S2E13: AI Had Me Convinced This Brand Was A Scam

So recently I came across a skincare brand that's on Lemonate. If you're not familiar with the platform, I believe it's it says it's powered by TikTok. And it's it's kind of like a mix of TikTok and Pinterest in a way. I really like it personally. I like to go on there and just kind of scroll and like things and save things. Anyway, so I came across this skincare brand. And one thing about me is I love my smell goods. I love to have really good smelling body wash, lotion, especially my perfume. Oh my gosh, I love perfume. I love my smell goods. I like to smell good. Okay, so I was immediately interested because one of the first things that I saw was like this really cute looking packaging and the scent or the name of the product immediately caught my attention. I was like, oh that looks like it's gonna smell so amazing. Like that's the kind of person I am. If you have like a really clever, cute name, and it and the packaging looks really good. If it looks like it's gonna smell amazing, you've immediately caught my attention. Now, when I looked deeper into the profile, and I was looking at all the photos and everything and all the posts, I realized I was like, oh, wait a minute. Everything is AI generated, from what I could tell. And I'm like, uh, okay. You know, I'm thinking to myself, okay, well, maybe this is a a new brand, maybe this is a small brand, and this is just one of those business owners that uses uses it for their product photos. That's what I was thinking. I'm like, okay, you know, so Q rabbit hole detective mode. I start looking at every post, and I'm like, they're all AI. They're all AI, they're all selling posts. I'm like, there's nothing. I'm like, I'm not seeing anything about the the person behind the business. I'm not seeing anything about how the product was made. I'm not seeing what inspired it, like I'm not seeing anything regarding like a real person. It is only promotional posts with AI-generated photos of these products, which was a red flag for me. Because my concern was okay, well, what if this is a scam? Because the the the scents, like the names of them, they sound so good, and the packaging looks really cute. So I was immediately intrigued. But again, all I'm seeing just on the just on the lemonade profile is AI product photos and promotional posts. That's literally it. I'm like, there's nothing about how the product is made, there's nothing about nothing, no behind the scenes, nothing. I'm like, how do I know this is a real business? How do I know this is a real brand? So I go to the Instagram, same thing. There's nothing to give me any hope that this is a real business or that this is a real person that I can trust. The other thing I want to note, because it wasn't just the the AI product photos, it wasn't just that. It was also the fact that there were no comments, like none. There was no comments about like from happy customers who may have ordered and were like, Oh, yeah, I got mine. This this smelled amazing, thank you so much. You know, like there was there was nothing. There was so no social proof. So we got only AI generated product photos. Now, mind you, one of the photos was also it looked AI generated of a hand holding the product, and again, I'm pretty sure it was AI generated, it just it just felt off. But that could have been my guard being up because of the other product photos. I could be, you know, like that could have been what it was, but I'm like, there is literally not no social proof that this is a real business that has serviced real people nothing. So again, alarms are going off in my head. I'm like, I don't know, I don't know if this is legit. Because I'm not trying to get scammed, nobody wants to get scammed. I I've been burned by TikTok shock before, and I am extra cautious about a new business that I come across, and that's how most of your customers are probably going to be, especially with the rise of AI. There's been so many people scamming, there's been so much, people have been burned many times. So you're the average consumer is even more cautious. I recall that it used to be said that a customer has to come across your brand seven times before they're ready to buy, or something like that. It was something along those lines, and I think with the rise of AI and all that, I think it's even more. So you have to establish trust with your ideal customer at every touch point. You have to make those that connection at every touch point because you never know who's watching. Okay, and you don't know what they're looking for. For me, when I am especially looking at a product business, I am looking, I really love behind-the-scenes videos, packaging videos, how the product is made, how it's packaged, things like that. I love seeing behind the scenes, I love seeing owners talk about their product. Really love content like that, and that kind of content creates trust with your audience, especially when you show your face. Because when you show your face, then you're showing that you're a real person, you're showing that you made a product, when you talk about the story behind why you started doing this, then you're connecting with people and they feel like they know you. All these things that nowadays is ideal if you want to build a brand online, is what I'll say. People connect with people, even in the age of technology, even after COVID, where everyone was cooped up in the house for months at a time. People connect with people, that has always been the case. You connect with like-minded people, you connect with heartfelt, meaningful stories. We connect with each other. That is the core of our humanity. Now, with the internet, it's exhausting having so much information being thrown at you all the time. And a lot of it is negative. