Are you struggling to come up with the next blog post to promote your company? Has the well of inspiration on your Facebook feed run dry, and is it becoming harder and harder to attract hits to your YouTube videos?
If so, you're not alone. Every content strategy runs into the buffers at times, which is when turning to the experts can make all the difference. So let's look at one leading solution to content creator's block - the Gary Vee model.
Who is Gary Vee?
The Gary Vee Content Model is one of the most popular and effective solutions to this never-ending problem, and one that we regularly return to when seeking inspiration.
Gary (or Gary Vaynerchuk in real life) is a Belarussian-American whose family emigrated to the USA in 1978 when he was just three years old. His big break came in the late 90s, when he took over his family's liquor store, rebranding it as a "Wine Library", and pursuing revolutionary online marketing strategies.
After that, he moved into marketing, founding VaynerMedia. He also created the "Gary Vee" persona, using regular #AskGaryVee sessions and a YouTube show to dispense entrepreneurial and content marketing advice. And he also came up with a workable "model" to help others master content production, and grow their businesses.
How Does the Gary Vee Content Model Work?
We don't have space to explore every aspect of the Gary Vee content creation model here (head to Gary's website for a fuller picture). However, here's a quick run-down of the key points, to give a flavor of how it works.
1. Think About Content from Above
A key starting point in the Gary Vee content model is to visualize "top-down" content. By this, he means setting themes or events to build content around, instead of hoping that inspiration will appear "from below."
He advises setting constraints that guide the way content creators work. For instance, they might set aside one day per week to blog about motivation, or another to pure product promotion. Or you could decide that Wednesday is 'Twitter AMA' day or 'YouTube how-to day'.
It's a priceless way to focus your mind on specific tasks, instead of wasting time and energy roaming free, praying for great content to arrive.
2. Provide Insights into the Way You Work
Sometimes, it's hard to say something original and compelling, when golden content is right in front of our eyes. Our lives are constantly fascinating and intriguing to others - especially those of entrepreneurs and experts of all kinds.
This insight led Gary to focus on creating content that documents his activity, showing audiences his methods - and his challenges. This doesn't just fill a hole that content needs to occupy. It also creates a bond between creators and audiences, and it's not hard to produce.
Whether you capture videos of production processes, behind-the-scenes business insights, or just networking and relaxing, documenting your life can be an excellent way to supplement your content strategy.
3. Don't Waste Great Content - Make it Go Further
The final basic pillar of the Gary Vee model is about repurposing content to make it work harder. After all, you slaved over every blog posting and video, so it's imperative to get the most out of it, right?
This could mean transferring blogs to videos or vice versa. You could turn popular blogs into Twitter-ready infographics, cut down long how-to videos and run them as an Instagram series, or return to older blogs for an update.
Advantages of Gary Vee Content Model
Why do we love Gary Vee's ideas? Simple. Gary has come up with a series of interlinked recommendations that have practical relevance for the everyday lives of content creators.
Naturally, content marketers need to take into account issues like how often they should publish for SEO, and how to build links, but the core challenge for many of us is actually finding ways to work efficiently when writing, answering questions, or putting together videos.
We also love Gary's ideas because they are audience-focused. For instance, by creating #AskGaryVee as a pillar to motivate his work, he also came up with a sure-fire audience engagement tool. With the audience generated by work like this, he could branch off into killer branded content marketing ventures such as "Planet of the Apps" - an Apprentice-style reality show based around tech developers.
If you want some assistance in implementing Gary's ideas (or any other content marketing help), get in touch with greatcontent. We can provide the inspiration and skill required to boost your engagement, and set your marketing campaigns trending in the right direction.
