The Social Media T.K.O. Handbook

Gary's Pound for Pound Analysis of Social Media Marketing

It still surprises me that as someone who is really invested in marketing, I didn't have much in the ways of name recognition when it came to the man on the right here... Gary Vaynerchuk.

But in truth, I already knew all about him from friends who talked religiously about him and his story. I just didn't remember his name.


That is until I was tasked to write a book report for a Social Media Marketing class that I was enrolled in. I scrolled through the long list of books that the teacher recommended and I paused and looked at the cover of this book. It was noisy but also had the right magic of font, colours and feel. The book was Jab, Jab, Jab, RIGHT HOOK. It was by this guy, Gary Vaynerchuk and the Goodreads synopsis seemed like it would be a good read.

As I started to read the introduction, I realized, "I know this guy!" My friends had sent me countless videos of his speeches on work and hustle. I had heard all the praise in the world about this guy who took his family's wine business and turned it into something huge with the help of social media, particularly YouTube and Twitter.

So that got me excited that I had basically stumbled on to his work.

All that being said, what does it talk about and how does it hold up?

The Setup - Social Media On the Whole

Gary lives and breathes social media. But he works hard and hustles for it every day.

I think he says it best in the closing chapter (or round using his boxing analogies):

"Forget Mad Men, and fuck Don Draper. He lived in an easy world where nothing changed for thirty years, where you could spend your whole career working to figure out how the print and television markets worked. This world, the one you and I live in, evolves every second, every day."

 He is right and he reinforces this throughout the entire book. Everything changes, so you need to stay on top of things so that learning any new changes thrown at you isn't really that difficult.

He is clearly a man in the know when he was preaching the importance of mobile all the way back to 2013 when this book was published. Nowadays, we are still seeing people trying to drive home the importance mobile has in marketing.

Gary proposes we look at social media marketing in the lens of a boxing match. While at first I wasn't sure where exactly he was going with this, he reinforces it throughout the book and it is definitely a game changer in how I look at social media marketing.

Jabs. Right Hooks.

There is an important difference between the two.

Right hooks are the knockout punch. They are the sales pitches or requests for conversions that a lot of businesses use social media for.

Jabs are where Gary focuses most of his efforts in the book, but rightly so, since they are vital to landing the knockout hook. Jabs are the key to social media marketing. Jabs are the creation of micro-content; content that reaches your fans an beyond.

Jabs aren't necessarily going to win you the match. Sometimes they do and that is amazing if so.
But you throw jabs because they are less taxing on you while at the same time, softening up your competition to land the big hook.

Jabs are tremendously important. They are you ability to engage with your audience.

People get bored and annoyed with being sold to all the time and from every angle.

What Gary Vee teaches in this book is to jab to build a relationship with your audience. Make memorable moments. Let your fans interact with each other. Build a community.

Once you have accomplished this, when you throw right hooks, which could be your attempt to sell something, your audience will be more receptive to engaging and converting on it.

Get the Ring Side Highlights in this 3-Min Review

The Main Event - Using the Many Social Media Platforms Effectively

I would have been happy enough learning about the importance of creating micro-content. I was definitely more of a right hook user before.

But Gary Vee does not write a half-assed book!

He spent a lot of time breaking down the most important platforms and providing real world examples for each. I will examine 5 of the platforms he talks about in the book that are the most relevant today.

When I look over the notes I made while reading this book, the voice in my head sometimes just bursts out, "DUH! That's COMMON SENSE!!"

But really, that is not the case. For instance, let's look at Facebook.

We all know that Facebook has monetized. You can create ads or sponsor posts of content.

But it had never dawned on me that you should post your content, then see if it starts to get organic traffic from your fans. If you notice it does, SPONSOR IT. It is a free test to see if your content is any good.

Facebook will only show your content to about 3-5% of your fans, so most of them are not going to see everything you post. So if you create engaging and high quality content, the fans that do see it will interact with it. Once sponsored, it will go beyond them to other fans and to the outer reaches of Facebook to the demographics you have chosen to target. 

**And you better have targeted that ad! Blanket ads rarely speak to everyone so it is important to target**

Facebook is in it to make money, sure. BUT, they only do so by making their priority user experience, not convenience for marketers. It is vitally important to remember that.

Facebook like a BOSS! Check out some simple ways to improve your Facebook game. 

Twitter.

I wonder what Gary would say different now that Twitter has gone to 280 characters. Looking at Gary's Twitter handle it seems the extra character space hasn't changed his philosophy that less is more.

Gary, while providing full disclosure that he owns stock in the platform, says that he owes Twitter for part of his success.

This "cocktail party environment" is the only platform that content has less value than context.

