The Content Formula That Still Works | Forward Keynote/Q&A

Summary

Podcast Summary: The GaryVee Audio Experience
Episode: The Content Formula That Still Works | Forward Keynote/Q&A
Release Date: April 7, 2025
Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
Guest: Neil Dhingra
Description:
In this episode of The GaryVee Audio Experience, Gary Vaynerchuk teams up with Neil Dhingra, a top content creator and marketing expert, to deliver a keynote and live Q&A session at the Forward event—a real estate-focused conference aimed at empowering professionals through branding, content, and modern marketing strategies. The discussion delves into effective content strategies for 2025, the critical role of mindset and humility in challenging markets, the power of storytelling for trust-building, and actionable tactics for live selling and optimized advertising across various platforms.

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1. Introduction to Social Media Success in 2025

Gary opens the session by emphasizing the evolving landscape of social media and content creation. He acknowledges the dynamic nature of platforms and underscores the necessity for adaptability.

Quote:
"It's kind of like life. You just go into different chapters and it's coming in different waves right now."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [00:58]

2. The Power of Mindset and Humility

A significant portion of the discussion centers around the importance of maintaining the right mindset, especially during market downturns. Gary asserts that passion must drive professionals rather than the mere pursuit of money. He challenges attendees to introspect on their motivations, suggesting that many in the real estate sector may lack genuine passion for the industry.

Quote:
"Everyone should read it, Neil. The answers are there."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [01:08]

Gary further delves into the concept of humility, advocating for a balanced approach where personal fulfillment and peace take precedence over relentless money-making endeavors.

Quote:
"Winning is not how much money is in your pocket. Winning is how peaceful your sleep is."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [06:02]

3. Storytelling and Building Trust

Gary and Neil discuss the significance of storytelling in content strategy. They highlight that authentic stories resonate more deeply with audiences, fostering trust and connection. Neil shares his observations on the viral potential of genuine, personal stories versus straightforward sales pitches.

Quote:
"Being real and telling stories about your life creates authentic connection points."
— Neil Dhingra [05:16]

Gary's Insight:
Gary emphasizes that effective storytelling comprises emotional and human elements that go beyond mere transactional relationships.

4. Tactical Advice on Live Selling

The conversation shifts to the practical aspects of live selling. Gary acknowledges the growing trend of live selling on platforms like TikTok and discusses its applicability in the real estate industry. While he concedes that selling high-ticket items like homes might present challenges, he stresses that live selling can significantly boost brand awareness and build a loyal following.

Quote:
"Live selling for everything. I do not believe that it's as easy to sell a home, but let's not forget there's unlimited shows on TV where they show homes and put a listing up."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [19:19]

5. Optimizing Advertising and Content Strategies

Gary provides actionable strategies for running effective ads by leveraging viral content. He advises creators to identify high-performing content pieces and repurpose them into advertisements, thereby maximizing their reach and conversion potential. This approach ensures that ads remain engaging and relevant.

Quote:
"The content that gets views is the extremities of random ass shit... Sometimes it's the human stuff and then there's other videos that are the emotional stuff."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [14:02]

6. Emphasizing Authenticity Over Salesmanship

A recurring theme is the importance of authenticity in content creation. Gary argues that genuine interactions and honest storytelling are more effective in the long run compared to aggressive sales tactics. He discourages the use of manipulative strategies, advocating instead for building trust through consistent value delivery.

Quote:
"Being fake is a short-term game... What you're doing along the way is you're also losing the real ones."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [18:53]

7. The Impact of AI on Content Creation

Addressing current trends, Gary and Neil explore the role of Artificial Intelligence in content creation. Gary posits that AI will democratize content creation, making it easier for skilled creators to produce high-quality content while phasing out those who rely solely on quantity over quality.

Quote:
"It's going to commoditize a lot of the people that are not good and it's going to make the ones that are good exceptionally productive and successful."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [38:43]

8. Addressing Low Morale in the Real Estate Industry

During the Q&A, Gary tackles the issue of declining morale among professionals in the real estate sector. He attributes this downturn to complacency and excessive spending among top performers. Gary urges leaders to cultivate humility within their teams, advocating for prudent financial management and fostering resilience.

Quote:
"Humility is the superpower... You need to get humble."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [30:23]

9. Balancing Content Types for Maximum Impact

In response to a question from Rick Love, Gary advises balancing entertaining and educational content. He recommends continuing both types to maintain engagement and reach diverse audience segments. Gary underscores the importance of consistency and adaptability in content strategies to navigate ever-changing platform algorithms.

Quote:
"You should take that, bring it back to production and try to convert it with a... maybe even just change the copy to be an ad."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [23:14]

10. Final Takeaways and Call to Action

Concluding the session, Gary reiterates the essence of his "Day Trading Attention" philosophy, encouraging attendees to focus on building genuine connections and delivering value. He urges listeners to visit his website for further resources and to engage with his content across multiple platforms to maximize their marketing efforts.

Quotes:
"Please go to GaryVee.com/Attention if everybody can type that in after me, I really. It's fucking free."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [43:04]

"Humility is the superpower."
— Gary Vaynerchuk [30:23]

Conclusion

This episode offers a comprehensive exploration of effective content strategies tailored for 2025, blending philosophical insights with practical tactics. Gary Vaynerchuk, alongside Neil Dhingra, provides valuable guidance for real estate professionals looking to enhance their branding, content creation, and marketing approaches. Emphasizing authenticity, humility, and adaptability, the discussion equips listeners with the tools necessary to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

On today's episode of the GaryVee audio experience, we're sharing a virtual keynote and live Q and A that Gary did with Neil Dhingra, a top content creator and marketing expert for the Forward event, a real estate focused conference designed to help professionals grow through branding, content and modern marketing. In this session, Gary talks about how to actually win in Social in 2025, why mindset and humility are key when the market gets tough, and the power of storytelling and building trust. He also shares tactical advice on live selling, running better ads, and what creators should really be paying attention to on every platform right now. Let's get right into it, Gary.

