“All Companies are Media Companies”

If there is one phrase that sums up the collective approach of Gary Vaynerchuck’s book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right hook (JJJRH) it is the title of chapter 10. While Gary spends most of the book walking the reader through strategies to effectively market a brand, using platforms that already exist. The underlying theme though, emphasizes staying relevant and authentic. He challenges the reader to look into the future and adapt to our changing social landscape on a moment’s notice.

“Change”

Before I delve deeper let me put a few things into context for you so you’re aware of the biases, shortcomings and ideals that are influencing my views on this book. First and foremost I love change. I like being challenged, uncomfortable and even frustrated. I firmly believe in learning through experiences and that means throwing myself into the midst of conflict and change regularly.

Knowing that, and that I work for a small company who is slowly sticking our toe into the ocean of social media, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that I’m a fan of this book.

If you were to take account of the books in my personal library (a small collection) you’d be hard pressed to find a work of fiction. From my later teen years through my entire adult life, fiction has held no charms for me. Memoirs, military studies, theological assessments and bibles dominate the only bookshelf in our home. I have on occasion picked though a self help book, or a “Top Ten Ways To Improve ‘X’…” I also have a small pile of old college text books in a box buried in a closet somewhere…

“Where does it fall?”

As I browse my own collection and mentally walk the halls of libraries I’ve spent time in, I find it somewhat difficult to classify JJJRH. The book reads like an opinion column in the local paper. The chapters are divided by theme like my old psychology text book, and the real world case studies are picked apart like a historical assessment of military action. This description may give the impression of disorganization or chaos, but the flow isn’t disrupted. Each chapter addresses a new platform or concept accompanied by real world examples.

As I made my way through each chapter I took a day or two to reflect before moving on. In all reality Gary could have published each chapter as an individual class/pamphlet/ebook etc. Knowing this attempting to digest this entire work in one sitting is not advised. For my needs it’s become a textbook of sorts. I reference specific chapters and topics as needed and occasionally reread bigger concepts when I feel the urge.

As a reader of historical and biographical works this book didn’t ‘engage’ me and I found it easy to put down, I’ve often wondered if it was meant that way. Not being an avid reader of works like this (I’m more prone to read industry articles and blogs) I can’t say whether it bucks any norms or trends, but knowing Gary’s persona I’m guessing in some ways it does.

“Highs & Lows”

A colleague asked what my favorite aspect of the book was. She was surprised when I didn’t reference a specific chapter or paragraph. For me it all comes down to style. Gary writes like he talks… blunt, easy to understand and at times, in your face! He has mastered the art of being himself without any apologies. His no-nonsense, plain English approach to topics that can be intimidating to those who aren’t “computer or social media savvy” gives the reader confidence and leaves little to question.

On the flip side I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t MORE content. None of the chapters lacked real world examples, but I repeatedly asked myself “is this it?” Is it really this simple? The chapter that outlined Facebook was by far the most in-depth, but the pages given to Instagram and Twitter lacked the thoroughness I thought I needed. That said my lack of knowledge on these subjects may have given way to unrealistic expectations.

“The Final Assessment”

If you’re new to social media (especially from a business perspective) Gary lays out a strong foundation and plenty of examples. I’m hard pressed to truly rate the content of the book until I have had time to put it to use. Until then though, Gary has given me an “Encyclopedia Social Media” that I’ll reference almost daily.

Reread: yes 1 of 3

BEFORE READING:

Great book about making a human connection with someone instead of hammering stuff down people’s throat. Keep jabbing like a dancing Ali. Gary gives great advice about the social media landscape. Thank You Economy is his best book; read that first. He gives you great examples to improve your marketing prowess and lists the common mistakes. Quit right hooking all the time and play a game. Enjoy the dance. Use Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. They are the future. Vaynercuck is more of a Goonie than a Boxer. There is sweetness in the science of boxing.

Too much twitter- almost dead…but great for information, news, and especially trends. #riptwitter

Ignore Tumbr chapter ..not relevant much anymore. Vine is almost dead – firewood now

Learn how boxing is incorporated in the Social Media arena

Ghost writer – Stephanie Land (lack of authenticity)

AFTER READING:

Understand: speed scroll and ADHD culture – “attention span of mosquitos”

Screen addiction

Put effort into it

He is a better speaker. Dance like Ali and throw wild Diaz jabs.

