2474 - Creating Authentic Brands in a World of Synthetic Content with Lobo Media Marketing's Jiun Liao

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0:46Visit podverified.com if you'd like to be featured as a future guest. I'm Josh Elledge. Let's get into it. With us right now, it's June Liao. June, you are the founder and CEO of Lobo Media. You're found on the web at lobomedia.ca, which that tips your hand. You're a Canadian, or running your company from Canada. You are also the host of the Antiviral podcast, A Human Approach to Marketing. Love that. Let's talk more about that. But June, it's great to have you. Yeah, thank you very much, Josh. It's a pleasure being here. Yeah. And then before we get going, you know, kind of talking about your superpowers.

1:30Always love learning what leaders are into when they're not at work. What have you been doing for fun lately or what have you been geeking out on? Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, one of the things that I am kind of rekindling myself in because I was born in Ecuador in South America, but I moved to Canada, right? And this is kind of where I've been for the last 10 years. And it's been really interesting to kind of rekindle my love for soccer now that we are getting into the World Cup. It's kind of like getting up to a close by the time that we are doing this. Yeah. Yeah. As we're recording this, we are literally a couple of days away from the final game.

2:09Yes, exactly. Exactly. Those of you in the future know how this worked out. We are in suspense right now. you know so it's just getting back into you know a passion that i've kind of forgotten if you will and getting back into that sports world because my partner and i were also big fans of formula one so there is a lot of um you know sporting that we're doing now which usually i'm more of a indoor person like i play video games i like i play like board games and stuff like that but But it's been really fun actually, you know, having teams and having things and everything that's happening around the World Cup and everything here in Canada.

2:48I love it. Yeah, you know, even my son, he's an adult now, but they've been watching with he and his friends. They've been watching a lot of the matches, but they got they got about 12 people together yesterday and got an impromptu soccer game together yesterday at the park. So, yeah. And my son, you know, when he was younger, you know, the family would take him to soccer games. He and his younger brother and so went to a lot of soccer games as a kid. And so he was like, yeah, I'm just I'm kind of remembering all the rules. And, you know, so, yeah, it really has been like the World Cup this year, I think, has really been great.

3:33It just kind of like, I don't know, bringing people together in a way where I think that there's a lot that divides us. And it's almost like, yeah, you know, we like to come together as humanity. Absolutely. And I think, you know, similar to your story, but my kids are starting getting into soccer because we keep watching it, right? Like my daughter has been going to soccer for the last like couple of years, but now she's actually watching the World Cup. And it's like, oh, like, you know, they're doing this or this is my this is where I usually stand, you know, like and stuff like that. And kind of knowing that there is like putting that two and two together, essentially.

4:10Right. What they she has been learning and now putting it into the field, you know, and it just brings us closer together. Right. Mm hmm. All right. Well, June, I'm so grateful to have you here because I want you to share a bit about human marketing. Uh, and right now, again, in the middle of 2026, as of when we're recording this, uh, I think you have, you know, I'd say a lot of marketers, um, especially a lot of newer marketers that are just so hopped up on AI opium or, you know, AI opium or whatever you want to call it. And, you know, just as the be all end all, you know, I don't want to take too much of your thunder here.

5:01Give us your manifesto. Yes. So, yeah, I have a very different style of marketing that is a little bit outside the norm. I think of what people usually have come or grown accustomed to thinking when it comes to marketing. Right. And I consider marketing to be something, an engine for building relationships, not for selling. I consider sales to be for selling and marketing to be to building relationships. And those building relationships then leads to a sale. It's a byproduct of having a good relationship with people. so that's why for me a lot of my marketing a lot of what I do I've called it human marketing because I don't know what else to call it and it's the idea of you know being a person to another person whether it's across the screen or in person right because we are very good at doing it in person naturally right when whenever we see a face we have a certain way like we know exactly what we're going to do but as soon as we get online or as soon as we go into other things similar with AI it's taking a lot of steps out of relating with people and connecting with people and just making it easier to put content out there or put things out there that just don't connect not meant to connect just they're meant to sell or they're meant to do something and that really takes away from what marketing really or should be right uh listen i could i cannot agree with you more um Because and there's quite a backlash right now.