[Neil Dhingra]

What I wanted to talk about with everybody here today, and you know, we've chatted about this before, is the new way to win on Social in 2025. And I know you guys have put out a bunch of content this on YouTube recently. I feel like, bro, I feel like you used to do a ton more business strategy on IG and now it's more mindset. Do you. Did you get away from doing the business stuff on IG? Because I find it only on YouTube.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I think, I think I eb and flow, you know, brother, I think it's kind of like life. You just go into different chapters and it's coming in different waves right now. What's like, look, I put out day trade attention. I put, I'll put this in the chat right now. I put out this deck. Gary. V.com/Attention. Like it's black and white. What's become clear to me, Neil, is like, like the 3,000 people. And I'm looking at everybody right now, right? And if everybody could Please share the GaryVee.com attention, it will help everybody. Everyone should read it, Neil. The answers are there. Yeah, you don't even have to buy the cheap 15 book. I literally made a deck so it could be free. And. And yet the reality is, is that most people on this call won't do it because they're insecure deep down and they don't even realize it yet because they're entitled. But they don't realize it yet because they are not passionate about it and only want to make money. There's. I mean, brother, I would bet my life that a substantial percentage of people on here right now are not passionate about being in real estate. They just think that that's where they can make some money. And so, like, there's real stuff that I think. And so, yeah, I'm stuck on mindset right now because I got to get that cavity. I got to get that cavity out. But I'll eb and flow. I'm going to. I'm about to give a ton on live social shopping because I'm obsessed with that. AI agents is something I'm getting educated on enough to be able to talk about at some point. So I ebb and flow, you know, brother, you know this. I. I mean, I made unlimited TikTok content in 2018, 19, 20, 21. So, like, it depends on what's, you know, grabbing my attention.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, I love that. And so what's interesting is when you talk about the tactics, you're right, I teach a bunch of tactics. But if you're not going to. If you're not in the right space to execute and you don't feel good about what you're doing. You know, I think about this too, a lot, Gary. Like it maybe the reason why people don't promote their product or services, they don't believe in it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, brother. Do you know that? Do you know that I'm a shitty salesman if I don't believe in what I'm selling? I do, you know, naturally gifted. I am at sales. I am a shitty. And by the way, I know this because I don't do it. Like, maybe when I was a kid I'd be like, you know, like, buy. Buy Sprite instead of Coke when I like Coke. But I mean, I don't know. Like, I don't even. I know it because I'm not even. You know why I'm shitty. I don't even do it. I'm not even capable of pulling it off. Yeah, you gotta sell something you believe in even when others don't. For example, Vee friends, right? As you know, NFTs. It got crazy. And then thank God I made those videos saying 99% would go to zero. But a lot of people still think they're scams. They were worthless. They were Beanie Babies, bro. They're not. There was just an administration in the White House and the SEC that didn't allow builders to build. That's going to change. I believe that 1% of NFTs are going to be very collectible. But I've done veefriends, cartoons. I've got Topps trading cards. Like, I'm proudly selling vends. I want everybody here to buy a Vend. NFT and to. And to buy vfriend stuff because I know I'm going to build a Marvel, Disney, Pokemon. And it's okay if 90% don't see it yet. Like, I know that I read comments like, I love Gary Vee, except that NFTV friends thing, but, you know, but.

[Neil Dhingra]

But you could do it. This is like, I think it's so dope that we can tie it to our business. So, for example, I was just talking about this. So like, with personal brand, with content. I've noticed with my own personal content, Gary, that when I teach things, there's an audience and sometimes that those videos go viral, but you know, a lot of times it's a limited audience. It's still impactful because it's more bottom of the funnel. But when I just tell stories about things that are going on in my life, people connect with me. Now what's interesting is those are the things that people say when they see me. So they come to the events, they come in, they're like, bro, did you find, like, what, what happened with your son? What are you doing here? What are you doing this? And like, so I feel like that's where we should lean. Almost 50% of our content is on storytelling. Because I see those videos blowing up every day on social. And then when you're pitching your stuff all day, all running basically ads, trying to be organic all day, it's dead.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, man. I mean, the book was written a long time ago. It's right there. It's called jab, jab, jab, right hook. Give them what they want. Give them what they want. Give them what they want. And occasionally you can ask for something and it's not going to convert as, I mean, do you know how frustrated people that are givers are when they don't convert on their ask? But I keep reminding them, they're like, gary Vee, your fucking jab, jab, jab, right hook's not working for me. Like, I've given my life to this community for a year. I asked for them to buy the book and like only 3,000 bought it. I'm like, 3,000 is better than zero. And by the way, like, when I wrote the book, I didn't say give, give, give, and then trick them into buying it. I said, give, give, give and then ask. Yeah, and so, yeah, I mean, of.

[Neil Dhingra]

Course, but that's the reason why they will do business with you, you know.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Of course, like, nice guys finish first. This is the misnomer of society. Nice guys finish last is the worst statement in the world. Kind, karma driven good men and women always win in the end because winning is not how much money is in your pocket. Winning is how peaceful your sleep is.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, that's A bar.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, that is a bar. You like that one too? That was good.

