Gary Vaynerchuk talks promotion through social media and passion

Gary Vaynerchuk, author of “Crush It,” spoke to Texas State students on Wednesday as part of the university’s annual Mass Communication Week. Vaynerchuk discussed ways in which to promote a personal brand through social media.

He was able to revamp the wine industry by promoting it on social media networks. His wine website, Winelibrarytv.com, was launched in 1997, and Vaynerchuk has since been featured on Jimmy Falon, Conan O’Brien and Ellen (among many others). He has also been covered by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

It was very interesting to listen to Vaynerchuk speak because he was undoubtedly very passionate about his work, book, website and promotion through social media.

He explained that he had an entrepreneurial drive from the time he was very young.

“I was all about the lemonade stand,” said Vaynerchuk. “I had six locations.”

He re-iterated the importance of finding something you are passionate about and delivering your message to people, no matter what platform. He made it clear that the message you send and the way you engage in conversations with people will ultimately measure your success.

“Anybody who can paint me a picture, I’m interested in,” said Vaynerchuk. “It’s not about the tools that deliver [the message,] it’s about what you’re delivering.”

Vaynerchuk also talked about the importance of the internet as a platform we all have provided to us at no cost. We are all able to blog and tweet about things that we are passionate about and promote ourselves through social media by engaging in conversation with people who share common interests.

“The internet is the single most underrated thing in our society right now,” said Vaynerchuk.

I enjoyed this session because I liked that Vaynerchuk got back to the basic principles of what makes someone successful - hard work and dedication. At the end of the day, no matter what fancy software programs, social media outlets or innovative technology you used to get your story out there, those things must be secondary to the message itself.

For journalists, ultimately, people will recognize and appreciate a true story-teller before they get caught up in how you chose to tell the story.