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming when you're when you feel like you're constantly being sold to. Think about the last time you saw a post that was obviously salesy. You could tell by the tone that it was salesy, that they wanted something from you, even if it was engaging. You probably had a mental guard up if you got a DM that was very clearly someone trying to potentially lead you into buying something from them or get you on a call. I really can't stand it when people DM me and it's very clear that they're going to try and sell me something. Because at first, when we're having a real conversation, it's like, okay, cool. But then when you can tell, when you start noticing the language start shifting towards salesy questions, like, oh, so if you could change one thing about da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, what would that be? When I start hearing those questions, that's when I personally start to tune out a bit. Only because I do not like being sold to, because my thought process is I promise you, I will come find you when or whoever when I can actually afford you. But right now I am not in a position to hire anyone, so it's like, please don't try to sell to me. I want to make actual connections with fellow business owners and you know, actually build relationships and friendships, not be sold to. Like, yes, we are running businesses, but I don't want to be sold to. Don't do that. I don't like it. No one does. Anyway, I apologize. Went on a bit of a tangent there. So back to this brand that I came across. I went down a rabbit hole. I checked out their Instagram, I checked out their threads, I went to their website, and it was all the same. Salesy posts, only a high generated product photos. Like there was nothing to give me a reason to trust this brand. There was nothing to give me a reason to say, you know what? I'm going to put my credit card information in and order one of these since that they have or that they say they offer. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing. I was seeing likes on Instagram, a few likes here and there. And again, I am fully aware, you know, I'm thinking to myself, well, maybe they're just a new business, you know, and they haven't gotten any traction yet. That is valid, and that is true. And that is part, and if that is the case, which I hope and pray that this is real business, if that is the case, that is where it's even more important for you to be showing up. Whether it doesn't have to be by your face, it doesn't even have to be by your voice, but you have to show up. And honestly, nowadays, just to call a spade a spade, you gotta prove that you're a real person. I'm not putting my credit card information in. If I don't know and can't find anything about the person behind the brand. Now, that of course is when it comes to a small, not established, or a brand that I can't tell if it's real. That's more so what I'm talking about. Like literally everything is AI. The packaging, the logo, the website is very basic. It's shop limited time sale. And then there's the product everyone's talking about. Mind you, I'm checking their Instagram, checking their lemonade posts, like I'm checking all their posts. There, there is no conversation. So I was so that even more so. Again, it's like, hmm, maybe that's just to make it sound good. And then it's like, how is it the product that everyone's talking about when no one when I'm not seeing anyone talking about it? I think they even have a TikTok, and it's all the same thing. It's just AI product photo posts, sales, stuff. That's it. The only thing that gave me a little bit of hope was their Etsy shop. That was it. Because there were there were reviews on there. It was like let me see. I don't know if it'll actually tell me how many reviews there were. Okay, it doesn't say how many reviews there were, but it shows that, you know, there are potentially some people reviewing products. And then it's like, okay, they're, you know, Etsy, Etsy tracks how many sales are made for shops, how long they've been on Etsy. Says they, you know, it says they've been on Etsy for less than 12 months, so less than a year. And this is a recent shop. And the only indication that there's a real person behind it, potentially, is the owner's name at the bottom. Other than that, there is nothing. There is no there is nothing human that I can see surrounding this business on all the platforms that I'm able to find it on. A friend of mine looked at the exact same business, looked at everything, and their first impression from what they told me was, oh, this looks like a drop shipping business. Which I didn't get that at all. But that was mainly for the Etsy shop, I think. I think that's why they said that, because they sold other stuff besides other random stuff besides the skincare. But they agreed that it does not feel trustworthy. So the reason why I wanted to share that experience is that, as I've said before, I used AI myself for two years. I used it to generate images, to use in my passion projects. I use Chat GBT religiously before I decided to stop using it altogether. And I truly believe that it is a tool that can be really powerful, that can help with repetitive and large-scale tasks, things like, you know, condensing market research across the internet, finding the best solutions, or at least suggesting solutions you can look into. But I truly don't think it is the best use case for your brand visuals. When your AI use for your visuals is heavy. You're using it for your products, you're using it for you're generating maybe a model holding your products, but it's not actually a real person, it's an AI model. I don't care how good the quality is, that hurts the trust in your brand, especially if you have a product-based business, that really hurts the trust. Because how am I supposed to know that I can trust you, that I can trust your product, that I can trust your business, if you're not showing me anything that's real? Like, how am I supposed to trust that? If I find you online, if there are no real pictures of your product being used, if there are no testimonials, there's nothing, there's no human connection anywhere. How am I supposed to know that I can trust you in order to make a purchase? How do I know that you're not just trying to get as much money? How do I know that these reviews aren't fake, aren't bought? Because apparently that's a thing. Like you have to establish trust with your audience, and as cringy as it may feel, because trust me, I feel it constantly. Whenever I have to get on camera, I really am trying to push through that. We have to show up. It's the most effective way, I think. And again, especially if you have a product business. If you're not showing up in person anywhere, then how do I know I can trust you? As I have said before, I'm not telling you not to use AI. You might be listening and have heard my other episodes and might be thinking, yeah, but you're saying it without saying it. No, I'm saying AI has its place, but the risks outweigh the rewards. When it comes to building trust in your brand, the risks of using heavy AI images outweigh the reward of saving some time, some effort. The cost is high. Now you have two people