6:37I've read so many conversations, you know, people who are just like, it just it just feels so insincere. It feels so fake when we're being when slop is being shoved at us. And, you know, it's this same thing that I've seen, you know, for those of us who have been around a little while, it's this same pattern. You know, marketing folks are in their whatever in their office, high fiving each other, thinking about how brilliant they are. They put it out there and people are just like, come on. You know, do you do you even remember what it's like to be a non marketer and think all of your ideas are brilliant just because AI shoves something in front of you with a lot of gusto or, you know, hyperbole or, you know, sycophancy?

7:29You know, these marketers are just, you know, just can't sell stuff fast enough. And and it really is. It's just gross. Yes. And, you know, this is this is kind of this is kind of where a lot of people are at is like, you know, AI and, you know, just call it general marketing in general, modern marketing in general, but it sounds right, but it doesn't feel right. That's, I think, the main difference here, where a lot of people, it sounds professional, it sounds like, you know, I have all the things, look, you are better than your competition, according to you, like, it sounds right, right. But it doesn't have that feeling attached that makes someone feel like, feel connected, doesn't have that feeling attached that makes me want to care that you're actually telling me something.

8:12And that I think is the crux. That is, I think is the key reason why a lot of my marketing, a lot of my clients, right, seek something else is that idea of like, this can't be it. Like it can't just be this AI slop and all of this, you know, random selling content, because every time they try or every time they do something, and every new business that has happened that is doing this will feel that is like you put so much out there, and you still feel like you're completely lost in the noise of the internet. And you know, you don't stand out because everybody's using the same AI. Everybody's using the same, you know, few things of like sell, sell, sell, right?

8:55It doesn't feel different. Hmm. All right. So June, how do we change our ways?

9:05I think for me, one of the key things is to actually start having, let's call it, I call it a point of view, but a frame of reference, if you will. It's the idea of start marketing to build a relationship and to get to know people, right? And in the aspect of getting to know people on the other side of the screen, it's also having them getting to know you. I think a lot of businesses and a lot of people make the mistake of trying too hard to sound professional or sound like a bigger business or, you know, sound like a major corporation, if you will, and not pare it down to actually make it more relatable to people.

9:47Like I want people to get to know me through my page, through my website, through my marketing, because it's through getting to know me that you get to make that choice of whether I am the right person to follow or I'm the right person to actually do anything with you to, you know, hire you as someone. because there are plenty of consultants, there's plenty of marketing agencies out there. Why would I choose this one in particular, right, over everybody else is you need to care about something, you need to have something that makes me feel like I am different. I'm, you know, I have something to say.

10:24And I think it starts with that I like to call it the idea of world building, which is creating that world that people can be pulled in like gravity, right? A lot of when I do presentations, and when I do speaking engagements, I usually like to talk about marketing as gravity, right? Where you are gravitating people towards something, and that something, the core, the center is who you are, is what you value is what you care about, right? And pulling people in is showing people consistently what that core is so that they feel compelled to learn more and come and do more. Yes, yes, yes, yes. How do we get there?

11:10You know, because I know sometimes it's pretty hard to work on our own marketing, but, you know, for someone that maybe is not able to work with you, what are some maybe things that they could do when they're looking at their own, what they happen to be communicating on their website, on their social and their email everywhere. Yeah. So usually what I do tell people is that to start by whether you are a solo entrepreneur or you're a big, a bigger company with plenty of employees and a lot of, you know, resources at hand to do your marketing is to actually pare down and think about that core, to actually think about what are those values?

