MicroVee: Which social media platform is right FOR YOU? |GaryVee Podcast Moment

Summary

Summary of "MicroVee: Which Social Media Platform is Right FOR YOU?" | GaryVee Podcast Moment

Episode Release Date: April 19, 2025

Introduction

In this episode of The GaryVee Audio Experience, host Gary Vaynerchuk delves into the strategic selection of social media platforms tailored to different business types. He provides a comprehensive roadmap for beginners navigating the complex landscape of social media marketing in 2025. Gary emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, understanding your target audience, and experimenting with various content formats to maximize reach and engagement.

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1. Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms

Gary begins by addressing the critical question: "Which social media platform is right for your business?" He categorizes platforms based on business models and target audiences, providing tailored recommendations.

A. B2B and SaaS Businesses

For businesses operating in the B2B sector or offering Software as a Service (SaaS), Gary identifies LinkedIn as the premier platform.

Gary Vaynerchuk [00:40]: "If you're selling B2B... LinkedIn is number one, right?"

He follows LinkedIn with YouTube Shorts and Facebook, emphasizing YouTube's role as a search engine and the enduring power of Facebook groups for community building. Twitter (now X) is considered a significant platform, while Instagram ranks lower for B2B/SaaS businesses.

B. Consumer-Focused Businesses Targeting Younger Audiences

When targeting younger demographics, such as selling T-shirts to 15 to 25-year-olds, Gary shifts his platform priorities.

Gary Vaynerchuk [01:46]: "If you're selling T shirts to 15 to 25 year olds, all of a sudden TikTok becomes number one, Instagram probably becomes number two... YouTube shorts is number three."

Here, TikTok takes the forefront due to its organic reach potential, followed by Instagram and YouTube Shorts.

C. Broad Consumer Markets (Ages 25-55)

For businesses with a broad consumer base ranging from 25 to 55 years old, Gary highlights the continued relevance of Facebook alongside TikTok and Instagram. He notes that while TikTok excels in organic reach, Instagram and Facebook often require paid advertising to achieve substantial results.

Gary Vaynerchuk [01:47]: "If you're selling to the broad consumer... Facebook still being an incredibly powerful platform for selling."

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2. Content Strategy and Format Selection

Gary emphasizes that selecting the right platform is only part of the equation; the content strategy must align with the chosen platform's strengths.

A. The Power of Thumbnails in Video Content

One of Gary's key insights revolves around the importance of thumbnails in video marketing. He cites successful YouTubers like Mr. Beast, who invest heavily in thumbnail creation to drive views.

Gary Vaynerchuk [02:50]: "The best YouTubers in the world... spend more time and more money on their thumbnail than you could ever imagine."

He underscores the necessity of a compelling hook within the first few seconds of a video to retain viewer interest.

B. Leveraging Written Content on Visual Platforms

Gary advocates for the power of written content on platforms like Instagram. He illustrates how thoughtful captions can enhance engagement, even when accompanied by simple images.

Gary Vaynerchuk [04:20]: "You could take a photo of almost anything and then write three or four paragraphs that are very thoughtful about a point you're trying to make."

This approach allows businesses to capitalize on their strengths, whether it's writing prowess or visual creativity, without relying solely on video content.

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3. Embracing Underpriced Attention

Gary introduces the concept of "underpriced attention," identifying opportunities where certain platforms or features are undervalued yet offer significant reach.

Gary Vaynerchuk [05:50]: "I constantly look for the underpriced attention... it's a big part of my success."

He reflects on his early advocacy for platforms like TikTok, which initially seemed unconventional but later proved invaluable for organic growth.

A. Staying Ahead with Emerging Platforms

Gary advises businesses to remain vigilant about new platforms, which typically emerge every few years. Early adoption can lead to substantial advantages in audience reach and engagement.

Gary Vaynerchuk [06:00]: "New platforms only come around every three, four, seven, nine years."

B. Adapting to Platform Dynamics

He also highlights the importance of adapting to the evolving dynamics within existing platforms, such as leveraging Instagram's meme posting or video carousel features for enhanced visibility.

Gary Vaynerchuk [06:15]: "I saw... incredible opportunity in that."

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4. Experimentation and Adaptability in Content Formats

Gary stresses the necessity of experimenting with different content formats to discover what resonates best with your audience.

A. Diversifying Content Approaches

He encourages creators to step out of their comfort zones and try new formats, whether it's incorporating green screens, bringing on guests, or shifting from video to written content.

Gary Vaynerchuk [07:06]: "You've got to change it. You've got to change your format."

B. Overcoming Plateau in Engagement

For creators struggling to gain traction after numerous attempts, Gary recommends a strategic shift in content format rather than persisting with ineffective methods.

Gary Vaynerchuk [07:44]: "If you've done 100 of the same format... you've got to challenge yourself to try different formats."

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5. Persistence and Embracing Challenges

Gary concludes by emphasizing that achieving significant results on social media requires persistent effort and a willingness to embrace challenges.

Gary Vaynerchuk [09:10]: "If you're looking for something special to happen, it's supposed to be hard."

