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A
Welcome to another episode of Business Lunch where Ryan Dice has shown up, even though he told me he was here, and then I looked and he wasn't, now he is actually here.
B
So I show up late for the power.
A
I like it. I like it.
B
Now you know who the who the important alpha alpha dog is?
A
I'm nobody.
B
Alpha dog energy.
A
No one ever had any doubt. No one ever had any doubt. So this morning I watched a video from Gary Vee that I think has some really, really great insights into what to do now and where marketing is headed. And also it happens to track a session that you did at our Founders Board event last week on the embedded influencer. And we talk about this all the time. Personal brand. The sound bite that I loved from the video was personal brand is the new marketing funnel. And I think that's really cool. And if you look at really successful companies, a lot of them are very tied to personalities these days. If you think about Elon Musk and Sara Blakely at Spanx and even Warren Buffett at Berkshire and so on and so forth, they're definitely people that enhance brands. I think Jeff Bezos and now his crazy social life enhances the awareness about Amazon. Not that Amazon needs it, but it's added a new dimension to Amazon that wasn't really there before, and I think that's really cool. And you've got Richard Branson at Virgin. And so I don't think there's any question that it's helpful.
B
The.
A
There were a lot of things in the article that I thought were interesting that went beyond just that, but I thought it would be interesting to talk about. Did you get a chance to look at it at all?
B
Yeah, a little. I mean, I didn't get to watch the whole thing, but this is something that, like you said that we've been studying for a while, and a lot of people might be like, oh, yeah, so personal brands like this is anything new. But where. Where. I think that. I think the newness is actually in the necessity of it, but also it's.
A
In the ability to do it because of AI. Yeah, I think that that the ability. And Gary was saying what I used to be able to do that took a team of 100 people, I can do with five people 10 times more frequently.
B
And that's the reason I'm now willing to do it as well. Right. Because I've been very much a reluctant influencer, a reluctant kind of brand ambassador for, you know, my own stuff. Because I don't like being a public figure. I don't like being out there. But also, if I'm being honest, it's just a lot of work. I mean, getting out there and creating content is an enormous amount of work to do it well. And so I've done it. We've done this podcast. And this is fun because this is just you and I getting to talk like we would over lunch. That's the whole point of the show. Yeah. But beyond that, like getting out there and dancing on TikTok and things like that, It's a big fat note for me.
A
That was when you had to dance on TikTok. Do you remember that? You had to dance like it was music ly before. And then, you know, then it was everybody's dancing. I'm like. And Gary Vee is like, you got to be on. And I'm like, no, I'm not going to do it.
B
I don't want money that badly. I'm fine. But now when you look at Louis Vuitton hiring Pharrell Williams as their creative director, you look at the deal that Inter Miami did with Lionel Messi and actually giving him equity in the company. These big brands are realizing that it's not enough just to hire spokespeople. They need actual influencers that are connected to the brand. I think that's true winners or their work there.
A
Yeah. Or tell a great story. And I think it's interesting in the alcohol space with celebrities to think about the ones that really work versus the ones that don't. And I don't have enough data because this just came into my head, but I read a lot about George Clooney's quest to find the perfect tequila. And, you know, he's a lover of tequila and, you know, he gets on his motorcycle with his buddy and cruises, you know, down throughout tequila territory and, you know, goes to all these places and tastes and finds what he likes and then creates something and then builds a billion dollar brand largely on the back of his fame, but not without his personality and celebrity being infused into the brand as opposed to, you know, people who are just basically lending their name as a spokesperson. And I think Kylie did a good job of that as well with. With makeup. Rihanna's done a good job for, you know, for Louis Vuitton as well, but. Or Ryan Reynolds with mint and then aviator gin. You know, like, those are much, much deeper than just the rapper slaps their name on champagne and then is popping bottles and that.
B
Like, how do you get McConaughey? You remember the Matthew McConaughey Lincoln ads from, like, but they got, literally were mocked on Saturday Night Live. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to YouTube and you know, he's like, nobody believes that he actually drives a Lincoln. Or if he does, it's like one of the old school town cars, like not one of these, like modern things. So it just felt disingenuous. Like now, what audiences, what consumers demand, they want their influencer, they want their brands to have embedded influencers. They want their brands to have somebody either who owns the company or who works for that company to be speaking on behalf of the company. And if it's just somebody, if it's just merely a paid spokesperson. Yeah, not good enough. Not good enough at all, I think.
