Last week I went to Gary Vaynerchuk’s book launch of #AskGaryVee in London and he didn’t disappoint, providing a brutal serving of truth about marketing but also entrepreneurship and running a business. Having watched episodes of the #AskGaryVee show I’m really looking forward to reading the book and will be sure to post a review on the blog.
If you haven’t yet cottoned on to what has now become GaryVee mania compared to when I first heard of him in 2013, here’s what you need to know:
1. He’s a potty mouth – a loud, brash, call you a d*ck if he doesn’t like what he hears, potty mouth. If you’re someone who likes sugar-coated truths you’re probably not going to like his style so you’ve been warned. However, he’s self-assured (some say he’s egotistical) and frankly why not? He has the business success to back it up and the foresight to invest in the key social media platforms including Twitter, Snapchat and also companies such as Uber and Birchbox. As someone who’ll always prefer to be slapped by the honest truth than kissed with a lie – this profanity doesn’t offend me, just tickles me more and makes the sometimes drab world of marketing far more lively and energetic!
2. His work ethic is off. the. charts – he’s a machine, jeez I’m exhausted just watching his DailyVee shows which charts a day in his life. Now he doesn’t hide the fact that his work/life balance isn’t everyone’s choice, (honestly I’d personally go stir crazy living that life), but then again not everyone’s life goals are to buy the New York Jets (his main mission) so of course his ‘hustle’ is greater! The plain truth (for us mere mortals of normal energy levels) is that success is not easy – it takes hard work and just because you’ve got your own business, doesn’t mean you’re entitled to success – far from it!
3. He’s all about the long game – it’s always great to find someone in business/marketing that believes the carrot and stick approach is unproductive in building brand equity and long term loyalty and success. Instead you need a human approach to your business and it’s about building relationships and growing with your audience and communicating with them (not shouting at them) with content and on the platform that matters to them. We have shiny object syndrome, both as consumers and marketers. In business and the game of social media, we’re ranking our success on self-gratifying number of likes, number of shares which doesn’t show the full picture such as depth of interaction or value provided.
4. He thinks marketers ruin everything – one of my favourite lines from his keynote speeches but not quite a Bill Hicks style rant. As soon as something becomes interesting (for example social media), marketers try and utilise it then strangle the joy out of it by trying to monetise it…..so we the customer move to the next platform.
5. He provides value from a good place, the heart – his content, and we’re talking truck loads – is free! His #AskGaryVee shows, the DailyVee vlogs, his social media content – he’s creating his legacy online yes, but listening and responding to questions asked by his audience so it’s of value and appreciated. He’s also providing great lessons and insights from his experience, plus he’s not afraid to share his mistakes or regrets.
Interestingly, as this last book launch event reached what some called hysteria mode (200 plus #Vaynernation entrepreneurs turned up at a cold London street corner at 10.30pm for an impromptu meet up), I’ve also been reading a few blogs of people who aren’t fans. They have their views and I respect that. There are things he says that even I don’t agree with *gasps* but that\’s because it\’s not right for me and my reality. However, it’s rare for me to find someone in this industry whose human approach in business and marketing I not only recognise, appreciate but also highly value. He is a successful working example who I happily reference and recommend a great deal in training or whilst speaking to colleagues and clients.
I for one am really looking forward to VaynerMedia opening in London on April 1st, especially as someone who despairs of out-dated agency mentality when it comes to building relationships with the customer, your employees and your influencers. For the bigger marketing world to change its approach, deliver value and work with integrity hopefully the rising tide of Vaynermedia’s arrival will help carry other agency ships to a better place with a brash, loud-mouthed (but extremely generous) GaryVee and his team at the helm.
As well as #AskGaryVee and DailyVee Shows which you can subscribe to on YouTube here are some of my favourite talks you might like to watch:-
- How To Storytell In A Fast Paced World – being a human in today\’s marketing communications world
- Keynote 500Inc
- Start Up Grind LA 2015 – talk about entrepreneurship
- USC Entrepreneur Talk 2015
- Online Marketing Rockstars
Also check out his books (I personally prefer his audio books)
- Thank You Economy
- Crush It
- Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook
- #AskGaryVee
Hope you find the links of value and if anyone\’s read the books and has a favourite, or watched any of the above or can recommend any others please feel free to comment below.