Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: What's up everybody? Welcome to the Amer Life Marketing Mentors podcast. My name is David Belville.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: And I'm Jo Barker.
[00:00:05] Speaker A: And today we're talking about authenticity. Why it matters to your business and your personal brand and how to stay real in an AI driven world.
So Jo, we're in a moment where anyone can create content these days and AI has lowered that barrier even more.
So the question isn't necessarily how to use AI, it's how to use it responsibly without losing your authenticity.
So from your perspective, Jo, in the last year, what do you think has changed and why do you think authenticity is so important in marketing today?
[00:00:46] Speaker B: Well, I think if you're not being authentic, then, then you always risk losing trust. And so if you've already started building your personal brand, people know you, people know how you speak, people know how you write. I mean, you gotta think about it. Some people have probably been connected with you for years and then all of a sudden it' like a switch. When you start using AI, if you don't refine what it it's giving you and you just start copying and pasting it sounds nothing like you it and everybody starts to sound the same. And so it's absolutely critical to, to maintain your voice, maintain, you know, your way of thinking. You could. AI should definitely be used for inspiration for a lot of other topics, which I'm sure we're going to get into. But we really have to remember that it's us that sets us apart. So if we're not changing it and making it and making sure that it's truly something, we would say that then you're just losing, you know, you're losing that trust. And trust is going to become critical over the next couple of years.
[00:01:38] Speaker A: You're 100% and you're right, we will get into how to use AI, what to use it for and what not to use it for. But through this conversation, the larger umbrella here is personal branding. And so quickly as we talk about authenticity, let's just level set on a definition of personal branding and why agents and advisors should be leveraging theirs in 2026.
[00:02:02] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So I say it all the time, you know, I'm a digital marketer, so if I was to go out as a digital marketer, there's 10,000, 100,000 additional digital marketers out there. We're all talking about the same channels, we're all talking about the same strategies. And what we bring different is our education and our history from behind, like from our experiences. And then we bring ourselves that it's different. So that's what sets us all apart, is the way that we present, the way that we explain, the way that we, what we bring to the table is what sets us apart. As me and May both be talking about Facebook. Yeah, we're going to explain it in two different ways because we're, we both have different histories with it, we both have different thoughts on it, and that's what makes us unique. If we all go to the same source and you and I were to go both go to AI and just put in information, we're going to get those same results. Which isn't our unique perspective, which is truly what it is. It's bringing out your unique perspective on whatever topic it is. That is your subject matter that you're an expert in.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: And AI, that is something that AI cannot replace.
Everything that you just mentioned is irreplaceable and it is unique to you. So being able to identify what those are and then using those as your key differentiators, that's what authenticity is and that's how you start the beginnings of a personal brand. And we are flooded with content across many platforms right now. A lot of it sounds good, a lot of it sounds polished it, and a lot of it sounds really, really generic. And you just started to kind of touch on this. So, you know, if there are agents and advisors that are using AI, but they do tend to be blending into the background or with their competition, how can they start to identify what sets them apart? And then on top of that, how can audiences tell if you aren't being authentic?
[00:03:51] Speaker B: Well, I think it's easy to tell if you're not being authentic because people can tell just by reading, especially if they know you already.
If they, if they can't immediately tell in the beginning when they meet you or when they have a conversation with you the first time, it's going to be pretty apparent if, if what you typically post about doesn't match how you are actually, you know, in real life.
But no, I, I think it's, it's definitely critical and it's something, you know, as everybody's looking at it. And if all of, I said it before, if all of us were just to use the same exact platform and put in the same information, it's all going to sound the same. The best way to utilize the platforms is use it for inspiration, use it for those ideas, use it for those things where we're like, hey, you know, I really want to post something this week. Not sure what and you start having it ask you a question at a time until you get some topics. But then don't ask it to give its opinion on the topics. That's where you come in.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: Sure.
[00:04:40] Speaker B: That's where you start giving your opinion on those topics. And that's what sets you apart from what the AI's natural response is going to be after it's scanning all of this various information to collect it. It's missing your information.