A
So there's. To me, there's two episodes here. I think one is the takeaways from that video. But I actually think that it would maybe be more fun on this, particularly since you just gave the presentation to talk about the embedded influencer. And so why don't we go that way with it and then we'll do a separate one on the. Because his was more AI focused and I think that it merits two different episodes.
B
Yeah, I mean, and I'll let you decide if you want to throw some of that stuff in there. But yeah, I mean, this is definitely something that I know I'm passionate about. Sounds. Sounds kind of lame, but because it's not that I feel passionate about this. I feel forced into it. And as a result of that, I feel like, I feel it is so incredibly essential that I've become the ultimate ambassador and influencer and dare I say, spokesperson for the necessity of this. And that's what I basically spent all last week trying to convince all of our clients that they need to do. Even if it's somebody who's doing environmental engineering, like you need to basically be an embedded influencer for your brand. You don't have a choice anymore. And I feel so strongly about that. We don't have choices anymore. Just, it's too noisy out there. Traffic costs are too high. Trust, consumer trust is at an all time low. This is what we all need to be doing. It's just, it's just where the market is right now.
A
Yep. I like it. I like it. So why don't we talk a little bit about what you talked about and I'll let you drive.
B
Yeah. So this concept really, I mean, so I think first accepting just the necessity of it and what I'll say is a lot of people, if you're resistant to it, then hopefully Maybe we can give you some, some tips here that'll, that'll make it a little bit easier. I do think that AI, like you were saying in what Gary's video does, make it a lot easier than it, than it was in the past. The other big, I guess, pushback that I get on this is people saying it's not scalable. And so I want to address that right from, you know, right at the outset of people saying, yeah, but if I create my personal brand, if my personal brand is attached to this brand, then the brand can never be sold. So how do we do that? And so I do think it's important to factor that in because, to address that, because it's a good point. But the good news is that it's not necessarily true. Because when you have your own personal brand, when you are that embedded influencer, as long as you're pointing your influence at a separate brand, that separate brand is still sellable. It's really, really important. There's a big difference between being an embedded influencer within a brand where you.
A
Have the brand itself.
B
Yeah. Then being the brand itself. And that's the mistake that a lot of personal brands make and influencers make is they are the brand, they are the product. They are monetizing themselves. Right. That's not what we're, that's not what we're suggesting. George Clooney didn't all of a sudden start just monetizing George Clooney. He didn't start selling ads on his own social channels. He didn't start selling, you know, speaking engagements and stuff like that. He also, and this is important, didn't call his Tequila Clooney.
A
Yeah, Right.
B
And so as long as what you're doing is you're going out there and you're doing the types of things that we'll talk about to get the spotlight shined on you. If you then hold up a mirror and redirect that attention to, to your brand or, and this is important brands, then it is scalable and you don't have to worry as much about these other brands not, not being sellable beyond you. And the reason I say brands, if you think about somebody like Ryan Reynolds, you mentioned Aviator Gen, he also has, you know, Met Mobile. He's able to do this across multiple brands because he's got such a bright spotlight shining on him. So anyway, anything else you want to add on this? I mean, because you're kind of the king of the whole goose and eggs concept, so.
A
No, I like it. I think that just the idea of, and I like the example even of how originally it was like kind of Brian Dice and Digital Marketer were one in the same. And then you did a good job of really kind of propping up other people, propping up the brand as a separate thing and creating value that was transferable there. And same thing with the event. It wasn't, you know, the Ryan Perry Rich show. It was, you know, traffic and Conversion Summit. And that created a brand. And what I liked about that too is it was completely separate from Digital Marketer. And so even within the same ecosphere, like the same environment, you were able to create separate brands that had value but were all fed by your celebrity within the space. Because I would argue you're one of the more well known people in the marketing space of, you know, digital marketing. Right. And so how do people like, what is there a roadmap that you've got for kind of making that happen? Like, I guess step one, get a personal brand. How do we do that most effectively? And then step two, how do I, how do I perpetuate that and then, you know, use that to prop up the other things that I want to prop up.
