Gary Vaynerchuk's Blog, page 50

Community Accomplishment: Using Only Snapchat to Sell Real Estate

I receive tons of messages every day about how many of you are taking my words to heart and applying it to your lives. It’s incredibly humbling when you can take my advice, put it into action against your business or career, and have great results follow. I love reading your notes on how you’ve crushed it and it’s all part of my plan to put myself out of business.

Ever since 2011, when I did a big keynote speech at the Re/Max annual convention, my real estate audience has been asking for more actionable marketing advice. Most recently, I gave a talk at Inman Connect 2016 to a large group of real estate industry professionals about the importance of using digital for their businesses. I’ve always felt a sort of kinship towards real estate agents because, to be great in that industry, you have to have some real entrepreneurial tendencies.

My favorite concept for marketing real estate is the idea of owning the story around the property, the lifestyle, and the locale. And, as I’ve said before in a previous article, there’s no better way than leveraging Snapchat to help you do it.

Recently I got in contact with Stephen Udoff, also known as “Sunset Steve,” who is a real estate agent in Los Angeles. Steve started taking my Snapchat marketing advice seriously and began implementing the tactics to market his real estate properties and brand. After being patient and consistent with his use of the platform, this summer, Steve was able to convert a lead only through Snapchat–he rented out an $80,000/month property in Malibu!

I was so excited to hear about Stephen’s success, that I had my team call him to get the details to share with you.

Check out our Q&A with Steve below:

Hey Steve, thanks for getting on a call with us. How did you first hear about Gary and when did you start using Snapchat for your business?

I heard about Gary about a year or two ago. I was reading his content about personal branding and sales on Facebook. Since then, I’ve been following along, listening, and reading his content. He’s taught me and some of my colleagues a lot about business and how to use Snapchat to build our brands.

Ever since Snapchat came out, I’ve been trying to use it to help build my brand as a realtor. I really think every real estate agent should be using Snapchat these days.

How did you get started? Was it easy to build your brand and an audience on Snapchat?

With Snapchat, I just started grassroots. I started with everyone I knew as a base and then tried to build from there. I snapped every day. I made sure to use it consistently to showcase the lifestyle that reflected my properties and the areas around them. Fortunately, I sell real estate in Malibu, so the homes and the lifestyle are in a higher price range (over $10 million). Because this area and these properties are nice to look at on their own, I think that has helped me grow my following even more.

Real estate and sunsets is how I brand myself on my other social media outlets as well. I’ve become the “real estate/sunset guy.” My Instagram is always sunset photos or real estate. Because my name is Steve, I’ve been using the hashtag #sunsetsteve.

So, Sunset Steve, while pictures of mansions on the beach probably get high view counts, how do you know people are interested in the properties? How are you using Snapchat to drive sales to potential buyers?

When I put up a $700-800K condo, say, in Brentwood, I’ll do a Snapchat Story of the kitchen, bathrooms, family room, and the pool in the complex. Once it’s out, I’ll get a lot of people saying that they didn’t know you could get a 3 bedroom in that location for that price. I get a lot of feedback and people asking for more details about the property or if they can email me about it. It’s how I know people are actually watching and engaging

What’s the general demographic of the people who are watching your snaps? Is your clientele usually older? Younger?

While I do a lot of high-end real estate in Malibu, I have a lot of young first-time homebuyers who live in Santa Monica and Westside in LA. They’re usually between 25-35 years old.

But, since I’ve been using Snapchat, I’ve been growing my following even into the 50+ year old range, as well as international home-buyers.

We’re super excited that Gary’s advice has been working so well for you. We’d love to hear about how you closed an $80K/month deal using only Snapchat. How did that come about?

I had a new listing that came on the market around three months ago on Carbon Beach, also known as “Billionaires Beach.” I listed it at $85,000/month as a summer rental.

Before I put it up as an open house, I did a “Snapchat walkthrough.” It’s like what Gary talked about in his article. I snapped the front door and what it’s like to walk through the kitchen, the family room, and outside to the beach. Then I showed the bathrooms, bedrooms, and finally the master bedroom.

Another agent,, who was planning to come look at the property, ended up previewing it with me because he loved the snaps. He had a client in Dallas who was looking for a summer rental, so he sent the Snapchat Story to her. The client immediately fell in love with the property. She rented it out for around $80K a month, sight unseen.

That’s awesome! So, the buyer didn’t come view the property at all?

It was all through Snapchat. The tenant never had to take a look at it in person. She said she got a “better feel” from watching the snaps than the photos online. She felt as if she was actually there walking into the house for her first time.

The pictures online were great as well, but Snapchat really sold it. This is one of the biggest deals I’ve done through Snapchat.

Before Snapchat, what did you use to market properties?

Other than photos, the number one tool agents really use is listing videos, usually posted on YouTube or Vimeo. Listing agents just used straight video to show their homes. That was the #1 tool and YouTube views mattered.

Real estate is a relationship business. So, emails, direct mail, phone calls, door knocking, fliers, Instagram, blogging, and Facebook are all tools.

