Can AI really help you grow your business? And can it ever really be used with integrity so that the output sounds like you and feels authentic? These are some of the big questions I ask my latest podcast guest Michelle Thames. She’s a marketing expert and knows all there is to know about AI. In this brand new episode she shares her top tips for saving time and money with AI whilst maintaining a human touch.

KEY TAKEAWAYS COVERED IN THE PODCAST

1. AI is a valuable tool for marketers: AI can automate tasks, analyze data, and personalize content, saving time and resources.
2. AI can enhance, not replace, human creativity: While AI can generate content, human input is essential for ensuring authenticity and relevance.
3. Ethical considerations are crucial: Businesses must address privacy concerns, bias, and transparency when using AI in marketing.

If you enjoyed this episode then please feel free to go and share it on your social media or head over to Apple podcasts or Spotify and give me a review, I would be so very grateful.

LINKS TO RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE

Connect with Michelle on Instagram, Facebook Connect with Teresa on Website, The Club, Sign up to Teresa's email list, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter

Transcript

Teresa: [00:00:00] If you're a business owner, you literally can't go. a couple of posts without someone talking about AI and what it can do for our business. But is it really true? Can using AI save us loads of time, loads of money, and most importantly, without it looking like it's AI? Because that's the thing, isn't it? We don't want AI written stuff and images that look like they've been made with AI. Can it really do that stuff? So today I am talking to the lovely Michelle Thames, who is a marketing expert, who is a passionate fan of AI and what it can do for our businesses. So we get into the weeds of using AI for marketing, what kind of things you can get it to do and how most importantly, you can get it to sound like you and not a robot. Hello, and welcome back to this week's episode of the Your Dream Business Podcast. I am Terese Heath- Wareing, your host. And I am so glad you've decided to spend your time listening to me today. I'm guessing you're doing something else while listening. I always do. So in the morning, when I get ready, I always have my phone propped up in my bathroom and I am listening or watching. I'm really into watching YouTube at the moment. I'm learning things to do with the business, to do with [00:02:00] myself. I actually, just as a side note, by the way, I have my human design done. wondering if anyone else has had theirs done, come and DM me if you have. And if you love it, I love all this kind of stuff. Now someone is probably sat there going, what's human design? And I'm going to start to explain it. And you're probably going to go, what really? But you know, I'm into like, you know, I like a bit of woo. I don't mind this stuff. So human design is based on the time, the place and the date in which you were born. That's as much as I can tell you because I'm not an expert, but I'm a projector. Okay. So if you are an expert in human design or you have done your own, just so you know, I'm a projector, come and tell me what you are. So I've been watching a lot of them on YouTube at the moment, explaining to me what it means. Anyway. So I'm guessing as you're listening to this, you are doing something else. So again, why not come and DM me and tell me or comment on one of my posts and tell me where you listen to the podcast. Cause I like to know, cause I'm very naturally nosy, which is good. Because I interview people and that's quite a [00:03:00] helpful skill. Okay. Today we have an interview, which is awesome. Now, a couple of weeks back, we had Holly on talking about AI and it was general AI just talking about, you know, what it does and what it is and, and big AI and fancy AI and all that sort of thing. And today I have the lovely Michelle Thames on. Now, Michelle is a marketing trailblazer, an acclaimed podcast and a trusted monetization strategist with a passion for empowering women entrepreneurs. She has established herself as a dominant voice in the digital marketing space. Michelle also spoke at my summit, so I had her to come and speak at the summit, and she talked about AI at the summit, and that's where I wanted her back on, but she's going to talk about AI in a very different way, she is going to talk about marketing and AI, so we are going to dive much deeper into how is it saving us time, how can it save us money, I have to say, if you've listened for a while, you know, I've been in this space for a very long time. I [00:04:00] did my degree in marketing 20 years ago and have worked in marketing my entire life. And the stuff that AI can do now would have cost thousands years ago, not even that many years ago, like literally two, three years ago, it would have cost so much money. As business owners I think we often kind of go, it's hard and things are hard and it is hard. Boy is some of this stuff easier than it ever was. So I for one, I'm very grateful, but Michelle has basically built her marketing agency and her marketing business on using AI and she uses it for so many things. So in this episode today, we are going to dive into What AI can do for our business, how we can use it for marketing and how we make sure it doesn't always sound like AI. Cause that is one of the downfalls to it, is that sometimes we can spot AI very quickly. So I really think you're going to enjoy this episode. She has some really useful tips. [00:05:00] If you find it useful, I would love to hear it. Please go and check out Michelle as well. We will make sure we hook up to all of the links in the show notes, which you can find them at teresaheathwareing.com/363. Here is the lovely Michelle. Michelle, welcome to the podcast. Michelle: I'm