B
Yeah. So you want to think about this in three pillars. So pillar number one is your character. Pillar number two is the stage that you're performing on. And then pillar number three is your company, is the brand. Okay. So you got your character that you want to be intentional about the stage and then the company. So in terms of your character, it's important to remember that when you are out there and we'll talk about what out there means in a second, but when you are out there, you need to make sure that you are playing a character, that you are being consistent because you're not the same person in all spheres. Like, I hope you're not. I hope you don't behave the same way when you're around like your high school and college friends as you do when you're around, you know, your mom and, you know, and your kids and stuff like that. Right. Like, we're going to be slightly different people depending on the sphere that we're in. And so making sure that we're intentional about the character that we're playing is really, really important. And where that starts with this, this is really important is what is your unique point of view? I think one of the most important things that a character can have is a unique point of view. This is one of the things that makes a great character. There is some hill that they are prepared to die on. Okay. And so you need to be out there speaking in absolutes, and it can be frustrating. I know. I get frustrated with this because anytime you're speaking in absolutes, it means you're not perfectly accurate. And if there's one person who is great at speaking in absolutes, we talked about him earlier. Gary Vaynerchuk has always spoken really well in absolutes. You know, you've gotta learn to speak in absolutes. And I'll tell you, when you start maintaining a unique point of view, you're gonna get haters. And that's when you know you're actually saying something that's worth saying. If you have no haters, I'm sorry, but you don't have a very interesting character. Every comic book character has an archenemy, okay? So you've got to be saying something. You've got to have a unique point of view that pisses someone off. If you don't, it's probably not worth saying. This is important, though. You can't just say something merely to piss people off. You have to actually believe it. So what is your contrarian point of view? That's where it starts. What's that thing that you believe? What's that hill that you're prepared to die on the next piece? And this is the other thing that nobody wants to do, but it's important. What is your quirk? What are some eccentricities? What are some flaws that make you you that you can put on display? And this is layered, right? But the unique point of view is what creates trust. The quirks and flaws and eccentricities is actually what creates liking, because that's what makes you human. If you're too perfect all the time, we don't root for that person. So being intentional about the particular flaws and quirks and eccentricities that you're going to put on display is important. Let's go back to Gary as an example. When Gary was first doing wine library tv, he cussed like a sailor. Right? Now, that isn't as weird right now because frankly, it seems like everybody's out there cussing. But in the earlier days of the Internet, certainly in the wine world, that was weird. It was weird for somebody to get out there and to be cussing like that, that wasn't a totally normal thing. I was looking at this one lady, She's a florist. Her name's Cheetah, and she's a florist out of Los Angeles, and she's the influencer for her brand. And. And this lady, she makes great floral arrangements, and she's got a massive following on, like, Instagram and TikTok. But Cheetah will go off on a customer if the customer is mean, and Cheetah will name names.
A
Nice.
B
Like, Cheetah's got, like, some anger issues, you know what I'm saying? And for me, I'm kind of a walking dad joke. Right. And so it's important to understand what are your quirks and flaws and eccentricities, and also that it's layered. So there's the ones that are external, that kind of everybody can see, and then maybe what are the deeper ones that people are going to find out later on. So if you know anything about my story, you know that I almost ruined my marriage by basically being a, you know, toxic workaholic, you know, and that's a story that I reveal at different points in time, depending on how you engage with my personal brand. So what is. What is that for you? So that's kind of the second aspect of your character. The. The third one is brandable hooks. You got to have some type of visual or. And. And verbal brandable hooks. So what are the things that when people are scrolling through their feed, when they see it, they're going to immediately be able to identify you. So for our buddy Alex Hormozi, in the early days when he first launched himself onto social, it was his creepy handlebar mustache. He was the big Jack dude with the handlebar mustache. Then he grew the full beard and he replace the mustache with the. With the nose strip.
A
And the whole time the, like, muscle shirts and big muscles, right?
B
Yep, exactly. Yeah. He's kind of always, always had that going for him. There's this dude who's got a really big following in the home inspector space. And he just wears this kind of floppy, dorky hat because he's in Arizona, and it's just like this safari, like, hat. So you're scrolling around, you instantly recognize him. Some people have, like, you know, weird glasses. Some people say the same thing in the opening line. So having some kind of brandable hook is big. And then the fourth thing with the character is your narrative spine. So what is that? What's kind of the journey that you're on that you're leading people through? That once they learn about you, they see this story that you're on, and they can kind of watch you journey through it. That's the story that people want to follow. So maybe you're launching a business and they're getting to watch you as you progress through that. Maybe you're trying to. You're on a health journey or something like that. So those are the four elements of the character. Anything, any thoughts, feelings, emotions about that before we move on to stage?
