445: How Start on Social Media (Even if You Feel Late)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Think Media Podcast

Episode 445: How to Start on Social Media (Even if You Feel Late)

Release Date: September 16, 2025
Host: Sean Cannell (Think Media)
Guest: Neil Dhingra, CEO of Forward Academy

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Episode Overview

This episode features content marketing expert Neil Dhingra, who shares his journey from starting as an "awkward, cringe-worthy" content creator in the mortgage industry to running a multiple seven-figure business and hosting major entrepreneurial events. Sean and Neil dive deep into the real challenges creators face in 2025, why it's NOT too late to get started on social media—even in "boring" or "stale" industries—and reveal Neil's 3C system for content success. The episode is packed with practical advice about standing out in a saturated AI-driven environment, building a personal brand, and creating content that drives connection and conversions.

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Key Discussion Points

The Current Social Media Landscape

• Saturation and the AI Content Flood:
  • There's “never been this many people posting every day on social” ([03:48] B) and with AI, content volume is “like a firehose.”
  • “What used to work a year or two ago isn’t necessarily working today.” ([00:21] B)
  • Audience preferences have shifted: higher bar for information, demand for better packaging, B-roll, text overlays, and authentic storytelling.

Opportunities to Stand Out

• General to Specific Storytelling:

  • Telling your unique, specific story outperforms generic "how to" content.
  • “Anytime you can go from general to specific, it’s going to perform better because then the audience feels this is real. It’s not just some AI produced video or generic.” ([05:20] B)
  • Swipe: Use “How I…” headlines, e.g., “How I made an extra $1,000” instead of “How to make $1,000” ([06:07] A).

• Addressing the Viewer’s Pain Point:

  • Start by meeting the viewer where they are – acknowledge problems, share vulnerabilities, and connect around mistakes or struggles ([06:45] B).
  • “Call out the problem that you know is going to be on the viewer’s mind” ("8 Mile strategy") ([07:56] B).

• Hooks and Strong Statements:

  • Move the boldest, attention-grabbing line to the very start of your clips.
  • "Nothing is saturated because most people suck at what they do." ([10:20] B)
  • Proper clip structuring and “game of inches”—small tweaks in editing can lead to massive jumps in reach ([11:30] B).

Neil Dhingra’s Personal Story

• From Cringe to Confidence:
  • Neil started making videos in 2018/19, didn’t feel natural, and described early videos as “cringe, boring. Awful. The worst.” ([12:47] A).
  • “I just said, you know what, I’m going to try. I’m going to go for it anyway... at a certain point it just becomes about reps.” ([14:32] B)
• Lessons for “Stale” Industries:
  • Even in mortgage/real estate, starting content creation early gave huge personal and business impact.
  • “Even bad content will perform because the bar is so low...” If one good client sees your video, “80 [views] is viral for me.” ([17:04] B)

Getting Past Fear, Hate, and Vulnerability

• Dealing with Embarrassment and Haters:
  • "Most people are just scared to do the thing so they don’t put it out there.” ([14:32] B)
  • Most hate comes from people who wish they were doing what you’re doing–ignore it ([18:46] B).

Building Your Personal Brand: Contrast and the “Five Fs”

• Contrast Creates Connection:
  • Share what makes you different (heritage, appearance, interests).
  • Referenced example: Alex Hormozi (genius business mind and “just a gym bro”) ([20:30] B).
• The Five F’s for personal content:
  • Food, Faith, Family, Fitness, Fashion. Weave these into your content for genuine connection. Examples: “Just wearing the [Dallas Cowboys] hat or the jersey and some of your content…” ([21:33] B).
• Broader Appeal vs. Niche:
  • “People rarely come up to say, ‘I loved your video on buying that rental property.’ ... they remember the quirky, the personal—the Wu Tang, the fitness, the faith.” ([22:07] B)

Anti-AI & Power of Vulnerability

• Use AI as a Tool, Not a Crutch:
  • “Use AI to amplify the message, clean it up, organize your thoughts... but I’m not using it to replace me.” ([26:05] B)
• Be Willing to Share Opinions:
  • “If you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing and it just gets lost in this void of soulless content.” ([27:25] B])
  • Polarizing or slightly controversial topics can drive engagement and debate—don’t be afraid to spark conversation ([27:34] A).

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The Three C’s System for Social Media Success

1. Content

• Focus on higher-quality, original, and specific content.
• Share real stories, unique perspectives, and address timely trends.
• “What are the stories only you could tell?” ([05:20] B)

2. Connection

• The “missing piece” for most creators.
• Share personal stories, behind the scenes, interests (the Five Fs).
• “One of my best performing videos... was when I got my daughter tickets to Taylor Swift.” ([32:43] B)
• Don’t leave “connection content” only for Stories—post it to your main feed for greater reach ([33:30] B).
• “Anytime you do this, it just gives you more chances to get lucky.” ([35:31] B)

3. Conversion

• Replace the hard sell with the “dating method.”
• “People are selling the thing on social that the audience doesn’t want... The best marketers are not looking for sales; they’re looking for signal.” ([36:54] B)
• Insert conversion events or micro-commitments (webinar, lead magnet, DM “HOME” for a resource, events/conversations) before a big ask ([36:54] B; [38:01] B).
• “The only step was to book an appointment with me... I was missing that easy next step.” ([39:41] B)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Standing Out in a Saturated Market:

  “Nothing is saturated because most people suck at what they do.” (Neil Dhingra, [10:20])

• On Small Tweaks Making Big Leaps:

  “Small tweaks equal big leaps... you can make one change that maybe takes you a couple minutes, bro, and all of a sudden you are reaching thousands of more people, maybe tens of thousands, maybe millions of people.” (Neil Dhingra, [11:30])

• On Starting, Even if Cringe:

  “Even bad content will perform because the bar is so low... If I get 80 views on a video, but one... wants to have a conversation, that’s viral for me.” (Neil Dhingra, [17:04]) “I just said, you know what, I’m going to try. I’m going to go for it anyway.” (Neil Dhingra, [14:32])

