What I learned from "Day Trading Attention"

When Gary V writes about marketing, we should all be paying attention.

When it comes to building a brand, author and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk practices what he preaches. In addition to being an incredible marketer and operator, he has also earned himself a reputation as a forecaster of trends. So when I saw he launched a new book, I decided to give it a read. Or rather, a read and a listen. This is a rare book in that I found value consuming it in multiple mediums (for the off-scripts tangents in the audiobook, and visuals with QR codes in print).

Here are my takeaways from "Day Trading Attention: How to Actually Build Brand and Sales in the New Social Media World."

Supply and Demand in Social Media

New platforms initially have fewer content creators, making early attention more valuable. Over time, big businesses join and drive up advertising costs, making it harder for small businesses to compete.

Opportunities exist for small businesses to excel in social media on underutilized platforms. In other words, when a new social media platform emerges, get on it!

Strategic Content Creation

The better your content, the more a platform will continue to show it to others. As Gary states “Creative is the variable of success.” You should not throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. Rather, your content should be strategic and thoughtful.

Social media trends are moving towards following interests rather than individual personalities.

Content Creation and Analytics

Create content based on target audience interests.

Post organically (that is, not as a paid ad) on chosen platforms and then analyze performance metrics.

Refine future content based on insights.

Promote well-performing posts with paid advertising. This allows your marketing budget to go further because you have evidence that the particular piece of content will perform well.

Consumer Cohorts and Platform Research

I don’t think the author talked about avatars at all in the book. Marketing wisdom for years has said to create an avatar and to create content as though you are writing to that one person. This idea has often frustrated me as a business owner who serves a variety of clients.

Instead, Gary focused on “cohorts”. He suggested that businesses identify different consumer groups for whom they can tailor relevant advertising. They should be very specific and delve into psychographics, not just demographics. You can and should have multiple cohorts.

What should you do once you have defined your cohorts?

Research platform-specific content types, hashtags, formats, and styles used by your cohorts.

Observe platform-specific performance trends.

Use common titles or audio trends for better engagement.

Create content for specific cohorts by incorporating the various trends you have observed so that content feels relevant to them.

Consumer Behavior

Analyze comments to understand consumer behavior across cohorts.
Use insights from comments to refine content for the actual audience.
Consider the user's mindset: professional on LinkedIn, entertainment-seeking on TikTok.
Pay attention to signals like consumer behavior, celebrity actions, influencer activities, news articles, emerging trends, and debate-sparking content.

Platform Prompts and New Features

Pay attention to platform prompts for new features or formats because platforms may reward users who adopt new features with increased reach and awareness. For example, if Instagram suggests you use a new template, you might want to do so because it may be pushed to more people.

TikTok Tips

Consider a “duet” with the other users’ videos as a greenscreen (background) so you can talk over or alongside the video. You can also use the greenscreen feature to post an image as your background and then comment on news articles and academic studies.

LinkedIn Tips

Utilize suggested searches and the News section to identify trending topics in your field.

Conclusion

Admittedly, this summary will not mean too much if you have not read the book or given it a listen. The book is filled with practical (and visual) examples that illustrate the tips above and is therefore worth reviewing directly. To reduce overwhelm, you may want to start by reading only about the social media platforms that you use and tuning out the ones you don't... Before you know it, the tides will turn and we will all have to learn how to use the next big thing anyway!

Categories: : Book Recommendation, Business