Are you a Vayniac newbie like me? Come join the Vayner Nation!
Gary Vaynerchuk is one of a kind. He is without a doubt the most energetic, crazy, dedicated, spontaneous individual I have ever seen. The first video I watched of his was Episode 1 of Wine Library TV, which was uploaded on May 17, 2006. The entire video consisted of Gary sitting at a table with three bottles of wine, three wine glasses, and a bucket. He spent the next 12:09 seconds swishing the wine around in his (sometimes drinking it), spitting the wine into the bucket, and telling you everything you needed to know about the selected wines in a poorly lit room and a not so quality camera. Now lets fast-forward 9 years 10 months (publish date-publish date) to the last video I watched of his. This video was all about his book launch for #AskGaryVee, which is the fifth book he has published in 8 years. The book is almost entirely Q&A’s with some personal background and stories. Not the usual format for a novel, but when you think of Gary Vaynerchuk… normal doesn’t come to mind.
I only found out about Gary 4 months ago and to be completely honest, I have not read the entire book, #AskGaryVee. I am really not much of a reader. However, I have read a decent portion of it (specific chapters assigned for homework) and I have used the index to go to specific pages that discuss topics I am interested in or want to learn more about. Keep reading to find out what those are, what I think about them, and some of what Gary has to say!
Snapchat
Do it for the snap! The social media platform I am most obsessed with at the moment is Snapchat. It is the first thing I check in the morning and the last thing I look at before bed. However, if you need to look at it from a business standpoint, Gary has got your back. He is fully aware that Snapchat attracts a younger audience and he believes you should use that to your advantage. If you are a professor who is out of touch with students and is “not jamming on Snapchat and the Insta, you’re making a huge mistake” (Vaynerchuk, Ch.3). In the book, he also suggests using the art tools to draw and add stickers, run contests, and to make sure your content suitable for the 13–35 demographic.
Who can sometimes take days getting an Insta pic ready to post because they want it to be perfectly edited and have a non-lame caption? Me, but I know I’m not alone. Instagram was my favorite social media platform until Snapchat came along, but I still couldn’t live without it. Lots of brands and individuals use Instagram, but Gary knows there are right and a wrong ways of doing it. Someone asked him, “How do you think overly edited photos and text overlays affect the authenticity of Instagram posts?” Basically, it depends on your goals and who your followers are. Gary used photography and inspirational accounts as examples. He believes if you are a photographer, you shouldn’t hide your work behind filters and text. You need to be able to show off what you can do. And if you run an inspirational page, overlaying quotes on top of images can create beautiful content. “At the end of the day, the audience will find your content, and if they like it, they’ll let you know” (Vaynerchuk, Ch.7).
I am not much of a Tweeter now and days, but back in high school I used it frequently. Of course I didn’t use it for anything important or useful, my tweets were more along the lines of “When I met you girl my heart went knock knock, now them butterflies in my stomach won’t stop stop –Justin Bieber” or “Homework is done, time the watch High School Musical!” I obviously didn’t take into consideration Gary’s advice for Twitter… listen, engage, create content. “Listening is easy… Engaging should be easy, too… like successful people do in every industry, put out that content” (Vaynerchuk, Ch.7) Find the people interested in what you are and listen to what they have to say. Then answer them, have a conversation. Finally, give them what they want.
My Facebook attendance is very sad. I go on maybe once a month and that is only to check my events for any party invites or to update my photo albums. My mother loves when I add pictures because she gets to share them all and show her friends. Between my mother and I, she is winning in the Facebook category of our lives according to Gary’s book. He mentions often that Facebook is very good for sharing, not only that, he states “Facebook is content awareness gold” (Vaynerchuk, Ch.7) Gary also points out that brands wanting to sell to 15 year old girls should probably not be using Facebook to do it. So, make sure the demographic you want to reach uses Facebook before you do.
YouTube
Oh YouTube… we go way back. I would just like to say I used to watch Justin Bieber sing in his bathroom way before he become famous. Anyways, I am featured in a few videos myself. During my freshmen year of High School my best friends created the Hay Jay Tay Show, which occasionally features Chay (me). If you want a good laugh go check it out… https://www.youtube.com/user/hayjaytayshow/featured. While writing #AskGaryVee, Gary has posted 157 videos on YouTube and has 630, 074 subscribers. I think it is safe to say he is somewhat of an expert on this social platform. Gary believes YouTube is extremely relevant and important, but may be seeing some competition from Facebook, which can be good and spark some updates for the Tube. As for content Gary states, “If you’re not making a good video, who cares if you distribute to a million people? Make interesting and engaging content that speaks to the people you are trying to sell to” (Vaynerchuk, Ch. 7).
There you have it! Snapchat is for my day-to-day activities, Instagram is for the highlights, Twitter is there for when I am bored, Facebook lets me know when the parties are, and YouTube is where I watch celebrity vlogs and cute kittens. If you want to learn more from Gary Vaynerchuk yourself, go get his book or download it from iBook’s like I did!
Reference
Vaynerchuk, Gary. #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur’s Take on Leadership, Social Media & Self-Awareness. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2016. Web.
