If you thought that the topic of personal branding was “overdone”, think again. Gary Vaynerchuk’s latest book Crushing It! is unique and refreshing as it highlights the stories of people who have found success after implementing Gary Vee’s principles and best practices. It’s a “fluff-free” book that has value from the very first sentence. If you’re not normally someone who highlights, adds sticky notes and/or writes in the margins – well… you may just start with this book.
Here are the three key lessons we took away:
There’s more than enough room for everyone to succeed on the internet
Many people are nervous about creating a presence on social media because they think they won’t stand out. However, the book reminds us that it’s not about how many other people are on social media, it’s about what unique value you bring to it. Besides, there’s way more people that are simply consuming and not documenting. According to Gary, you need to constantly be in “do” mode. Instead of focusing on “creating”, document your life to allow people to learn who you are and watch as you develop into who you want to become. Develop high-quality native microcontent that is unique to each platform and post multiple times a day. With confidence and consistency, you too can succeed on the internet.
Personal branding is not an option
If you’ve been on the fence about building a personal brand, it’s time for you to jump down because it’s quite clear that you no longer have a choice. Personal branding is an essential part of success in today’s society – whether you’re an entrepreneur or not. Start showing the world who you are, what you believe in and what value you bring to the table…and be smart and strategic about it! Gary outlines his personal brand content model which emphasizes creating one big piece of pillar content and then distributing it into smaller bits of content across all of your different social media accounts. Remember, you never want to be limited to just one platform or topic – constantly look for ways to create new successes so that you create a brand so powerful that it transcends platforms, products and even your passion. As Gary says, “the principles of personal branding are universal – the path is yours.”
Never stop networking
You can’t succeed alone and thankfully with social media and tons of conferences, there’s ample opportunities to network and make the connections you need to succeed. Gary is a huge advocate for sending direct messages (commonly referred to as DM’s) through Instagram in order to set up collaborations with other people. Search locations and top hashtags to investigate who would be a fit for your brand. Collaborations are also the best way to grow a fan base quickly! However, it’s also important to network offline and the best place to do this? Conferences! They offer unique business and networking opportunities that can boost your personal and business brand. In fact, there are at least four examples in the book of people that attended and benefitted from a particular speaker or people they networked with! Most conferences are quite pricey but if you attend the right one, it’s completely worth it!