11:49What are those things that you actually care about? What are those things that you would do if nobody paid you? If you did it, what you would do for free, if you will, which is, would you help someone else? Would you, you know, be nice to other people? Would you like, what are those things that you that feel like are part and core feature core of what you are, right, as a company or as a person? And then it's about thinking about what would make someone else feel like that is true, not tell people because telling is what everybody else does, which is like, we have great customer service. Everybody says that.

12:24We work, we try harder. Yes, exactly. But it's actually showing people, right? And a lot of people have the mistake that marketing is a piece of content, right? It has to be a, it has to be a blog or it has to be a picture or it has to be a video or anything like that. Whereas for me, again, I consider marketing more of a feeling. It is bringing people in and how do I show people, for example, that I am someone that is going to be there and help you. And if something goes wrong with the product or the service that I provide, I am going to actually go and help you, you know, without asking for more money or whatever that may be that signifies that I am helping someone.

13:10How do I show people that I'm doing that? And then just making that a reality, whether you need to film that or whether you just need to show up and do that, you're going to get reviews or you're going to get things that are going to explain and expand that. And that's going to allow you to do that. Right. That is usually how I start getting people to understand just how to get into that core. But another great thing that I usually recommend is to go to for established businesses in particular is to actually go to reviews, reviews for that you already have, or what have people have told you about, right, or surveys that you have done before, and to actually go through that information, because you are going to be able to see what people think of you, what people see, right?

13:57And does that align with my core world that I think I have? Does that align? And if it doesn't, well, then I'm showing something different than what I am, right? And if it does, am I showing it enough that people are willing to put that out there? Because it's very common when people leave reviews or comments or something around it, it's usually around like, hey, I had a problem and it was fixed, or this was so great because they did exactly what they said, or they did, they went above and beyond, they feel compelled to write a review. Like there are specific reasons why they do that. And having that knowledge and being able to capture that knowledge is going to be hugely helpful in signifying what you do next, right?

14:36Because at the end of the day, strategy, I consider strategy to be simply having enough information and context is what I call it, you know, having enough information to know what is the next best thing to do. All right. June, what do you talk about on your podcast? And we've got that all linked up. It's called the antiviral podcast, which some marketers might be going, What are you talking about? We must go viral. Hi. Essentially, my antiviral podcast is the place where you go and learn more about my concept of human marketing and how to pair all of this into your marketing as well. But it does stem from the idea that a lot of our marketing nowadays is predicated on gaming algorithms.

15:25We have stopped taking care and trying to think about the person on the other side of the screen and instead started thinking about how to optimize for machines. And I think that is also a big detriment that is happening in the marketing world where we are too focused on how do I beat a machine and not care about how does the other person feel? How does another person feel? Period. Right. And that I try to bring that again, again, this is the reason why it's called antiviral is to kind of push against that concept of we don't need to focus on the algorithm. Because if we do great work, or we create great things or create great content for people, those people are going to want to comment and share and do something about it, which will naturally feed the algorithm into thinking that this is good content.

16:18Right. and so that's kind of the idea behind the podcast. Well June your website is lobomedia.ca to our friend that's listening where do they go from here how might they connect I assume you've got some resources for them as well? Yeah so they can feel free to actually go to my website I have a I call it a manifesto for human marketing that they can go and read there it just gives you a lot more explanation around my idea of world building and the idea of how we ended up in this place and what to do next. But, you know, you can listen to my podcast, you can go and just contact me, send me an email.

17:02I like getting emails of people asking questions. I do a lot of coaching as well for businesses that, you know, wanted and it's usually just questions of like, how do I make this a reality? How do I make this, you know, finding that this is, there's actually another way to do marketing, right? How does this work? I'm always happy to kind of talk to them and have them, you know, connect with what they're currently doing with that. Well, June Liao, again, the podcast is the anti-viral podcast, your website, lobomedia.ca. June, it's been a great conversation. Thank you for joining us. Yeah, thank you very much, Josh.

17:45It's been a pleasure being here.

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18:59Thanks again for spending your time with us. I'll see you next time.