This too was a revelation to me but yet it makes so much sense!

Twitter is about mood and trends in relation to the content. A simple witty remark or silly GIF (which when Gary wrote this book was something only really on Tumblr) can easily go viral and give you and your brand the type of engagement and visibility that nothing else could.

Content is still really important too! Twitter is a major source for breaking news. But, as I have come to learn from this book, they way you deliver your content matters over the quality. You may have the great piece of writing since The Master and Margarita but unless you have delivered your Tweet in an entertaining or enticing way, it will get lost - and very quickly!

In a similar light to promoting Facebook through stories that are doing well, Gary suggests promoting your content on twitter with trending hashtags. if you can find some meaningful or entertaining way to connect your brand or your content to a trend and promote it, you could very well see your content overindexed (a term I learned from this book meaning to do better than expected or than your normal content).

A consistent amount of engaging and exciting tweets (or in our case, jabs) creates the perfect relationship to eventually weave in calls to action that will be better received due to great brand perception.

Twitter like you are the CHAMP! Take Tips from Gary Vee and others to win Twitter Marketing.


Gary was once again going in the right direction when he wrote about Instagram.

This platform has exploded since the release of his book.

While it is still a consumption platform, it has stepped up in a big way. Instagram stories has brought
the short video fight to Snapchat's front door.

Instagram still performs amazingly as a jab platform. In my opinion, it is the ultimate jab platform.

It is still harder to throw jabs on there then most platforms, but as Gary mentions in the book, providing a link is still an effective (though not ideal) workaround.

Jab on Instagram like a PRO! Check out these tips to improve your content.


As for Pinterest, I really had not thought of it as a great marketing tool for most companies. However, after reading the entry on it, I think I have become a convert. Again, this has to do with jabbing and building community.

You don't have to pitch to be successful in social media. Getting people to like and interact with you is the best way for them to turn around and someday convert the way you want them to.

This is what Pinterest is all about. Especially now with the comment section, you can create a dialogue around the imagery you create and share. Every once in awhile you can link those images directly to buy pages. As Gary points out, conversion through Pinterest is pretty good since people who pin your product, often want it in the first place. For instance, Pinterest users are 79% more likely to buy your product that through Facebook.

Having a Pinterest page cannot really hurt you as long as you do it well. Feed the consumer's dreams. Make clever titles. Add prices when appropriate. Include links back to the relevant pages you want people to go to.

I am a convert!!

Peaked you interest?
Start Pinning Like a social media VETERAN! Infographics to help you pin like the best.


Lastly, we come to LinkedIn.

In the book LinkedIn actually follows a big chapter on Tumblr and is in a chapter about up-and-comers.

Well it is safe to say that LinkedIn has definitely up-and-come! It has emerged as a big player especially since it acquired tools like SlideShare and Lynda.com

It is interesting to note that Gary also saw this one coming. While LinkedIn would rather not call itself a social media platform, it most definitely has evolved into one.

The special features of LinkedIn however, is that it appeals to a lot of people who are still resistant to the other popular forms of social media. That is because this type of social platform allows you to professionally network and perhaps improve your career.

LinkedIn now has sponsored content as well, something that wasn't the case when Gary released his book. But if we use his same tips for Facebook and Twitter, you would have a pretty effective LinkedIn strategy as well. Find out what works with your audience organically, then promote it to the target professionals you want.

Another benefit of LinkedIn is that the audience is information hungry. So long form writing is back in vogue when it comes to content creation on this platform.

Be the LinkedIn People's Champion. LinkedIn like a Heavyweight with these tips!

The Knockout - Can You Ever Really "Finish" Talking About Social Media?

Social media changes all the time. While Jab, Jab, Jab, RIGHT HOOK is a fantastic book and resource for marketers and non-marketers alike, there are portions that are already out of date.

LinkedIn for instance is a huge player. Tumblr seems to be in a bit of a funk. Snapchat, which definitely grew since the book was published, is finding their own difficulties in the social media landscape.

But one of the most important takeaways in Gary's book is a point he reinforces many times.

"Content is king, Context is God, and then there is effort." 

He points to all businesses, large and small, that if you are passionate and dedicated to it, that is more important than the size of your budget.

I think this is vital for small businesses to know. Social media is a jungle that anyone can thrive in if they put the work in.

--

I loved this book and thank you for making it to the end! It's books like this that make you really excited to just open a social platform and dive in. Gary is entertaining while he is equally insightful.

I will definitely be looking into his other books. If you think this book interests you, start by checking your local bookstore (support the Mom & Pop Book Shops!) or if they don't have it, you can find it on Chapters Indigo or Amazon.

If you haven't already clicked the video link above, have a look now at my compressed take on this book!