What I gained from #VaynerWorld 2016

You may be wondering what on earth VaynerWorld 2016 is, so let me give you a little bit of context first!

One of the key influencers that we pay attention to is Gary Vaynerchuk, Owner of VaynerMedia and respected commentator on social media and wider business in general. He hosts a show called #AskGaryVee on youtube. He’s also authored a number of great books (we love Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook). — PS there’s some adult language, don’t say that I didn’t warn you…..

Gary came to London to talk for the second time publicly at VaynerWorld as part of his book launch for the #AskGaryVee book and gave a great talk, alongside a live recording of the show and also a close Q&A session too. I was there for it all and it was a great event. Here are my key take-aways that can be shared with everyone to get some value:

1. Twitter is on a downward spiral, but still useful!
   Gary was an early investor in Twitter, however was quite critical of the platform for not moving forward and developing the platform further. As it’s evolved, there is now a significant amount of noise diluting the effectiveness for brands and influencers reaching their audience efficiently. However Twitter is still the single easiest way to reach out to individuals such as influencers because of the nature of mentions and DM’s.
2. Snapchat is on the up but audience management is difficult
   As one of the newest generation of platforms, Snapchat is rapidly growing. Gary is a huge fan of Snapchat and also an investor. Again, there are some things that make it more difficult for the marketer to reach us, such as not getting all messages, due to a maximum number of messages stored, and there is also no way to discover new accounts to follow. The early adopters have been teenagers, but they are getting older and still using the platform, and older generations are jumping on board too. Definitely a space to experiment with your business and brand!
3. There is no point predicting the future, unless you are going to act on it (and gain)
   One of my biggest take-aways from the event was Gary’s little rant on predicting the future of social media and technology in general. There truly is no value in being in the horde of people saying “I told you so” unless you’ve been able to implement something with that knowledge of where technology, marketing, social media etc. is heading. Be right and act on it, go big!
4. Don’t change things until you’ve learnt they don’t work
   This was my second biggest nugget of information that Gary addressed in his talk, and in the closed Q&A. No one can truly tell you what will work for your business or brand, you need to try things. There is no fool proof plan or step by step model that you can implement. You learn by doing; the market is the judge, jury and executioner in ALL aspects of business. Don’t assume any technique, strategy or advice will or won’t work until you’ve been able to try it for yourself and learn from it.

I hope that some of the golden nuggets that I gained from visiting Gary’s event have been of use to you and your business. Leave me a comment below if you attended the event too, or if you had any other thoughts on marketing in 2016!

Here’s a link to Gary’s full talk on YouTube (minus the Q&A).

Until next time….

Carl Barlow — Digital Eyes Media