I’m not the first to mention this nor will I be the last. In this changing age of tech anyone and everyone can be a media personality. Even your brand can have it’s own channels to promote and market your product. One of the folks who pioneered this trend is Gary Vaynerchuk. He’s a little over the top, but it works for him. He reinvented his father’s retail wine store into an online juggernaut through daily video blogs starting in 2006.

Another example, and one of my favourite people on the planet who uses his own media channels is Jesse Peters – your social savvy Realtor in Winnipeg (of all places). Do yourself a favour, and follow him on one of his many platforms. You’ll see what I mean.

I’m not here to bash the existing forms of traditional media. I used to work in traditional media. Even items like Nest (radio), and internet.org by Facebook (TV) use traditional mediums to get the word out about their products. There are places for everything in this ever changing world. Having said that – if you want to put in the time, and effort – you can do it on your own. If you have a smart phone, you’re pretty much set.

Interviewing former Blue Jay JP Arencibia back in my radio days.

For my wife, and I’s business we’re going to use YouTube, and other video sources to pull back the curtain, and let fans / followers in on what’s going on. We’re going to be very transparent of what we’re doing, and why we’re doing it. The beautiful part – you don’t have to spend a crazy sum of money on camera equipment, editing software, lighting, etc… Yes, you can do this, but when you’re starting out, just use what you have, and let people know that you’re just starting out. It’s okay to be vulnerable even as a business.

For example – my wife, and I are taking our own pictures for our site. We purchased a lighting kit for $100, and we already have a decent SLR camera. Does it take the best photos, and do we really know what we’re doing? In one word, No, but we’re going to be open about that fact. If we grow, and as your business grows you can hire professionals to do the work for you, but when you don’t know where you’re going to end up we figured there’s no sense dumping a HUGE amount of money into something when we don’t have to. You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to fill the need of a customer, and be open about what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it.

A slight tangent – when I was speaking with a recent high school grad about his future (he wanted to go into sports broadcasting), he didn’t know where to start or how to build his portfolio to get into college, etc… I simply asked him, “What’s stopping you from doing what you want to do right now?”

He has all the tools available to him. If he wanted to write about local sports he could start a blog. Yes, he won’t have a HUGE following, but that’s okay. It gets you thinking in a professional way about something you want to do. Do you want to be on the radio? What’s stopping you from doing a Podcast or using Soundcloud, and social media to get the word out through your friends? Want to be on TV? There’s a little thing called YouTube, etc…

What I mentioned above will never replace the traditional forms of media. You need those ‘professional’ checks-and-balances. With technology – media has shifted a bit, and it favours those who are willing to put in a bit of time for little to no reward (at first), and a little effort. For your business – this could be an amazing way to share your stories, your personal beliefs, and further connect you with your potential customers. You may not see giant sums of customers at first, but with time your CORE fans will develop that personal connection with you, and next thing you know – you’ll start to see your brand grow through referrals, and satisfied customers who come back time-and-time again.

Love you,

Jordan ‘The Guy with the Bow Tie’ Rycroft