And so again, like, if you, you know, if somebody asked me my comment about personal branding, it's probably going to be very different than your personal brand because we're coming at it from two different perspectives.
[00:05:01] Speaker A: Yeah. So, yeah. So what I'm hearing is that AI can be really useful for efficiency and processes and to generate ideas, but you need to be sure that you're using it correctly. And that means putting the human touch on things.
So when it comes to identifying what makes you authentic, I know that you've touched on this. You, you said, you know, you're a digital marketer. We've had previous conversations with where you mentioned that you coach youth sport. So let's just revisit that a little bit and further define for our agents and advisors out there how they can identify what sets them apart and makes them authentic.
[00:05:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I think, I think an easy way to do it is to think about the things that you truly are interested in or think about the things that kind of make you different. And so a lot of the times when I post or when I'm sharing information, I can tie in those sports, those sports scenarios of, you know, because I have so many kids that play sports, I tie in my kids all the time. I will tie in that, you know, the, the different aspects of being a mother with that. What we don't realize is happening or what many don't realize is happening is people begin to connect with you on a different level because you have something in common. So the example I always give someone is, you know, if you travel and say we're here in Florida and we travel to Maryland, which is where I'm from, and say we go up to Maryland and then we're both at a restaurant, we don't know each other, and I happen to hear that you're from Florida. Well, I'm from Florida. And then we start talking and it's like, you're from Clearwater, I'm from Clearwater. And then all of a sudden you start to feel that connection. That's the connection that you want as you're sharing information that People start to naturally have so. And you don't realize it's happening online, but it truly is. I shared a story where on LinkedIn I posted about a indoor hitting facility because my husband and I are really involved in softball.
And so I posted that. I cannot tell you how many people reached out to me after that post and was like, I was a coach for softball or I was a coach for baseball. I completely understand what, you know, that's so cool. We have that in common. Those commonalities really start to grow the relationship and you realize, hey, okay, we're connected at a different level now. And we, you know, as you find more and more things that you have in common.
[00:07:09] Speaker A: Yeah, those are great points. And truly that's where you start to connect to people on a deeper level.
[00:07:16] Speaker B: But.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: But there can be an effect that perhaps agents and advisors would like it as a negative, and that's that you could be turning people away with that approach as well. But that's okay.
[00:07:28] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:07:29] Speaker A: Because you. What makes you authentic is what's gonna drive that real connection and build a loyal audience and, you know, drive people from prospects to loyal clients. That gets into kind of niching down. And you don't necessarily want to be talking to everybody, everywhere, all at once. So let's now move this into the importance developing a niche audience in terms of a personal brand and authenticity.
[00:07:54] Speaker B: Absolutely. Yeah. And I completely agree. I think it's really important for people to keep in mind that you're not going to be able to connect at the same level with every single person and you're not going to be everybody's cup of tea. And that's okay. You don't have to be.
It's just connecting with those that actually do appreciate the way that you approach things and the way that you explain things. Those are the ones that you want as your clients. But I completely agree. Segmenting down. So one of the things that we always talk about when we're building our personal brand, or even when you're starting to hit and you're starting to promote different pieces of content, is picture that one Persona. Picture that one person that you're talking to, and that is the person that you create your content for and that you, you know, that you're relating to. And that's. That is also on the business level, person, like on all those levels of. Exactly who is this person? I think before we said, you know, my person, Sally. Okay, Sally's a mom. And Sally maybe needs Medicare, you know, or maybe she's even gonna be a grandmother. Soon, maybe things like that, like, you start to build out a Persona and you're like, okay, what is value that I can provide to Sally and what is it that we also have in common that I can help her with? So I may share like a recipe that she could use or something like that with as I'm sharing my content about Medicare. It's just me and her connecting on different levels. And I'm trying to be as helpful as I can on all those different levels.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: And because those things are authentic to you. And if you aren't just talking to Sally, if you're talking to Sally and the entire neighborhood around her, all of a sudden you're becoming, your messaging become. Becomes more and more generic. And all of a sudden you're losing your authenticity. And that's how you start to blend in. So I want to talk now how AI can perhaps dilute your personal brand, because we're talking about authenticity and how to find your key differentiators. I want to reintroduce AI into this conversation. And what are some of the pitfalls that our audience today should avoid, especially as it pertains to them wanting to build a personal brand?