[Neil Dhingra]

You know what I mean? I think as you get older, like my face goes gray and as I get older like it's like, dude, what is the extra X dollars? Now I know if you're on this call and you're in a place where you do want to double your business and all that stuff, that's awesome. But I will tell you this, that the fulfillment and the peace is more important because you'll find. And I know it's so, so freaking cliche because Gary says all the time and you know all these people tell you like, well, it's easy for you guys to say because you got money, but I will tell you for sure that once you get past a certain level, it really, it's really like about your time and what you're spending your time on and your piece.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I made less than, I mean I built my dad's business from 3 to 60 million. He never paid me more than 100 apex, I got a hundred thousand and I had no money. But I loved life because my life was simple. I wasn't like, like I wasn't like when you have a family, you're worried about your children, your parents get older, you're worried about that. You get older, you realize like you get scared. Like, you know, many people are scared, bro, I'm reading all these awesome notes in here and just loving it, loving all this interaction. Like most of these people are scared because media has scared them, bro. I turn on Fox News and CNN and MSNBC and all because I watch everything social. I want to know everything. 100% of mainstream media is fear selling both sides. And 85% of social media is fear selling because they got fear from that and they're just passing it on. Yeah, so as you get older, you fear more. When you're 20. Do you know how many 23 year olds give a fuck about politics? The LA fire like a 19 year old right now in college is trying to hook tonight. They're not worried about inflation. They don't give a fuck about the LA fires. I mean they do because they're a human being and it's a tragic event. But like, you know what I mean, like it's not eating up their 400 hours a day. They don't fucking worry about like politics. They don't know the speaker of the fucking House. They don't give a shit about the Supreme Court. They're not worried about the BRICS alliance. They're not worried about what China's trying to do. They don't worry about Putin trying to bring back the Iron Curtain. They're not worried about fucking some bird flu kicking up. They're fucking drinking beer.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah. And so, you know, it's funny how you were, like, as happy as you ever been when you're broke. You know what I mean? Over here laughing, bro. But he knows it's true, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's so true, bro. Take it back further. When you're nine, you're really happy.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So anyway, well, this is the thing.

[Neil Dhingra]

But this is the thing, bro. I think, like, that's. You got to get right mentally. And I know people are in here. Somebody says they're getting goosebumps in here, it's like, yeah, it's true. Sarah says, live peacefully, and then you'll get more. Bit like you'll attract more things because you're not chasing it as well.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Neil, Neil, let me say.

[Neil Dhingra]

I told people, I said, bro, you don't. I said, you don't have to show up today if you don't want to. Just if you want to be here, here's what we're going to do. It's going to be dope. Your call, though. And then we got maxed out versus me trying to sell, sell, sell, you know?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Of course. And, Neil, I. If we were doing this and one person showed up, one. And you're like, gary, I'm so embarrassed. My shit's bro. I would be giving this fire right now with one person here. Yeah. It's being a good person, Neil. This is a good one. I think this will teach all these people more than anything we could possibly do. You've been going hard. You followed the playbook. You had the skills and talents. That means you've met a lot of the people out there that have personal brands. Right. You know the people now, right?

[Neil Dhingra]

Yep.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know where I'm about to go? All the people these people look up to, me included, You've learned some of them are even better in real life than they show up on Social. But that's a small little group. What you've really learned is most of them are way worse.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah. And unhappy, insecure.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And what I know more than I know the sun will come up tomorrow, is I know I'm on the good side of that because there's never a moment where I'm not a nice guy.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah. I love that. You know what's interesting, too, Gary?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I want to just. Okay. I'm sorry. Please, go ahead.

[Neil Dhingra]

No, I. You can finish your thought. But I just wanted to say, this is like when Gary said, he's just a good dude. You guys, if you want to go to my YouTube channel, right, where we've done. We've been crushing it lately. If you search Oldest video. The oldest video. The first video on my YouTube channel was me hanging out with Gary in that office that he's in right now. Like, six years ago, bro, he did a meetup where you could just show up at his office. I don't think he does this anymore, you know, but back then, you could be like, yo, bro, can I come through it? He'd be like, yeah, and the team DM me back and we got to hang out. And he's like, everybody gets a five minute meeting. He was launching a shoe, a sneaker. We bought some sneakers. We got to hang out. We got to watch a live AskGaryVee show being filmed in the office. And like, I post. I posted about this. And so, you know, Gary's just not just telling you this for those of you who've been following a while, like, you know, but he's been doing it, you know, and that was a nobody, bro. Like, who am I to come to your office and hang out?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But, Neil, you know this. Thank you, comma. I'm even talking little shit. That's one thing, right? How about, like, when you have your conference, how people act in the back room with the person that's making you up? And by the way, before I get too far down this path, yo, I'm a human. I've got tons of fucking shortcomings. I suck at a ton of shit. Just being a good human is not one of them, you know? Like. You know what I mean? Like, you've invited people that you've looked up to. They come and speak at your conference, and they're talking down to your fucking. They're. They're being nice to you.

[Neil Dhingra]

No, I hear the stories afterwards from the staff, of course.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So I know the story. I know the stories the staff said about me. Not that I do, but I just know that I think being kind to another human being is the requirement for this entire game. Sure, I'd love for you to fucking know this inside out, because it will work. But that's fucking basic. Memorize it, listen to it. Learning that how you treat humans will impact your fucking wallet is something that people do not believe. They do not believe it. They think I'm talking puss shit. They think, like, nah, they're gonna be like, well, Gary, I tried to be nice. I Got walked all over. No, that's not true. You might have tried to manipulate someone by doing a small thing that was nice because you wanted something from them.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, 100%, dude. This is the game, guys. And so I want to get into. This is what we're going to talk about now is we got a content strategy I'm going to ask Gary's opinion on, and then a few of you guys have submitted questions. We're going to pull you up live to ask Gary a question. I know you've been looking forward to that, so stick around for that. But here's the deal. At the.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

At.