Snapchat is just more ammunition to use in real estate marketing.

So, what do you like about Snapchat instead of using YouTube or Vimeo?

In order to do a full listing video on those platforms, you’re often dealing with another cameraman or crew who has their own vision and production is more costly.

What’s great about using Snapchat for real estate is that you are your own producer, director, and actor in your own tv show.

Snapchat gives a behind the scenes look at the house. It enables followers to see behind the scenes of an agent’s work, life, and previewing properties. I know a lot of agents find it daunting, but it’s definitely something I would suggest doing.

Since you started snapping, what have you learned in order to optimize reach and engagement? Do you have any other tips for other real estate agents trying to get on Snapchat?

As a realtor using Snapchat, it’s important to be careful what you choose to snap. It takes the agent to really know how to utilize Snapchat for their own benefit. You have to know how to showcase a house correctly. I try to snap three highlights for every property I show. Sometimes it includes the front door or main living room. For my area, the snaps always have the view of the beach and the master bedroom and bathroom. The followers don’t care about random small closets. I would focus on the most impressive aspects and adjust for each property.

And the sunset too, right?

Haha, yeah. I always get the sunset.

I used to show too much of the house. People click through their snaps so fast that they lose focus of what they are even looking at, so I try to do fewer, but more impressive shots.

I also found out that for videos that you want to change the direction you’re panning. Alternate from left to right, right to left, up and down when you’re snapping video. You have to be cautious of not making them all pan the same direction because people will feel like it’s going in a circle and they’ll get nauseous. Little adjustments.

To keep people engaged, I’ll also ask questions like, “Which bathroom do you like the best?” when I know I’m going to look at three or four different homes. I get a lot of responses and I always make sure to reply. I think it’s really important to respond and stay engaged.

What I love about Snapchat is that it’s so instant and immediate and I’m directly engaging with my audience who is following me for a reason.

Thanks so much for speaking with us, Steve, and sharing your story with Gary’s audience. We hope everyone who reads this interview can take a lot away from it. Okay, we have to ask one last question: Snapchat or Instagram Stories?

I’ve always loved Instagram because everything is saved there permanently. People can easily look me up on Instagram and see my other listings.

But, like Gary says, tech is always changing, so I’m testing. Lately, I’ve been focusing on creating different videos for Instagram Stories because I noticed people posting the same thing on both platforms. I’m going to reevaluate in 2-3 weeks and see what happens. I have more of an audience on Instagram so I’ve noticed a lot of views there.

I don’t know if I can solely rely on Snapchat videos, but it’s been been a great tool for showing houses, lifestyles, and the neighborhoods around them.

If you liked this interview and want more tips on using Snapchat for your business, check out my other posts here:

Tips on How to Get More Snapchat Followers
How the Real Estate Industry Can use Snapchat and Facebook Live Video for Sales
The Only Snapchat Hack You Need for Marketing
How to Create and Use Snapchat’s New Custom Geofilters
Video: How to Get More Snapchat Followers
#AskGaryVee: Fredrik Eklund, Real Estate Branding & Hudson Yards
#AskGaryVee: Luis Ortiz, Real Estate Lead Generation & First Jobs

 

The post Community Accomplishment: Using Only Snapchat to Sell Real Estate appeared first on GaryVaynerchuk.com.

The Value of Instagram Story Takeovers

Even though Instagram Stories have only been around for two weeks, you can already see Snapchat-like behaviors crossing over to Instagram. One of the most beneficial, from a marketing perspective, is account takeovers.

If you don’t know what a takeover is, it’s basically a collaboration where you and another user appear on each other’s stories. Unlike a collaboration on Snapchat (where you needed to actually log in to the other person’s account), all you have to do is send the host account a photo or 10-second video for them to upload themselves. These takeovers are not only fun, but are also a great example of a 50/50 value exchange—a partnership that’s mutually and equally beneficial.

Think about it this way: a takeover is the same as getting a cool guest on your podcast, YouTube show, or even posting a selfie with a celebrity. When someone with influence shows up in your domain, there’s innuendo for endorsement.

It’s the modern day equivalent of guest appearances on rap albums. If you’re an up-and-coming artist and Kanye West shows up one of your tracks, it’s viewed as a seal of approval from Kanye. For me, it would be like a New York Jets player showing up on my account. I couldn’t imagine being a 23-year old version of myself and have Keyshawn Johnson pop up on my Instagram stories to just say “What’s up?” Not only would it be insanely amazing for me, but it would also be cool for all of my buddies to see.

Whether you have an account as a business, an influencer, or just a personal account, all takeover collaborators win. For the person that’s hosting the takeover, it’s just really cool. You get someone who can bring additional value to your audience. Even if you’re just starting out on the platform, there’s a feeling that you’re being anointed by that person.

For the person doing the takeover, there’s also a high endorsement value. Takeovers are a backdoor approach to accessing new demographics. It’s easy because you can siphon off of an audience that another account has already built.