• On Personal Brand:

  “Contrast. The more contrast, the better... Think about some of the biggest brands. Hormozi... This guy is a genius, but also looks like just a gym bro.” (Neil Dhingra, [20:29])

• On Connection Content:

  “They rarely come up to me and say, hey, I loved your video on buying that rental property... But, bro, I know you’ve been on a fitness journey!” (Sean Cannell, [22:13])

• On Authenticity vs. AI:

  “Use AI to amplify the message, clean it up, organize your thoughts... but I’m not using it to replace me...” (Neil Dhingra, [26:05]) “If you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing and it just gets lost in this void of soulless content.” (Neil Dhingra, [27:25])

• On Conversion:

  “The best marketers are not looking for sales, they're looking for signal.” (Neil Dhingra, [36:54]) “What’s the thing that people could download or opt in for at one in the morning in their underwear at home?” (Sean Cannell, [40:14])

• On Where Personal Branding Is Heading:

  “It’s heading into basically the top 1% being able to really crush it and then everybody else getting smoked out.... It’s not for everybody. It’s for the people who want to be intentional.” (Neil Dhingra, [40:54])

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• Saturation & Changes in Social Media Landscape: [03:48]–[05:20]
• Formula of “How I” (personal storytelling): [06:07]
• Calling Out Pain Points—“8 Mile strategy”: [07:56]
• Hooks and Clip Editing: [09:29]–[11:30]
• Neil’s “Cringe” Beginnings: [12:47]–[14:32]
• Opportunities in Stale Industries: [16:26]
• Building Connection—Five F’s and Brand Contrast: [20:00]–[23:30]
• Broad Appeal vs. Niche: [23:45]
• Power of Vulnerability & Anti-AI Content: [26:05]–[27:34]
• Three C’s System Revealed: [31:41]–[38:01]
• Conversion Content / Micro-Commitments: [36:54]–[38:01]
• Personal Brand, “Top 1%” Prediction: [40:54]

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Actionable Takeaways

• It’s not “too late”—starting on social in most industries still gives you a huge edge, especially if you show authenticity.
• Tell stories only you can tell, move from “How to” to “How I.”
• Address your audience’s pain points and vulnerabilities openly.
• Edit attention-grabbing statements to the very front of your videos.
• Build personal brand with the “Five F’s”—show more of who you really are.
• Don’t rely on generic AI content—use it to support, not replace, your unique voice.
• Conversion takes steps: focus on “signals” (conversations, events, free resources) rather than direct sales, especially on social.
• The future belongs to intentional, strategic content creators—not dabblers.

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For more, connect with Neil on Instagram (@NeilHome) and check out the Forward conference July 11–12, 2026, Las Vegas.

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This summary captures the spirit, insights, advice, and voice from both Sean Cannell and Neil Dhingra while skipping non-content and ad sections for clarity and value.

Transcript

[A]

The economy is shifting fast. If you're an entrepreneur or creator serious about scaling with YouTube, this is your moment. October 2nd and 3rd in Las Vegas, we're hosting the Think Media Mastermind. It's exclusive, it's application only and spots are almost gone. Apply [e-mail] what used to work a.

[B]

Year or two ago isn't necessarily working today.

[A]

What are some of the counter opportunities that's working right now to stand out?

[B]

So I have a few that are just crushing right now.

[A]

And Neil Dingra explore exploded his mortgage business by creating content that gets results on social media. He was in debt at 36 and today has built a multiple seven figure business.

[B]

Small tweaks equal big leaps. You can make one change that maybe takes you a couple minutes, bro, and all of a sudden you are reaching thousands of more people, maybe tens of thousands, maybe millions of people.

[A]

Today he's going to be breaking down his complete 3C system.

[B]

Number one is content. The next C is going to be this is the one that I think people miss. And then we'll get into conversion. And so here's the big thing on conversion.

[A]

If you want to succeed on social media in 2026, you need to use. Most people think that they're too late to the content game, that AI has made personal branding impossible. That you need to be young, tech savvy and naturally charismatic to build a following online. Meanwhile, you're watching 22 year olds go viral while you're stuck cold calling prospects, chasing leads, competing on price. And you know you should be creating content but every time you get on camera it's, it feels stiff, it feels awkward and you're thinking maybe this just isn't for me. But what if I told you that being cringe and being yourself could actually be your biggest advantage? That there's a 44 year old American Indian mortgage broker who went from making videos that were so embarrassing that he couldn't watch them, back to building a seven figure personal brand and hosting 1000 person events in Las Vegas. Going into 2026, everyone is so worried that AI is making content soulless. But that's actually the opportunity. There's never been a bigger opportunity to be yourself, to be real, to be authentic and for imperfect humans like you and me to stand out. The algorithm is literally hungry for authentic content. Meet Neil Dhingra. He's a content marketing expert who exploded his mortgage business by creating content that gets results on social media. He was in debt at 36 and today has built a multiple seven figure business. He's now the CEO of Forward Academy. And at 44, he's an entrepreneur that went from making cringe content in 2018 to hosting a thousand plus person events, collaborating with industry leaders like Gary Vaynerchuk, Cody Sanchez and more. And if Neil can do it in one of the most traditional buttoned up industries in America, mortgage banking, then anybody can do it. Especially if you're a service provider, you're a business owner, or you're a content creator that wants to get in the game and start. And today he's going to be breaking down his complete 3C system, the exact framework that took him from cringe to seven figures. And some of the new opportunities and challenges that creators are facing right now so you can get ahead in social media and personal branding. Let's dive in. Hey Neil, welcome back to the podcast.

[B]

Hey, thanks for having me, Sean. This is awesome.

[A]

So I want to get right into, we're gonna talk about your 3C formula. We'll talk about your expertise and how to, you know, really stand out with personal branding content. But let's first talk about some of the challenges right now because the landscape of social media and online business is changing. What are the biggest challenges? You help a lot of service providers, business owners, real estate, but entrepreneurs overall, a lot of content creators come to your events. How's the landscape changed and what are the challenges you see right now?

