THE AI SLOP TRAP

31 July

If you spend any time online, you've probably noticed the explosion of AI-generated images from small local businesses. You know the kind of posts I'm talking about. They're all over your social feeds and Facebook community groups. Busy background images, bright colours, walls of text, icons, and oversized bold headlines all competing for your attention.

And trust me, I can see the appeal. These posts can cram a lot of information into a small space, allowing business owners to communicate multiple messages in a single image. Better yet, they can be created in just a few minutes with nothing more than an AI tool and a low-cost monthly subscription.

The problem is, they're often not achieving what they're designed to do.

When posts are packed with bold text, bright colours, icons, and competing messages, people quickly experience information overload. Rather than stopping to read, they're more likely to scroll straight past. And as more businesses adopt the same style, those posts begin to blend, making it even harder for any one of them to stand out.

It's also worth noting who isn't using this approach.

Large brands, and businesses with experienced designers or in-house marketing teams, rarely rely on these generic AI-generated graphics.

If you review the content of some of the bigger fitness club chains, most likely they do not have generic AI content.

Instead, these businesses invest in original, brand-specific creative that reflects their identity. Whether consciously or subconsciously, people notice that difference. Overly generic designs can sometimes feel low-effort or inauthentic, and in some cases may even trigger a sense of distrust.

I suggest you spend 5 minutes scrolling through your posts on both Facebook and Instagram and noting which ones have and have not garnered engagement.

From looking at hundreds of health and fitness club social accounts, I confidently predict that posts that get engagement are ones that focus on your gym, your staff and your members, not AI generated images or even stock images.

I completely understand why so many small business owners turn to AI for social media posts. Running a business is hard enough without adding "content creator" to the list of jobs.

When you're juggling everything that comes with running your gym, it's incredibly tempting to choose the quickest option.

The good news is you don't need a professional videographer or a full-time graphic designer to create content that performs. In fact, some of the highest-performing content on social media is often the simplest.

So, what should you create instead?

Focus on content that only your club could produce.

Use the faces of your staff and your members with small amounts of text layered over.
Utilise the caption that goes with your image. A simple image of your members with a caption that explains the offer or information you are sharing is likely more effective than an AI generated flyer.
Use simple videos that are just point-and-shoot of you or your staff or a member sharing the information you want to portray. As above, these will immediately have higher engagement than AI generated content.
Use local and recognisable backgrounds, like your gym frontage or inside your gym and make a point that you are coming from a physical place in their community.

If you do need graphics, Canva is still one of the best tools available for small businesses. Create a handful of branded templates that match your colours, fonts and style, then simply swap out the photo and text each time. It takes a little longer than generating an AI image, but what you create will be recognisable, consistent and unmistakably your brand.