[Neil Dhingra]

At the strategy, this is going to come full circle. You put out a video, I don't know if it was a year or two ago, and you said, bro, if you don't believe in marketing, I want you to watch this, you know, like, post organic content, get the views. Then you want to run your hook. You want to run your ad. Run an ad and target the people who've been watching your videos and you'll believe in marketing forever, bro. I did that shit. And I'm telling you, it is the. I feel like even today it works and better even today than it did. Then it is the unlock, because the people already know, like, and trust you, and now you're giving them an opportunity. They watch your ad, they engage with it, and they take you up on your offer versus just running an ad to cold traffic where they never saw your face ever before. So this. First of all, I just want to, you know, thank you for putting that on the radar. And then I want to get into, like, both sides that what's the content that you put out that gets the views? And then what's the retargeting piece look like?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The content that gets views is the extremities of random ass shit. When I, in the green room of a talk, said blueberries were underrated and I love them, that was one of my most successful videos of all time. I promise you. That wasn't on my strategy sheet. So back to your point. Sometimes it's the human stuff and then there's other videos that are the emotional stuff. When that young woman came to me after a talk and she said, one day I'm going to be somebody. And I'm like, you're somebody now. Which was wild because Miles Garrett did the same thing to Football Player the other day. Very similar piece of content that works the emotional and then the third one, the tactical. Like when I put out a video showing how to do something in Black and white on a. On a bulletin board, which I do rarely these days, to your point earlier, but I probably will. I have in flow, I'm sure in three years. I'm like, all right, let me show, you know, so something of value. Now, value comes in all shapes and sizes. Why does somebody that's unbelievably attractive, male or female, get a lot of likes? Because being attractive is value. Why does somebody who's a comedian get a lot of like? Because being funny is value. But mentorship, coaching, skill set, learning, those things are value too. It's just value. The problem for almost everyone in this chat right now is when they get excited to make a piece of content, it's to tell somebody to buy a house from them.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, well, my thing is, like, we were talking about authentic storytelling as the big unlock for this call, one of the big themes. And I will tell you guys this. Like, I'm excited to share a story now. I think, you know, I don't know where I heard this, or maybe I freaking thought.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I don't know.

[Neil Dhingra]

But it's been etched in my mind for the last five years. Don't say no for the audience. You know, like, yeah, maybe you said it, Gary, but I was like, by.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The way, I don't think I invented it, but boy, I. Yeah, you actually.

[Neil Dhingra]

Now I think about it. You did.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, bro, it's. By the way, you know why? Why I just jumped in. It was the first thing I told AJ the day we started VaynerMedia. The first thing, the first day, 9am first thing I looked at my brother, I'm 34, he's 22. And I was like, the number one rule is do not say no for America.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yes.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Don't say nobody. Don't say no for the other guy is actually what I said. And then I explained the other guy actually met every consumer. Everybody here talks themselves out of it.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, you're thinking about, you know, authenticity is like, well, how do you be authentic, Neil? Well, just here's the thing, people. Authenticity is not telling someone the truth. It's like revealing your truth at the risk of maybe somebody not engaging with you or scoring.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Let me tell you one of my favorite examples in all of business. It fits in real estate authenticity. When a 22 year old is insecure because he or she's never sold a home. Instead of documenting their journey of learning how to sell homes the right way, teaming up with OGs, they think wearing a suit.

[Neil Dhingra]

Facts. Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And getting a watch which is fake is gonna make you Be like, oh, the are we doing? You're 22.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah. And people do this all the time. They're flexing. But yeah, it's just real. Melissa said it in the chat. Being real. And I think the audience has gotten really good at sniffing out who's being authentic and not being authentic because they've consumed so much content. You ever see a young person like scroll, bro, it's insane. Like you can scroll 20 videos and then all of a sudden they stop and it's another talking head video. Why? Like why do we watch somebody and not the rest? It's probably a big piece of. This is how they tell stories. But also being real.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Being fake is a short term game. And you might be able to trick losers, but you're also losing equity with winners. Hey everybody. Actually, if you're a really hardcore listener, you know, I never do this. I'm sorry to be jumping in the middle of the podcast, but the truth is I'm like shitting the bed on this. Everybody else is getting people to review on Spotify and Apple and like the vaynernation does none of that. Cause I've never asked. So if this podcast has ever meant anything to you, please go to Spotify or Apple right now and leave a review. By the way, even if you give me a one star review cause you think it's shit, I, I respect it, but just leave a review, an actual review, four or five stars. And the actual details of why. Yeah, that would mean something for me. So thanks. Now back to the podcast. Let me say that again because it's incredibly important. Being fake, Faking the funk, tricking people, scamming people, not being authentic. You can trick people. You can trick people for a short period of time. For a period of time you could keep tricking people. But what you're doing along the way is you're also losing the real ones. And if you're ever going to want to be in the big leagues, you need to understand that.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, one thing that you've been. You just previewed this a minute ago, but you've been talking a lot. I've seen it on the news. Is live selling. So yes, QVC style. So I know you talk about this trend, but bro, I was on TikTok and I know there's some talk of TikTok Ban coming back. I'm pretty sure it's going to be here, but. And by the way, you could do this on other platforms, but I saw it crushing on Tick Tock. I saw a mortgage guy on Tick Tock going live for two and a half hours.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Neil Dhingra]

Answering questions live. And then the people that were ready to move forward, he's like, oh, he passes them off to the team. He just literally turned his live on. And There was maybe 12 people on at one point. There was three people on at another point. He was answering questions live. So I feel like, bro, this. And I've seen maybe like three people do this in the last year. So it's not. It seems like it's new to our industry, but live selling, I know people think of it QVC style, like you're selling widgets, but, like, you can also do this with services. Correct?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. I mean, obviously it's going to be. It's going to have a smaller effect. It's a lot easier to sell a T shirt, for sure. Selling than a car or a house. But of course, because it's. Because one of the things that's happening when you're doing live selling is you're just building brand and building awareness, you know? So, yeah, I'm a believer of live selling for everything. I do not believe that it's as easy to sell a home, but let's not forget there's unlimited shows on TV where they show homes and put a listing up. Yeah.