[B]

So the biggest challenge right now I see is people say it's saturated. There's never been this many people posting every day on social. The amount of content, it's like a fire hose coming out. And then with AI with things like trial reels, like there's just this massive volume of content that's coming up every day. And you've never had this much competition. So how do you stand out in that environment? That's where people are honest, honestly, struggling. And also I've just noticed that like what used to work a year or two ago isn't necessarily working today. So for example, with talking head videos on social, it's like people will say that they're not getting any reach. They blame the algorithm. Well, honestly, it's just the viewers. There's their, the viewers feelings, like their, their preferences have changed. Right. And so we're seeing a move towards like stronger information presented better, packaged better. And then also like B roll and text and things like this in trending audio. And so there's all kinds of things that you can do to really level up. And if you're using the Playbook from a couple Years ago you're probably struggling.

[A]

So a lot of noise. Everybody's creating content AI soulless content, shorten attention spans or like the quality of content which might not just be production value but holding interest, correct stuff happening. So it might just be assembled on your phone but the tactics of B roll text transitions maybe switch up your environment, not just plain talking head. And then even platform fatigued audience is overwhelmed by choices. So then what are some of the counter opportunities that's working right now to stand out?

[B]

So I have a few that are just crushing right now. And, and I think that this will depend on what your preferences are and how you create content. But one of the things that I think is always in style. It's been on style on YouTube forever is like talking about videos with good information but the bar for information is higher now. So it's not just like three tips to do X. Like that doesn't perform as well on social anymore. But maybe you have a specific story like here's how my client, here's how I did this in this timeframe. And so anytime you can go from general to specific it's going to perform better because then the audience feels this is real. It's not just some AI produced video or generic. We're seeing people that are using their avatar to, to create their talking head videos and it's super generic. And so like what are the stories only you could tell? Like your, your experiences are actually what are going to make this stand out. So that'll be the first thing.

[A]

Let me, let's give this formula to the community and that is go from how to. To how I correct and finish the sentence of how I. Because as soon as you say how I made an extra thousand dollars trying this strategy or how I lost 22 pounds in 45 days by doing and what also is now you just got to tell your story. And it's, it also flips from kind of preaching which how to is fine how to get started but you're, you're saying your methodology. So just so that listeners can swipe that like you use that as the headline and the opening line of one of your next pieces of content and.

[B]

See how it does the, the other one that works really well right now for talking head is going to be meeting the viewer where they're at. So calling out the problem. And if you've struggled with something and overcame it, those are great hooks. So for example somebody might have done a few years ago, you know, three ways to buy a home in today's market, maybe Your video would be like, you know what? If you're feeling overwhelmed with today's real estate market, man, I was right there with you. I didn't know where to go or where to turn until I figured out this, until I found this tool, until I found this system. And then now it's like, man, he was, he was just like me. He struggled. I think a lot of people don't like to be vulnerable or give their struggle. But that's honestly where I've seen the biggest growth, is where, hey, I struggled. I figured this out, I put together this system and now I'm here. People want to follow that because it's real.

[A]

Okay, so call out a pain point. I think about how we do that too. This works a lot. We help people grow on YouTube, grow their YouTube channel. And when we call out, if your videos are getting under 500 views.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Then watch this. And it's calling out a specific moment in the journey. So that would also be a headline. Individuals could still for a long form YouTube video or a short term, you know, vertical YouTube short or Instagram reel. So what is that specific pain point?

[B]

Yeah, and I think like, you know, there's somebody even I was teaching this one time and they're like, yo, that's like the eight mile strategy. You know, call out the problem that you know is going to be on the viewer's mind. And so, you know, like, interest rates are high, maybe inventory is down, or maybe it's, you know, every market's different. But call out those problems in my industry and then what is it for you? Like, what are you doing? Think about like, and you can ask GPT for this. Yeah, like what are the pain points right now? What's your target audience? Who are you speaking to? But then what are their pain points? What's going on in their head? If you can use. Pat Flynn actually told me this recently. He's like, if you can even use their language.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

In that opening hook, it's going to bring them even more. He sends out an email to his entire database and asks them what they're struggling with. Now. Not everyone's going to reply, but when they reply, he uses that exact verbiage in the videos.

[A]

That's interesting. And when 8 mile strategy, if you, if you basically share your own vulnerability, you might look back and say, okay, what was the time when you made a really stupid mistake? How I lost $5,000 because of the stupid real estate thing I did, or how I lost the whole house or I botched the contract or Made mess that up. Or how I hurt my relationship, how I, you know, almost, you know, got divorced. Or how I almost whatever. Because of calling out a mistake you made. And you'd also be calling your own story to the pain point. The person's like, that's where I'm at right now.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How almost killed my business. Or how I lost my best employee. How. And so you leading with pain in your failures.

[B]

Correct. And then I think, like, another strategy people use is chopping up long form. Like, for example, this is a podcast. We could chop up clips, post it on social.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Those clips don't necessarily perform like they used to. And the biggest problem I see, Sean, is people have a strong statement or the boldest part of the piece of content in the middle of the piece.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So we're setting up the context. We got maybe even a traditional hook. Then we get to the punchline. Nobody's there because they left in the first few seconds. So what I found great success in, and I'm seeing this blow up everywhere, is the best creators are taking the strongest statement, putting it up front, even if it didn't come that way in our conversation.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

So when you said 8 mile strategy is crushing, we would move that up front, then give the context, not the other way around.

[A]

Yeah. When people are cutting clips and like Opus Clip, which is a AI tool. Right. Yeah. It's going to go linear.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

So it allows you to rearrange it, but most don't. So they just are starting wherever Opus Clip tells you to start or trying to find the best place as opposed to moving it or repeating it too. Right. So you could repeat that.

