Gary Vaynerchuk

I’m at the New Media Expo in Las Vegas, attending on behalf of my corporate day job. I’ll be passing along some thoughts on the events and sessions I attend as I look to gain some new insight for my work back in cubicle land. I’m also sending real-time Tweets on my Twitter page.

The conference kicked off this morning with Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV fame.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

-”We’re in the gold rush of personal brands” – Meaning, now is the time to be engaged in building content for a brand, using social media to make it happen. Gary said “99% of people haven’t even heard of Twitter.” Marketing through social media is far from “over” it’s just getting started. Gary said the people who establish themselves in their niches are going to win.

-”If it’s not in your DNA, you won’t be able to execute it.” If you don’t write, shoot, blog, etc… what you are passionate about it won’t work.

-”Become part of the conversation in a big way.” Post comments to blogs on the topics your brand is about. But don’t link back to your url, just to try to force a link. Just get yourself out there. Everywhere. Facebook, Twitter, etc…

-”Legacy is better than currency.” Don’t go for “a quick score.” Any success you get is “better than zero.” Just get out there and build your audience. It’s about steady growth, not about being viral.

-”Be patient.” He stressed this several times and it is something I think is hard for many people in social media to do. We all want success to come fast, whether it’s your corporate blog or podcast or a singular YouTube video.

-”Be thankful.” Gary said it’s so important to answer every email from your readers, commenters and viewers. Be thankful they are paying attention to you and your “fanbase” will grow steadily.

Great start to the conference. Headed to the first seminar.