[Neil Dhingra]

But I think it's not about selling the home. It's about selling someone on the process of, you know, starting the process with you. So it's like, hey, what? Maybe there's a checklist you have. Maybe there's stuff you're going over with people who want to potentially.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Now you're going into the smart part, which is branding and reputational build. Of course there's. There's multiple things going on at once. But do I believe that somebody is going to actually sell a home from a TikTok live? Of course somebody sees it. They're like, wait, my aunt lives in Mesa, Arizona. They text them like, the world is connected more than ever. It's crazy. It's so cool. It's so amazing.

[Neil Dhingra]

So when you think about, okay, we're posting more content and I've noticed the algorithms always changing. IG is the toughest one sometimes, you know, and maybe get more reach on TikTok. Maybe you're getting more reach here. But I will tell you this, on the videos that we've seen take off, I feel like it's more feast or famine, like less will do good. But then you can still hit one out of the park, you know, it's like. And you. Maybe you're seeing, you and your team are seeing the same thing. But as far as what do you see for trends right now in content? And also I've noticed that this is all, this is a big skill for ads, like just making ads. It the cost to run the ad is so exponentially lower. It gets so much easier if the creative is good, right? You talk a lot about the creative variable.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's the whole variable.

[Neil Dhingra]

It gets like incredibly cheap if you make a viral ad, right? So if you're talking about content like or ads, it needs to be a good video. So what are you seeing are the trends?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I mean on my, on converting to ad, my favorite thing is to take something that went viral or really over index it organically and then slightly refurbish it to be an ad. Right.

[Neil Dhingra]

So that video. But the video that did viral was what if it was a brand video? It just was. There was no call to action.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Let me go left field. I make a blueberry video that gets 5 million views. I then take it back to the shop and run most of it. But then about 3/4 of the way, there be like a banner ad at the bottom that says, you know what's delicious like blueberries. Gary's new book, Day trading Attention. Think about how weird that connection was. But I can tell you that that will cack at LTV better than a lot of my best AB testing because the video itself is a good video. And then you're just in it, right? Then you're in it and then you've got a shot. And if somebody is in the market to buy a book to read about their business or marketing, that may trigger it. And so it's wild. That's an extreme left field version that I gave.

[Neil Dhingra]

So for a small creator, it's like okay, say you ten videos, small creator. Two of the ten do better than the other eight. And then one of the did was the outlier. And when Gary's saying millions of views, that's for bigger creators. But like could happen to you. But even if it was 10,000 views and your other views get 200.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's right.

[Neil Dhingra]

That one that got 10,000 views, you're saying that one is the one. Like there's magic there. So that's what you should use for an ad.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You should, you should take that, bring it back to production and try to convert it with a. Maybe even just change the copy to be an ad. Could do that.

[Neil Dhingra]

Put a call to action on it. Something. A button. Yeah. Okay. And so one thing, guys, just the takeaway for this, that would work for everybody here, and we've tried this, and many of our crew has tried this, is to make the thing that you're offering not the end result, but just a step or two before that. So these are lead magnets. You know, many people are familiar with this on the call, but like a guide or in Gary's case, he just talked about a book. Like, he's not selling, you know, a contract with VaynerMedia, he's selling a book, you know, which is like multiple steps before then. So I think if you back up the truck of like, okay, what do you want in the end? Well, the end result is like, I want to get somebody a mortgage or a house. Well, that's cool. What is a couple steps before that? What's the resource you could offer? That's the thing that people will click on, on these ads.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. And I think. I think testing and learning, I think humility and curiosity and creativity are three words that we should all talk about right now. What are the trends? What's the breakthrough? The person that doesn't pay attention to what's working and does something completely random. What's definitely worked for my career is not watching what's working for everyone else. Trying to make up random shit. You know, I saw people vlogging, Casey Neistat, others. They were doing it. I'm like, I can't do that. I'm like, wait a minute, what if I had a huge. You know, like, that's like reality tv, like, you know, trying different stuff. You know, a lot of people, when they're selling an act of books, don't put out a free PDF that sums up the book.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, my God, let me try that. Maybe that people will feel so happy that I help them, they might buy five for the team after they read the. I don't know. And by the way, also be okay if nothing happens. That's the other thing. If you do something with just the expectation of the monetizable event, you're going to get caught. Yeah, right? So I think humility. Let's go to that one first. Being okay with getting three views. Neil, the reason most people don't do random shit is they don't want to get three views when they're used to getting a thousand.

[Neil Dhingra]

But who the fuck cares? Like, nobody notices. There's nobody walking around being like, hey, dude, I just scrolled all your videos and I saw you bomb twice last week.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And what if. And what if somebody. And if. What if somebody. If somebody did. What if somebody did, like, what what is this, fucking third grade? The fuck are we doing here?

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, I just, people like, hey, do you delete?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But, but you know what, but you'll love this deal. Everyone loves like, everyone's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But a lot of these people aren't doing it because of that. And to your point, do you delete or archive your content? No, I do not. But other people do it because they want, when someone comes on it, to trick them to think that every video they make gets a million.