A
No, no, just. Are there any more? Like, are you going to talk about kind of the reluctance or the challenges that people who are not necessarily feeling camera friendly might experience and how they overcome that or how they deal with it in kind of pursuing this track?
B
What?
A
I will.
B
So if you are. If you are reluctant to, you know, to doing this, I guess I'm operating under the assumption and I'm going to talk to you all like I talk to our clients. It's your job. Suck it up, buttercup. Right. Like, this is just your job now. And so if you're reluctant to do it, then that tells me that you haven't been doing it. If you haven't been doing it, then that means you don't have a following. If you don't have a following, then good news. When you start doing it, nobody's going to see that you suck. So start doing it right now. Nobody's paying attention. By the time anybody's watching, you will have gotten better. Because if you didn't get better, nobody ever watched. So how do you deal with now?
A
How do you deal with, like, when I first started, well, I decided I want to have a personal brand. And because I was always the guy behind the scenes and I was like, you know, this seems like I probably. I felt kind of what we're all talking about, you know, like, like, and this was, you know, a while ago now, and I was like, so I want to be. I want to build this personal brand. And so I went on the socials and started posting videos and everything. It's actually kind of how business lunch started. It was easy just to take people lunch and, you know, record the takeaways at the end. But my family absolutely does not want to be in anything. And so, like a lot of. I spend a lot of time with my family. And so there's a lot of things that especially are personal because I. I do believe that if you're just posting business content, it's something that I'm. I'm going to get back to doing personal stuff as well. But if you're just a business person and you're posting like, if George Clooney only posted, you know, this is the finest tequila and it's. Cause it's from these ingredients, that's not going to be good enough without, you know, I'm out on the boat today and I'm having A glass of tequila, you know, or whatever. But my family is vehemently opposed to having anything included. And I did learn from. Fortunately not my own experience, but just like watching things that were happening to people who were posting at places and posting immediately that you don't want to let people know where you are. Like I used to do hotel room tours and I'd like be like, here, this is the such and such suite at the blah blah blah hotel. And I just checked in. That's dumb because now you can be found and some crazy people, you know, I had a stalker, will will find you. So how do you deal with that? Because I know your family's not particularly like excited about being that, but you're posting primarily business stuff and not a lot of personal stuff. But people want to see personal stuff, so help me with that.
B
Yeah, I think you've got to have. You do need to decide again what, what your barriers are. And so for, for me, I will not my family. Same way if I were to have a camera crew following my family around taking video all the time.
A
But even you with, with your iPhone saying, you know, hey, here we are, we're at the, you know, whatever. The concert that you went to just recently. Right?
B
Exactly. No freaking way. And so, you know, now could I, could I take video and not have them in the frame and just say where I am and post it later? Yeah, fine. And so I might get into where I'm doing that from, from time to time. But I've just.
A
Then what happens is they're like, why are you doing videos? I want you to be here with us.
B
It's like, but it's only a five minute video. So what I've decided is I'm just not going to do that. I've decided that I'm basically just going to post business related content and that's going to have to be good enough.
A
But what if I said you need to suck it up, buttercup.
B
Yeah. So that you didn't let me. So you let me finish that part. So the.
A
I'm a lawyer recovering. Right. I only ask you the questions that move towards what I want.
B
Yeah, I know. So the. So what I will tell you is establish barriers. And so for me, I'm not going to put my family on. I'm not going to go film when we're on vacation and stuff like that. I'm just not. And I'm prepared to accept whatever downside that that creates. Now going back to what I said before about our clients. This is your job. Suck it up, Buttercup. What I then said was, and yet it's also your business. So if you don't want to do it, you don't have to because it's your company. And so if you don't want to give yourself that job, you don't have to. That being said, the job needs to exist. So if my question is, if not you, then who? Okay, if not you, then because it needs to be somebody. There's going to need to be somebody on the team. So Louis Vuitton went out there and they hired, you know, Pharrell Williams. And I bet that wasn't cheap. And I bet he got stock, you know, Inter Miami, the football club, went out there and hired Lionel Messi. And purportedly, that's a $400 million deal, you know, that wasn't cheap.
A
Yeah.
B
You know, so if not you, is there somebody on your team that perhaps you could. Who already is doing stuff on Social.
A
Who.