[00:09:48] Speaker B: Well, I think, you know, we mentioned it before. You can't just copy and paste whatever AI gives you. AI is getting better and better every single year. If you go back and see what it was producing in 2023 and you look at what it's producing now in 2026, it's, it's become, it's come light years, just in a couple of years, but you still have to remember it is still just a LLM that is picking up each individual word and providing you a response. Yeah, it doesn't have feelings. It doesn't have a thought. It doesn't have that thought process. It's just a data. It's just pulling data and, and giving you as much information as it can. And so you have to keep those things in mind as you're watching the results come through. Does it sound like you. Is that a, is that a, A like a pivot or is that a point that you would actually talk about? Is that something that is important to you? If it's not, then don't worry about it. And that's where you can really, you can refine it as you're dealing with it, but you still have to read it. You have to understand it. And don't just copy and post that out.
[00:10:42] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:10:43] Speaker B: You have to read every word and, and make sure. Is this something. So a habit that I have is I read it out loud, and if it doesn't sound natural to me, I cut it. And I'm like, absolutely not. I would not use that. But sometimes it really gives you good inspiration of like, oh, that's a good idea. Let me go build upon that. But I don't need AI to build upon it. I just needed it for the idea.
[00:11:01] Speaker A: And if you are utilizing that practice of reading what AI generates for you out loud, you'll really start to get an idea of what is AI generated and what is truly human generated. There are tells out there these days, and it seems as AI continues to advance, so too does the number of AI tells. The most famous one is likely the use of EM dashes that you've heard about before. But now we're starting to get into this or that language, or this is the ultimate unlock, or that's a really great perspective, Jo. That's exactly the type of thinking we need. So over time, you'll start to develop these tells that your content is AI generated, and that is the quickest way to lose your authenticity. So, great advice, Jo.
It also speaks to the importance of training your AI, and that's a great foundation that you can start to build when you want to leverage AI to build your personal brand.
So, Jo, you and I have talked about this before, about being interviewed by your favorite AI platform. Can you speak to that a little bit? And how it can help you determine what your personal brand is and how AI can assist?
[00:12:10] Speaker B: Yeah, it's one of the first things I did when I really started utilizing AI a lot was I asked it to give me a full interview asking every question I could think of. So I gave it my industry, said what my purpose in the industry was. So I teach marketing or digital marketing within the life, health, and annuity space. And I asked it to ask me a question one at a time until it felt that it understood my tone, the way that I speak. And I even told it I'm going to respond voice to text. So it's my true conversational tone, and it's my true conversational language coming through. So here's the thing, though. It will keep going. So I think I got to, like, number 25. And I was like, all right, you get one more question. Cause I was so done being interviewed by the AI. I was like, okay, how much do you actually need?
So just warning, you could say, like, try to get it in. So many questions now. I don't have a lot of patience. So I was done. And I'm like, come on, just Produce something.
But yeah, it works out really well. And what's even great about it is you can come back to that later and you can adjust it. So, like, as you see things and as you see, like, certain trends start to come, as you start noticing unlocked is coming through a lot, certain words are coming through, you can tell it. Do not use AM dashes, do not use jargon, you know, do not use these keywords that I've identified as being used a lot by AI. And you can tell it though, so then that way as it produces, then it will start getting better and better at the results.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: Yeah, great advice. I also want to make sure that we talk about the importance of showing up, especially in an AI generated world. There is content that you can and should be using that AI assisted with. But you shouldn't be hiding behind graphics on social media, you shouldn't just be hiding behind your email, you shouldn't be hiding behind just texts on LinkedIn. You need to be able to show up for your audience and that just adds credibility and further identifies yourself to your audience. So make sure that you're posting photos, make sure that you're using your face, make sure that you're posting long form and short form videos. Because again, in an AI driven world, it's very, very easy to just rely on what is being coined as AI slop.