Read more than Gary

SUMMARY:

Humblebragging – retweeting things people say about you

Trendjacking

Examples of bad marketing techniques

Post brand

Learn about Pinterest

Instagram – not many calls to action

No stock photos or advertisements

Ego boosting with 1 billion dollar purchase FB did

Right hooks are hard to land on Instagram

Animated GIF’s

RESEARCH:

Edgerank – FB algorithm

MONKEY BRANCH:

Gary Vaynerchuk – Thank You Economy

Seth Godin - Purple Cow, Poke the Box, Lynchpin, Tribes

Tai Lopez

Diaz Brothers

QUOTES:

How Storytelling is like Boxing 235

Counterintuitively, the most effective jabs are actually the gentlest. 430

I should preface this review by saying I am no computer or internet novice.

I was working with computers in the days of Ohio Scientific, Interact, Commodore PET, Apple IIe, etc...

I was also using Q-link before it became AOL and was something like AOL's 1,000th member in the days of Compuserve and Prodigy.

I was designing HTML web sites in 1992, etc..

I have also had success in business over the years with companies that have grown from $0.0 at start up to several million years later.

Having said that - the current Social Media is not something I participate much in.

Thus I felt the need for a book to better understand how the "modern masses think and view things" since it is so different than the way I use modern technology.

On a personal note, I have tried Twitter and other social media.

Of all these, I only remained involved with Facebook.

But even then, it is something I don't use regularly-- and at times forget about even checking it for weeks on end.

Why ?

I am one of those people who find modern social media to be a double edged sword.

Yes, it allows anybody to have a voice.

BUT ... in doing so, it means we have billions of voices all clamoring for attention and creating nothing more than human static.

I personally found Twitter and these popular media sites to be 99% a waste of time and perhaps among the cacophony of useless gibberish, the occasional 1% of meaningful content.

We seem to be living in many parallel universes today.

This differs from the past.

In the past with everybody on the same basic medias, everybody knew about everything even if they did not like it.

My grandparents for example knew who Black Sabbath was 30 years ago-- even if they have no interest or like for them.

Today it is bizarre.

It is hard to reach people unless you "laser focus" to their interests.

Everybody tailors their world to their tastes, as a result a $300 million Hollywood movie and come and go and a large percentage of our society will never even know it existed ----- even if the studio claims to have spent $30 million on marketing.

This would never have happened 30 years ago.

Speaking with all my friends, family, business associates --- virtually NONE of them use Twitter, Facebook,or the other social media mentioned in this book.

HOWEVER --- that does not mean social media is not important.

It IS important to understand if one wants to reach the people for whom these outlets are important.

In other worlds, the marketing techniques used in this book are vital to reaching those people who live and breathe social media.

Likewise, they would be ineffective in reaching me personally as a consumer or almost everybody I know.

I think people who are really absorbed by Twitter, Facebook, etc and use it daily fall prey to placing far too much value on it.

Likewise, I think the people who don't waste their time on it and feel it is just useless gibberish of cute cat photos and "what I ate for breakfast" are dismissing it too easily.

Truth and reality is someplace in the middle.

It is the same as we see for the earlier mentioned Hollywood movies.

They will claim they spent $30 million promoting a film - yet I nor anybody I know ever heard about it even after it has made $300 million?

How can that be?

Well if you look at WHERE they spend that $$, they are aiming for "the common man" -- meaning they run trailers on the 3 networks during Duck Dynasty, Dancing with the Stars, How I Met Your Mother, etc..

But for example, I watch NONE of those shows.

I am over at ID, History, AMC, Food Network and Netflix

Thus, I never see that "heavy promotion" as I would have 30 years ago.

Yes I am on the computer 5 hours per day , Yes, I watch 3-4 hours of TV per night ---- but NO, the marketing people and the social Media people are not finding myself or anybody I know with the techniques they are using.

People I know are visiting FORUMS that specialize in their topics of interest.

They are not Tweeting, etc..

I only relate this personal perspective as it pertains to the review of Gary's book.

I confess it was referred to me.

I never heard of Gary's reputation before.

I never knew about his wine company.

I had never seen any of the examples and case studies shown in the book.

And "famous marketing examples" like the Oreo / Super Bowl example ----- I had never heard about that either.

In fact, I confess I had never even heard of half these social media sites despite their claims of having hundreds of millions of users. (instagram ? pinterest? Huh ?? )

My wife, friends, family, business contacts, folks I randomly asked at the gym, ........ were more clueless than me.

