Free Assessment: How does your inbound marketing measure up?

Get Started
Close

Free Assessment:

How does your inbound marketing measure up?
Take this free, 5-minute assessment and learn what you can start doing today to boost traffic, leads, and sales.
Get Started
inbound-marketing-strategy-playbook-cover

Free Assessment:

How Gary Vee Builds Relationships on Social Media in a Thank You Economy

By Ramona Sukhraj

How Gary Vee Builds Relationships on Social Media in a Thank You Economy

gary-vaynerchuk2Social media has forever changed how businesses and consumers interact.

Every business in today’s market is trying to figure out how to best leverage it to attract loyal customers and keep their current customers for life.

However, despite the hundreds of resources readily available, social media is still of the major aspects of digital marketing that businesses struggle to understand.

In his follow-up to his first bestseller, Crush It!, Gary Vaynerchuk (affectionately known as Gary Vee) sets out to outline the different methods that brands are using to successfully build their social media following and earn customers for life with The Thank You Economy.

Consumers today want more than just a product or service, they want a relationship with the brands they do business with -- and if you plan on earning their loyalty, you better give it to them.

As always, in The Thank You Economy, Vaynerchuk delivers a message that’s passionate, but full of actionable advice.

Gary is the founder of VaynerMedia, a successful digital consulting agency, and a highly respected thought-leader when it comes to social media, so his books are undoubtedly must-reads on the subject.

Although I suggest reading the book for yourself to see all of the great examples he cites, I understand that you might not have time.

In this summary, I’m going to cover the major takeaway points from The Thank You Economy that you can use as the foundation for your brand’s social media strategy.

Why You Need to Build a Relationship With Your Persona

“People want to have close relationships with their brands. It still sounds a little weird today, but one day it won’t. The right time to start building those relationships is right now.” - Gary Vaynerchuk

It’s very rare for a company to exist as the only option in their industry.

Consumers have so many choices today it’s overwhelming. That’s one of the reasons why they want to form a relationship with your brand. An existing bond eliminates the hassle of having to make future decisions about where to get that product or service from.

People also like to think of the brands they do business with as a part of their identity; an extension of their personalities and beliefs.

For example, think about how people identify themselves as a Mac or PC person. It's not just a purchase decision, it's a sense of community and culture. 

In the past, it would be hard to imagine such a level intimacy between people and brands, but Thanks to the internet, the world is a much smaller place.

Online, we can communicate with each other in real-time from anywhere in the world. Whenever we like a brand’s page on Facebook, their posts show up in our newsfeed alongside pictures and updates from our closest friends and family members.

Never before have brands had the level of access to their customers and their networks that they have today. However, the brands that don’t truly appreciate this concept are the ones who don’t get the full benefit of social media.

Building a relationship with your persona takes more work and presents challenges that you could completely avoid if you “don’t feel like messing with social media” like older, stubborn marketers.

When your customers feel appreciated and see their purchases from you as a part of a more profound relationship (instead of just a transaction), they are more loyal and likely to be lifetime customers.

Considering the value of a lifetime customer, it’s well worth the extra effort required to build a relationship with your customers.

How to Bond with Your Persona Through Social Media

This is a process and it’s not as simple as do X and get Y in return.

One of the common criticisms of social media is that you can’t measure the ROI, but as Vaynerchuk argues, not being able to accurately measure the ROI isn’t a good enough reason to avoid social media.

"In the end, no matter what obstacles a company faces in the Thank You Economy, the solution will always be the same. Competitors are bigger? Out-care them. They’re cheaper? Out-care them. They’ve got celebrity status and you don’t? Out-care them. Social media gives you the tools to touch your consumer and create an emotion where before there might not have been one." - Gary Vaynerchuk

Relationship-building through social media is a long-term strategy that requires persistence and dedication. However, you’ll see results quicker when you do it right.

Here are some suggestions from Vaynerchuk:

  • Care
  • Don’t be afraid of change
  • Speak your persona’s language
  • Allow your customers to shape your brand, but not its direction
  • Build a sense of community around your brand
  • Send your followers back and forth between different social media platforms
  • Create marketing messages that target emotions and creative extremes
  • Social media should always be approached with good intentions -- quality over quantity
  • Use shock and awe to blow your personas’ minds and get them talking about your brand
  • If you’re small, act like you’re big, and if you’re big, act like you’re small

In addition to those tips, Vaynerchuk also provides common mistakes that you should avoid, such as:

  • Using random tactics without a clear strategy
  • Only using social media to put out fires
  • Using social media to brag or only talk about yourself
  • Using social media as a press release platform
  • Only publishing the material of others and never producing your own
  • Using social media exclusively to promote products
  • Expecting overnight results

Want More from Gary Vee?

In our full synopsis of The Thank You Economy, we'll drive into how Gary's approach to transparency, its importance, and how to incorporate it into your social strategy.

To view the full summary, click "continue reading" below. 

Free Assessment:

How does your inbound marketing measure up?
Take this free, 5-minute assessment and learn what you can start doing today to boost traffic, leads, and sales.

Topics:

Marketing Strategy
Published on October 26, 2015

Recent Articles

My Best Sales Reps Haven’t Hit Their Quotas All Year: What Do I Do?
June 7, 2023 • 4 min read
7 Must-have Word-of-Mouth Marketing Strategies [Infographic]
May 8, 2023 • 4 min read
What Small Business Leaders Need To Know to Thrive During a Recession
April 19, 2023 • 7 min read
5 Keys to Marketing Your Business During a Recession
April 17, 2023 • 5 min read
Should Your Demand Gen Strategy Change in a Slumping Economy?
April 12, 2023 • 5 min read
Demand Generation vs. Lead Generation: What’s the Difference?
April 10, 2023 • 5 min read
How a Lack of Sales and Leadership Buy-in Is Killing Marketing Morale Worldwide
March 6, 2023 • 5 min read
Website Conversions in 2023 — STOP, START, KEEP
January 25, 2023 • 5 min read
HubSpot Pricing: Your Guide to Everything HubSpot Costs for 2023
January 9, 2023 • 13 min read
Sales vs Marketing in 2023: What’s The Difference?
January 5, 2023 • 7 min read
How To Set Content Marketing Goals for Growth
December 29, 2022 • 6 min read
Should You Hire An Agency to Create Your Content?
December 12, 2022 • 4 min read
24 Essential Questions for Understanding Your Ideal Customer (+ Infographic)
December 1, 2022 • 5 min read
Take It From an Expert: You Probably Don’t Need a New Website
November 16, 2022 • 4 min read
Inbound Marketing Benefits Explained (Updated for 2023)
November 15, 2022 • 6 min read
Want to Win More and Improve Company Culture? Do More Role-playing
November 9, 2022 • 4 min read
4 Ways To Recession-proof Your Website In 2023
November 1, 2022 • 5 min read
Why Trust Is the True Currency for All Business
September 5, 2022 • 6 min read
The Big 5: Best Business Blog Topics to Drive Traffic, Leads, and Sales
August 29, 2022 • 10 min read
What is a Content Strategy? (Definition + Templates)
August 25, 2022 • 12 min read
10 Marketing Objective Examples To Guide and Focus Your Strategy
August 18, 2022 • 6 min read
What Marketers Need To Know About Switching to GA4 [Google Analytics 4]
July 30, 2022 • 5 min read
How To Inspire Your Marketing Team To Try New Ideas
July 25, 2022 • 5 min read
Do I Need To Invest in Marketing When My Business is Thriving? (+ Video)
July 21, 2022 • 7 min read
How Much Does It Cost To Become a World-class They Ask, You Answer Case Study?
July 16, 2022 • 12 min read