[B]

And so I'll give you like, an example. I was just teaching a workshop and I said, I said, man, a lot of people say YouTube is saturated, podcast saturated. But what I found is nothing is saturated because most people suck at what they do. And so what I found is like, yeah, it's saturated for 95% of people who are not doing this. And then I went into my whole model teaching. But like that line, that's a bar. Nothing is saturated because most people suck at what they do.

[A]

So let me punch it up. We post nothing is saturated because most people suck.

[B]

Yeah, there you go. And cut the last part.

[A]

Cut the last part.

[B]

I should do that again. So we posted the first time where I said the punch line a few lines in. Did okay. Moved the punchline up front. It crushed 4x the views right away. Same video, same. Now, I could take what you just said, cut that end off. Make it even harder hitting. Yeah, it might do 10x the views.

[A]

Yeah. Slap that really strong hook. That's interesting.

[B]

There's a strong statement. We got to put it up front.

[A]

Yeah. Because I would. I agree with that. Everyone's saying they think that YouTube is too saturated, but saturation is. Competition is highest for low effort content and competition is highest for lazy content. Most are not willing to go to the level of detail and rigor that we're talking about, but that ultimately is the opportunity.

[B]

Yes. That's intention. And so there's a guy taught this at our event, which we'll talk about later, but he said it's the game of inches. Like, that tweak, took me just maybe a couple minutes to move that in. In final cut. Yeah, but like, that's why the video goes viral. If you're going to do that, you win. So I think the thing that's really cool about content today is small tweaks equal big leaps. This is a hook right now. Right. But like that, that is the best part because you can make one change that maybe takes you a couple minutes, bro. And all of a sudden you are reaching thousands of more people, maybe tens of thousands, maybe millions of people.

[A]

So I want to Talk about your 3C formula in a bit, but let's talk a little bit about your story because you know a lot of people, even now you've built this brand. You're standing on stage with Gary Vaynerchuk, Cody Sanchez. You. You probably have the most innovative industry redefining momentum event that I've seen in especially mortgage, went to real estate. Now it's more entrepreneurship. But forward that happens in Las Vegas annually is. It's legendary. It's epic. It's so sick. And, and then your content has gotten cleaner, crispier. You've become a good communicator. You've sharpened all these details. But what's incredible about your story is just a few years ago, your content was embarrassing, cringe, boring.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Awful. The worst.

[B]

Dang, bro.

[A]

Like. And, and, and your. But I, it's. It's kind of so cool to think because I think what people do, John Acuff says, never compare your beginning to somebody else's middle. Yeah. And they, they just, they even start thinking, well, you know, whoever it is, they compare themselves to a big YouTuber, somebody that's getting views on TikTok or Instagram, and they're, they're at the start. So take us back. Like, what was going through your head when you first hit record? When did you first hit record and why. Hey, we're about to get back into the podcast in just a second, but I have a question for you. Do you want to grow your personal brand this year? Do you need more leads and sales in your business? If the answer is yes, then right now is the best time to go all in on YouTube. Today's podcast is brought to you by thinkmasterclass.com where you can get on demand access to a one hour deep dive training revealing how to start and grow a profitable YouTube channel. This year, for a limited time, you can get access to this on demand class entirely for free, where you will learn the three biggest mistakes that people make when starting a YouTube channel. The new rules and changes that have been happening on YouTube and how you can use them to create an unfair advantage. And the exact strategy we use at Think Media to generate over 350,000 organic views every single day. The data is clear. 70% of viewers claim that YouTube makes them more aware of new brands. So don't wait any longer to start growing your brand and business with YouTube. Just go to thinkmasterclass.com to get access to this. No fluff, highly tactical, free on demand training. That's think masterclass.com so I hit record.

[B]

2018, 2019 in there and it was cringe. Like you get the Facebook memories, you know, on your phone, you're like, you can't even watch the video. How is anyone else going to watch it, you know, but. And those even worked at the time, but I didn't know how cringe it was, you know, And I think that's the thing a, you don't get much reach anyways because it's a terrible video. But most people are just scared to do the thing so they don't put it out there. And I just said, you know what, I'm going to try. I'm going to go for it anyway. And it's because I noticed the trend in my industry was shifting and I was maybe a little bit early, but I was watching guys like Gary Vee saying, hey, this is a big, massive opportunity for people in stale industries. So anytime you could do something new or innovative in a Stale business, you're going to crush. Like Cody Sanchez brought this up at our event. She said, hey, she's taking window washing companies. And then she started one called Pinks. And all the guys wear bright pink shirts and the trucks are pink. And they brought something fresh and new to a Stale industry. It's crushing. So I was thinking mortgage, real estate, boring. Nobody's really doing Content. Let me be the nerd, the information guy who brings the tips and the tricks to the people. Problem was, bro, is I couldn't communicate properly on camera. Didn't have the confidence. And so at a certain point it just becomes about reps. Yeah. So anyways, I just started doing it. Cringe at first and just got better over time. And then along the way, figured out my voice, got the confidence down, started hosting smaller events, bigger events. And I love using webinars and events for conversion. So I've just found that, you know, this is a great strategy for anybody out there is like you take online to offline. So my social could be top of the funnel for awareness, but then there needs to be some sort of conversion event. And an event could be like you take them to a page offline, you get them onto your email list. I get them into a room either on zoom or in person. And that's where I found the magic happens.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You got to get them out of the. Off the platform.

[A]

Yeah. You know what's interesting is I, I think where on the one hand people think social media is saturated, on the other hand, I think for stale industries, it's just getting started.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

National association of Realtors said that only 9% of agents are doing listing videos. Only 9%.

[B]

That's. Wow.

[A]

So you would think as we are going into 2026, that man, everybody in real estate has got to be creating content, posting content, putting it out there. No, only 1 in 10. And of course you see some creative, funny, you know, listing video in your Instagram feed and you compare yourself to them and it, you know, kind of goes viral. But like so many people are just sitting on the sidelines and they need to get in the game. And what I love that you said was you said you posted your first videos and they were cringe, but they even worked.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

What do you mean?

