Your Best Defense Against AI

An interesting thing is happening right now in online marketing circles.

While we’re all simultaneously thrilled at the prospect of what AI can do for our businesses and the world at large, those of us who have invested heavily in content marketing and SEO are wondering what the future holds for these marketing channels.

Will AI seriously disrupt Google as a traffic and customer acquisition channel?

Will Bing really gain traction?

Bigger than Crypto, bigger than the cloud, this can outlast any venture-funded competitor or the marketing tactic de jour.

But, there’s a marketing force that’s even bigger than AI.

It’s you.

Yep, good ole fashion branded personality.

I’ll never forget what my first (and probably best) sales manager told me:

People buy from people they know, like, and trust.

That’s everything.

It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that.

Are you known in your space and to your target audience?

Do your competitors, industry peers, and potential partners know you?

Is your business conducted with integrity, honesty, and transparent communication?

In short, are you that person that you love to work with, and at some level kind of envy?

If not, start changing that, today.

It’s maybe the most defensible moat you can build for your business.

Let’s take an example.

Who else could build the library of work and passionate following that Alex Hormozi has built? Love him or hate him, you have to admire the stance he’s taken, his devotion to publishing high-quality content multiple times a week, and the value he’s delivered to founders worldwide.

There are countless others like this.

People that we in the startup ecosystem know, like, and intuitively trust. People like Joel Gascoigne, Asia Orangio, Jason Cohen, Rob Walling, Laura Roeder, and the list goes on and on.

When these people launch a new product, are hiring for a new role, or want to explore a new channel, you instantly tune in.

Building an audience isn’t the first thing I’d do if I were just starting today, but I do think it’s something that all of us should invest in as a way to build a moat around ourselves and our businesses.

Increasingly, founders and brands are almost interchangeable.

Elon Musk is Tesla

Andrew Gazdecki is Acquire.com

Gino Wickman is EOS

Rob Walling is TinySeed

Sure, these brands are all (very different) much bigger than their founders, but they are bolstered by the founders’ brands. And I’d venture to say that none of these brands would be where they are today without the identity of the founders.

In a world where we’re all very worried about what AI means to our businesses, I believe the future is very bright for those of us who stand out and don’t have just some more “Me Too” kind of content.

For now at least, YOU are one of the few things that AI can’t replace, and increasingly consumers will be looking for that genuine content, positioning, and stance on things that they identify with.