The #1 Way to Build Your Brand in 2024!

Hey LinkedIn fam!

Of course, I couldn’t let September go without a new LinkedIn 360. For this month’s edition, we’ll explore what I believe to be the number one way to build a brand in 2024. With less than 100 days left in 2023, it’s the perfect time for all of you reading this to really dive into these tactics and get a headstart on the new year! We’ll also discuss operating with kindness and building strong company culture as a leader, aka why being a good human will always drive your business to the next level.?

I hope this one helps someone out there. As always, thanks for reading.

1. If you see a leader going kind when the going gets tough, you’ve got the right leader.

I often tell my friends with big potential that being kind is easy when it’s easy. Being kind when you’re under pressure is tough. This is especially true for those of you in leadership positions.

When you’re a leader – when you’re a CEO, a manager, a boss, a coach – you’re often putting out fires all day long. With that kind of pressure, it’s easy to blast off and curse people out when you’re feeling stressed. What shows real leadership, however, is having the strength to not lash out… and choosing to respond with compassion, empathy and kindness instead of reacting to negativity with more negativity.?

It takes internal strength to be the bigger man or woman and show kindness when things are tough, but it’s an important trait that can differentiate you from others.

2. How do you Maintain Company Culture?

The number one way to build a great culture is to spend one-on-one time with your employees. Why? – because A) you need to make them feel safe to tell you the truth of what’s going well and what’s not, and B) you need to figure out what makes them tick.?

Here’s how.?

Everyone reading this most likely wastes multiple hours every day on dumb stuff. If you, at your level, analyze your one-hour meetings and make a bunch of them into 30-minute meetings, you’ve just created two 15-minute slots to check in and really get to know two employees. That tactic — time allocation to make your employees feel safe to tell you the truth of what their ambitions are and what makes them tick — that’s the framework you need to create.?

You also need to understand that what an employee wants today may not be what they want in a year, or two years, or five years. A 25-year-old might want money right now, but at 32, seven years later, they may want to prioritize work-life balance because they just started a family. Your employees are human and human beings change, which is why it’s so important that you keep up with these conversations over time.

3. The biggest asset in the world is your mindset.

Whether you’re a boss, an entrepreneur, or an employee, this truth applies to you. If you’re not taking care of yourself, if your mind isn’t in a healthy place, then literally nothing else matters. So many are ready to invest in a business, invest in a project, but what about investing in yourself? I promise you.. Your wellbeing is the investment with the highest ROI possible.?

Take this message as your sign to lean in to whatever makes you feel good. If there’s something you’re dwelling on that’s holding you back, it’s time to let it go. If there’s poison inside you, get it out. It’s time to prioritize your biggest asset – you!

Let me tell you a story. When I was a young man marketing for my dad’s liquor and wine store, if you wanted to get people to know about you, you had to pay. You had to pay a newspaper to publish an ad, you had to pay a cable company to run your TV commercial, you had to pay for a billboard to show your website, you had to pay the direct mail company to make a flier and send it into people’s mailboxes so that they would see it. You had to pay.

Today, the attention of the world lives on the smartphone. The things that dominate on that phone are gaming, entertainment, and social networks. So many people complain that they’re not getting a lot of views on their videos on Instagram or TikTok or other platforms, but they’ve forgotten one very important thing: it’s still free.?

The social network revolution is insane because for the first time ever, it is free to build a brand. Yes, you might have expenses behind making the actual content, but posting and spreading awareness is free. Most people reading this right now do not produce enough content for how big the opportunity is for free attention through social media marketing. That is the biggest elephant in most rooms today. Yet, people will still complain and say, “Instagram shadowbanned me.” Nobody shadowbanned you, you just suck at social media.?

So, I’m writing this to drive the point home to you before the new year. Attention is the singular asset that will get you everything you want. You want to sell a course? Attention. You want to sell a t-shirt? Attention. You want to be the mayor of your town? Attention. You want to raise some money for your non-profit because you’re passionate about it? Attention. You want to be an actor? Attention.?

It is the only asset that everyone reading this must chase to produce what they want, and being unemotional about where that attention is located is very, very important. Too many of you have demonized platforms out of your subjective opinions. Maybe you had a bad experience with Instagram, or TikTok, or YouTube once upon a time, and now, you’re stuck in that mentality that it “doesn’t work.” I’m telling you, you must get over that hump. Once you get over the hump, once you sit and understand that everything you want to happen is about building brand and sales in social networks, then you’ll be on your way to where you want to be. The next step? Actually getting good at it.?

It’s like fitness, it’s not enough just to do the exercises or eat the food. You have to learn the best ways to workout, the best foods to eat – in other words, you need to have a smart strategy. The thing I spend all my time on today is figuring out the strategies on social media creative that are working or not working, so that I can leverage them to build my brand and grow my community across platforms… and you can do it too!

The number one asset for you, no matter what you do, is attention; right now, the attention of the world sits in mobile devices at scale on a handful of social platforms. Don’t let 2024 be another year that you underestimate social media for your brand or business.

Team GaryVee here ???

This month’s tactical tip comes from our Instagram squad!?

After weeks of testing content we learned that the best performing posts on Instagram were Carousel posts. Specifically Carousels posts that included a meme or graphic as a first image tile and a video as the next tile or tiles. Keeping in mind to both make the Tile 1 image relevant to the tile 2 video as well as continuing to still provide value in the content.

Here are a few examples of this positive, motivational style of content, all of which overperformed when posted at that Saturday morning slot:

This is just one example of how the team uses analytics and testing – to gain insights for Gary’s brand.?

Are you curious to learn more about Team Gary? Let us know your questions in the comments!

Highlighting some comments that caught my eye or that my team thought were noteworthy - appreciate all of the comments, DMs and interactions :)

For this month, loving Malbec! This stunning example earned a huge 94 Point score and with a price tag of under $20, it drinks more like a red wine that should cost two times the price!

• VeeCon 2024 is coming to LA, August 9th-11th!! See here for full details on the world’s biggest super-conference built for the NOW at the intersection of business, marketing, innovation, technology, and popular culture. Watch my announcement video here .
• Stunned to announce my VeeFriends / Masters of the Universe The Skilled Skeleton / Skeletor 2 pack collectible toy that's coming out Oct 6th! If you’re over 40, then you know what this means .. I am blown away and excited!!! Share the news with a He-Man fan and leave a comment with what's your favorite MOTU character !!! Full info on the collab here .
• Are you a business owner with a physical store location? Let’s team up! Learn more about the VeeFriends Vending opportunity here .?
• Watch my most recent DailyVee, episode 657, here !
• Watch the latest episode of Trash Talk, episode 10, here !
• I’m back with an all new Tea with GaryVee! Check out episode 059 here !
• If you're a small business, 2023 is the year to get yourself a modern marketing plan! Check out my article for more details on why now is the time for all small businesses .
• The VaynerX world is hiring creative talent from all over the world! Would love to have you or a friend join the crew. Click here to apply!
• Join me and the VeeFriends community in the Discord group .
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