Bottom line - I can't find all these people that are so absorbed with the modern social media

WHERE ARE THEY ?

Where are these millions and billions of people -- I cant find them !

Again -- the parallel universes we live in today.

For people who sleep, eat and breathe Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler (and others) , they can't fathom how a person can't be "in the know" on all this stuff.

They think one must live in a cave to not be hooked in on all this media.

By contrast, those other people are asking .... "Why the heck do you waste so much time and feel it is important to know what people are eating for breakfast, if they are happy or not, if they think it is too cold, etc.... "

"Stop wasting your time on human static and gibberish and do something productive"

Gary's book I can see is very good because it teaches by example.

Always in my mind the best way to demonstrate a point -- then people can embellish on that concept and master the technique in their own way.

For me personally, I realize that although something may not be of much personal value to you --- as a business person you can't limit yourself to viewing the world thru your own eyes -- you must be able to technically master a phenomenon even if you don't really agree with it.

Perfect analogy - I do not understand the success of Reality TV.

DUCK DYNASTY, HONEY BOO BOO, etc...

Sorry to offend anybody, but this stuff is crap....... garbage ...... trash.

I would never watch it, have no interest in it, and don't know anybody who likes it.

BUT ........ it IS successful .... which means somebody likes it.

Thus if you were a TV executive, you would need to analyze WHY the show is a success so you could EMULATE that formula for your own purposes --- even if you privately shake your head in disbelief and wonder if humanity is really dumbing down that badly.

I think it is important to understand --- Social Media is important.

It is most important for reaching those people who thrive on it.

In that regard, Gary's book is a valuable tool to help demonstrate what those people want to see -- and what they react to.

But on the other hand, time may prove me wrong, but I expect to see a future implosion of these sites and NOT an explosion or expansion.

I read the reports that many of these sites have inflated their memberships, many are losing member numbers (not growing) and the signs of "pump and dump" stock price manipulation is painted in red letters all over most of these companies.

Facebook is a prime example.

Talk about lucky --they were WAY overpaid and overvalued for what this web site is really worth.

The kid walks off with billion of dollars based on a company with a value that is 95% speculation-based.

The point being, I think Social Media is an important tool to have in the tool box -- but marketers should not fall prey of overstating its importance.

Yes - it is very important today -- but it is NOT the end all and be all for reaching consumers.

A vast and massive percentage of people do NOT spend time on these sites and thus can not be reached this way.

Those people are in topic related FORUMS, subscribing to magazines that relate to their hobbies, etc.....

They are focused and efficient with their time.

But they do not use the popular "time wasting and addictive" social media that has become like a drug for many,

So a variety of marketing approaches will still be needed by the modern business person.

This book provides a guideline for using one or two of the important tools in the box.

They say the problem with salesmen is eventually they begin ti believe their own hype and pitch.

A person living inside social media may fool themselves into thinking it is "everything" and it reaches "everybody".

NO ..... it reaches those people who live and think the same way only.

That is indeed a large number today -- but not all encompassing.

I knew Gary's book was coming out, but I had no plans to buy it. Quite frankly I was scared to read it. Gary intimidates the heck out of me. He works really, really hard.

Despite my initial concerns, I bought his book because someone I really respect, Marie Forleo interviewed him (http://youtu.be/0Qy9aLqhxcc). That interview convinced me that I needed to read his book and take his advice seriously.

I was afraid that the book was going to tell me that I needed to be on every social media site and be active every single day.

And that's in essence what Gary says in "Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook".

This book helped me realize two things:

(1) It's SUPPOSED to be hard to be effective on social media; but it's NOT impossible.

(2) It can actually be a lot of fun and allows you to be creative…once you learn how to properly engage on each site.

What I love about this book is how Gary gives a blueprint on how to be effective on each social media platform - with not a lot of fluff - by providing real examples of users who had done it right and users who have done it really wrong (my favorite fail is the Arby's Apple Turnover post on Pinterest). He even goes so far as to deconstruct what was done right/wrong and how those wrong posts could be tweaked to make them right.

In short, you get the theory and application in one easy-to-read book.

After reading this book, I feel like I have a good grasp of how to make social media less daunting and more effective as a business owner. And I'm looking forward to experimenting on social media and learning more as I go.

I also understand that things change rapidly on these sites so having a better grasp of each social media platform will help me better recognize and adapt to those changes.

I highly recommend this book…unless you're a competitor. In your case, I would say this book is garbage and keep doing what you're doing!