so excited to be here. So excited to chat today. Teresa: Me too. Me too. So I always thought the podcast the same way and I keep saying I'm going to change it and I will change it, but I haven't got, got round to that. So let's start as I normally do, by you explaining who you are and how you got to do the thing that you do today. Michelle: Yes. I am Michelle Thames. I'm from Chicago. It is the windy city, but it's beautiful in the summer. I am a marketing strategist and business coach and how I got started is really crazy. I actually have a background in healthcare administration. You know, I went to school, got a job like they say, do, you know, go to school, get a job and worked in healthcare, but it wasn't for me, unfortunately, unfortunately, I was fired from my job in [00:06:00] healthcare and it really pushed me into my passions. And so I was already blogging on the side, doing beauty blogging and really figuring out this digital world. Back in 2008, 2009, we're like, this was all so new to people. And I got the opportunity and was found online because of my blog and everything to work for a beauty brand that was up and coming. And I got to help them build their social media foundation, their digital foundation, everything from email, social, digital, influencer marketing. I got to learn so many different things. And I was like, oh my goodness, I could totally like do this for myself too and do this for more people. And so I started a marketing agency with my husband and that's where I am today. And I also help women build businesses online, whether that's you're a solopreneur, whether you're an author, you are a dentist and you want to create a brand like building a personal brand in today's age, it's like something really amazing that we can do and we can make money being ourselves. So I like to equip people with those skills and say, Hey, you can monetize off your skills and expertise, but you have to be able to market [00:07:00] yourself too. So I do a little bit of everything on a podcast just like you, but that's, that's who I am. Teresa: So there's a couple of things I want to pick up on that first off. You and your husband working together. Was that scary? Well, there's a couple of questions I've got like, first off, both of you going into a business and therefore I'm assuming no other income coming into the house. Was that terrifying? And secondly, how do you manage working with your husband? Michelle: Yeah, no, I really love working with my husband. He loves social media, just like me. It's really crazy. We're like marketing nerds and it was scary. I'm not even going to lie, but I had asked my husband, could I quit my job? And he told me that I totally could. I was like, you know what? I got a plan. We're going to be fine. I just like, believe that, you know, we're going to have faith. And like, what we're going to put into is going to work. He used to work in education. So he was a teacher and it was just really stressful. And one day he came home. He was like, I don't, I don't think I can do this anymore. And I was like, Quit. We'll figure it out. And we've been figuring it out for the last, he has been home three years, and I've been doing this for [00:08:00] five years full time. So we've been figuring it out. And like, yes, it's scary, but I kind of feel like you have to know that you have something and know that it'll just be fine. Like, everything will be okay. If you really have that mindset, like, I know people say like positivity, but no, really say, okay, I know it's going to work out. I am diligently working towards this and it's going to be fine. Like, I feel like this is what we're supposed to be doing. I really love marketing and he really loves marketing too. And we really help. We really love helping people get their business visible and like helping them get new clients. It's like a high, like that you can't get anywhere else. Teresa: I love that. And, and I think there is something about we need to work it out, which means you work it out. I think when it's optional, it feels optional when it's like, I need to pay my mortgage. I am going to make this work. There is no greater motivation. Is there? Michelle: None? Because it's like, yeah, I could go back to a nine to five, right? But I don't want to do that. And that is okay. Okay. It's okay. People do that. It is okay. If you're a part [00:09:00] time, but like, this is all that we do have. And so people, yes, it is me and my husband. So yes, it is one income, right? We're all, it's the family business. So it is like a different type of mindset. I'm like going hard every day. Like, well, okay. I've got to reach out to leads. I got to follow up with these people. Make sure I post on social media, make sure I keep up with the clients that I currently have. Putting myself out there speaking, getting on podcasts like this. It is a strategic plan every day. Yes. So there is no other choice. Teresa: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. We want to talk about, or one of the things that you talk about is AI, and I want to talk about that. However, I want to talk, I just want to ask you something else first. It's kind of like, obviously, you know, and both of us are from a marketing background, we both do marketing. I want to get your take at the moment on social media because you are so passionate about social media. It has worked so successfully for you. I personally, at this point, I have a, I'm having a real like, ugh. Like that noise just describes it like, uh, with social media. [00:10:00] And I am wondering, do you think it's still working? Is it still working? What are people doing wrong? How can they make it work? What just where do you, and I know this wasn't one of the questions I was going to ask you, but now I'm just picking your brains. What are your thoughts on it? Like, am I right to think, Oh God, it's hard or am I just not doing