[Neil Dhingra]

That gig is up, bro. That's, that's, that's five years, by the way.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That gig was never.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, well you could fool people five.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Years ago that, that gig was never. Because if you're in that place, you're already in a, in a place of insecurity.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, so this is the, the key guys, is like testing more things and not worrying about it. Like I talked about it earlier, you got to make more flops to get a banger. But it's also like the cost of the flop is less than the cost of doing nothing. Like for me, just walking to the car telling something, it's easy, it's bigger than that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The learnings of what doesn't work.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, that's true, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh my God. I am a man that stands here today with a good track record in this craft based on all the micro losing, not the winning.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, guys, if you, by the way, if you have an idea, we're going to look at some of the questions now. We're going to get into this and I got a couple people I'm going to call up before Gary has to bounce. I'm going to bring up a question right now. Gary. Okay, so is Sam May on the call? And then we'll move on to.

[Sam]

What's up, brother?

[Neil Dhingra]

There you are.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What's up, Sam?

[Sam]

Gary, I love you, Neil. Love you. You guys are the shit. Thanks for doing this for all of us. But Gary, I got a question for you, man. Morale sucks right now in our industry and I think it's affecting a lot of people's ability to just to operate and market and sell. And I think it's compounding the problem. Like their morale is actually hurting our ability to.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Honestly, Sam, I'm starting to jump in. I really am. I'm just going to jump on it while it's in my stomach and then we'll finish the question. B players tough market is when A players eat. I needed this. By the way, if you think that was fun for me to say it wasn't because I know a lot of people. I don't want to say, hey, you're a fucking loot, but I'm telling you, morale is low. This industry has a lot of pretenders. Every industry does. This one especially is good at it. Because when it's good, you need to be like a rock and you can sell a home. Like, no, you're not a human. Like, you're literally like a piece of food can sell a home when it's hot. So just I need everybody to hear this. Morale is low by CD&F players in the real estate industry. If a players are fucking hoping that the market stays down because it's weeding you the fuck out. Okay, keep going.

[Sam]

I. I feel that, Carrie, but I'm going to tell you, like, we have some a player beasts in in our market right here and they're losing their backbone. Like how? Like as a team leader, like, you know why?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know why? Teach them to not spend their money when time is good.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know why? You think they're a players because they're a players at selling, but they're f players at spending. And when was good, they got a Lexus or a Viper when to the Four Seasons and ate the lobster and give me the Dom P and got him Rolly. You know why a players are bending right now? Because they spent their money. Because no one thinks there's ever going to be a dark day. Which I would then say immediately makes them a C player. What do you think about that, Samuel?

[Sam]

I think it's the truth, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I know it's the truth.

[Sam]

That's why I drive a paid for Chevy, dude, is what I think, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I mean, there's so many people like that that are so good at selling that they're good at spending. They've got to get their shit right. We got to get back to grandma and grandpa principal, save some money. We don't even save money anymore.

[Neil Dhingra]

The so true, bro. This is insane. I think it's a great question. Thank you, Sam, for asking that. Because I think it's so.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Sam. So, so. Honestly, I want. I'm sorry. So Sam, ironically, my answer was the answer, you need to sit down your team and be like, hey, if like let's have real talk. Let's all live a little humble. Hey everybody, let's ban. I'm making up weird shit right now. Let's ban Starbucks coffees in the office. We're gonna make folgers in the office because everyone's gonna save six bucks times three. 18 bucks a day. Like we gotta get humble. Humility is the superpower. We fucking hated Spencer and Heidi, and all of a sudden they lost their home and Heidi's at shopping at Marshalls. And we're like, they're the best. Humility is the fucking answer. People need to get humble.

[Sam]

I feel like it's hard conversations, man. I'm telling them, little wins, you know, take. Take it. Just action over ideation and. And little wins is the way to get back on top and just to build on. On something. Right? But I. I think the bigger issue is that they're. They're just not. They're not willing to have the hard.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Conversation, you know, they're also hypocrites. They're the same people that were talking like, you gotta crush it and work hard and fucking eat it like two. And now that because they're getting affected.

[Neil Dhingra]

They'Re crying, Gary, bro, somebody just text me, I won't say your name, bro. I won't call you out. But he said to me, he goes, I love what Gary's saying right now. This is speaking to my heart. This is exactly why I sold my Ferrari.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Good for that person, bro. Watch this. Here comes. You see it?

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That person gave me goosebumps. I respect nothing more in the world than a man or woman that is willing to have the humility to go backwards on paper, by the way, sell their home and go rent if they really got themselves in a man. I. I can't even. Oh, I can't even explain when all. Do you know what the proudest thing I've ever done in my career. Neil is number one. Number one in my career. Not taking the government's money during COVID Yeah. Didn't take it.

[Neil Dhingra]

A lot of people did that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Didn't take it.

[Neil Dhingra]

All my homies, a lot of realtors did that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I know a lot of people that are like the government. It should never. Don't bail out people. Number one thing, I. You could see my energies going to a different place because I got real feelings about people around me in my life that talk that, like, be a winner that took that money when they didn't even need it. My company was on fucking. I was up 24, by the way, and I was up 24 hours a day because I also did the all in challenge with Michael Rubin was raising money for people. I want to know who the fuck you are. This is a whole nother sentence and conversation about, bro.

[Neil Dhingra]

I think we just. We just figured out how to trigger Gary, man. Don't.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Neil, Neil. I don't need peacetime generals. I don't need peacetime generals. I don't. I don't need people that are good when it's easy. I'm trying to figure out who's a fucking winner. When it's hard.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah. I love this energy because Sam.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

When Sam says Sam, get back on the screen. Sam.

[Neil Dhingra]

Okay, hold on, hold on, Sam.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No worries, Sam.

[Neil Dhingra]

I got him back.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No worries, Sam. No worries, Sam.

[Neil Dhingra]

No worries. He's back. He's back, he's back.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I just need you to hear this. Anybody by nature who's complaining and crying when things are tough by definition can never be an A player. So they better acknowledge their penis right the now.

[Sam]

And that hits.

