It’s the Message – Not the Medium
I’ve been attending quite a few great webinars lately – but none of them really gave me a jolt of life and inspiration like the one I attended on Tuesday presented by HubSpot that featured Gary Vaynerchuk, author of Crush It! and host of Wine Library TV – a vlog (video blog) all about one of my favorite topics, wine (I’ve created a Facebook group dedicated to that very topic!). Maybe it was the copious amounts of Starbucks bold coffee coursing through my veins, but a major fire was lit under me as I listened to Gary’s discussion about infusing passion into storytelling and interacting with customers to create dialogue and cultivate relationships.
You might be wondering how a guy who blogs about wine has earned the reputation as a best-selling author, social media guru and in-demand speaker. To anyone who attended, it was probably obvious: Gary is absolutely passionate about everything he does. He lives, breathes and drinks(!) what he loves.
Many of us within our respective organizations are diligently working on creating and nurturing authentic relationships with customers, prospects and peers. One really powerful theme that Gary reinforced was that the medium isn’t what’s most important – it’s the story, the message and the content that engages people. The medium is just the vehicle. So, as someone who works in a company that offers the “medium”, how did I take the message? I thought it was PHENOMENAL – and spot on.
The businesses and organizations that will survive and flourish in any economy are looking for ways to tell their stories, find their audience(s) and create a true and authentic connection; to be a resource and a go-to team for the customers they serve – or hope to serve. They’re out there connecting with people, finding better ways to serve customers’ needs and providing resources. Whether you’re utilizing the host of social networking venues, creating valuable web content and inspiring videos or whatever it is that you rely on to communicate with your audience/end user, it’s your story, your message that makes it personal and memorable. Be inspiring. Be authentic. But more importantly, be you.
Very good Missy and right on!! I have really been digging in to the Social Media phenomenon and I believe it is here to stay. Anyone who thinks its a trend that will only last a short while – is going to be left in the dust.
We should meet for lunch sometime and talk about getting a TweetUp together. There are not that many people Twittering in the Michiana area. How about you?
Good article.
Thanks again, Cheryl. It’s an exciting time to be learning together, isn’t it? And I agree: this is not a trend, it’s here to stay. I have been thinking about trying to arrange a TweetUp as well – maybe we can work on it. We should definitely do lunch some time!
Excellent article Missy. Do you know if there is an archive to this webinar somewhere that I could check out? This movement in Social Media has really caught my interest and I’m trying to get more people in my own company involved. I agree with Cheryl that Social Media is certainly here to stay. I’ve been on Twitter for a few months now and just love it. But I’ve also noticed that there are not many “Tweeple” in the Michiana area. Since I work in Elkhart, It’s difficult for me to make it to any of the AMA luncheons. But if you do arrange a TweetUp in the evening, count me in! – @hhosterman.
Thanks Heather. There is an entire series presented by HubSpot in their “Inbound Marketing University”, where you can actually take an exam – which I am working on currently. Here’s a link to the classes/webinars: http://inboundmarketing.com/university/classes. The webinar I reference in the blog post is #15. Enjoy!