Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is a bit too cleverly named, but the premise is an interesting one.
Essentially, what Gary Vaynerchuk is saying is, little bits of content and engagement which reach your potential customers are the setup for the big finish (which is not really a finish, actually) of a call to action and an attempt to make a sale.
The other major premise of the book is that all platforms have their own native quirks and idiosyncrasies. Therefore what is reliable on Pinterest, might fall flat on Facebook.
What is killer on Tumblr might get a shrug on Instagram. And what is awesome on Twitter might bring the meh elsewhere.
But that all makes sense, as these are somewhat different platforms. Their demographics are different. They have differing user bases and numbers of people online at any given time.
Breaking Down What Went Wrong, and What Went Right
So, the most powerful part of this work was in the analysis and dissection of various real-life pieces of content on the various platforms. Why did something not work?
Maybe the image was too generic or too small or too blurry. Or maybe the call to action was too generic and wishy-washy, or the link did not take the user directly to the page with the sales information or coupon.
Or maybe there was no link or no logo, and the user was confused or annoyed.
While this book was an assignment for my Community Management class, the truth is, I can also see it as applying to the User-Centered Design course at Quinnipiac. After all, a big part of good user-centric design is to not confuse or annoy the user. Vaynerchuk is looking to take that a step further, and surprise and delight the consumer.
Give people value. So, give them what they want and need, or that at least makes them smile or informs them. In the meantime, show your humanity and your concern.
And work your tail off.
A terrific read. Everyone in this field should read this book.
Ten Years Later, What Do I Think?
Well, I think that the points Gary V makes are exceptionally valuable for the purposes of marketing. If the user has no idea what you want them to do, then they’ll just do nothing.
So, what do you want them to do? Download an app? Leave a review? Click on a link? Make a purchase? Share a post?
This is why virtually the best buttons you see on any website are the only that just say Click or Buy Now. Nobody writes War and Peace on those. Hell, you just plain can’t! The same should be true for any place where you’re putting a call to action.
This is vital for writers as well, and not just for the marketing of their wares. If you want to evoke sadness in the reader, then you had better make it clear that the characters are experiencing, or they are experiencing a sad event. Show the first with crying or depression or the like. And show the second with a truly sad event: a death, a divorce, losing a job, failing a class—you get the idea.
This book and its contents have never been more relevant. My review and rating still stand.
Rating
5/5 Stars