For example, if you’re a catering company and you have a friend that’s a wedding planner, you can show off your food styling on her account. All her potential clients (who you are probably also interested in your services) can see your work too. On the other side of that same coin, the people who follow her for her wedding planning tips get the added value of your expertise.

Instagram Story takeovers are a backdoor approach to accessing new demographics.

I’m excited to see where this takeover culture will take us. I can see a lot of friends doing it to each other because it’s fun. But, I can also see a lot of marketers taking advantage of this 50/50 value exchange because it’s an easy way to reach new audiences and increase brand awareness.

There’s a lot of value in doing takeovers. If I were running your business, I’d spend at least an hour a day collaborating on them. The opportunity reminds me a lot of the early days of Twitter when I spent hours building and engaging with my audience. It’s such great chance to easily delve into new demographics. I predict I’ll regret not doing even more of these.

Whether you jump on them now or later, I think that over time, some sort of meme will develop out of the “takeover culture” and it’ll get really big. Think “Smirnoff Icing”—somebody or some brand is going to create a viral meme like that, but done on Instagram Stories. Maybe it’s just running up to someone with your friends, scaring them, and running away. I don’t know what exactly, but it’s going to catch on.

If you decide to start doing Instagram Story takeovers, you should approach them from a Thank You Economy standpoint. There’s reasons to be excited about this whether you’re doing a takeover on an account that has millions of followers or even just a few. If it’s the right audience and you can provide value, depth is all that matters.

At it’s core, the behavior behind Instagram Story takeovers is about deepening relationships, gaining exposure, hacking distribution, and raising awareness. And, the reason why they work is because they are a true win-win situation. That’s why they’re great—it’s all about value exchange.

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My Two Cents on Instagram Stories and the Evolution of Social Platforms

Yesterday, Instagram, the Facebook-owned photo sharing app, released it’s latest platform update: Instagram Stories. It’s a new feature that allows you to share photos and videos with your followers in a manner that is incredibly similar to Snapchat. Like Snapchat, this content will disappear after 24 hours. While Snapchat offers customization tools like geofilters, stickers, and lenses, Instagram Stories is starting off simple by letting users add text, emojis, and drawings to their content.

As always, my thoughts are the same when any major platform makes changes, updates, or releases a new feature. It’s a wait and see, right? But this time, I can tell you now that this one is going to be a big deal.

I’ve already added content to my Instagram Story, and I can tell you that I’m already impressed with what the platform has done. I’m curious to watch people interact with this update and see what happens. It’s still early, but this addition is unexpected and exciting.

Here are my thoughts:

I think Instagram Stories is a very well made product. It’s very intuitive, even from my first go-around. I think that’s always important—having an intuitive product matters.

I’m fascinated by the UI (user interface) at the top where stories are located because I think it will motivate people to create more content. Currently, only five stories are shown before you have to start scrolling. I think once users figure out how the algorithm prioritize who’s shown first, people will try to gamify it. It has the potential to create a lot of activity early on.

Anybody who thinks this is going to kill Snapchat is completely out of their mind. It’s a “no chance” statement. Sure, this update will affect Snapchat, but it won’t be the end of it.

Anybody who thinks Instagram is going to kill Snapchat is completely out of their mind.

As with every major platform update, there is always doomsday talk about a feature “killing a platform” whether it’s their own or a competitor. The situation is comparable to when Instagram started doing short-form videos and how it took appeal from Vine—the first big player in short video content. While initially we’ll probably see some big behavioral shifts between Snapchat and Instagram users, Instagram won’t kill Snapchat because Snapchat acts like a media company—it has scale.

Plenty of users will remain on Snapchat simply because they want to maintain their audience, they have a preference for Snapchat’s UX (user experience), or they’re spiteful about Instagram Stories being a “copycat.” Snapchat has built a huge following and, while Instagram will probably take a bite out of it, Snapchat will still hold its own.

What Snapchat taught us is that there’s a place for “not-so-serious” content. I’ve always said that Instagram is a “museum”—a place for curated content that is meticulously created. For example, I’ve seen teenagers post pictures on Instagram and take them down if they don’t get enough engagement in the first several minutes.

Snapchat, however, acts like a conversation that is more fun and casual. Snapchat helped establish a new behavior that will allow Instagram influencers, content producers, media companies, and businesses to produce a lot more content without high barriers to entry. Instead of making each piece of content “perfect,” Instagram’s Stories update further lowers the bar for content creation.

Are you on IG Stories yet? … -@garyvee

As Andy K. on my team pointed out, Instagram and Snapchat went in reverse of each other. What he means is that Instagram started as a photo editing app where your followers could find your best photos. Snapchat, on the other hand, was unedited, raw, and “live.” Now, they’re moving in opposite directions with Snapchat adding their new Memories feature and Instagram adding 24-hour stories.

