out in the AI online world

So… we know AI is here. We know we should be using it.

But are you starting to feel like everything online is sounding the same?

In this episode, I’m not giving you another “how to use AI” tutorial… I’m flipping the lens.

Because the real question isn’t how do we use AI more? It’s how do we stay human while using it?

If you’ve been feeling disconnected from your content, over-relying on AI, or just unsure where you fit in all of this… this episode will bring you back to what actually matters.

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share this on your Instagram stories and tag us @contentqueenmariah 💫

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LEARN THE DETAILS OF A CONTENT STRATEGY WITH MY FREE AUDIO GUIDE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

KEY EPISODE TAKEAWAYS 👇

✨ It isn't about overusing AI, it is about staying connected in the process

✨ The 3 ways to humanise your content in a world full of automation

✨ Why your stories, experiences and perspective are your biggest advantage

SHOW RESOURCES 👇

If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @contentqueenmariah⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

Other than that, enjoy - chat next week 💕

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

This is episode 324, and whilst the title suggests we're talking about AI, I'm gonna take it from a different lens. I promise you, this is not just blanket rule, AI, content. Anyway, welcome to the Content Queen podcast. I'm your host, Mariah, entrepreneur, storyteller, digital nomad, creative content bootcamp, and founder of Content Queen with over 10 years experience in marketing.

This podcast is here to help you create your ideal marketing plan, not that everyone tells you to do on social media yours by blending storytelling and strategy. So, let's get into it. All right. To be fair, I, I think we're a little tired of talking about AI. I think we know it's here. We know we need to use it.

And obviously, those people doing, like, really great stuff around, like, yeah, how to use XYZ to do XYZ, right? Like, how to use Claude to create a website or something, whatever. That stuff, super helpful. But I think, yeah, we know where it's at. We know [00:01:00] it's ever changing. We know we need to add that human lens, but it's also like, okay, sometimes, and I said this in a previous episode, we do s- can get a little lazy because we know how much AI can do, and it is a lot easier, and then we find things that don't resonate with people like the many chat messages when maybe your content's a little sensitive.

Or yes, that sort of AI automated replies on messaging that doesn't create the connection. So, then we go at it from a lens of, like, yeah, how do we adopt it, but then also add or, or make it so that we are still becoming human. And there's a lot of things that you can do with this, but I wanted to go through some with you today.

And really since AI's come out, like, for sure, I've adopted it. I do use it. I haven't though done much content on it. So, I remember doing some [00:02:00] podcasts on it, the one, I think, when, like, ChatGPT really started to take off, and then I did the one recently from a story I'd seen. And I haven't really done much AI.

I haven't, like, taken on that, I'm gonna be an AI educator and I'm gonna talk about AI from a content creation standpoint. Now, could this be detrimental to my business? Maybe. I remember the same thing happening, um, in 2020 when everyone was becoming just, like, an Instagram coach. So, they weren't a content marketing social media person.

They were just focusing on Instagram. So then when Reels came out, they were like, "Whoo, amazing." There was, like, Reels courses coming out. There was people just known for Reels. Now, I reckon since then, at least, if not more than 50% of those people are not doing that anymore, and I'm still here. But I think it's important to highlight that, for me, it's not about always jumping on a trend or jumping on [00:03:00] something, and then teaching that and doing it that way.

For me, it's always comes down to the strategy, the stories in which we build from that. So, yeah, AI comes a tool in this, but I don't need to become an AI specific content marketer. It doesn't resonate with me, and it feels inauthentic to just do that, because it's not me. I don't resonate with that. I don't jump on trends.

I was never that girl at school that had all the latest fashion, like, and I liked, you know, like, we like things that are gimmicky or trendy or whatever, but I've never been going into those series of, like, I only do this style of makeup because this style is in trend. I only do this sort of hair because this sort of hair is in trend.

I kind of just do what feels natural to me. So, in case you wanted to know the rant of why I haven't done as much AI content, that is why. But in saying that, it's also a really good lesson in jumping on something, unless, of [00:04:00] course, it really resonates with you and you really see it. And I think a lot of times we do it because we feel we have to rather than we want to.

And I think the people that teach AI and that implement AI are so good at it. And I think I don't need to be that good at it because I don't have that real deep interest. So, it's interesting to take that note on in your own journey with using AI because, yeah, you can automate everything, but if there are things that you really like to do, just, like, do it.

Of course, like, if it's taking you a gazillion years and it's making you feel anxious or overwhelmed, chaotic, you know, I think that's kind of your intuition telling you what to do with that anyway. But if we go back to how can we humanize our content in a world full of AI, it's not about not using it, and it's also not about [00:05:00] have your AI, your human lens on it, because I think, as I said before, we should be doing that.