B
Maybe they could be this person? It is possible to hire actors onto your team and to have them perform in these roles, to effectively have them on your team performing in this role. So let's say you're an H Vac company. You can hire an actor, put them in your uniform and have them go and teach them just enough about H Vac, maybe, and have them go through the training to know just enough to talk about this stuff. Brands have done that. There's a H Vac company out of Charlotte, North Carolina, Morris Jenkins, that is exactly what they did. They had this character was in commercials for six, seven years named Bobby. And Bobby got so famous that Bobby got to be in the town parade. There were literally billboards put out there saying, we'll miss you, Bobby. When Bobby moved and went on to do other things. So it can be done like this. Can be hired. There are succession issues that need to be considered, but what I would say is the role is necessary. It's best if it is the founder, owner, CEO, if not them, it needs to be somebody. So who.
A
What if it's a duck or a gecko?
B
I don't think a duck or a gecko is good enough anymore. Okay, I know we've talked about that in the past. I just. I don't think it's good enough anymore. It.
A
What about a. Is her name Flo? The one that's the. Is it the car?
B
Yeah. Flo for Progressive Insurance.
A
It's Progressive. Yeah.
B
I think it's. I think it works for Progressive. I think it works. All these things work for insurance companies because they're They're. It's a commodity. It's a commodity and it's something that you have to have. And so all I have to basically do is remember the name. And so if you made me laugh, I'll remember your name. But I think if any one of them came out and actually did this, if they had an actual embedded influencer, I think they would crush the gecko and they would crush flow. If it was actually a good embedded influencer. I'm sure the CEOs of these companies are boring as crap and would be the worst people to do this.
A
I'm terrified of being assassinated.
B
Right, right. So I probably wouldn't recommend it for some of these public companies. They probably can't afford to do it for a variety of reasons. But if you're a smaller company, medium sized company, up and comer, owner operated, this is. And the other thing is they've got the budgets to do brand, large brand, mass media.
A
Yeah, interesting. Okay, now I interrupted you and got off on that tangent, but I did think it was important to kind of run down there. So are we on the third pillar?
B
No. So the second pillar. So that's the character. You've decided who the character is going to be. And it's important and it relates to that discussion because if you do need to change the person, you should probably. The way that you deal with succession is whoever you swap them out for, they should have similar character traits, particular with the unique point of view. And where you see brands do this well is when they've done this with, with spokespeople. They, they've done this, you know, it. The brands that do this well have done this well with spokespeople as well. There we go. Finally got that out. So when William Shatner, he was the, you know, the Priceline negotiator, right. As Priceline wanted to start phasing out Shatner, they brought in, I forget the daughter. It wasn't his actual daughter.
A
I think they brought in his daughter for a while. At least she was supposed. I don't know who his daughter is, but. But I'm pretty sure it was his actual daughter.
B
It was a. She was an actress. I think she pretended to be his daughter on the thing. But anyway, it was the same. The reason that I think it was easy to like pretend whether she was or wasn't is because it was the same type of person. Right. So even though it was a female, much younger, it. She had the same kind of quirkiness that William Shatner had. And so that's why you want to be clear on who the character is, both so that you can be consistent, but also for succession reasons. If you want to swap out the person, the person that you swap in needs to have some of these same character traits.
A
This is amusing to me. I had to look it up because I don't watch tv. Right. So it says Priceline cast Kaylee Cuoco, famous for the Big Bang Theory, to play William Shatner's fictional daughter in their negotiating campaign. But she's not actually his daughter in real life. Purely promotional storyline. That's funny. Didn't know that.
B
But it worked because she was quirky. They did a good job of picking somebody who was kind of quirky. So that's why the character matters. All right, Pillar two is the stage. So you know who you are, you know the character you're going to play, where are you going to perform? And this really comes down to two things. Number one, what channels are you going to perform in? And I would say pick two. Pick one long form and one short form channel to start off with. And so when it comes to long form, you're kind of picking between, you know, YouTube and podcast. And when it comes to short form, really, is it going to be short form video or. If you're B2B, then you're probably LinkedIn and you're writing stuff. If you're local, then it's probably still Facebook. Believe it or not, Facebook still does really well for local and community type things. So pick your channel, get really, really good at that one channel. And the other thing that we discovered, you want to have a person on your team, whether they work for you or they're an outside agency who specializes in just that one channel and they own the entirety of that channel. From the strategy, the ideation, to the creation of the content, helping you create the content for it, to the posting of it. So we don't like want a centralized creative team that's helping you do creative for all the different social channels. We want somebody to really own the channel.