This is a big indicator of my belief: All platforms start off with a niche—some specialized feature. Then, they gain critical mass and becomes full CMSs (content management systems) that provide users with every option to create content. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why I’m so surprised Snapchat hasn’t allowed live-streaming video yet. (For any major social platform not to have live video capabilities is stunning and borderline silly.) I believe that eventually, snackable content, evergreen content, and live content will be the cost of entry for any major social network.

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Why Millions of Tweens Are Using Musical.ly… And Why It Matters

I’ve been talking about the musical.ly app for quite some time now and how I have been watching its progression. If you don’t know, musical.ly allows you to make short 15-second videos of yourself lip-syncing to popular music and audio bites. Think about it as a mashup of Vine, Snapchat, and DubSmash.

Check out this one I made with a guest on my shooooow.

If you are following what is happening with 7 to 16 year olds in America, this app has been steadily growing in popularity and it is not showing signs of slowing down. I believe it’s the only platform that has the potential to become the “next Snapchat”—a platform with incredible influence and the ability to keep relevant. I’m not saying that it will be the “next Snapchat,” I’m just that musical.ly may have similar staying power. It’s still extremely early.

If you take a look at the top app lists on the App Store or the Google Play store, there are a lot of apps out there and it’s very hard to cut through all the noise. Musical.ly has already achieved this feat by accomplishing two things: (1) winning the 13-18 year-old demo and (2) building a utility app that capitalizes on the desire to be creators.

1. Musical.ly Hits The Right Demo

Musical.ly is the first real social network that has reached an audience as young as first-graders. As cell phone, tablets, and other devices are being owned and used at younger and younger ages, reaching this demographic is going to become increasingly influential. Technology is beginning to skew younger and apps that can successfully capture this demo’s attention are going to pop.

Musical.ly’s success with younger audiences reminds me of Facebook and Snapchat. Facebook first started as a college-only platform and later gained popularity in other age groups. Recently, Snapchat has done something similar by starting with a younger demographic and then aging up.

Snapchat captured the tween and teenage audience because it understood two factors that are very important when it comes to teens: (1) it’s not cool to hang out at the same place as your mom and (2) you want to lock your room. Like Facebook, Snapchat’s app and strategies have started to smartly skew older and become more appealing to a much larger demo. I think musical.ly will do the same.

Think about when Facebook turned into “your mom’s” app. In some ways, musical.ly is making Snapchat “someone’s older brother’s app” and owning an even younger gateway.

2. Musical.ly is being used as a tool

I also attribute musical.ly’s success to being a utility app. Its situation is similar to how Instagram started as a tool before building itself up as a social platform.

Instagram’s value and strength was that it made everyone better photographers. It gave users the ability to take decent photographs with their mobile device, edit it, and share it with their friends. This brought in a strong user base and only then did it start becoming social. Instagram built something that was already useful, and then flipped it to create a social network underneath.

If you can understand this, you can see the potential for musical.ly. It is allowing a younger generation to generate content in ways that they would not be able to produce as easily on their own. It is democratizing content creation for young people by giving them the resources (i.e., filters, control over video speed, access to professional audio) to make fun and entertaining content. I may not be the best lip-syncer, but even I can create something fun to post on the platform.

Even I can make something funny on musical.ly.

I’ve seen musical.ly’s influence firsthand and I encourage you not to dismiss it as just a fad. Musical.ly has grown to more than 90 million users globally, up from 10 million last year. If you want to reach teenagers (and even younger demos) in America, there is no better way than using the platforms they use. Be a practitioner, learn the app, and understand its potential. Musical.ly has a ton of attention right now and if it can hold on and aged up, there is a real chance for them to stick around like Snapchat and Facebook.

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The Strategy Behind Snapchat’s Memories Update

With Snapchat’s latest update to add Memories to the platform, you’ll hear a lot of people saying things like “Snapchat has gotten away from what it was,” or “it’s over for Snapchat.” We’ve heard the same doomsday sentiments about other platforms over the years, so let me give you my two cents.

The Facts about Snapchat Memories

Snapchat, the platform most famous for its disappearing content, is shifting in a new direction with their new “Memories” feature. If you haven’t heard yet, Memories is a searchable and shareable archive of your favorite snaps and Stories. It will allow you to create new Stories by linking your older saved Stories and snaps, as well as the ability to send snaps from Memories directly. The search functionality will make it easy to find the moments you are looking for.

Aside from the ability to archive Stories and snaps for later use, Snapchat is making some key functionality changes with this Memories update. This is the first time Snapchat will allow the user to upload photos or videos created outside the app. You can select photos and videos from the phone’s camera roll, edit them in Snapchat with the doodle, text, sticker, emoji, and filter tools, and then post them to your Story.

However, Snapchat will be branding these Memories differently to distinguish them from other snaps. Any Memories uploads, whether originally from your camera roll or Snapchat, will include a timestamp and special border. This distinction will help preserve Snapchat’s real time integrity—a strategic move by the company to prevent abuse of these new features.

If you’re worried about someone logging in and seeing your most private saved moments, don’t be. Memories will include a password protected section within the app called “My Eyes Only” for those times when your phone gets passed around at a party.