He shares a personal anecdote about a conversation with a hardworking individual, reinforcing the idea that success demands resilience and continuous effort.

Gary Vaynerchuk [09:28]: "It should be hard because 99% of the world works for someone else."

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Conclusion

In this episode, Gary Vaynerchuk provides invaluable insights into selecting the appropriate social media platforms based on business type and target audience. He underscores the importance of content strategy, the potential of underpriced attention, and the necessity of experimenting with different formats to achieve optimal results. Gary's emphasis on persistence and adaptability serves as a motivating reminder that success in social media marketing is attainable through strategic planning and relentless effort.

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Key Takeaways

• Platform Selection: Align your social media platforms with your business model and target audience.

• Content Strategy: Tailor your content format to leverage the strengths of each platform, such as using compelling thumbnails for video content.

• Underpriced Attention: Identify and capitalize on undervalued platforms or features to maximize organic reach.

• Experimentation: Continuously try new content formats to discover what resonates best with your audience.

• Persistence: Embrace the challenges of social media marketing, understanding that sustained effort is crucial for success.

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Notable Quotes

• On Platform Selection:

  "If you're selling B2B... LinkedIn is number one, right?" — Gary Vaynerchuk [00:40]

• On Thumbnails:

  "The best YouTubers in the world... spend more time and more money on their thumbnail than you could ever imagine." — Gary Vaynerchuk [02:50]

• On Underpriced Attention:

  "I constantly look for the underpriced attention... it's a big part of my success." — Gary Vaynerchuk [05:50]

• On Experimentation:

  "You've got to change it. You've got to change your format." — Gary Vaynerchuk [07:06]

• On Persistence:

  "If you're looking for something special to happen, it's supposed to be hard." — Gary Vaynerchuk [09:10]

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This detailed summary captures the essence of Gary Vaynerchuk's discussion on selecting the right social media platforms and developing effective content strategies. By following his insights, listeners can better navigate the ever-evolving social media landscape to achieve their business goals.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

If you're just starting a social media journey or trying to figure out which platform actually deserves your time in 2025, this episode is gold. Welcome back to another episode of the Gary Vee Audio Experience. In today's episode, Gary breaks down his beginner roadmap to social media marketing. From the smartest platforms to post on depending on your business type, to the overlooked formats that actually work. Whether you're selling t shirts or SaaS, this one gives you a crystal clear strategy to stop guessing and start executing. Let's get right into it for you today.

[Dustin]

What would be the top three platforms to be on? Because there are so many and what would you do on each of them? If you were starting now, what would you do on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram or Facebook?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. So I think again, back to the earlier point of self awareness. If you're selling B2B all of a sudden, LinkedIn is number one, right? If you're selling, if you're a SaaS, if you started a SaaS business, if you're listening right now and you want to, or you, you sell to lawyers, you have a service that sells to lawyers, then LinkedIn's gonna be number one globally for sure. With YouTube shorts probably being number two, because YouTube is a search engine and a lot of people search there. So that would also be good if you were into SaaS. And then probably in that scenario, I would then say if you're selling a B2B service after those two, probably Facebook grounded in a Facebook group with then Twitter x being probably fourth. If you're selling SaaS, Instagram's probably a distant fifth. Snapchat, Pinterest, they're super far away in that scenario. If you're selling T shirts to 15 to 25 year olds, all of a sudden TikTok becomes number one, Instagram probably becomes number two in that scenario, and YouTube shorts is number three.

[Dustin]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So I think for a lot of people that's that reality for broader markets. I think that if you're really trying to sell something like to the broad consumer, call it, for everybody who's 25 to 55, well, now you start getting into Facebook still being an incredibly powerful platform for selling. I do think that organic TikTok for branding is exciting. Instagram again becomes a stronger selling platform. But both of those scenarios require ads more than organic reach. Whereas TikTok, you can win on organic reach and kind of capture lightning in a bottle. So, you know, I hope everybody appreciates the answer is contextual. But I think as far as the Answer to what you would do inside of it. Obviously there's a lot of science and math of what time do you post? How long is the copy? I think a couple of things to look out for. Number one, the best YouTubers in the world, starting with Mr. Beast down, spend more time and more money on their thumbnail than you could ever imagine. So number one for everybody who's gonna do video. And again, that's a whole nother conversation because for some people it should be written word, some people should be doing audio, some people should be doing video. But I think, I think the thumbnail on video is incredibly important. I think the first three seconds thing that Dustin and I were talking about on our trip this week is do we need the hook from the, from the thumbnail to be delivered on in the first two or three or four seconds? And we, we really believe. We do, we believe that if, if my hook says, you know, 30 to 40 year olds, you should be thinking about LinkedIn. And if my opening line is like, before we get into that, you know, like you might, in two seconds you may lose that audience. And so I think a lot of science around the art, I think a couple of other things. There's a lot of ways to do it. Let me encourage some people. One thing that I've been noticing is on Instagram, you could just take a photo of something, right? You were here with your friend this weekend in New York. You could take a photo of like a nice picture that caught your eye in New York, take a photo, but if you then wrote three paragraphs, really great ones, because you're a great writer. About the concept of enjoying the weekends. To reset of the concept of busyness and chaos in controlled chaos is an effective way to be an entrepreneur. You could write the, you know, curiosity. I've been to New York seven times, but I've never gone down this street. Like you could take a photo of anything. A banana, a car, a tree, a bird, your backyard. You really could take a photo of almost anything and then write three or four paragraphs that are very thoughtful about a point you're trying to make. Now all of a sudden, you don't need a video and editing team. You could do it all by yourself. And for a lot of people listening, they're not great on camera, they're not great with their words, but they're incredible writers. And so it's around self awareness of the meat, the style, the content. And then there's strategy around the distribution depending on your business. And so that's one Main theme to keep getting very nerdy and deep on your question. The other thing to always look for is underpriced attention. The thing that I know you know about me over these last seven, eight years is that I have a very strong skill set in understanding where there's more organic reach against consumption and when to do it hard than most people. And that's been a big part of my success. You were there when I was yelling about musical Ly and TikTok when that seemed crazy to almost everyone. You weren't there. But people that have been following me all the way back to 2005, 6 and 7, there was an incredible amount of content and passion I had around YouTube and Twitter and Facebook. I mean I wrote Crush it in 2008, came out in 09, but I wrote it in 2008. That's 15 years ago.