I do not write many reviews but with so much rehashed nonsense being crammed down business owner's mouths, and after having read Gary Vaynerchuk's newest book "Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World" I just had to climb to the top of the mountain and yell "Gary gets it! He really gets it!" The boxing metaphors were just icing on the cake.

It took long enough, but by now, most companies suspect that they need to be on social media, however, most do not really understand why, let alone how. And most companies, even the so called social media professionals get it wrong time and time again.

If you own a business and social media scares you or you think it is a waste of time, then you need to read this book. If you have had marginal success with your social media activities, you need to read this book. Even if you have had huge successes with social media and can do so on demand, you still need to read this book.

Gary will teach you in his streetwise style how to tell your brand's story on all the major social media platforms. providing a blueprint for using social media marketing strategies that are tested and proven. No theory here.

The absolute necessity today to building a relationship with your clients/customer is the core of Gary's method, so rather than speaking to your audience as in a monologue, you are actually having a dialog, thus the relationship building.

You will also come to the conclusion that if content is King, then outstanding content is Emperor and Gary spends time on creating outstanding content and how to adapt for each of the five platforms and Gary further explains exactly what is working and what isn't.

Lastly, the case studies included at the end of each chapter have to be worth at least 10 times the price of the book and I know a number of "gurus" that would be selling those for hundreds of dollars.

If you're a social media consultant, content manager or have to personally manage the social media for your business or to secure your job at a corporation, then I highly recommend reading this book.

Gary Vaynerchuck’s book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right hook (JJJRH) is ideal for those individually responsible for managing social media marketing. I found the best insights in this "How to" guide include (for all major platforms):

Questions to ask yourself about the effectiveness of your campaigns

Specific details of what to put into visuals, videos, etc

How to handle hashtags effectively

Case Studies of What Works for What

Using Reviews as Content

The Difference of Content and Context and how to use it for your benefit

Using these platforms for engagement and specific examples of how to do it

My Final Thoughts: I don't want to give away all of his secrets, but it really makes you second doubt anything you're about to post and if you've done anything right, you feel good about about what you're getting paid to do.

If you're an entrepreneur, I suggest reading his book, Crush It (2009) first to get you into his mindset.

If you're a business owner and won't be responsible for managing the day to day social media, then read another of his books, The Thank You Economy (2011).

Final Final Thought: I really should read it again.

“The fastest growing market sector getting people’s attention is social media”. Let me quote Gary Vaynerchuk again: “The fastest growing market sector getting people’s attention is social media”. What does this mean for business? EVERYTHING. What does this mean for branding? EVERYTHING. What does this mean for you? EVERYTHING. @garyvee GETS IT! The best part is that he wants YOU to GET IT too.

“Jab Jab Jab Right Hook” is a true wake up call to let people know that times will continue to change and that you need to be willing to use the platforms and vehicles that are available now in order to knock out your opponents. However, it’s not just using these platforms that’s key but it’s how you use them that’s even more important.

What makes JAB different from other social media publications out there? Gary dissects the way social media/ marketing is used through case studies. He actually examines on-line content posted by major corporations on each of the different social media platforms. It’s amazing to see how some of these companies “float like a butterfly” while others sink like the Titanic. You will discover both the triumphs and epic fails of social media / marketing that will make you think twice before posting content without the context.

There are so many lessons and so much valuable information in this book. This book is a an easy read and it will supply you with the tools you need to get to the next level whether it be promoting your company, branding yourself or just learning the basics of how to tell your story through social media.

In the fast-paced world of social media, everything turns old in a very short time. Sadly, this is true also for Gary's book.

Sure, the book makes some interesting and thought-provoking points. Like when he says "content is king, context is god, effort is all". Great, simple strategic principle, that applies well to all situations in social marketing. Brands have to understand and talk like their consumers. Is not all about selling, is not all about the products. Social media marketing is about relationships. People relates to brands as to other people. If they want to be invited for dinner, brands must create relationships with their hosts. Gary also see it right when he talks about the importance of image-based content rather than text-based, the growth of LinkedIn and Snapchat, and other trends that after 2013 became the core of social media marketing.