Memories will be rolling out to Snapchatters over the next 30 days. You will receive a Chat directly from Snapchat when it will be ready for you to use.

My Two Cents on Snapchat’s Strategy

That’s the black and white of Snapchat Memories. Now, what does it mean? The idea that “Snapchat is over” or that any major platform is dead whenever it makes any change is ridiculous. The discussion around Snapchat’s update is the same as when Facebook was opened to people outside of the college demographic, or when they created the Timeline, or when any major platform introduces a new algorithm. Change is always fought at first.

Change is always fought at first.

What Memories signifies to me is another subtle move in Snapchat’s very smart strategy. Whether it was premeditated or reactionary, Snapchat started in a niche that it owned, scaled its user base, and now is becoming a complete distribution channel without restrictions. Snapchat is now the place where most of America’s (and soon to be most of the world’s) 18 to 35 year old attention is. Limiting content creation to what can only be created within the app doesn’t have as much upside as allowing people to upload pre-existing content. I bet that in 24 months, this update will be seen as a very smart move in Snapchat’s maturation into an even more influential platform.

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Nintendo’s Pokémon GO Wins with Technology and Nostalgia

Back in a February interview at 92Y, I said that I was very disappointed for Nintendo’s lack of effort to enter the mobile app world. With so many iconic characters and games, it made complete sense that they would want to play in the mobile space. I thought they were being romantic about console video games and that they could dominate the app market if they actually went for it.

In the last week, Nintendo went for it. Pokémon GO has been revolutionary by engaging users in real-life activities through AR (augmented reality) technology. They crushed it. Huge kudos to Nintendo.

I’m a big believer in nostalgic intellectual property. It is one of the most underrated value propositions in business and marketing. Nostalgic IP matters and it’s valuable and massively underpriced. While it’s not nostalgic for me personally, Pokémon just celebrated it’s 20th anniversary so you can easily see why it hits that 25 to 35-year-old demographic.

Pokémon GO plays off of nostalgia, which is a huge draw in app culture. It taps into emotions and storytelling that gives that brand a foot into the door of their consumers’ hearts. If I had created an app called “Creatures” with one hundred or so monsters to collect, it would only be 1/1000th as successful as Pokémon GO.

Nintendo’s success ladders back to my thesis in business (and in life) that you’re only as good as your last at bat. In my opinion, Nintendo didn’t do a good job over the last three to four years adjusting to the mobile environment. But, now they’ve just come out with one of the most significant apps in this space.

You can be doing everything wrong for quite a while and then you do something right and it changes your entire narrative. I love that. I love it in reverse too. I could make a slew of bad business decisions and come in last place. That’s the meritocracy of the game.

This is why you can’t get romantic about how you make your money. I thought Nintendo was being romantic about making proprietary consoles and games. I was convinced they put their heads in the sand about mobile technology while trying to figure out what their next step would be after the WiiU. I think too many of you out there act the same way when it comes to running your business. I implore you to really look at the actual marketplace and pay attention to what’s happening, even if it doesn’t seem to be in your best vested interest.

You can be doing everything wrong for a while and then do one thing right and it changes your entire narrative.

I think apps like Pokémon GO are examples of what we’ll be seeing more of in the future. Not only has it shown that there’s a willingness from consumers to use AR technology for gaming, but it’s affecting people’s’ behavior at scale. The app has made users physically leave their homes to seek out Pokémon in places they normally wouldn’t go (and eventually interact with other players outside of just the screen). This is very, very powerful.

If anything, tech like this proves that the mobile device has become the remote control to our lives. There are apps to control your television, your car, even the temperature of your home. It’s absolutely become the tool that everyone uses for utility and entertainment. One day we could be wearing smart contact lenses or be getting chips embedded into our brains. For now, these behaviors currently map back to the phone (and it might for the next decade), but who knows what will eventually replace it.

It’s impressive how successful Pokémon GO has been even though it’s only been out for less than a week. Its daily average usage is over 43 minutes—higher than Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Messenger. I can see people of all ages playing it on the streets and I hear my employees talking about it non-stop. I’m excited to see where they’ll be taking such rich IP and I’m proud of Nintendo for making such big moves.

If you don’t know about Pokémon GO, check out a description below.

What is Pokémon GO?

In the app, you create an avatar that is positioned according to your geolocation using your phone’s GPS. As you walk around in the real world, your avatar will too. You’ll see yourself on a map like you would on Google Maps. However, normal landmarks will be replaced by Pokéstops–locations that offer free items every 5 minutes as long as you’re in the vicinity. You’ll receive items to heal your Pokémon after a battle, Pokémon eggs that you can hatch by walking a certain distance, and most importantly, the Pokéballs you use to catch new Pokémon. You can encounter Pokémon almost anywhere, but they most prevalently show up in grassy areas like parks, which drives people into public spaces.