I know some people that prefer to write and use AI for other things. So I think the first thing is audit what feels natural for you using AI, and if you have a concern about losing yourself in the process, then eliminate some things. Just because someone says to you, "Why are you not automating that? " And, you know, obviously there could be a reason that you haven't, and you go, "Oh, okay, yeah, maybe I should."

But if you, someone makes you feel guilty or weird or, yeah, just silly for not automating certain things, it's like at the end of the day, your business, right? So anyway, we're getting into it, humanizing our content. The first thing is, and I feel like this is pretty obvious, but it doesn't always resonate with people.

So let's take it [00:06:00] from a lens of, it could be one or the other, video. So being yourself on video, not outsourcing yourself to AI video, I have seen some AI video and it's really bad, I imagine it's gonna get a hell of a lot better, but do you need someone to be you in front of the camera or a bot to be you in front of the camera?

No. Like, it's just gonna be weird and they won't have your nuance and you'll feel weird posting it. Like, I don't care how much you love AI. I feel like you're gonna be like, "This is weird." It's like a whole utopia. Like it's weird, right? So you can't outsource yourself on camera. Now, for some people, talking to camera doesn't become supernatural.

Of course, I would argue with practice and things like that, it can, but video could also be like you videoing you doing things. Like it doesn't have to be you [00:07:00] talking, but showing you people, your team, whatever that looks like in some capacity creates that human experience in a really AI world. And we are looking for it more and more and more.

You know, like on TikTok, there's this like AI fruit series where they've turned real, like little sitcom shows out of fruit and they're funny, right? They're a little bit weird, but that's just for entertainment, that's not gonna sell anything to me. That's not going to convince me to do something, but someone in front of the camera or seeing people will.

And also, it creates that lens of good human connection. Now an example of this, and we don't really use AI, so it's not an AI related one, but the, one of our clients, they've been around for a very, very long time, team based, um, in the sort of more tourism space, and often they would [00:08:00] get comments on their service, comments on things, because the more people you reach, the more likely you are going to expose yourself to potential hate.

Unfortunately, it's how it is. Since we started putting more people on screen, including the owners, less hate, right? So I'm not saying plus your whole team over everything, but I think it is because a mixture of we want to see people, but then in this very AI space, we are really craving seeing people in front of the camera, because we're seeing it less and less, right?

And then the second one is storytelling. Now, yes, AI can help you tell your story if you give it the context. I mean, I've seen instances where, you know, you might add in something in whatever AI platform you're using, you're using and they might add a random story and you're like, "Where'd you get that from?"

It's like, "Oh, sorry, my mistake. They [00:09:00] probably pulled it off the internet or whatever." But also, if you only give it some of the narrative, it's only going to tell some of the story. So things like voice noting, AI will obviously help build that story, but your stories and your experience cannot be replaced by the AI stories.

And AI stories are kind of boring anyway. Um, you know, they'll make something up that it's not, it's just generic, right? So yours are better and they're done in your way. So how you would tell that story. Now, yes, you could get AI to craft the message based on what you've told it, but it'll use your detail, it'll use your nuances in your voice, et cetera, et cetera.

But how we get through the noise of all this really generic content that keeps getting spat out by these platforms is by adding our stories into them, adding our experiences. Now they can be done by talking in front of a camera, or they can be done by writing it down, reflecting on it. I had a coffee catch up with a client who is so crazy, lives in Perth, [00:10:00] and I'm living ev- here there and everywhere, but we haven't been in Sydney on the same day.

Crazy, right? So we caught up for coffee and yeah, she was saying like how she has all these stories and she doesn't think they're as exciting until she'll tell them and people go, "That's amazing." You know, so it's always having those stories in your bank. How do you collect them, write them down? I love doing like story timelines, five int- five year intervals of your life, writing down key things that happened.

But even if you're having general conversation with people, that's why in our meetings with clients, I love asking questions to get more stories out of them because there'll be stuff that's happened 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago, five years ago, five minutes ago, and they don't often think about it as relevant for content.

So start, do you journal, do you write things down like get these stories in places because we love stories, we love gossip. Now gossip doesn't always have to mean bad [00:11:00] things or being judgy or bitchy or whatever that, or whatever. Stories can just be things that have happened, but we love that sort of gossip element, like, oh, I've got, I'm gonna find something out that I didn't know before.

I'm gonna find some, a juicy story, right? So try to make it a habit to get stories down. And it's unbelievable how much happens in a week, a day, a year that we don't think is relevant, but is really interesting to other people. And it's the way you tell it, right? So if you were telling it to a camera, if you were writing it down, it's, it's how you do it.

Like AI is only really going to take what you've given it, but it's not gonna hear your passion or your enthusiasm as if you would write it. So you can use AI to help you with it, but I think it's like, put these things out there and see how they land and they resonate, right? And the third one is [00:12:00] offline things, events, networking, doing offline marketing, like, I don't know what that could look like.