[B]

So even bad content will perform because the bar is so low. And so you think about quality, not quantity in terms of the quality of the viewer. So I'm in a high margin business. Each client has a big impact on my bottom line. Not selling T shirts.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So for example, If I get 80 views on a video, but one of the people in there is like, hey man, loved your video on this. Would love to have a conversation that's viral for me.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You know, 80s viral. If you get a client from it and the client is worth thousands of dollars.

[A]

Y.

[B]

So I saw an impact to my business from 2018 to 2019 and I was not passionate about Content. But when I saw the results, I became passionate about it. You know what I mean? Like, I think people wait to get motivated and then start. That doesn't work. You need to start and then you'll find the motivation and some feedback. So once you start getting some momentum, like, and it's just hints, somebody will say, hey, bro, love the video. Like, you wait, you like my video, bro? That's crazy. Makes you feel good. Then that would be the motivation to do the next one. And the next one.

[A]

Did you feel embarrassed at all?

[B]

For sure. Like, many times I didn't want to hit post, especially when it came to sharing more personal stuff. But I found that is the one way to stand out is like, hey, you know, how do you go from this is just great information Neil provides to I want to work with Neil, I want to partner with him. I want to fly from Montreal, Canada, to Las Vegas in July when it's 110 degrees outside to go meet Neil. How are you going to get that person to do that? Well, you have to share more than just the three tips. They have to build a connection with you. So I. I love, like, doing content, but how are you connecting with the audience?

[A]

I want to come back to that because even that is. That goes beyond just sharing information, but personal brand building a connection. I want to put a pin in that because I'm also. Did you get pushback? Have you got haters or push back along the way?

[B]

I think in the beginning, you don't get much hate. I think there was people in my industry who would be like, yo, who do you think you are? Right? Like, who do you think you are posting these videos? Like, you're. Were you trying to be a celebrity, bro? And I would just say most of the time, probably all the time, it's a. It's how they feel about themselves. They actually wish they were doing the thing you're doing. Yeah, it's like the guy in the gym who would make fun of people trying to get fit. That dude's not ripped.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's always somebody beneath, you know, like, the hate doesn't come from above.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

Anybody who's successful is, like, always encouraged me. They're like, bro, great job, man. Good to see you out there. Here's a tweak I would make. They give you the feedback. And so I just kind of like, realized that the hate is usually just a reflection of them and just ignore it.

[A]

So you were talking about personal brand. You said it was a little bit tough, especially when I started sharing personal Information. What is your opinion of. We're getting online, we're planting our flag in a niche or an expertise, especially as business owners or service providers, even content creators. It's nice to have a niche and you have like, maybe the tips you're sharing, but then at what point, what percentage are you encouraging people to weave in different things? And I think you have like five Fs. What are the things you're weaving in to build a personal brand?

[B]

I would go 80, 20.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

70, 30, if possible. So there's got to be contrast. So, for example, the more contrast, the better with the personal brand. So here's a guy who does mortgage. All right, stale. I'm also Indian. Cool. That's one piece of contrast. I also don't dress like the people in my industry. That's another piece of contrast. I also like music and share some of those things I also have. So all these little things give it this whole contrast feel. It's like, think about some of the biggest brands. Hormozi.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

This guy is a genius. But he also looks like just a gym bro. He's ripped. He's in a. In a wife beater every day. That's huge contract. So those are the brands that are going to stand out. So I think people are normally sitting on the thing that would give them the most amount of connection because they're just worried about what people will think or say. So, yeah, I think I would go 70, 20 or 70, 30, 80, 20. And then for personal content, I would share food. These are the five Fs. Food, faith, family, fitness, fashion. Okay, now you could swap one of the F's out for whatever your thing is. Yeah, I mean, I just book an event and one dude's like, I'm a degenerate gambler. I'd probably leave that one out. But, like, you know, what are you into? There's a guy in our group, he's into hiking in Denver. He does the tips on the hike. The algorithm is so good that it's going to show it to people who are outdoorsy. Yeah, there's people who are the biggest Dallas Cowboys fans. Like, dude, just wearing the hat or the jersey and some of your content, someone's going to give you a little bit more attention because you're. They have an affinity with you. Like, you share the same interests. So I just would think about not only doing actually intentional personal content, but just weaving in some of your interest into the business content.

[A]

And so what are the five Fs again?

[B]

Food, faith, family, fitness, fashion.

[A]

And so it's. And. And that's gonna. You're gonna put that in the 20 or the 30%, and you're gonna do a post. Maybe it's subtle. You're wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey and you're talking about mortgage, but maybe you actually do a post about your faith.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Just totally feels like a total right hook. Totally separate from a real estate post.

[B]

Yeah. And what's crazy, bro, is there's people who will connect with you and they'll come up to you, and you probably had this experience or me. And I see it all the time, where someone will tell me something personal.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That they remember from social. They rarely come up to me and say, hey, I loved your video on buying that rental property.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

They're like, here's some contraband.

[A]

You know, it happens all the time.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Those touch points. Oh, you're also a fan of the Wu Tang. Oh, you also go to a bania, which is a. A European steam bath. Or you're. You also love Jesus. You also like. That is it. They'll be like, hey, your tips are good. But, bro, like, you know, I know.

[B]

You'Ve been on a fitness journey. How many people have connected with you because of your fitness?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And.

[A]

And that makes sense, too, because if you think about on the last podcast, which I'll link in the show notes, your last podcast is still fire. You dropped all kinds of tactics. You were talking about broad appeal.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And I think that's a missing piece of 99 of people listening to this is they're. They're not tapping into broad appeal. I think the mistake they make is they think that if they go broad appeal, they don't have a niche anymore. But you still. You still have a niche. You still have a niche because if they click through to your Instagram bio or they go to your website, they see what it is you offer and what you do, and the exposure to that can then lead them into your world. But random stuff like the fact you're on these sub verticals. Like, the other thing I've been doing is Carnivore. You. You tap into the Carnivore algorithm. It's a whole thing. Right. You start getting suggested people talking about it. Of course, fitness, I'm in my 40s. Men's health, other dudes in their 40s. Or like, you know, that is the.

