Two Kinds Of Marketing Gods: Grant Cardone Vs. Gary Vaynerchuk
If you have ever consumed any content on marketing on the internet, then you have probably come across one of these guys. They’re both wildly successful, everywhere from their respective channels, to social media, to business. They are forerunners in a new breed of digital businessmen.
Both…
Both came to the game with money. Not as much as they have now, but they still came with a nice little fall-back package.
Both sell marketing services to established companies and start-ups alike.
Both have their own video shows. Cardone has GCTV and Gary Vee has Ask Gary Vee and DailyVee.
Both put out content in multiple formats. They are both active on podcast, video, and blog mediums.
Both own it on social media. Gary’s social media is full of video clips, quotes superimposed over images of himself, and links to his other content. Cardone has links to his content, advertising for is workshops and conventions, and quotes over personal yachts and jets.
And here is where they branch off…
It is very clear to me what their priorities are as soon as I see their social accounts. And I see what kind of digital marketers they are.
Grant Cardone is all about making money. If you look at his GCTV blog, where he posts the articles of companies that pay him for influencer marketing, you’ll see a lot of half-assed, semi-helpful content with catchy titles and a million CTAs. It’s all about coercing the consumer into making the sale.
Grant Cardone’s sales funnel feels like someone is grabbing you, stuffing a bag over your head, and bodily carrying you to the final sale. It’s pushy and constant and you can’t consume his content without being constantly confronted by CTAs and sales pushes.
Gary Vee, on the other hand, has a website that pushes one thing, and one thing alone: content. It’s his own content, for one, as he hasn’t gotten into the influencer marketing of himself (as far as I know). And if you consume his content and social media platforms, you’ll see 95% honest advice and a tiny bit of personal selling (mostly his books).
Gary Vaynerchuk is very clear how his sales funnel works. He gives amazing, generous, insider advice completely for free. And people repay him by buying his media strategy services. His content speaks for itself. His sales funnel is like the sample tray at Costco, except he’s giving you the entire meal for free.
It’s all in the advice…
Both of these guys, as influencers, give a lot of advice to marketers, entrepreneurs, and other wannabe influencers.
Cardone pushes CTAs and pop-up subscription boxes. He says that if you are not hounding people to the point of cease-and-desist statements, you aren’t doing it right. He advocates constant content marketing, but believes it’s more about getting your name in people’s ear like an itch, with little stress on quality.
Gary Vee is all about providing value to your followers and content consumers. He says you have to give everything you have, without holding back or expecting a sale. He advocates aggressive content marketing, but only if you are adding something quality and important to the conversation.
Both are successful…
They both have found wild success, both with their personal brands and with their marketing companies. By some accounts, Grant Cardone’s net worth is much higher than Gary Vaynerchuk’s.
Gary Vee has 2.5 million likes on Facebook, 2.8 million followers on Instagram, and 1.6 million on Twitter.
Grant Cardone has 1.4 million likes on Facebook, 575k on Instagram, and 444k on Twitter.
But the truth is in the numbers…
High net worth, but low social media followers, despite obvious effort, shows an old-fashioned perspective when it comes to marketing. Entice them with something flashy, or an almost-advice, then hook them into the sale before giving them more.
Why do people follow, and keep following, one and not the other? Because one actually wants to help you. And the other wants to make money. So what happens? One helps people and the other just makes money. But the people that follow their advice? You can guess which ones find success and which just get frustrated that they spent so much money getting generic, minimally helpful advice.
What it comes down to…
Do you want to be someone who is known for giving 100% of themselves for the benefit of everyone else? Or do you want to be known as someone who is arrogant and pushy and just wants your money?
These are important questions because they will reflect in the kind of content you create. They will reflect in your reputation. And when you die, what will be left? Your bank account or your reputation?