[Neil Dhingra]

He called it out, bro. All right, let me. I'm gonna move on to another question. And then. And. And I think that did hit a chord because the chat went crazy.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Crystal says I refuse to be a B player. The number one rule of that immediately takes you to beness is complaining. Don't blame the government. I don't even. Fucking president the United States. Yes. And what? Who cares? I'll win on boats. Nothing. I don't want to hear that your mama did this. I don't want to hear this compet. Don't. You know another thing I never do, Neil? Don't say a competitor's name. Don't even know their name. We're talking A players, by the way. B is remarkable. There's plenty of things I'm a B, C, D and F player in. In my life. Talking business, though. Shut the up.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, I'm with you, bro. I just put my head down. Didn't the work. And what's crazy is the separation you create from all the people who are just got their, you know, just down on. And I understand it's easy to get down right now, but this is how you separate. So Nick, we got Nick Saka in the house and Rick Love all. They're gonna ask a question next. Gary.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Do it, Nick.

[Neil Dhingra]

Let's go ahead, bro.

[Nick]

What's up, Gary? Thanks, Neil, for putting this on. So, Gary, I own a insurance agency and I struggle with the balance of which type of content to focus more on. My funny content does very well. It's gone viral several times, but it doesn't directly convert into business.

[Neil Dhingra]

Ish. Ish.

[Nick]

Yeah, ish ish.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

By the way, somebody just said Rick is the it brother. I'm sorry to jump in because I'm getting hyped right now. There's only two things in business. There's marketing and then there's sales. The funny content is building awareness around you. If you didn't have the funny content, several people in this chat wouldn't have said, nick is the best. Right now. They know what the fuck you do. You're getting business from it that you don't even see. Nobody remembered why the fuck they emailed you, but go ahead.

[Nick]

Yeah, I know.

[Neil Dhingra]

So.

[Nick]

And the educational content, it doesn't perform as well like it usually flops, but I know it's necessary. I'm sure lenders and realtors can relate. I just want to know how to. Or I just want to know. I just want to get better at creating content that converts. Or like, what would Gary do at the end of the day? Like, which percentage would it be? 70, 30, 80, 20.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How many posts a week or a day are you doing between them?

[Nick]

Usually five post five reels a week, but a bunch of stories. Bunch. And posting on all platforms.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep. I would A, do more and B, I would ebb and flow. Sometimes 5050. Some 70, 20, some 80, 20. Like, I wouldn't overthink it. I would keep doing both to as much as I possibly can make across as many different platforms as possible.

[Nick]

Okay.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Does that make sense? You understand?

[Nick]

Yes, sir.

[Neil Dhingra]

Thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Let me ask you a real question. And don't me promise.

[Nick]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

On some real talk, on average, how many hours a week do you think you work and don't, by the way? Like, nothing's impressive and nothing's. I'm just asking, please.

[Nick]

Roughly between 45 and 52.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Good. Of those, I'm gonna go with 50 because it's easy math. Of those 50. Real talk. Don't me. This is important for you and everybody else. How much of the time do you spend on making content? Making it. Not reading the comments. Not, you know, scrolling your phone. Making it. Rob.

[Nick]

I'd probably say like maybe six.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Great.

[Nick]

No, maybe five or six.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. So about 10%.

[Nick]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Make it 20.

[Nick]

Okay, good.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's it.

[Neil Dhingra]

Cool.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know why it's gonna work and it's gonna take away this question.

[Neil Dhingra]

All right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Because the answer to. For anybody who wasn't following is you're gonna end up doing more of both because both work.

[Neil Dhingra]

Got it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

For different reasons. Gary, thank you. Stay well.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yvonne, we gotta. We got a little bit of time left here. Go ahead.

[Yvonne]

Hey, Gary. How are you?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm well.

[Yvonne]

So I've seen so much AI generated content and there's a new development on AI every day. Should we be embracing this to put out more content? Should we be. So no anti AI really just delve into it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I've lived through anti social media. I've lived through anti Internet. I've lived through anti search engines because some reason the yellow pages was supposed to be put on a pedestal. We've lived through anti texting because you know, you should be writing letters because that's more spiritual. Lived through reading about anti television, anti radio. Oh, by the way, go read the articles about anti electricity because guess what, there's demons in the electricity. So don't print in your home. Candles are better. I've read anti car because these horses are too important. I've read anti every single piece of technology of all time. And everyone who's anti loses and everybody who's pro gets first bloomer advantage.

[Yvonne]

What do you see as the major impact of AI on small creators like us?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That it's going to commoditize a lot of the people that are not good and it's going to make the ones that are good exceptionally productive and successful. Awesome.

[Yvonne]

Thank you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You're welcome.

[Neil Dhingra]

All right, we're going to go on with Rick. Love all, bro. Where are you at, my friend?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Rick, man. Love the shirt, brother.

[Rick]

Oh, thanks, Rock.

[Neil Dhingra]

And you know what? Rick bro has been building his brand based on his love of tequila. He talks about tequila all day, the different kinds, what to buy, what not to buy, Mark. But he also does loans, mortgages.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Go figure. And I'm sure, and I'm sure there's two other things that Rick can get us to fall in love with him about. Whether it's coaching or fatherhood or. Or mistakes he's made in his life, or burgers. The more you tell the world about who you are and things you're into, the more connection points we can make. Some people on this call, like me because of wine. Some people fell in love with me because of the jets. Some people liked it because of something else, like, keep it going, brother. I love the tequila thing, but go ahead. What's your question?

[Rick]

Well, with the logarithm always changing in Instagram, you know, it seems hard to try to keep up with that. What do you think is the best way for us to not only get organic content, but to stay up with things? Because every time you think it's you're. You're on the right track, it changes. And like, it seems like I'm back at zero again.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Rick, did you ever work out in your life? It's a very simple question. Yes or no? Yes.