[B]

Most broad appeal ever right now.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Health is like, number one.

[A]

Yeah. And so those bit when you say it might. When I'm not a food creator. But okay, if you Tap into content related to that and Hero isn't But his most viewed YouTube short last time I checked was about Chipotle double protein.

[B]

Yeah. Crazy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he stopped doing those. He told me in a podcast he said, hey, we don't see as many opt ins from those. I would argue that it fits his overall strategy and he's not seeing the direct benefit, but indirectly people are more connected to him. They would give him more of their attention because of the Chipotle video.

[A]

It's an interesting point you make. You're maybe not correlating that to opt ins but the thing you could correlate it to is the brand and the connection.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Just like bro, I related to that. It reminded me of my days of like not having a lot of cash but trying to get protein. It reminded me it just, it's just connection, more depth. The affinity people have built for somebody like a Gary Vee is around all those other touch points.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Card collecting, sports.

[B]

One thing I noticed about collaborating with Gary over the years is, you know, all followers are not equal. You know, I've done, I've done collaborations, I've had benefit of doing these events with all these big influence, millions of followers and subscribers and you would think, oh, this guy has similar number of followers or subscribers to Gary. But then when we run ads together, less opt ins when we're doing the thing, less people are interested. There's a less of a line to get the person to meet the person versus Gary has like this deep level of super fan. Correct. And they're like, I've never seen an ad perform better than a image of me and Gary for an opt in.

[A]

There you go.

[B]

So what does that tell me? Like some people's brands are stronger than others.

[A]

Much stronger.

[B]

And because of the fact that we know things about Gary, I would argue the reason why Gary's brand is important is because we know he wants to buy the New York Jets. We know he loves freaking trash swap meets and stuff. Yeah, we know like he, you know, talks about his family and this and that and he does all these things and we have a connection with him because of it. And if he didn't, if he chose not to share those and just the business tips, maybe it wouldn't be there.

[A]

Wow. So speaking about personal brand in depth, you're on this anti AI strategy thing. Yeah, because everyone's overhyping AI now. AI is powerful, can help you write some scripts, it can help you write some hooks, AI, video editing, school, AI avatars, whatever. But everyone's Worried about AI making content feel soulless. True, generic. But when you're talking about like anti AI strategy, one of your biggest things is just going a little bit deeper on this is the power of authenticity of human content and why vulnerability beats Polish in 2026. Expand on this for listeners that might be looking at AI a little bit worried.

[B]

Yeah. So I think what you want to do is, you know, use AI to amplify the message, clean it up, organize your thoughts. That's how I do it. But I'm not using it to replace me, you know what I mean? So in the content, for example, one piece of content that's crushing social right now is if you can give your take on the news. So for example, I've had some of my top performing videos on short form where I will take a headline from D.C. or something that's affecting my people, my audience, the industry, and I will put that screenshot of the article. And the tip for this, the super tactical tip, is to put the image of the headline in the first three seconds of the video and say, guys, did you see this? Did you hear about this? And then I will repeat thing. But then I'm adding in my unique pov. Point of view. You need to have a point of view. Like you can't just be the news guy, otherwise the only way you win is if you're first. But like, I don't have to be first. There could be a bunch of news. That's our hard hitting breaking news vibe. But then I can just give my point of view. So I could say, you know what, I don't really think that Trump's strategy on this is going to play out. But you know, let me know what you guys think or here's why I don't like this, here's why I do like it. Based on my experience now, I think people are scared to give their opinion because they're going to piss somebody off. So you, if you want to stay away from politics, totally fine. I understand that. But I found if you don't stand for something, you stand for nothing and it just gets lost in this void of soulless content.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So I would, I would be, I would rather lose a few followers and give my opinion, not being rude, but give my opinions on X than just to sit quiet.

[A]

You know what's funny is some of these things I think are going to be the only way to break through going forward is a willingness to jump right in the middle of what you're saying, right in the middle of issues, a willingness Knowing that there's going to be polarizing feelings on both sides, and especially meta platforms. Instagram and Facebook have already said that conversation is why posts will spread.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And if things are being shared and so if something is vanilla and nobody has anything to say, then it just will die. But if somebody goes polarizing each way and they're debating, I think it's maybe removing yourself in a way. You're almost like a fire starter. You're kind of. You could still present the information where you. You present both sides even. You know, some people are saying this, some people are saying this, and people will start fighting in your comments. Not that you're trying to pick a fight, but that debate is. Is stepping into something that actually matters. It's kind of funny. My friend Owen Video, Owen Hemsath just did a post. He goes, I'm not kidding anybody on. On Facebook. He goes, is anybody experimenting with nicotine right now? And it was funny because I just started using nicotine like 4 milligrams a day max. Like, cut a nic. Like, it was super weird too. The stigma, of course. Like, even as a person of fate, like, I'm like, am I buying Nicorette?

[B]

And like, is it like a stimulant?

[A]

It's a stimulant and it's. It's popular in biohacking circles, but was actually so funny is I'm like, dude, that post is going to freaking pop. Because people were like, maybe they were addicted to cigarettes. I'm not going to touch that thing. It's the fact it's in the biohacking thing is a weird niche. People have had all kinds of issues. You know what I mean? Like, it. It actually was a. And his willingness to a put that out there. And then interestingly enough, I'm like jumping in the comments. I've got stuff to say. I'm like, matter of fact, debates happening. Things are going back and forth that post and. And what? An inch a nicotine.

[B]

Yeah. And so, like, what's the thing you're scared to say out loud?

[A]

You know, which I'm kind of. I'm actually kind of scared to say that because, like, half my audience is judging me right now. Like, wait a minute, Sean's doing nicotine? Actually. Stop it. It. It's really is addictive in the sense that I had like a headache for five days.

[B]

Well, I've seen Horozi popping those Nicorettes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

During an interview. He'll keep popping them.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And he.