[Dustin]

Long time.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So I think that I constantly look for the underpriced attention. It's always most exciting when it comes up in a new platform. But new platforms only come around every three, four, seven, nine years.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Then when it's not a platform, it goes into the things we just talked about. The strategy within the platforms I talked about recently and it's already lost momentum in a month. But a month ago I was incredibly excited about posting a meme and then a video on Instagram. A two post carousel. I saw that and you know, I see incredible opportunity in that. Again, almost talking to Dustin. I'm almost having my own meeting right now. One thing that continues to work for me is taking headlines that are happening in pop culture business and doing a green screen and talking over it. That model continues to work better than if I just looked in camera right now and talk.

[Dustin]

And even when the green screen, the green screen video is not great quality, like it doesn't look good, but it works.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Correct to your point. My last one, which did really well, I was in the car and the light was hitting a different way and it wasn't like my. Yeah, it was like distorted. That's right. But I think, I think that that's, I think a great strength of mine that I would encourage people to consider is constantly trying new formats. You know, I'll use you as an example. We've talked in the past, whether on DM or Twitter or in a veefriends discord or like this about like I'd like to get more traction. I want more views on my videos and something that I don't think I've given good advice on in the past to you or the hundreds of thousands of people that have asked me is, look, if you have the same exact format format, not you're talking about different things, but it's camera to face and you post it as an Instagram reel and you're doing that 50, 100 times and you're not getting really the results you want after a hundred times. You've got to change it. You've got to change your format. Maybe you bring on a guest, maybe you go to green screen, maybe, maybe you go to written word and picture. I think, you know, I always think about that concept of like, you know, the definition of insanity is like doing the same thing over and over and thinking you'll have a different outcome. So I do think I want to give permission to a lot of people out there. Like if you've done 100, I think that's the right thing. If you've done 100 of the same format per se, and you're really, really getting nowhere and you're now six months in, you know, you should challenge yourself to try different formats. Not talk about something different, just talk.

[Dustin]

About the same thing in a different.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, like, look, I believe in 40 to 50 core things and then I layer what's happening in the world at the time and new and different formats and platforms and I think there's something there, there.

[Dustin]

That's, that's good advice. I'm gonna try that. Cause I love doing reels. Like I love doing the video and some work, some don't. Then something that works on Instagram, then I put it on TikTok, it doesn't work over there.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, TikTok's a whole different animal. It's hard. It is hard. But I think, you know, I remind people like yourself, myself, I say this to myself all the time. If you're looking for something special to happen, it's supposed to be hard.

[Dustin]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know, yeah. Like I hear, you know, right, like even. Right.

[Dustin]

Yeah, it's supposed to be hard.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. Like I was in this. I was. Where was I? Oh, I was. Friday night I was in, in an airport lounge in Dallas and this gentleman, like a 60 year old guy, you know, he's a real yappy guy. I was trying to get a little work done before my flight to la, but he wanted to talk and I'm. About that life. He had no clue who I was or anything like that nature. We were just talking and he got into something and he was like. It really seemed to me that this was a gentleman. And I confirmed some of this through the conversation, you know, really, really came from rural America, really, like came from nothing, nothing and made a life of himself. And, you know, it was really nice. And his son was getting married in Tennessee in a couple weeks, really enjoyed the conversation. But he kind of talked about, you know, how hard he worked and then he was talking about what was hard for him now. And I kind of had this fun moment where I was like, hey, brother, like, you of all people know, like you didn't get to this point by accident. You don't have to do the next thing. But it's not going to happen without hard work. And so I think, you know, yeah, I think people ask to be known to get compensated for being themselves, to sell books, to speak, to sell things. It should be hard because 99% of the world works for someone else.