A
Agree.
B
That's so important. They got to get those feedback loops. And at this point now the channels are so different. Even like Instagram Reels and TikTok is so is really, really different from, you know, YouTube shorts. Like they seem like they'd be the same, but they're not.
A
They're not.
B
And then so once you know the channels, then it really comes down to what's your content vehicle. So essentially what's kind of your show format. And there's a lot of different sort of proven show formats. You can do like cool quick tips and how to videos. This is really good for, believe it or not, like home services. Because a lot of people would say like, yeah, but I'm a plumber. We have one of our clients who's got a window cleaning company out of Bozeman, Montana. He's like, how can I do this with window cleaning? Like, you kidding me? There's actually like there are Instagram channels with millions and millions of followers that are just people cleaning windows because it's oddly satisfying, right, to see somebody clean a window.
A
I remember Mike Koenigs back in the day who, you know, was kind of early on on the online video stuff, he had a thing he called 1010 by 10. And he said just take your 10 most frequently asked questions and make 10 short videos about each one of those from different perspectives, angles, whatever. And like that would be a simple way to think about how to get your first hundred videos in no time.
B
Yeah, I mean so that, that'd be like quick tip. That'd be a how to. So any demo, any oddly satisfying type thing. Day in the life behind the scenes. So if what you do. And a lot of people don't realize that the, the work they do is actually pretty interesting. So we've got another client, they put really massive like these big underground tanks for data centers and things like that. The same type of underground diesel and gas tanks that would go in gas stations, they do that, but like 10, 20 times the size because it's for know, major builds. And so like the holes they got to build for these things are insane. And I'm like, I would love to see what a hole like that looks like. And so he's putting out videos of like, check out how big this hole is, you know, and it's, and it's doing really well. In his niche in like on LinkedIn rants, reactions, those do really well. So if you can start a thing with like, hey, stop doing this right again, that could be inspired by your unique point of view. If you got a case study or testimonial, all those kind of things work well. So just in general, understanding and knowing what your show format is going to be is big. So if you know the channel and you know your show format, you basically have the stage and then in terms of the company, the brand side, really that's just going to be.
A
What are.
B
The calls to action that you're going to be making? And then also what are those owned and operated channels that you're going to leverage that you're also going to be pointing people to, because once you have people's attention on the different social channels, you really want to get them into other places in your ecosystem so that you can bounce them around. So if somebody sees me on Instagram, I. I want to have them subscribe to my newsletter and for people on my newsletter, I want to send them to my YouTube channel. And if somebody watches my YouTube channel, well, I want to invite them to come to a webinar. And when somebody comes to a webinar, then I want to, you know. So it's this whole thing where you want to get somebody in the ecosystem, because the goal of all of this is content binging. If you can get somebody to binge the content, this is what accelerates the relationship, the trust and the liking. This is what accelerates sales cycles. This is what makes the whole thing work. So that, in a nutshell, is the framework of the model.
A
I like it. I think it's great. So action step for people to kind of do tomorrow is what.
B
Yeah, I would say make a list. If there's. The most important thing that I think you could do is to really list out what are your unique points of view and in particular for your brand. Whole books have been written on the concept of a unique sales proposition, a usp. I actually think the days of a USP are over. There's really no longer such a thing as a usp, because the second you have a unique sales proposition, if you actually come up with one, it's going to be copied so fast. And so what we see now are brands that are trying to come up with a unique sales proposition. And in coming up with something unique, what they wind up coming up with is something that the customer, the prospects, don't actually care about. So stop trying to be unique in your offering and be unique in your point of view. Because if you can deliver a differentiated point of view, that is what's going to allow you to create bonding. That's what's going to allow you to start to build your tribe, your audience, and that really is what wins the day today. If people like you more, then they will choose to buy from you. That's just. That's where we are today. We buy from people and the brands that we like the most. Yeah, you got to be good, you got to deliver on it, but it really is about getting people to like you. And that starts with having a unique point of view that some people are going to agree with and some people are going to disagree with. So I'd say if there was one thing I was going to do, decide what the hills are that you're prepared to die on.
A
And I think to remember it's okay for people to not like you. And as a matter of fact, sometimes driving away the people who don't like you like, polarizing your audience to some extent can be good because people want people that stand for something, right?