it right? Michelle: No, this is good. This is a good question. And no, I think all of us are feeling like, uh, but the truth of the matter is it definitely still works. Here's the thing, me and you, we have taken time to build a community of people. We have followers that's that huge number, right, 400, 000, whatever. None of those 30, 000 people are probably your ideal person or part of your community. So we really focus on building community and really digging deep to the clients and customers that we already have and getting repeat customers, you'll be fine. Because I work with big brands and what we do is we focus on the customers and [00:11:00] clients that are always showing up, that are always buying, that are VIP clients. They're going to always tell more people, but you have to build a community and care about the actual people. A lot of people care about that big follower number, which means nothing because there's influences with 4 million who can't get 20 people to an event. I've sold out of free events. I've sold out of events that cost money. I've had people show up to my, I mean, I have 30, 000 followers. I don't think that's like a huge, massive number considering how long I've been online. But I feel like what I have done is built a community. And so yes. Instagram is like changing. It's like, uh, but I feel like if we just show up and create the content that we want and like stop the oh, it has to be 20 seconds, this whatever, like fit into a mold and just be ourselves. And because I was thinking about a video that I want to post, I'm going to go to a concert. I want to post how I had fun as a millennial because that's who I am, right? I'm building a personal brand. I think. We can take off the, like, it has to be so rigid and just have fun with [00:12:00] it. And like the clients will come if we focus on community. So I feel you girl, like, and everybody's feeling this way. Instagram is like, Oh, but if we don't show up, then it's like, we won't get, we won't build the clients, especially organic. We can always run ads to things, but having that organic foundation, I think. is this. And let's just, you know, think about like why we're doing it. We don't even have to show up every day or feel the pressure to either. Teresa: I think, I so love what you just said. I think creating the content you want to create. I love that. I think too many people, and I remember hearing it was an influencer. It was someone talking at an event and they had a ginormous account and they were saying, don't just jump on the latest trend to get followers and to get views because you're going to attract people that aren't your people. And if, and this is the whole point, and I think you're so right where people just get swayed by the numbers. They just think, Oh, I really wish I had that many followers. I really wish. And you know, and [00:13:00] I know we can look at an account that has loads of numbers and their engagement is on the floor for the size of the account. Right? So I think one. Embracing the what do I want to post, I think is really, really helpful to me right now, because I feel this pressure. So I used to have a social media manager and the social media manager stopped doing done for you services. And basically since then I haven't replaced her. So I am technically doing my own social media, which is laughable because that's what I used to do as a service. Like I used to do this. And now when it comes to my own, I'm like, I don't want to do it. And I don't know what to do. And I'm struggling to, like, I can teach this stuff all day long. I can support someone else doing it all day long, doing it for yourself, very different. So I think the whole kind of like, well, actually what do I want to post for starters? Whereas I think probably I've been overthinking of, oh, I need to be doing this type of content and this type of content. And then of course I go and research other people's content and then think, oh, well, they did this. I probably need to do this. And also it's about loving on those [00:14:00] people. And it's about building a community. It's not about, you know, woo, I got X amount of views or X amount of follows off the back of something great. Move on to the next thing is about actually, am I really appreciating the people that are in there? And. And I think this is the beauty of having a smaller account. When someone is starting off, you can do that personal outreach. You can get to know them. You can follow them. You can see their content. You can engage with them. When you, yours must be a really hard account, well, much harder now to manage given the size of the account compared to what it was. Michelle: Oh yeah. No, you mean my, my Instagram? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I have 37, 000, but I feel like that's not like super huge where I can't manage it. Like, I get messages every day, but I feel like, number one, like you said, I make connections with those people. Now, one of my clients has 147, 000 on our Instagram account, and yes, like, that's, you know, It takes like a team to manage something like that. So like, yeah, I think if it does get to the size, but you [00:15:00] never want this because of the size of the account of the customer service or like how the brand or how you respond to go down because then if that goes, the whole ship goes down. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it needs to be like, and we have to think about, Oh, don't think about people are DMing me. That person could be DMing you because they're trying to work with you. Like, yes, respond. Teresa: I think you're right. I think that's the other thing. Like I actively encourage people to DM me and I actively respond to them. And I, you know, my account's teeny tiny, but you know, I remember watching Jasmine Star years ago and someone, she stood on stage and she was talking about outsourcing