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During my time following Buffer Blog, I kept going back to one of our early lessons where we discussed how a social brand behaves.

RELEVANT, RESONANT and AUTHENTIC.

Instagram

After reading this post I scheduled the Instagram post below in the Buffer app. It was a quick and easy process and I will definitely be incorporating scheduled posts into my social media marketing strategy. I think it would help me save time and post more consistently.

I am really happy that I came across this blog. I learned some new things and reinforced information I already knew. The biggest thing I took away from the information they shared was when they talked about what content each platform should have. I found that extremely helpful and a good guide for what types of content to curate for each platform

And so in conclusion, the opportunity to follow Content Marketing Institute blog has opened my eyes to more possibilities...

I was certainly aware of the impact of content marketing for B2B - the IT and Information Services sector is no stranger to the concept of content marketing and its virtues for building a trusted advisor status with its clients and technology partners.

I was not however aware of how just how impactful content marketing can be when done well for small and new businesses as well.  The idea that you can build the following and the product can come later, is indeed interesting!

The basic principles and key learnings that CMI and their chief evangelist Joe Pulizzi consistently reinforce are summed up here: 

Content Marketing is part of overall marketing strategy and must be aligned with business and marketing objectives -  know the “why” before worrying about the “what”;

It is not the job of marketers to create more content and distribute it on ever more channels. It’s about creating the minimum amount of content with the maximum amount of behaviour change in our customers (Robert Rose);

You can deliver content in every channel on the face of the earth to dozens of audiences, but it will not work if it’s not relevant, not compelling, not differentiated and not consistent;

Find your “white space” - the goal is to provide the right content and right amount of content that makes you unique and allows your message to be heard above all the noise.

“The Thank You Economy is about something BIG”

Gary Vaynerchuk

Perhaps a little bit of a vague statement but after reading, analyzing, and seeing the social media landscape through Gary Vaynerchuks perspective and personal experiences I couldn’t help but feel more in-touch and connected to the social media world of consumer engagement. This book lays out and describes how just about any business or entrepreneur can implement these examples and approaches and begin to make a significant impact while becoming a real player within Vaynerchuks famously coined “Thank You Economy”.

I’ve been fascinated and curious about Vaynerchuk ever since watching youtube clips of him engaging with an audience while furiously speaking and discussing his relationships on twitter and how helping run his Dad’s liquor store many years ago helped him first have a grasp and understanding of what customer relationship management was all about and turned his passion of engagement and care via social media into perhaps the most prominent and influential voice in social/digital marketing today. From my account the core message or main takeaway Vaynerchuk communicates with the Thank You Economy is how companies and entrepreneurs must utilize the social media tools to their disposal to not simply sell or push their product towards the online consumer but rather create memorable engagement, communicate effectively, and build lasting memorable relationships that lead to word of mouth promotion and customers for life. The Thank You Economy is all about the long term commitment and equally long term pay-off in the investment of Social Media and how utilizing it effectively will have a positive impact on the competitive business landscape.

The Core Messages Vaynerchuk Touches on In The Thank You Economy:

CARE - Companies need to Care about their customers (It all goes back to human nature).

QUALITY - Quality Content in the Thank You Economy will win over your customers and have you on their minds.

NOW – Now is the time to utilize these tools, the fear of unknown ROI, unreliable metrics, the unproven youth of social media are ancient arguments already buried in Vaynerchuks world.

My Thoughts and Opinion:

Although I was engaged and intrigued from start to finish the book doesn’t necessarily present any mind-blowing or incredibly ground breaking discoveries that haven’t been touched on already. Vaynerchuk touches on some personal anecdotes and industry examples to echo his opinion on consumer engagement including the simple yet ever so important point of how taking care of your customers like your Grandparents did back in their generation running the local corner store will prove to be the deciding factor on winning over and keeping your customers trust. Click Here to hear his thoughts on implementing the practices of the old days into the social media landscape.

As entertaining and relevant as some of Vaynerchuks real world examples come across the main ideas are essentially the same – Customer Care is key (i.e Big companies treating their customers like the small shop owners of 50 years ago) and creating, harnessing, and building on customer relationships with quality interaction and content will build your online presence and have your efforts reach other consumers through word of mouth.

“It’s not the number of followers you have or “likes” you get, it’s the strength of the bond with your followers.”

Vaynerchuk

Vaynerchuk also reinforces and makes it clear to the reader that this approach to connecting and winning over consumers is here to stay shooting down previous notions and fears of social media engagement in chapter, three, Pg. 51 entitled “Why Smart People Dismiss Social Media, and Why They Shouldn’t”. After simply reading this title and touching on some of the 11 excuses companies once had regarding social media use and engagement it is refreshing to see how Vaynerchuk dispels some of the previous misunderstanding and criticisms which used to exist with some established companies.

Reinforcing many traditional yet timelessly effective business practices into a relatively new social media platform is what Gary Vaynerchuk is trying to get across with the Thank You Economy. For something so fresh and still being explored Vaynerchuk comes across like he’s been in the game for decades, a real seasoned veteran. This was my first exploration into Vaynerchuks social media world and it certainly won’t be the last, I do plan on investing more time and concentration into some of his other works whether it be his published books, youtube channels, twitter accounts, facbook promotions, or perhaps something new and unexpected right around the corner. Despite some of the core messages being repetitions of old day consumer care I would still recommend this book to anyone looking to brush-up on their social media approach, develop a new strategy, or like myself just get out of the dark and become engaged in the Thank You Economy.