On the other side, the book shows its wrinkles of time. The advices he gives about Instagram are not worth much today. A media that was once a heavily walled garden, not appealing for companies who want to drive customers to their website, turned out to be a weapon of choice for many celebrities and image-oriented brands. Tumblr and Pinterest still exist, but I don't see much more future than was for MySpace in 2010. Twitter lost appeal for hard marketing, turning into a news-focused social media, where celebrities, politicians and brands share their worldview with an engaged community. Likes and engagement are not anymore the thing to look for in social media marketing. Facebook itself stated that these are not relevant metrics of success for its platform.

The book should be a blueprint to effective social media strategies, but what I see is more of a 200 pages long blog post from a self-help website for small enterprises. Rules he present are very generic. There are no studies, no data, no replicable examples to proof his ideas. The author wrote his laws and then looked to the market to prove his point. Not research based where you have controls, variables and prove results based on research evidence.

Many words, not much learning. You need great content, you need to talk people’s language, you need to segment the audience, you need to be prepared. Ok, got it, over 200 hundred pages to say it are too many. What’s next? What kind of content, creative ideas, strategy across media I can use? What objectives to set? What outcomes to look for?

In summary, if you are a beginner trying to get a sense of what is marketing in the social media era, this is a good book. If you really want to improve your marketing strategy, and build a successful brand on social media, reading this book won't help you so much.

I've had a couple of service businesses that relied heavily on word of mouth to gain new clients but my new business is selling a product online and in stores and I'm trying to learn everything I can about branding and marketing. I'm feeling fortunate to have stumbled across this book. It's only the second book I've read on marketing and I'm already feeling confident that if I follow Gary's ideas and advice I'm well on my way to becoming a relevant company. Thank you GaryVee for an awesome how to book for navigating a business in today's social media world.

La verdad es que es un libro increíble, de los libros necesarios en la vida y más para mi carrera enfocada en la Mercadotecnia ! Me encanto!

This 'how-to' guide is a must read for any business that wants to promote itself online. Gary Vaynerchuk gets it. And as this is the 3rd book in a hugely series, you can also be sure that he translates what he knows into a highly readable book.

In Gary's own words, "I hoped that if I wrote a short, useful book... that broke today's most popular and exciting platforms down to their essential building blocks of text, image, tone, and link capabilities, it would make the exploding social media scene seem a bit less daunting to any marketer or business owner trying to keep up with it." Gary has achieved exactly that.

There is a huge temptation on social media to continually work from the inside-out, tweaking what you do according to your analytics. The reason this book packs such a big punch [sorry for the pun] is that it looks at each platform from the outside-in, never losing sight of the fact that successful marketing leads to sales.

And it does this in a highly informative, entertaining way. Gary Vaynerhook gives you six simple rules of outstanding content:

1. It's native.

2. It doesn't interrupt.

3. It doesn't make demands - often.

4. It leverages pop culture.

5. It's micro.

6. It's consistent and self-aware.

He then channels his huge wealth of experience into critiquing actual posts on different platforms to show what works to create sales, and what doesn't work and why. So that you can go back to each platform, and do things better and sell more.

I read this book on the kindle version, but I have found it so useful that I have ordered the paperback for easier reference. To sum up: buy this book, read it, do the hard work and reap the rewards of increased sales.

There's a reason why Gary V is so remarkable... and you will get to understand that here in every sense of the word

Firstly, the book has a catchy cover design. Like a book about the fight of marketing you are taking on, drawing its essence from a boxing bout that you are kind of going to be.

Secondly, the quality of print and the sheets is just so smooth. Smooth as butter would in no way be an exaggeration. Somehow this book is tasty like a dish.

Thirdly, this book has clearly distinct presentation of viewing and approaching each social media platform differently. Which is a big plus coz factually all social media marketing tactics has to be different as the audience has different intentions while using each of them.

Fourthly, it gives you better insight understanding and analysis viewpoint of marketing campaigns undertaken by several large companies or those that turned large with successful campaigns. Its presents them sort of like you watching a boxing match of other competitors.

Fifth, if you have watched his videos, you would be reading this book literally but in his voice pitch pace and timbre.

Remarkable book.!

Simply having it on the table makes your table feel elegant.

I haven't even begun exaggerating this books appeal.

Kind of jealous of Gary V but great job by him here

This book is full of common sense that makes you go 'ohhhhyerrrrrr' as if you already had the information to draw the obvious conclusions about each social platform, you just were too busy to sit down and do it. Of course that's BS, few of us actually know the mechanics of the platforms we're using. JJJRH is one of the most valuable resources I've picked up, ever. The only reason I put this one down is to furiously write notes of how to apply it to my work. Cheers to GaryVee