Why You Absolutely Have to Pay Attention to Gary Vaynerchuk

99% of all US companies that are selling business to business have no idea just how much media matters.  Now truth be told I just pulled that number out of the air, could be lower than that for all I know.  But I see it every single day.  Marketing leaders invest in technology and content, but the most they do with it is play around the edges of what they believe are critical metrics.  And let’s be clear the metrics matter, so this is not to suggest that the metrics aren’t important.  But unfortunately, that is the only thing that drives media use.  

What many leaders miss is that there is so much more to be had from understanding media.  Hidden in the mastery over where media is today and where it is headed is the raw material for radical transformation.  DNA altering energy that catapults brand, pumps up the workforce, improves products, and generates intimate and meaningful opportunities to serve those you seek to serve. 

How do you unlock this mystery of something that you sincerely believe you understand but, in reality, have absolutely no clue about?  You commit yourself to a daily diet of wisdom from Gary Vaynerchuk. 

I’m not going to waste words telling you who he is.  Google him you’ll find out.  And if you aren’t motivated to google him this 2014 article from Forbes offers a good glimpse into the man.

Need to be convinced?  Consider this breakdown of episode 18 of his daily video blog, The DailyVee.  The episodes condense an entire business day for Gary into about 14 minutes.  There is literally a semester’s worth of MBA level media education packed in these 14 minutes.

0:00 – 1:00 Absolutely NO EXCUSE Not To Communicate:

The episode opens up with Gary on the way to a radio interview, and his video director DRock beautifully intersperses a meeting Gary had before the radio program, and a phone call right before the program starts.  It is crystal clear what is important here, Gary is opening up his day plugging his up coming book, #AskGaryVee, on a radio show.  That is the morning’s priority but not at the expense of anything else he has going on.  The takeaway here is that Gary fits it all in, with absolutely no exception.  The story matters very much to him, and he’ll do whatever he has to to get the story out there.  Most business to business companies don’t even know they have a story. 

1:08 – 3:00 Transparency in All Things Makes You Bigger Than Kanye

The next two minutes we find Gary and presumably two of his employees in the green room of media personality Sway Calloway’s SirrusXM radio network.  It is two minutes of small talk here where the three chat about the Tom Hank’s movie That Thing You Do.  But we also find out that Gary has more Soundcloud subscribers than Kanye West.  The takeaway for leaders here is that transparency isn’t just a buzzword to make you and your company feel good about how you are communicating with your customers, it is a tangible asset that breaths life into the personality of your brand.  Should you throw caution to the wind and document every move like Gary?  Probably not, but you shouldn’t be frozen in fear of what transparency will mean to your company.   

3:01 – 5:07 Media Currency Travles Far

Here we find out how Gary came to be on the Sway in the Morning show, a  radio program targeted towards a young African American audience.  The woman who seems to be the show’s producer is a Gary Vee fan.  She’s not met him in person before, but she is thrilled to have him on the show.  We also get a glimpse of the show as well (you see the entire Sway in the Morning Segment here), and the host is clearly impressed with what she’s learned about Gary, but it is also evident she’s learned about him through her diligent show prep.  The takeaway here?  There probably isn’t a PR firm in the entire world that would have sought to book Gary on the Sway in the Morning show.  So guess what?  You are wasting PR dollars if you are not fueling the PR effort with thought that creates fans.

5:07 – 7:08 Humility is Leadership

After the show we see Gary taking selfies with some of the people from the show, and he runs into a guy he knew from another time when he was doing regular spots on another radio program in the same building.  On the car ride back to his office he hits up his social feeds as casually as you and I would over a weekend.  The segment ends with a fan of his recognizing him on the street and asking for a selfie.  Gary obliges and is clearly humbled by the exchange.  The takeaway?  It is humility that drives great leaders, and media participation will force you to up your humility game.

7:12 – 14:09 The Road Less Traveled

Back at the office, we see regular day type stuff.  Approval of content design here, office banter when a would-be client is late there, and finally, what seems to be a client pitch where Gary is making the case for moving more advertising spend away from traditional media and towards social.  Perhaps the most tangible reminder of why we need to better understand media, our advertising dollars go much further on certain platforms.  The small shifts make a big impact, and over time change our entire game.  If we aren’t wading into the unknown territory, we’ll sadly never know what might have been.

14:10 – 18:30 Never Get Tired of Your Story

It is evening and Gary is at Dior in New York City speaking to a small gathering of what appears to be Dior employees.  He is telling a story that his fans recognize from his book Jab Jab Jab Right hook.  He’s told the story hundreds of times, yet here is telling it for what seems like the first time.  The takeaway.  Preach it.  Preach it like it is the first time you preached it.  Never get tired of preaching it.

20:12 – 21:05 – 99% Don’t Get It

It is now 9:00 at night and Gary is on what appears to be another interview, this one over the phone.  He is obviously a little more tired than he was on the Sway in the Morning show earlier in the day.  He’s asked a question about storytelling, and he seems to lean back on his strength and provide an answer that is not as creative as we might expect, but incredibly valuable.  He suggests that we need to tell the story that our audience wants to hear, is ready to hear, but tell it in a way that isn’t pandering nor manipulating.  We must tell authentic stories. 

99% of the storytellers are simply not doing this.

Don’t be the 99%.

Start tuning into Gary Vaynerchuk.  Then get busy building your mastery over the media that matters most to your business.

photo credit: DRock and Vaynermedia