DEDICATION TO MY TWO KIDS, MISHA AND XANDER. YOU HAVE BROUGHT A KNOCKOUT PUNCH OF LOVE TO MY LIFE THAT I DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED. AND TO THE WOMAN WHO BROUGHT THEM TO ME, THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, LIZZIE. CONTENTS Dedication Acknowledgments Author’s Note Introduction: Weigh-In Round 1: The Setup Round 2: The Characteristics of Great Content and Compelling Stories Round 3: Storytell on Facebook Round 4: Listen Well on Twitter Round 5: Glam It Up on Pinterest Round 6: Create Art on Instagram Round 7: Get Animated on Tumblr Round 8: Opportunities in Emerging Networks Round 9: Effort Round 10: All Companies Are Media Companies Round 11: Conclusion Round 12: Knockout Notes About the Author Also by Gary Vaynerchuk Credits Copyright About the Publisher ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have so many people to thank I could never fit all their names into a tweet, so I decided to put them in an acknowledgments page. First and foremost, I want to thank my family, whom I love very much and who always help me, support me, and drive me. They really are the guiding light to my life. I also want to thank Stephanie Land, who is my true partner in writing these books. This is the third book we’ve written together. Steph—thank you so much. I truly, truly could never write a book without you. Huge shout-out to my boy Nathan Scherotter, who is the CEO of this book. Nate has been an amazing friend and business associate for many years. His help in guiding this book’s content and then its sales afterward was immensely important. I love him like a brother—except when we play basketball against each other. I’d also like to thank everyone at VaynerMedia who helped with this project. Kelly McCarthy, Marcus Krzastek, and Etan Bednarsh—thank you so much for being such great partners and family. Another big shout-out to the crew of Vikash Shah, Steve Unwin, Sam Taggart, Colin Reilly, Alan Hui- Bon-Hoa, Haley Schattner, India Kieser, Jed Greenwald, Jeff Worrall, Katie Katherine Beattie, Nik Bando, Patrick Clapp, Michael Roma, and Simon Yi for helping with the content of #JJJRH. Also to Andrew Linfoot, George Barton, and Kyle Rosen for interning over the summer and helping with the process. Another big thank-you to everyone at HarperCollins. Hollis Heimbouch and her team have always been great to work with and a valuable asset every step of the way. But most of all, I want to thank all the fans and others who have been following for the past four or five years as I’ve discussed the current trends. Obviously, it is a cliché to say I wouldn’t be here without you—but the fact is, I wouldn’t. If you didn’t continue to buy my books, read them, or react to them, I wouldn’t write them. This is for you. Last, and as always, I have to say thanks to my immediate family, whom I love with all my heart. My parents, Sasha and Tamara, and my grandmother Esther. To my brother A. J. and his wonderful girlfriend, Ali. To my sister Liz, my brother-in-law Justin, and their two kids, Hannah and Max. To my brother-in-law Alex, his wife, Sandy Klein, and their children Zach and Dylan. As well as to my wonderful in-laws, Peter and Anne Klein. All of you mean the world to me. AUTHOR’S NOTE At the time of this writing, I hold Facebook stock. I also hold Twitter stock, bought in 2009. I owned Tumblr stock that was sold in the 2013 sale to Yahoo. I don’t hold any Snapchat or Pinterest stock, but I wish I did. I have been careful not to critique any competitors of current VaynerMedia clients for the case studies that appear in this book.