So if you're bringing yourself into the mix, then you're becoming recognizable to your audience, but you're also ensuring that you're taking a little bit of skepticism away as well.
[00:14:30] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:14:30] Speaker A: So, Jo, if you were starting a personal brand today, we're starting from scratch and we want to leverage AI, what would be your first piece of advice to the agents and advisors out there listening?
[00:14:44] Speaker B: So if I was starting over with everything I know now that AI is capable of, I would first start with a video of just saying who I am, giving the intro of myself and who I help. I would, I would make that very, very clear and I would produce that first. Here's who I am. This is the industry that I'm in. This is who I'm helped. This is why I'm here. From there, I would probably go over to AI and I would search for the frequently asked questions in my industry that maybe I'm not thinking of because that gives me that much more content that I can utilize.
One thing I've been doing lately, which I've really have been enjoying, is I've been going over to AI and having it scrub certain channels of Reddit for me. And what I'VE been asking it to do is go over to Reddit. I give it the topics and I ask it to scrub all the conversations that are happening around those topics so I can see what real conversations are happening. And then I ask it to summarize all of those for me. So every week I get a summary of Reddit. I also ask it to give me a give me a list of any news articles. So that's one conversation. Another conversation is I ask it to keep a pulse on any news related to my industry. And then every single Monday, it provides me a full list of everything happening there. So I'm setting myself up for research utilizing AI. And then from there I start creating all the videos. It's kind of what we're doing here. So as we find out topics, we have newsletters I posts on LinkedIn all the time. That's where I'm pulling all of that information from. And then when I am putting it out there, I'm utilizing AI to give me the first draft of the post and then I'm adjusting it and putting it out there the way I like it.
[00:16:13] Speaker A: What it sounds like too is that you are utilizing relevant and timely conversations as opposed to just generic application. There's a time and place for both. I don't want to tell the people out there not to just provide some level of generic education because we do work in convoluted, complicated industries to understand social media, that education does matter. But by relying on the timeliness of those conversations, you're allowing yourself to be kind of first in line on those conversations topics, and that will allow you to be more authentic and separate yourself from the competition. Jo, as we wrap up this conversation today, we're going to be talking more about personal branding and authenticity, so make sure you're following the Amerilife marketing mentors. What final thoughts do you have? What's the biggest takeaway that you want our audience to leave with?
[00:17:02] Speaker B: I've been saying since the beginning of the year, I think 2026 is all about the year of building your personal brand. So just if you haven't yet, just start building your personal brand. It's what's going to set you apart as we continue, especially as AI becomes more and more powerful in our industry. We are what sets us apart. So don't be afraid to be out there, don't be afraid to put your $0.02 into conversations and just get comfortable with being in front of a camera or producing videos or content with your thoughts.
[00:17:27] Speaker A: Fantastic. And if you're having trouble getting started Jo, you mentioned just explaining your why. Why did you get into the business? That's one way to differentiate. Differentiate yourself. That's your origin story. So start there and then everything else will just get easier and easier. And of course, Jo and I will be here with you every step of the way. Again, make sure you're subscribed to the Amerilife Marketing Mentors. We come out with weekly podcasts and monthly webinars. We'd love to join you for the ride.
Jo, any last words?
[00:17:55] Speaker B: Nope. Just get out there, get it going. If you need our help, we're here for you. And I really look forward. If you're on LinkedIn or anything, connect with us because we look forward to connecting with everybody and we'll, you know, we'll do what we can to help you build that brand.
[00:18:06] Speaker A: Sounds good. For the Amerlife Marketing Mentors, I'm David, that's Jo, and we'll see you next time.