Like the world is your oyster with, uh, offline marketing. Of course, like you've got, you know, your traditional advertisements and your f- your, um, your f- and your flyer drops. But I even seen like today we're walking down the street, I was actually, Mitch was at the library and I was going to meet him and I saw at this shop, like one of those like, uh, air, you know those like, what are they called?

The things that do this, those like crazy, if people are listening to this, they're like, "I can't see you at all. " Those like things you put air into and they flap and they're at the car yards, like the crazy dolls, I don't know, what are they called? Anyway, inflatable something or other. Anyway, I was [00:13:00] walking and I could see this like inflatable arm just like coming out of the door, like, just like chopping the door.

And I think it said like, "Come in or hear or something like that, right?" And it just like really crapped my attention. And as I got closer, it was for like a Korean fried chicken place. And yeah, they'd got this like blow up. It wasn't even a doll, it was just like a thing with an arm and it was just like that grabbed my attention, right?

In Columbia, they have like people on the south road with flags like trying to flag you in. So like offline things to create attention. Obviously if you don't have a physical store, you have to think outside the box, but events are a great one, right? Going and seeing people outside of this online world that we are so stuck in all the time, but even using like marketing activations for online.

Like I have a, a client I know she does lots of markets because it gets her in front of people. For every business it's so different and that's why I definitely recommend anyone coming into my Ask Me Anything WhatsApp [00:14:00] group. The more I know about your business, the more I can give you tailored support.

These podcasts are generic because there's thousands of businesses out there I'm sharing from experiences of things I've witnessed, clients I have, but to get really good support obviously come into my world and my Ask Me Anything WhatsApp group is $30 for 14 days, business days. And trust me, I have, always have so many ideas.

We just did a workshop for Ipswich libraries, so fun. Um, and at the beginning, like I asked people to tell me their business and everyone was too shy to tell me, but then when they did tell me, they saw more of the magic, right? So like I was giving them examples and things that they, you know, Mitch said they'll take notes and all the things, but I could give them a lot more when I knew what their business was because otherwise I'm just stabbing at the dark of like what potentially their businesses are.

To be [00:15:00] completely honest with you, um, because the demographic was ranging, it was hard. I thought maybe some were part of community events, volunteering, et cetera. They actually marriage celebrants, which was super cool. So many ideas for mal- marriage celebrants being a 2027 bride myself. So the, what I'm saying is, the more I know what you do and what business you have, the more ideas I can give you around video, around storytelling, around doing offline things.

I can just throw out some ideas, but the magic comes when I go, "Oh, you are a X, Y, Z. Here's a great idea," you know? So anyway, if you'd like to join it, I would recommend. I'd love to hear from you. And I, I know there's people listening because the stats tell me, so, you know, if you've never made yourself known to me, I would love to know who you are, basically.

So to summarize, standing out and [00:16:00] humanizing yourself in an AI world is really about the video content where people can see you and know it's not AI, storytelling, your specific stories in the way you tell them, your nuance, and I don't care if you think you're about telling stories, that's what makes it great, right?

And you got to, you just keep doing it. And then doing offline things, connection, building something outside of this online world that we do find ourselves getting really stuck in. For example, me, doing the workshops I do, some are paid, some are collaborations, and it gets me in front of more people and I love it, right?

And it then creates content that I could share that makes me human. I'm here, hello, because it's like obviously me doing it. It's not AI because AI is not that, uh ... Well, AI is a lot more articulate and won't go on tangents and go over time all the time, right? Like, so you know it's me. So have a think about what one you might need to strengthen a little bit more, [00:17:00] one you might want to focus on.

You can tell me on Insta, we can have a cheat chat about it, you can come into the Ask Me Anything WhatsApp group, you can also have a cheat chat about it, and yeah, be a content queen or king, and remember that developing your strategy and your story develops your business. Thank you so much for joining me today.

Please don't forget to share this with all your business and entrepreneurial friends, especially if we talk about AI a lot and like getting lost in it and maybe thinking you're relying on it a bit much. Um, you can do it, add it to your Insta stories, tag me at contentqueenmariah, or share them the link.

And if you do like these episodes and you like having me in your ears, please leave a rate and review five stars on Spotify, five stars and a comment on Apple really does help. We've got so many good guests coming up, like heaps of interviews booked, which I'm really excited about and they see me because we're in the charts and we're in the charts because people leave reviews.

So the more reviews you leave, the more people we get on the show that are gonna help you, right? 'Cause of course, I love talking, [00:18:00] but I also learn a lot from other people. So getting them on the show and me interviewing them helps us. So help me to help you, help me to help you basically is what I'm saying.

And yeah, follow me, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, where, wherever I am, follow me there. Send me a message. I'd love to chat with you. I'll talk to you next week. Bye.

PodcastMariah MacInnesmarketing, marketing advice, how to be authentic online, business ownerComment