Chapter Six

One of the most revealing examples in this book comes from Chapter Six. Vaynerchuk describes how in December of 2008, he arranged “free shipping” for orders from Winelibrary.com. Clearly, this would boost sales if customers knew about the special promotion.

He bought advertising on billboards, radio, and direct mail. By tracking the orders, billboards produced 170 orders, radio 240, and direct mail 300+. But, here’s the punch line, simple Twitter messages produced 1,700 orders in just forty-eight hours. And Twitter is free. That’s the power of social media.

Now that power may not work equally well in every industry. Many of us do not sell products that can be discounted or promoted via a brief Twitter message. But the example is solid because it shows the relative strength of a select, targeted, and compelling message. That same strength can be used for a multitude of purposes.

I’m not going to detail the various media discussed here. Vaynerchuk does a good job describing wordpress, tumbler, Facebook, twitter, flickr, youtube, viddler, ustream.tv, and others. The point isn’t so much to understand all these vehicles so much as to appreciate their variety and power. We’ve entered an age where traditional advertising – newspaper, radio, television – are just colors on a much broader palette. “Choose Your Platform” is the title of this chapter, and that’s the point he’s trying to make.

His discussion of these vehicles is rich and helpful. Even those of us familiar with social media will learn from his descriptions. His personal success flows from personality, and that makes video a strong tool for him. However, others of us have different talents and a different mix might fit our needs better. Match media to needs to maximize potential.

That’s a lesson I learned in Marketing 101 many years ago. But it’s not always easy because traditional advertising isn’t a good fit for all of us. Our markets or too narrow or our budgets are too low. For us, these new vehicles present a marketing opportunity beyond what I learned back in 1976. Definitely worth some study!

Questions for blog discussion:

1. How might my business utilize Twitter as a powerful message?

2. What are limitations to using Twitter? How might the message differ from a full-page magazine ad?

3. Have you ever viewed a Youtube video that made you laugh? How might Youtube help sell a product or service? Is anyone in your company tech-savvy enough to produce and post a video?

4. Do you have a Facebook page? What’s your favorite use for the medium? What annoys you?

5. If you needed to share important information to your customers in the next 48 hours, how would you do that? How many customers could you reach?

Chapter Five

Content is where rubber hits the road. Much of this book is built on the premise that each of us has mastery in a particular subject, and has ability to leverage that knowledge through social media.

Simply, we can use social media channels to jump across traditional barriers. We can build a personal brand, and then embrace certain networks to reach our targeted prospects. Better yet, properly executed, prospects will be using Google and Bing to seek us out. What could be better than that?

There’s just one small catch. We have to create or compile stuff that people will find valuable and interesting. We have to develop a body of content that attracts interest and adds value in some fashion.

Gary suggests fifty blog posts as a starting point. If you can’t conjure up fifty different points you’d like to share with readers (or viewers, if you prefer video), then you aren’t a strong candidate for success. At least in that particular field. On the other hand, maybe a different topic or hobby incites the “fifty post” passion. Whatever it is, content has to drive the model.

People don’t read encyclopedias for pleasure! One tough point for many of us is Vaynerchuk’s assertion that knowledge, alone, isn’t quite good enough. You need some mastery of the subject matter, of course, but there is nothing more boring than a bland recitation of data and statistics. That stuff is available everywhere, and most of us avoid it like a bad mariachi band!

Take any subject, and most of us can find data from multiple sources. Raw data, alone, though is fairly meaningless. It takes perspective to interpret data and make it usable. Visit a local bookstore and spend some time at the shelf devoted to food and wine. There’s a ton of data. Will spending a few minutes there increase your knowledge or boost your confidence? Despite this abundance of material, I’d guess you’d rather spend fifteen minutes with the author of this book! More pleasurable and more informative.

That’s the difference. Use stories and examples to bring the subject alive for your friends. Use your unique viewpoint to create interest and value. Become the expert you’d like to meet.

Questions for blog discussion:

1. In your field of passion, whom would you most like to meet? What would you ask them if you spent an hour together?

2. If you have a spare hour, and have to spend it in front of your computer, where would you go? What sites would you visit and what are you looking for?

3. What do you think customers most want to know about your business? What are the top three questions they’d ask? How might your answers differ from your chief competitor?

Chapter Four

Good people will thrive outside the constraints of big business and high overhead The future will be a field day for “everyone with talent” because they’ll be freed from bureaucratic bonds.

