By Gary Vaynerchuk
Rating: 5/5
Three-Word Summary: Social media textbook
In the realm of social media, everyone wants to claim to be an expert, yet so few are.
Among this rabble of false-prophets, Gary Vaynerchuck is one of the few genuine articles. He’s one of the few that can actually claim to have measured success across social platforms on a consistent basis.
Best of all, he shares (some) of his hard-won knowledge in his latest book: Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.
As you can perhaps gather from the title, Gary V uses an extended metaphor throughout the book, comparing social media to boxing. It’s an apt comparison.
Both are grueling. Both are ever changing. Both require a combination of strategy and hard work to be successful.
At the center of his metaphor are the concept of jabs and right hooks. Jabs are shared pieces of content that matter to the audience. Right hooks are sales asks; content that matters to the brand.
According to Gary, a brand must pepper in a good deal of jabs aimed at the consumer before positioning themselves to be able to finally land a right hook. This means shifting focus from our desires to that of our audience, at least momentarily.
The structure of the book is broken down primarily by platform. He devotes in-depth chapters to five of the biggest social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr.
Best of all, Vaynerchuk provides dozens of both good and bad examples of real posts on each social platform. We get to see exactly what to do (or not to do) and why.
On the whole, the message is about being genuine and transparent on social. Brands should be interested in building real relationships with users online.
That is by far the best way to develop customer loyalty and set you up for a knock-out punch when it comes to delivering on a call to action.
The book and its writing is brief and to the point. It’s packed with information and insight. Even thought its already two years old, this remains one of the best resources on social media available today.