I was surfing through some Gary Vaynerchuk videos and stumbled across this post from March 28, 2008: Legacy Is Greater Than Currency.
The video basically breaks down Gary’s thought on Financial decisions compared to legacy and social decisions. I have been debating internally about the concept of personal branding in the social media marketing realm and this video hits it right on the nose.
As an entrepreneur (and I think I speak for most) a legacy concept is much more important than the financial return a business may bring you. Let’s face it… the first five years of owning a company is pretty much scraping, unless you are a Mark Z, the creator of Facebook.
In the world of social media it is far more important to put emphasis on building your personal brand and personal equity than putting cash in your pocket. This has a lot to do with how you use social media. If you are a business owner and you are using social media as a marketing tool you CANNOT… let me repeat.
YOU CANNOT
Treat your friends and followers as financial equity. You will be eaten alive. I am saying this more towards the people who use Twitter Auto-Response or just write a blog for financial gain. Become a part of the community. Give back to the community. Join the race and enjoy the race.
In the end, you will find that will bring much more to your life than a new Infiniti or a Mercedes.
I am in business because I love what I do. I love everything about social media marketing and branding. If that means I need to make $20,000 a year for five years to truly build a company that helps people do what they love…
Sign me up.. over and over again.
Because in the end you will see far greater return in the long run both personally and professionally.
Related articles by Zemanta
- Mack Collier: Social Media Requires Time, Not Money
- Gary Vaynerchuk vs. Howard Stern
- Guardian column: Gary Vaynerchuk
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=1afbbb68-8291-4f56-9bee-3b0853d432ed)
Well said Kyle! I’m so glad to hear someone in business state this with such sincerity. It’s so obvious when people are invested in their business strictly for profit and not because of what they’re business is about.
Give without necessarily expecting or demanding anything in return! People will appreciate you and respect you for that tremendously!
Chris Brogan (in my opinion) is an excellent example of someone who does this well.
Amen Kyle. Get back to me.
[...] gain. Become a part of the community. Give back to the community. Join the race and enjoy the race.Kyle Lacy, Social Media – Indianapolis, Dec [...]
Kyle that video clip is awesome! I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, probably because I’ve already watched ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ twice. You don’t want to end up Mr. Potter. You’re much richer at the end of the day if you’re a George Bailey. This is important stuff, the kind of idea that will change the world if enough people believe in it deeply enough. Kudos to you for promoting it even more.
Great post!
I still find it amazing how we in the social media space inherently understand this so much better than perhaps average C-Level Marketing Exec.
Do what you love, love what you do! nice post and great equity
[...] our Social equity and being considered a trusted resource or point of reference is worth more to us than short term [...]
[...] our Social equity and being considered a trusted resource or point of reference is worth more to us than short term [...]