I first heard about Gary a couple of years ago when I was starting out teaching my social media class. I have read both of his books (if you haven’t checked them out, you should!) – I recommend both “The Thank You Economy” and “Jab, Jab, Right Hook.” These are both good to not only include as part of your own social media library, but two you may want to add as readings for your social media classes.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bfN2npH2To[/youtube]
I think Gary is probably one of the most memorable (and energetic) social media professionals I have seen. He does a pretty good job in capturing the attention of the audience with his personality, energy, and insights. The one presentation I felt he really captured some of main trends that are happening right now in the field. His presentation showcases some of the challenges and opportunities pertaining to storytelling.
Plus, Gary emphasized the main asset of time, and how we have to be aware of this personally as well as for our audience and how this influences their behavior in terms of your audience. Understanding the analytics and data is also key – but what Gary does emphasize that I think it key is to have a strong understanding that each platform is different – different features, functions, and audiences at times. Some brands and professionals forget about this, so it was very refreshing to hear this.
What can professors learn from Gary? Lots of great tips – here are a few:
- Adapting presenting skills for practitioners and academics: Gary’s presentation style is energetic, outgoing, and memorable. Plus, you don’t see him relying too much on PowerPoint slides or reading from the screen – he makes eye contact with the audience and is able to read and understand his audience from the stage. Watching a few of his presentations would provide a good insight and tool to study in how to do an effective keynote presentation.
- Integrating personal brand across platforms: Gary writes books, does keynote presentations, hosts his own YouTube shows, and is actively engaged on social media. The way he presents himself online is a clear example of how to integrate your persona strategically across all platforms so they are aligned together.
- Being an explorer with all platforms, but understanding their place with audiences: Gary is everywhere and on so many different platforms. You can see he has his hand on the pulse of what is trending and what is going on in the field – professors can take this into consideration and see if they can adapt these practices to see how they can stay on top of trends and test/explore them out as well. As professors, we sometimes stay on maybe one or two platforms without exploring others. Platforms change, and if we are teaching social media, we have to understand the main platforms that are emerging.
In addition, I think Gary is doing something where most social media professionals are not doing – and that’s hosting a video show where he answers questions from his followers and fellow members of his community through tweets, comments, and even questions raised in videos posted on YouTube.
If you haven’t checked out #AskGaryVee, you may want to check out. His latest episode actually addressed a question pertaining to professors and how to convince them about the power of social media and why it’s important to use it. Here’s how Gary addressed this on his show during episode 20:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahfptYWAoKM#t=367[/youtube]
I am glad this question was raised – and I would like to share the fact that there are professors who are embracing social media in the classroom, and they are doing really well with this. I wrote a blog post and LinkedIn post on five professors who really are excelling in preparing their students and are embracing this to the fullest degree. I do think there is a growing shift in academia when it comes to social media – more professors and programs are embracing social media not only for classes, but they are embracing it themselves as professionals as well.
So, if I were to pose a question to Gary for #AskGaryVee, I would ask the following: What can professors who are embracing social media and emerging technologies to create a stronger bridge with professionals like yourself? How can we go from talking to the talk to walking the walk when it comes to really working together so we are all getting the most out of social media education and strategy? We are willing to not only start this conversation, but take actions to make these ideas come to life. All we have to do is start the conversation and let the story play out.
Overall, I do appreciate the information, insights, and perspectives Gary shares with the online community. He’s one I would recommend introducing students and colleagues to in social media classes. His blog and video series will be some recommended readings for my social media class this upcoming spring.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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