Chapter Four starts with an example we recognize – newspapers and magazines. Traditional platforms (the publisher) are struggling as readers move on-line. In market after market, and across media lines, hard-copy circulation drops as readers gather more news and information from the web. You might guess that’s a bad thing for writers.

Not according to the Vaynerchuk. He says that’s “the best thing that can happen to journalists … the good ones, anyway.”

That’s key to his point. Independence is an option that just wasn’t there before. Now, with a personal brand and a bit of technology savvy, anyone can become an expert, and profit directly from that knowledge. Who needs a magazine to become a foremost travel writer? Who needs a bookstore to sell books? Who needs an impressive and expensive building to offer banking services?

In a sense, the middleman – an employer who puts up needed capital and then pays us out of profits – is losing power in this new information democracy. In fact, the need for capital is shrinking daily. Without expensive printing presses or monster television towers, (or factories, or distribution centers), it’s really quite simple to build a profitable following. Instead of buying advertising to attract readers, an enterprising expert can be selling advertising to outsiders interested in reaching his (or her) readers! That’s the whole Google advertising model in a nutshell, actually.

Remember that Gary Vaynerchuk by-passed normal distribution channels to market wine from his father’s liquor store. He built an empire with direct sales from his Wine Library, the store that grew from his personal video blogs. And – he points out – the videos were not originally about selling wine. They were about selling Gary. It’s all about a personal brand.

Questions for blog discussion:

1. How is new information and/or technology changing your current industry?

2. Who are some “personal brands” in your industry? How did they get to be personal brands? Local, regional, national?

3. Anyone you know who has jumped an existing distribution system?

4. Where is the intersection between your personal expertise and your personal passion? Everybody has at least one.

Magic Words for Business

This book was recommended by Dodie Jacobi, a respected business consultant in Kansas City. She suggested that it offers great insight into the social media environment, and is an easy read, too. If you own or work in a smaller business those are magic words: helpful and easy. I bought Crush It! that same day. I read it the next weekend.

I agreed to “lead” a discussion on this book blog because Dodie was right. Gary Vaynerchuk is a compelling character. His story is unique and wonderful. He used social media and other resources to crash one of the most exclusive parties in the business world – the wine industry. His fresh approach, enthusiasm, sincerity, and (yes) charisma allowed him to jump multiple rungs of the success ladder. That’s what any of us want, right?

And his story is not just about marketing, either. I know my way around marketing, and another marketing book isn’t necessary for my personal library. Gary’s approach blends both life and business lessons, along with a bit of Zig Zigler or Dale Carnegie. Why Now Is The Time To Cash In On Your Passion is the book’s sub-title and Vaynerchuk clearly thinks that’s the important theme for success.

His three simple rules appear on the book’s second page:

• Love your family.
• Work superhard.
• Live your passion.

Now, the business implication is that social media and networks create the perfect opportunity to live your passion. Whether it is wine, motorcycles, or personal finance (to randomly select a few!), there is a community of like-minded people seeking expert commentary. And, since you are passionate about it, you can find an audience. Eventually, that audience can be lucrative enough to pay your bills.

Chapter Two’s lesson is that our personal uniqueness is an asset. I really enjoyed this chapter because Gary talks us through his personal story. In some ways, it’s the perfect American tale, from immigration at three years old, to eventual status as “Social Media Sommelier” (ABC News) and Wayne’s World Wine Aficionado (nightline). Like most success chronicles, it’s a great story and it makes fun read.

Chapter Three is – in many ways – the essence of this book. “Developing your personal brand is key to monetizing your passion online.” In the author’s case, that meant offering truthful information about wines in easy-to-understand terms. If you’ve ever browsed a wine store or bought a traditional book about wine, you understand how refreshing that is! You also understand why Gary Vaynerchuk has become so successful.

The point is that almost everyone has similar opportunity. We all care about different things and we all bring unique perspective to them. And we all have the ability to communicate that perspective in a variety of ways. We can write, talk, act, speak, or even create original art to share our message. And, if we are passionate enough and work hard enough, we can prosper because of it.

Questions for blog discussion:

1. Think about a successful person you know. In a few words, what is his or her passion?

2. How about Bill Gates or Warren Buffett? Again, in a few words, what separates them from others in their field? Describe their personal brands.

3. How does the Steve Jobs personal brand differ from Bill Gates?

4. If you achieved international success as a businessperson, how might people describe your personal brand?