[A]

Yeah, it. It. Yeah. I went kind of on the Biohacking thing. And again, max 4 milligrams a day.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Relax. Think media podcast. Yeah, but that, that kind of stuff's interesting. There'll probably be a spike even in this moment. Like, what did he just say? Yes, Sean started smoking that. And that's where vaping now.

[B]

Yeah, it's like, what. What is that thing that you be scared to say? What's your opinion on it? And now if it's going to be super polarizing and you lose half your clientele, maybe consider, you know, how you say it. A lot of times it's how you say it. It's just being respectful, you know, so I've had things where the. Honestly, the people who I respect most when it comes to political things are people who will disagree with their own political party.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Right. So you can't just like. Otherwise you're just like wearing the same. You're, you're looking. You're saying the same thing everybody else is saying. And so if you have a unique point of view, and if you are a Republican or a liberal, it doesn't matter. And you would say something that would go against your own party. This is very unique. This will stand out. You'll get a debate going. And what I found is people will say, hey, I love the way you explained that.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

I like your perspective on that. Hey, Neil, I respect the fact that you, you said it when nobody else would say it. So you'll lose a few people for sure who are kind of triggered, but you'll gain way more than you lose. And so I think you got to do it, and you can take it as far as you want. You know, just start small and then kind of dip your toe in before you jump in the deep end.

[A]

So think media. You got to ask, what is your unique point of view? If you want to have a powerful personal brand this year, it's not just your look that matters, your vibe, all those details. There's a lot of ingredients, but your unique point of view and cultivating that, developing that and the level of conviction you have, the level of the issues, you're willing to stand up and jump in and put your point of view out there. You can do it respectfully, but that is such a powerful insight. Well, I actually think that maybe we could do a part two and isolate the forward stuff. I want to talk about the 3C system reveal. So you do have a 3C system that took you from cringe to seven figures. Can you walk us through these three Cs? What's number one?

[B]

Number one is content. And so you want to do better content, content that would actually get you results. And so what are the things that are working right now? What are the trends that are working right now? Your unique point of view, all the things we're talking about, that's going to be the content pillar. The next C is going to be connection. And this is the one that I think people miss.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

And honestly, I think people only do one. Like they might be doing all connect, all conversion content, but they're not doing any connection content, you know, and so you're not going to get the results if you don't do all three. So the second one is connection. And that would be the personal things you share, how you connecting with the audience, maybe some behind the scenes. I noticed you shared a lot about your family, your kids, what you guys are doing on the weekend, what you're doing in your time off. That could be all behind the scenes stories content. And then you could also choose to make some intentional videos about connection. One of my best performing videos from a personal standpoint was when I got my daughter tickets to Taylor Swift. How much I spent on it, you know, like what, how she was so excited, it made her year, she'd been dying to go for forever. And I chose to highlight that. That was really cool.

[A]

Father daughter event, Taylor Swift.

[B]

How many points of connection?

[A]

So many different things. Yeah. And then just. Do you just kind of story told that on Instagram reel?

[B]

Yep. And so there's all kinds of times like there's all kinds of different things you could do either in stories or in reels. I would say the big shift, this is a big content shift for 20, 25 and beyond is many things that you would only put in stories now need to be posted in the feed. Every real, every content creator is telling me that their story views are low. Yeah, they're down, they're having. They're not reaching as many people as, as they used to because there's a lot of competition in stories and the algorithm stuff. But on reels, that same video that you thought was only good for your small audience on stories, it might blow up. You'll reach more of your followers, plus you have the chance to reach new people, which you cannot do in stories.

[A]

And then of course, longer shelf life. Sometimes it could keep going and, and then if it takes off, it really could keep going for weeks.

[B]

So you know, I funny things like I don't know if you, if you have any connection to this Sean, but like I love a Mexican pizza from Taco Bell, you know, like I don't know. I just love the Mexican pizza.

[A]

I don't have any connection to that.

[B]

You know how many.

[A]

I'm not a big Taco Bell guy.

[B]

Yeah. When you were like what's the fast food you used to love growing up?

[A]

Oh man, the fast food I used to love when I was going to this small ministry school at my church was I would stop at 7:11 to get black coffee and I would buy those apple pies that have 600 ingredients.

[B]

Yeah. Terrible for you.

[A]

So terrible.

[B]

All the sugar content. Look at the.

[A]

I actually was just at a mastermind and they had them and I looked at it and I was like this would be so nostalgic. And I looked at it and I was like there is more ingredients and preserve. Like this is probably literally made of plastic.

[B]

So I would argue with the right hook. That would be your best performing video if you highlighted the fact that you love these growing up. I mean how toxic they are.

[A]

We move, we move back home because we're around family because of our two year old, four year old. And so that's so funny because I could go to that 7 11.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And even talk about being younger and even get the black coffee like DJI pocket.

[B]

So you could like, you could literally go, you know, selfie mode on the camp. Walking into the seven guys. When I was a kid, I used to love one thing and it's probably. And then talk about how bad it is and you can even show the ingredients.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And then all the comments would be so rich. And the crazy part is somebody's listening or watching this and they're like, Neil, what do you guys. This conversation is degraded. I'm about to tune out. But people will do business with you because of those apple pies. I made a video about Mexican pizza. Somebody came to our event and said, dude, I love the Mexican pizza too, man. I grew up on that. And I'm like, we're brothers, you know, like that's weird stuff. So it is kind of crazy. Anytime you do this, it just gives you more chances to get lucky. I think about luck as like you guys are running around with like a little tiny net trying to catch these four leaf clovers. I'm running around with this big ass huge thing. I'm catching luck everywhere because I chose to share more things.

[A]

So connection, see that connection, see is the missing piece for so many of people missing listening to this and you.

[B]

Still need good content, you need good information. It can't just be unless you're Trying to vlog or something. You still gotta do.

[A]

If all it is is Taco Bell orders, it's not gonna work. No one's following you. The anchor is high quality content, which you've covered a lot in this episode about.