So what do you do with the Pokémon you collect? The more of one species that you get, the stronger that species will become. When you get to a certain level, you get to represent one of three teams: Red, Blue, and Yellow. These teams duke it out in a turf war trying to capture and hold Pokémon Gyms that are placed at bigger landmarks in the real world.

What’s interesting is that Pokémon GO has yet to feature any sort of in-app messaging or sharing features. However, it’s obvious that the app is successful in driving real-world interactions.

In the game, users can purchase Pokémon “lures” with real money. When activated at a Pokéstop, the landmark will show up with pink flower petals that signify to all trainers that more Pokémon will be lured to that area. Once it’s active, you can see the people flock that location. You’ve probably have already seen chalkboard signs outside of coffee shops advertising for users to stop in to catch whatever Pokémon may be available. I can see marketers finding ways to ruin this soon.

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A Letter to Dads Like Ours

Hey Dad,

It’s your Zunik. You know, it’s funny, I was just sitting and talking to my team about content and I said that I didn’t want to do a particular article because I didn’t “feel it.” Then the first thing that rushed into my brain and my heart was actually to write this letter because I guess I’m “feeling it.”

I’ve gotten some interesting comments from the Larry King interview that I did where people said, “You really gave your dad some good daps.” It’s funny, dad, as I sit here right now writing this letter (or at least memoing it cause that’s how I do it), I’ve been giving a lot of thought to life.

I don’t know if you heard, but I’m 40 now. My kids are getting older and I’m becoming a more experienced dad. This got me thinking about what we worked on together for 20 years, from 1992 to 2012. It wasn’t until the late 90s and early 2000s that I really started to get to know you.

I especially remember how intense it was to spend so much time with you while we were busy building a business.

In the 70s and 80s, we really didn’t get to know each other because you just worked so hard to support us. And I thank you for that dad. I thank you so much for your sacrifices. But I also know on some level, you love the work, because it’s your natural state to be an entrepreneur and build for yourself. I am built the same way. You love Wine Library. Heck, maybe even more than you love some family members. It almost seemed selfish.

But, it doesn’t take away from the fact that your hard work established the foundations for our family here in America. I remember when you told me about your great uncle who visited you in Russia from America in the early 70s. That’s what inspired you to emigrate at a time when many people (even though it should have been so obvious) didn’t want to take the risk and leave the Soviet Union. But you took it. And you made sure to bring the whole family, including your mom and your grandparents. You came to this country and you worked so damn hard for everyone.

You know, it’s funny, through all of our frictions from building the business, it’s always been super easy for me to focus on how different we are and all the things that we disagree on. It could be because I don’t see you every day like I used to or that I’m not at Wine Library day to day, but, over the last 24-36 months, I’ve noticed a trend. I’ve started to notice not how we’re different, but how we’re similar.

I always talk about how I wish there was content or DailyVee that documented what was going on when I was in my 20s and 30s. It would probably show that I believed I was 90% mom and 10% you. I truly thought that back then because I didn’t know you as well, dad. And to be honest, I didn’t know myself as well back then either.

Now in 2016, as I’m sitting here dictating this letter, it’s interesting to see how much more like you I am than I even realized. I think my hard work and my hustle is my separation from the marketplace and I know that’s a learned behavior by watching how you did it. Officially today, I feel like I might actually be 50/50 you and mom. Go figure.

I’m writing this because I want you to know how much you mean to me. Even though I spent my 20s and 30s focused on our differences, disagreements, and the things I was going to prove to you, I’ve realized now that was my own ego. I was so scared that my narrative would be that you were the only reason I was successful.

Even to this day, dad, I know you don’t read the comments on the Internet. (Thank God you don’t because it would be really scary to see what you would do if you community managed. I don’t think I’d have any fans left. You surely wouldn’t.) But you’d find it interesting how many people will say on YouTube “Don’t listen to this guy, his dad had a liquor store and that’s why he’s successful.” It was the biggest fear I had.

Now, as those negative comments are the far minority, I’m no longer afraid to be in the shadow of your success. In fact, I’ve become passionate about celebrating your legacy. I’ve realized what you built didn’t become the narrative of my accomplishments, but the context for how much you’ve helped me get there. I want you to know that now. Not when you’re 90, or 100, or 130, or on your deathbed. I want you to know how much you mean to me and how thankful I am and how much I have learned from the way you and mom navigated your lives.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I wish you the greatest Father’s Day today, tomorrow, the next day, and for the rest of your life. And I want you to know how huge of an impact you’ve made on me. Because we’re not with each other every day, I know you are probably starting to recognize how much I am able to accomplish on my own, with my DNA and skills, and how much it seems to separate us. In actuality, I’m finding myself pulling closer to all the things that you did, enabled, created, and taught me. It has been the foundation for my success.

So I thought it was a good time to say “Hey. I love you.”

The post A Letter to Dads Like Ours appeared first on GaryVaynerchuk.com.