B
The biggest brands have the most haters. And to a certain extent, you really should measure your effectiveness in this world by the quality of your enemies. I mean, if you've got the people, I guarantee you, the people you respect the most in this world have some really, really good enemies. Like some top, top quality enemies. And so if you look around and nobody of any real importance out there dislikes you, then you're probably not doing anything that important. So as a brand, I don't think that you should be divisive just to be divisive. The world has enough of that. But you probably should be saying something that's worth saying. And usually that means having a differentiated point of view. So screw having a unique sales proposition. Have a unique point of view.
A
Love it. Thank you. That's awesome. Hope you guys enjoyed this show. You've got some things to do and think about. We'd love to hear what you think about it. Do you hate being a brand? Can you hate on Ryan because he's telling you to suck it up, buttercup, and be your own brand? Or should you just do it? We'll see you next time on Business Lunch. Ever wondered how some people build real wealth through acquisitions while others just sit on the sidelines? Well, I'm here to tell you it's not about luck. It's about having the right system, the right deals, and the right guidance. And that's exactly what we give you in the EPIC Deal Fast Track. If you've been thinking about buying a business, but you keep getting stuck. Whether it's finding the right deal, structuring the financing, or negotiating with sellers, you are not alone. Too many people waste months, even years just thinking about acquiring a business while the real opportunities pass them by. The epic Deal fast track is not another course. It's actually an implementation program. And it's designed to get you from the idea to the acquisition in just 16 weeks or less. We work with you one on one to help you find, fund and close your first or next deal. And once you do, we're going to plug you into our elite EPIC board community so that you can keep scaling through acquisitions. We install three powerful systems in your business. The first is the deal flow engine so you always have high quality off market deals coming to you. Number two, we give you our offer and funding system so that you can structure offers that get accepted and fund them creatively many times with no money out of your own pocket. And number three, our closing and integration system so that you don't just buy a business, you actually successfully run and scale it once you have acquired it. Plus you'll have direct one on one support from an EPIC deal advisor every step of the way. And that's people that have actually come up through this system and done these deals themselves. That's the only way to become an EPIC Deal advisor. And if you're serious about acquiring a business this year, don't just sit on the sidelines. Just text I'm in to 334-458-9034 and we'll get you in. So text I'm in to 334-458-9034 will get you in. No fluff, no wasted time, just real deal making from people that are actually out there doing deals right now. I'll see you there.
Episode: The Embedded Influencer Playbook
Date: November 6, 2025
Host: Roland Frasier
Guest/Co-Host: Ryan Deiss
In this episode, Roland Frasier and Ryan Deiss dive deep into the rapidly growing importance of the "embedded influencer" and crafting a personal brand as a business growth strategy. With the landscape of trust, reach, and attention changing—and AI now making content creation more scalable—they discuss why every business needs an authentic, relatable figure who is more than just a spokesperson. The duo break down the difference between fleeting celebrity endorsements and true brand integration, provide a systematic playbook for becoming an embedded influencer (even if you're reluctant), and share actionable frameworks and memorable anecdotes.
Opening Spark: Roland introduces the idea that personal brands have become the new marketing funnel, referencing a Gary Vee video.
AI as a Game-Changer:
"[Consumers] want their brands to have embedded influencers...someone who owns the company or who works for that company to be speaking on behalf of the company. If it’s just a paid spokesperson—yeah, not good enough anymore.” — Ryan Deiss ([05:09])
“We don’t have choices anymore. It’s too noisy out there. Traffic costs are too high. Trust...is at an all time low. This is just where the market is right now.” — Ryan Deiss ([06:23])
For those worried about privacy or dislike being public, set clear boundaries—decide what you share and what you keep private. ([21:31])
You don’t have to be the face if you’re unwilling or unable; find authentic team members or, in some industries, even hire actors (with care for succession planning and consistency). ([23:54])
“If not you, then who? …The role is necessary. It's best if it is the founder, owner, CEO; if not, it needs to be somebody.” — Ryan ([24:34])
In today's marketplace, being an embedded influencer is no longer optional—it's a necessity for trust, differentiation, and scalable business growth. Authenticity, distinctive perspective, and intentionality in your character and content are the new, sustainable path to building brands in a noisy world.
For more, connect with Roland and Ryan, and let them know what you think of the “suck it up, buttercup” personal branding imperative!