If you don’t know Gary. Here’s the short story: Gary Vaynerchuk is an insanely successful, charismatic, unconventional entrepreneur that has attracted a cult-like following (self-described “Vayniacs“) of more than 60,000 viewers per day to WineLibraryTV.com. He’s written a new book called “Crush It.”
He was in Tampa tonight and made so much sense it hurt. Thank you Gary for mentioning the word “content” 20 million times tonight. It warmed my heart!
The biggest takeaway…
If you produce awesome content you can “crush it” in business. Plain and simple.
The 2nd biggest…
Too many people are “chasing cash.” They go after trends rather than build businesses around the passion and topics they know best.
Other Takeaways and “Gary Vee” Nuggets of Wisdom:
- Storytelling is essential to branding. To the consumer, storytelling is key. Consumers want you to sell them something different!
- Think Twitter and FaceBook are silly? How can you ignore media that millions of people are using?
- The internet is 15 years old and is still changing our lives. Twitter is three years old. Pay attention.
- NEVER get romanced by the platform. ONLY focus on the message. If you don’t know your message. The platform won’t do a thing.
- Twitter’s not about talking. Twitter’s about listening. Search.Twitter.com is where you should learn about your customers.
- Many people consume media today. Too few create it.
- We are very bad, as humans, at detecting social shifts. We need to recognize that this technology movement is not waiting for anyone.
- If you’ve ever taken a Marketing class, you know that word of mouth is most effective. 70% conversion for word of mouth. 12% conversion for traditional advertising. These social media tools are going to continue to connect us. Do the math.
- Everything you do is being documented. Cameras are everywhere. Your blog is your brand. You’re leaving a legacy. You need to focus on making proper decisions. Too many people are chasing cash (amen).
- The small niches are going to kick a** coming soon. The Wal-Mart era is on its way out. Things are changing. The little guy is starting to win. They’re going to win because they care. They have the culture. Look at Zappos.
- Amazon and Walmart thrive on price. The little guy will win on culture.
- The consumer is going through a massive expectation shift. Price doesn’t win. Sally who makes peanut butter at home is going to kick butt by producing content aroun her passion. Kraft will care too. They’ll try to buy her!
- Business owners ignoring or scoffing at Twitter and social media right now can do so because they’re making money…at the moment. They’ll wake up.
- Content around what you do and what you love is key (amen). Think there’s already enough content out there about what you do and what you know? Nonsense. Gary was up against wine.com and winespectator when he went out on his own.
- How do you build brand equity? You “get out there” by building content.
- Anyone who says they “Twitter” instead of blog is an [expletive]. You’re content needs a HOME.
- The world is TRANSPARENT. Any skeleton in your closet or anything you’re trying to hide about how you do business will come out. You will break. Legacy is greater than currency.