feeding each other the uncertainty, the doubt, and then they both decide, yeah, I'm probably not gonna buy anything. I don't want to get scammed. So, with all that being said, I have some ways that you can show up and build trust in your business without using AI visuals. It'll be cringe, but it'll be worth it. And it's not always showing up and talking to a camera. So bear with me. The first way providing your presence. When I say providing your presence, that is what I mean by showing up as a real person. You don't have to necessarily talk to a camera, but that's one way that you can. You can use b-roll of you working, which is if you're not familiar with what b-roll is, that is where you're not talking to the camera, you are literally filming yourself or what you are doing, and you don't even have to put your face on camera. You can literally film like your laptop as you're typing something up, you can film yourself making an Instagram flyer, just as an example. You can film yourself making your product. I'm pretty sure you've seen plenty of those videos. So you can you can do that. It's very easy. You just point and shoot with your phone camera. Voiceovers work as well, even if you're not talking to the camera, even if you are not showing your face, voiceovers showing up with your voice, your real voice, not an AI voice, that can also help build trust and familiarity. You can do voiceovers of yourself on camera where you're using gestures and movements and facial expressions to go along with the voiceover. I've seen that as well. If you are a if you are a mom like me with loud children, that could be a good avenue for you. I know I do a lot of voiceovers because of the fact that. My kids are loud. So there's not going to be too many videos of me talking like on camera live. There's not going to be too many videos of me talking to the camera or anything like that. One, because my kids are loud, and two, I just haven't gotten to that point yet. I do not like talking to the camera if I'm being fully transparent with you. I don't. Anyway, the next way is showing the process behind the scenes. Creating your product, packaging your product, working with a client, showing your client or customer's reaction or the results. You can also share customer wins, reactions, reviews, you know, testimonials, bonus points, if you can get tagged on social media, shares on social media, it helps with the social proof and it tells other people who are coming across your business that this is a real brand. If I purchase, I will receive something. Think about the unboxing and review reaction videos. If you've seen the recent guy on TikTok where you know he's like, My wife make me launch, but your wife don't make you launch. He's so adorable. If you've seen him, then you know that Peeps sent him a big box of stuff because apparently he loves Peeps, the you know, the little candy. That's an example of like what I mean when I say like unboxing or review or reaction videos. So things like that. If you can encourage your customers to tag you on social media to do an unboxing video, or if you can find like influencers who are willing to work with you, where you can send them a box of your stuff or your product in exchange for a reaction video or something like that, that's also a thing. Don't automatically think, oh, I can't work with an influencer right now, that's too expensive. If there's a creator that you like who aligns with your product and your niche, feel free to reach out to them. The worst thing that they can say is no. Technically, they can say worse things, but for the most part, the worst thing they can say is no. That's what we're focusing on right now. Posting content that's talking about your expertise or providing like small insider knowledge and tips about your industry or your niche. For example, if you sell candles, you can talk about different kinds of wax and how each type differs in the quality of the candle or how long it lasts, how the smell disperses, whatever it is. Basically, if you talk about what you know about, that can also help with building trust with your audience. If you if you share the wins and the losses in your business journey, you know, the journey behind the business itself, that can usually resonate with people. Also, side note: don't be discouraged if everything doesn't blow up right away. If you don't go viral overnight. Going viral isn't always necessarily a good thing. But if you're constantly showing up and proving that you can be trusted, proving you're a real person, proving that you care, then you're going to build trust with your audience. Another thing you can do is by sharing a core value of yours that's related to your business, or it um or it's a value of your business as like a hot take, aka a hill that you'll die on. Some people will resonate with it, and then some people will be like, nah, this ain't it. Because you ideally want your people, your audience, aligned customers, your dream customers, you want them to support you and respect your values. So if for whatever reason, whatever your values are, and they're like, no, I I can't get with that. Do you really want them as a customer? Something to think about. Also show real pictures of your products, no matter if the labels are updated or not. Show them being used in real life whenever possible. If you have a body wash, for example, you can literally show a short clip of you pouring it in your hand. You don't even have to show up on camera, it can just be your hands pouring it out onto your hand and then lathering it up, whatever it is. I don't know. I'm just throwing out ideas. Show your real products in real life. Nowadays, you have to prove that you're a real person and not an AI robot or an AI persona or I'm sorry, an AI influencer. And for me personally, I just I understand the market for AI influencers and things like that. I understand that there is a place for that and that it's doing its thing. But me personally, I don't want to follow a fake person or fake profile. I don't want to be sold to by a fake person. I want to see real people, real humans using real products that real people made, that real people care about, and go from there. You have to connect with your audience in some way in order to establish that trust. And it doesn't stop at social media because that's just one small cog in your brand's ecosystem. I think I'm gonna wrap it up there. Thank you so much for tuning in to the Mom Boss Like a Boss podcast. I will see you in the next one. Bye.