[B]

And then we'll get into conversion. Okay, the last c. And so here's the big thing on conversion. Most people are going straight for the sale. They're straight for the jugular. Like call me. And so what I found, Sean, is people are selling the thing on social that the audience doesn't want. So in my business, they're selling an appointment, a call. Unfortunately, nobody wants to talk to you yet. They would rather do something else. So I think about this. What is the thing you want? Eventually you want a sale, you want to be paid. What would come before that? A conversation. What would come before that? And maybe it's a webinar, maybe it's a lead magnet, something like that. And so the biggest shift I've ever made in business, this made me all the money and it was selling that thing. What I realized is the best marketers, the people that make the most money on social are not looking for sales, they're looking for signal. So you need to move back, back up the truck to like one or two or three steps before the sale and sell that thing as if that's the only thing. So, guys, I have this free resource. I spent some time putting it together. If you want to grab it, just comment the word home and I'll send it to you. There's nothing in there about calling me, working with me. I never even mentioned myself. It's all about the free resource.

[A]

And it's. And. And when you say sell that thing, you're actually giving away for free.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

But you're. You're saying the level of skill and intentionality and articulation of like directing massive energy towards doing that well and doing that repeatedly.

[B]

Yeah. So like on the coaching and education side, Right. I want to fill a mastermind, a high level mastermind of the best people that want to level up this year. Personal, brand and digital content. Cool. Well, I don't sell that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I sell an event that's a world class event where you're going to get a ton of value and it's going to be the best event you've ever been to. I put all my energy into that at that event. I now have the opportunity to let you know about my thing.

[A]

Y.

[B]

If I went to sell the thing, I would get nobody, honest. I would probably get some people because of personal brand. But it would be very difficult for me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

When I put my energy into the middle piece, everything changes. So I would say you need to add a step in the middle to your sales process. What is that for you? It could be a webinar, a lead magnet, a guide. A in person event is a great conversion tool. Just think about what that's going to look like and then put your energy into that.

[A]

So if you want to succeed on social media in 2026, you need to use what's called the dating method. And that's what you're talking about here.

[B]

Can we have a conversation? How about a coffee before you try and close, bro? Like, you know what I mean? Like, I met my wife at a company party at the Bellagio. It was a mortgage company. She was working here. I was in Reno. We got to meet there. And I'm like, what if I just went up to her, Sean? I was like, yo, you want to go upstairs? Yeah, I don't know.

[A]

Slap you like, yeah, maybe.

[B]

Maybe you would pull it off. I would not like. And so I wouldn't have a family if that was the case. What? Where is the romance in our business? It's all about closing. And I understand that's where you get paid. You can't spend your days talking to people who are six months away from buying. But you can use scalable content and all these things that you're doing to speak to those people and keep them.

[A]

In your funnel and build trust through multiple conversations. First, social media and YouTube is multiple conversations. Create micro commitments before the big ask. Focus on giving value, not extracting it. And then ultimately think about what your entire process is. So this has been. I've got one couple final questions for you. I want to talk about the forward thing separately if we have time. But if people do want to connect with you before I give you the final questions, where can people follow you? Check out your stuff. We'll link it up in the show notes.

[B]

Yeah, just shoot me a DM on Instagram. It's NeilHome. You guys can DM me. I answer all the DMs, so shoot me a message there. And I can always connect you with whatever we're doing right now.

[A]

That's amazing. And forward conference, you already have the dates for next year?

[B]

Yeah, it's July 11th and 12th in Las Vegas.

[A]

One of the best conferences in the world. No joke.

[B]

Yeah. You spoke at it.

[A]

Yeah. And that was why. That's really when the bar was. I'm skating, like, but for Entrepreneurs.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

That want to build personal brand. The latest trends, online marketing, business stuff.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Okay. What's one thing you do differently if you were starting over today?

[B]

So one thing I would do different is I would put in more. In the beginning, I was really hesitant to share all these things on the personality and the, and the connection pieces. I would start doing that earlier on and incorporating that into my business content. The other thing I would do is I, I, I didn't do this initially, but I realized that I did not have a next step for many years. Like, I was just making the content and the only step was to book an appointment with me. And so I was missing that easy next step. What's the thing that people could download or opt in for at one in the morning in their underwear at home?

[A]

Yes. And get it right then and get.

[B]

It on demand and make it easy. I was making it too hard to work with me.

[A]

What's the biggest myth about going viral you want to bust?

[B]

So the biggest thing is like, people think it's going to change your business. And I've had some of the most viral content do not much for my business. It, it all depends on like, what was the purpose, what was the call to action in the video? I had a video go viral where I talked about assumable mortgages. I don't even make money on assembled mortgages. So did it honestly did nothing for me, but maybe brought me a few more followers. So you have to think about, like, what's your goal of the content? And I think a lot of people want more followers. That doesn't necessarily mean more business.

[A]

What's one prediction for where personal branding is heading?

[B]

I think it's heading into basically the top 1% being able to really crush it and then everybody else getting smoked out. So it's like a feast or famine thing. People are saying it doesn't work anymore. Then somebody else is saying it's never worked better. It's like that's where it's changing right now.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

It's not for everybody. It's for the people who want to be intentional, which is why you're watching this episode.

[A]

It's good.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

If you're going to dabble, you're going to lose. But if you make them, if you just make the mental switch that I'm going to dominate, I'm going to stop dabbling, I'm going to start dominating and I'm going to put in the energy and take it seriously. You can win.

[B]

Yeah. I think the people in my group who are crushing it are the ones who do it with intention and they take this seriously as a pillar of their business. The the people who are dabbling just doing it when they feel like it. It's honestly like it used to be a side thing you could do and it really you get smoked out right now. Doesn't mean you have to be full time. By the way, you could do it part time with intention. Just set aside the time and and take it serious.

[A]

Really good Think Media Podcast. Thank you for listening to this episode and if you got value today, can you like rate, share, review wherever you watch or listen? My name is Sean Cannell, your guide to building a profitable YouTube channel and I cannot wait to connect with you in a future episode.