[Rick]

Yeah, yeah. You can probably tell I work out a lot now. I know Adonis like body. I know.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Rick, were. Did you have up and downs or did you have like one good five year period, another net or how did it go?

[Rick]

No, there was definitely ebb and flow. Definitely still is. Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

How do you keep up with it? By putting in work, Rick.

[Rick]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like I'm sorry that the algorithm changes. Tough shit. If you want to be a winner and make people see your shit, you need to stay up on it. And if you're okay with not, then you can chill and you'll gain a little bit of more fat and your muscles will get a little small. Like this is. This is the truth. The way to stay on top of it is to stay on top of it, to read about it, to search about it, to ask ChatGPT to read books, read the free deck, follow people like me and others that are, that spend their whole life on it, do your own homework, and if you don't, you don't. And the other thing is. And the other thing, Neil, I'm sorry, real quick. The other thing is you're all too addicted to one platform. Everybody here should be on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok if it's still around, or if you're global, Snapchat, Spotlight, which is their TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, YouTube shorts. I promise you I didn't get here by accident. I promise you I didn't get here by luck. I didn't get here with my looks. I put in the fucking work. That's the answer to Rick's question every day. I know that attention and awareness is the most important thing in the world. And I pay attention to where it is, where it's going, how it's going, where, by the way, if you did another thing I've said a million times, Neil, and I know you've heard this I haven't said in a long time, but if you listened, and boy, have you listened to a lot of fucking things I've done. And better than that, you've actually executed on a lot of things that I've said. But one of the things you're not doing is you're not doing what I said, which is you go to the App Store every single day, day, every day. When you take a. When you brush your teeth before you go in the shower, or check your weight or drink a glass of water. Your new daily regimen is to go into the platform of the App Store app and look at the top 100. And you would know what lemonade and red note was if you did that. Because today they're one and two, and you'd be like, what the. Got it.

[Neil Dhingra]

Yeah, I haven't been doing that. I remember occasionally. But you get coke caught up in these platforms and it does take time. I think it's like what Rick's saying is, I have empathy, bro. For like, it's hard to keep up with. Because you know what else is hard?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know what's the hardest thing for me in the world? To eat protein over carbs and to go to the gym and work out my muscles and stretch. It's hard as. But as someone who got hot as on stretching the last three months after having ebbs and flows, I cannot believe how I feel today with my Ql, with my adductor, with my so as. And fucking four months ago I was like. And now I in the fucking work. And I feel better.

[Neil Dhingra]

Go figure. This is a great question that just came up. I see it in the Q and A. I also see in the chat, okay, it says if you're into these niche things, do you need to create a separate account for that? Like, let's just say it's tequila. But then he also wants to talk about this. He also wants to talk about this.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

He can. But don't forget 95 of the consumption is happening in the feed. So whether you do it under Rick's tequila, what's cool now is he can do that and his first post can get views because now. But views, not just followers. Or he could do it in the other thing. Both can work.

[Neil Dhingra]

Okay, yeah, I noticed this. I don't know. I don't know if you've seen the same thing, Gary. I feel like every piece of content is being judged independently. So like, you could make 10. Like, it used to be. Like, people be scared to make flops because they'd be like, oh, my account health is going to be impaired and I'll be viewed as a bad creator. No, it doesn't hurt. It doesn't hold you back. So then now you can make a video that takes off and. And it's judged independently and it will grow.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I know we got to go in a minute. I want to throw three right hooks. One's actually a jab. Please go to GaryVee.com attention if everybody can type that in after me, I really. It's fucking free. It will just. It will just answer 1 billion percent of the questions that I was getting in here. That's number one. Number two, this is very important to me. If you have a kid under 9 years old in your life. If you have a kid under nine years old in your life. Please put the number nine in here. Niece, nephew, child, grandchild. Okay, a lot. That's what I thought. Okay, you can stop please. If you don't mind, I'm just going to repeat this URL. You can stop now. Please share this I'm very proud of this. The people that make Coco Melon make my friends cartoons right now. I'm so proud of this. Literally teaching these lessons like I was teaching in this session to kids. I think your kids are going to freak. I'm really proud of it. And then I'm going on a lot of flights, which is I haven't been traveling as 12-12-931, 5731 I'm going to be answering a boatload. If everybody could stop chatting. If I'm going to be answering a boatload of texts in the month of February and March, bear with my Be Friends promotions on text. But if you want to text me your question that I didn't get to this is probably the most likely day trading Attention Doc will answer your questions that a lot of you had. The cartoons will start teaching your kids in this direction and this and this, this phone number is my text platform I use to answer questions. I'm going to do a ton in February, March because of the travel.

[Neil Dhingra]

So yeah, love it man. And I'm going to get back to more questions too once Gary has to bounce here. But bro, I just want to tell you man, the for we were talking the other day, a bunch of us video guys in the, in our industry, you talk about, hey man, who's, who loves it, who's passionate about it? You know, sometimes I'm passionate about it, sometimes I'm not. But what, what has really kept me in the game, bro, is taking what you taught and it got me fired up about reaching new people. It's like a video game for me. Like how do we put out more stuff? How do we reach more people? And it was all about attention. How do we get more attention now as a byproduct, my business grew and then I got super passionate about the business. So I think for a lot of people here, maybe, maybe you don't maybe don't love freaking writing mortgage loans every day or doing real estate. But at the same time, you have to find something within the industry that you love. And for me that's marketing. And the reason why is because of you, bro. So thank you so much.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I love you bro. I wish Everybody the healthiest 2025. I hope to see you around thank.

[Neil Dhingra]

You so much, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Take care.

[Neil Dhingra]

Appreciate you, bro.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Bye.

[Neil Dhingra]

Bye, love.