My In-Depth Look at Emotional Intelligence

A lot of you out there have probably heard me rant about empathy and the difference between EQ or IQ. For those of you who are unfamiliar with when I say “EQ,” I’m talking about my emotional intelligence—the emotional intangibles: empathy, gratitude, and intuition. Some of you have even asked which is more important when running a business. Based on my content, most people probably think I’m going to say that EQ is the most important.

But, the real answer comes down to self-awareness. If you are a CEO or a leader or an operator, you need to be self-aware and double down on whichever one is your strength. For me, that’s EQ and I go all in on it.

I admit that I actually think I’m below average when it comes to IQ. By conventional standards, I’m not “smart.” I’m not well read. Heck, I don’t even like reading. Sometimes I wish my on-the-spot math skills were as good as my brother AJ’s. I was extremely bad at school and at a young age I recognized it wasn’t my strength.

None of that matters to me because I feel like I’m an all-time great when it comes to EQ. I’m so confident in my emotional abilities that I have included in my will that, if humans somehow ever find a way to measure EQ, I want to be dug up and tested. I think that I could be a baseline for understanding people with a high emotional intelligence. Outlandish, I know, but I truly believe I’m one of the greatest emotional beings out there.

I’m an all-time great when it comes to EQ.

However, for the time being, EQ isn’t quantifiable and that’s probably why it’s so hard to teach all of you how to be more empathetic or self-aware or grateful. Despite that, there’s no doubt about EQ’s potential and power in business.

Employing EQ has allowed me to set the foundations for multiple successful companies. For example, my EQ allowed me to give back to the community in a way that a lot of other business leaders don’t or can’t or don’t want to. This builds leverage with my consumers, whether they’re clients at VaynerMedia or someone buying a bottle of wine at Wine Library. It also allowed me to build a great company culture at VaynerMedia. EQ is my biggest strength and it’s something that I have bet on historically and will continue to when it comes to life and business.

To me, EQ is and was…

The intuition that people were going to spend all their time on mobile devices 4 years ago and never wavering on that thesis, even though a lot of people didn’t believe it yet
Knowing that if I spend enough time with this one employee, she’d break through from her negative upbringing and lack of self-esteem; she would become a great executive in my company instead of someone that I needed to fire
Understanding that people are going to try to leverage me to serve their best vested interests, but I know exactly what they are doing. I can appease them while also getting what I need out of the relationship. I’m playing the long game. I’m playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers
Knowing what people think of me and using that knowledge to understand them better. Are they going to assume that I’m an overly aggressive huckster because of a Facebook video or did they do the homework and realize that I provide valuable content for free
After our first date, knowing that I would marry my wife. (We got married within a year.)
Meeting Jerome Jarre for the first time and knowing that he was going to be famous on Vine
Meeting Mark Zuckerberg and, within four seconds, knowing he was going to be one of the greatest CEOs of this generation
Understanding, as a kid, that the internet was going to be a big thing even though at the time I had only spent 11 minutes on a computer. Ever.
Knowing that email marketing in 1997 was a good idea
Starting a YouTube show (Wine Library TV) less than a year after YouTube came out
Trying to become one of the greatest personalities on Twitter because I believed in the platform
Making an early investment in Snapchat years ago and waiting until it hit scale (now!) to tell all of you to use it

It’s the emotional intelligence, not the data—the information—that tells me what to do.

However, I recognize that not all of you are like me nor do I expect you to be. I know a lot of you out there are more IQ and that’s okay. I can picture a bunch of you out there sitting in your rooms by yourselves, running math, and data, and building tech, and that’s what you like. You’ll make tens of thousands or hundreds of millions and be happy about how you did it. That might be your strength, but it’s not mine. But, I hope the list above (even though it’s a few of my accomplishments) at least shows you how powerful EQ can be.

If you are a CEO or a leader or an operator, you need to be self-aware and double down on your strengths.

You have to be self-aware and bet on your strengths. Most people probably aren’t 90/10 or 80/20 like I am on EQ vs. IQ. The vast majority probably sit in the gamut of 70/30, 60/40, or 50/50. The big takeaway is to find out which one you are and how can you use that to set yourself up for success.

If you liked this article, check out Episode 94 of the #AskGaryVee Show:

The post My In-Depth Look at Emotional Intelligence appeared first on GaryVaynerchuk.com.

The Nuances of Negotiating

When I negotiate, whether it’s a new business deal or an employee’s salary, I am all about reaching a mutually beneficial agreement. As much as I always want to “win,” my goal is not to take everything I can get and milk the other side dry. I want both sides to leave feeling satisfied with the outcome. How do I achieve this? My best tactics are honesty, truth, and being empathetic. I need to find out what the other party wants to happen and for how much. If I can get them into a truthful place, it’s easy for everyone to win.

I am naturally a counterpuncher in both marketing and negotiating, so my first step is usually being very upfront. I say, “Look, as quickly as possible, I want you to trust me. Tell me what you want. What is in your vested interest?” It sounds aggressive, but I’m actually being extremely empathetic so that I can react to what they have to say.

Honesty is how I negotiate everything. It is important to lead with honesty so you can start to figure out what that person wants. When someone is negotiating with you, they usually aren’t inclined to be transparent about their actual goal. I want to make them feel comfortable so that they know I am looking out for both of our best interests.

Once I know what they want, I can use that information to build a relationship. For example, if you say, “Hey, I want to pay Vaynermedia $40k a month” and I want $40k a month, then we just saved a lot of time going back and forth. “Cool,” I’ll say, “let’s do it.” This type of speedy and straightforward negotiation allows us to build trust and a desire to do more business in the future.

An important consideration for me during negotiations is to make sure I draw a line in the sand before I begin making a deal. As much as I want to deliver on their wants, I need to stay firm about what I want out of the relationship. When I ask someone to “give me your best offer” and I can hit it, I’ll do it. But, if they then give me an offer that I can’t fulfill, I know I’ll have to say no and I can’t budge from that position. It’s all about being grounded in truths.

Business is all about being grounded in truths.

Sometimes those truths are about having the foresight to leave profit on the table to get the deal done quicker. I think too many people are overly aggressive and want to sell at a higher markup. For example, let’s say you have a piece of technology that you’re willing to sell for a $8,000 minimum. Too many of you are too are quick to say upfront that you want $12,000 instead of truly considering how much is it going to take to get this arrangement done. If someone offered me $7,500 (and if that makes sense from a financial or relationship perspective), I’d say done.

Speed is one pillar of negotiating that most people miss. I’m stunned by how many people want to nickel and dime until they get to their ideal arrangement, when it’s much easier and more efficient to let some of that money go upfront. Speeding up the process also allows you to close off the chance that the deal will break down because of variables that might get introduced at the time of the negotiation. It’s way better than continuing the discussion over minutiae and risk losing the deal altogether.

At this point in my career, I have the ability to show the other side that I do business based on providing lifetime value. In my experience, whether you’re negotiating with a new client or with someone you’ve known for years, being direct and honest has been the right way to go. They are qualities I respect in my employees and partners because it means we can get to a mutually beneficial agreement as fast as possible. Sometimes, it can even mean leaving money on the table. But, I’m okay with that because it’s all about the long game for me. Negotiation is all about speed, movement, trust, and building relationships. Negotiating is finding a way everyone can get on the same page.

Negotiation is all about speed, movement, trust, and building relationships.

If you liked this article, check out my answer on The #AskGaryVee Show: Can Negotiation Skills be Taught?

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Why Reading This Article Won’t Help You Be a Better Entrepreneur

I love that I have fans. I love that all of you consume my content and learn from me and get inspired. But the truth is, I don’t care about how many of you are subscribed to my YouTube channel or how many of you actually read these articles. That’s not the point of why I put out all this content.

The point, in all honesty, is that I want to leave an impact. I want the legacy of being an all time great businessman and inspire thousands of you to go out there and do the same. I want to kick your butt into gear. I want you to DO.

I’m not over the fact that everyone seems to have an insane lack of patience and a lack of understanding of what it takes to be successful. There are so many of you out there with the same exact questions about how to be an entrepreneur or how to run a successful business or how to do x, y, and z. And so many times I have given you the same answer: put out content; build a great product; test and try it all; use your data; use your intuition; test and learn, test and learn, test and learn. It takes time, talent, and skill.

However, what’s most frustrating is that I’m giving you so many of these answers yet most of you still aren’t actually doing it.

Have a great product and need to bring awareness to potential customers? You can do it through content marketing. You can do it through advertising. You can do it by going to the Chamber of Commerce. You can do it by cold calling every single business in town and getting their support. There are so many ways to do it.

But one way not to do it is by watching all my videos or reading Seth Godin’s books and just pondering and white-boarding all day about what your next move is going to be. Too many of you just read and consume and make pretend and talk about how “you’re gonna do this” or “you’re gonna do that.” Lack of action is not the way to do it.

Personally, when I have an idea, I execute on it right away. I like to constantly stay in motion. I’m always changing my products and changing my game. I’ll redo my pitch deck for VaynerMedia because I’ve got different ideas on how to sell it better. And if I don’t? Oh well. I don’t fear losing—I love to lose. I get over the fact that I might lose the micro-battle, because in the end, the fact that I did it is what’s going to get me to win the war.

I understand that I’m an extreme. I don’t read anything (which probably isn’t the best). But how many books from these “experts” do you need to read before you can actually do something? You can only read so much and at some point, you just have to do.

Stop being a student, and start being an entrepreneur.

I don’t care if you “like” or share this article. What I want you to do is actually take action and do something for yourself. There are so many of you who come up to me after a talk I’ve given and whisper in my ear: “You’ve changed my life.” That’s what I get off on and that’s what I want to see more of.

Need more of a push? Watch this 5-minute plea:

Now tell me: What are you going to do? I want to hear about it. –@garyvee

The post Why Reading This Article Won’t Help You Be a Better Entrepreneur appeared first on GaryVaynerchuk.com.