黑料门

We learn how an international speaker and author John Lawson got his start in e-commerce and what merchants should do now in social media.

Transcript

Jesse: What鈥檚 going on, Richard, are you ready for another show?

Richard: Oh, yeah, always, actually, I鈥檓 excited about this one.

Jesse: Yeah. Yeah, actually, you鈥檝e known this guest for a while now, I think what鈥檚 interesting is, we talk a lot about social media. We talk about Shoppable posts and things like that, but I wouldn鈥檛 say either one of us are experts in social media. We can talk about it a lot but I think every now and then we need to bring on an expert level to really give our guests something beyond “oh, post this tweet”. We want to add more to our merchants and give you guys something to think about.

Richard: Definitely, and John, you鈥檒l be introduced properly here in a second. He鈥檚 been doing it for a while, I was one of some of the original sellers on eBay and I think John鈥檚 one of the few people that actually can say wasbefore me and back when PayPal was actually called X. I think we鈥檒l ask him when he comes on here. But I think he was even using it back then too. But yeah, a pioneer in the space. He鈥檚 been doing e-commerce for a while and then he鈥檚 kind of segued now into doing speaking and conferences and we saw him in at e-commerce conference not long ago where I said: “We got to get you on the show. You鈥檙e living it every day and teaching people that tips and tricks that are really happening right now.” Go ahead and give him a proper introduction.

Jesse: That鈥檚 the better intro than I was going to do. But we will bring on international keynote speaker and author John Lawson. How鈥檚 it going, John?

John: Whoo-hoo! (laughing)

Richard: All right, we don鈥檛 have the big conference lights and everything going on with the clickers and timers and all that.

John: Beyonce music, I get it. (laughing) What鈥檚 up, guys?

Jesse: Oh, it鈥檚 a good day. We gave you a pretty good intro there. I mean, let鈥檚 hope you can live up to that now. You鈥檝e been around a long time in e-commerce and online. The name of your book is “Kick Ass Social Commerce for E-Preneurs”. I think that鈥檚 a great title. I mean, can we borrow that for podcasting?

John: Yeah, please do. All right.

Richard: We鈥檒l be stealing some of the link juice though.

John: The link juice! Go for it.

Richard: How about if you start with a brief history of what got you started and then where you鈥檙e at today and what you think people in the e-commerce space should be focusing on and we鈥檒l just roll with it because we know we鈥檙e with the trained professional here. We鈥檙e all good.

John: Yeah, I don鈥檛 tell the story all the time, it gets boring if you tell the same story year after year on stage. But the way I got started is I had a friend that came to me and said: “Hey, you should flip a house with me”. And long story short, this is like 2001, and I ended up upside down with a second property that I couldn鈥檛 afford and we couldn鈥檛 get anybody to rent it. I couldn鈥檛 sell it. And I was about to go bankrupt and I was trying to find a way out of the bankruptcy. Somebody told me: “Well, you should sell your stuff on eBay”. And I was like “Really? Even I can sell stuff?” I mean, I knew you could do like used socks or something but to sell stuff鈥� So I had a bunch of used books that I was hoarding in my basement. I鈥檇 already read them. I was in IT, so I had those big thick $30-$40 IT books and once you read them, you don鈥檛 need them. So I started flipping those on eBay and it really was enough to keep the creditors at bay. It really got me into the fact that you can sell stuff online and that鈥檚 how I got into the whole e-commerce space. And 胁褖 you remember Tickle Me Elmos? Back in 2005. Those things were hard to get. And I had a lot of friends that worked in retail. So when they first hit the store shelves in like October. That鈥檚 when Christmas actually starts — in early October. You can actually look to see what鈥檚 hot selling in the toys and then you could pretty much extrapolate that that鈥檚 going to be one of the hot toys by the time November-December rolls around. So once they sold out like hotcakes way early, I said you guys: “Hey, if you see any more Tickle Me Elmos, give me a call.” And I got a call one day and I drove around 285 which is our Outer Loop in Atlanta. And I had a van full of Tickle Me Elmos and I held those bad boys until two weeks before Christmas and I was getting them off 10x of what I paid for. When you can turn a dollar in the $10 over and over again, there鈥檚 a $35 doll, I鈥檓 selling them for 350. It was ridiculous. After that, I was hooked. I was in other people鈥檚 basements. I was everywhere. I couldn鈥檛 stop. And then I ended up stopping what I was doing on my regular job and went full time on e-commerce and haven鈥檛 really looked back.

Richard: Oh, that鈥檚 awesome. I did the same things early on with Beanie Babies and baseball cards and same type thing. You kind of wished: “Man, I wish it was December every month.”

John: And I wish I knew that it wasn鈥檛 going to last forever. That鈥檚 what I wish I did.

Richard: Yeah, I lucked out, I don鈥檛 have a garage full of Beanie Babies still. I鈥檝e switched product, I saw that coming quick. Every fad runs out and you want to do something sustainable. So what got you out of e-commerce and more doing the social selling aspect of it now and what you actually teach people to do when you鈥檙e at conferences and speaking?

John: Well, you know what we were like, you said I was looking for repeatable. In fact, I was doing the arbitrage thing which is going around and trying to find a product that I could sell online and make some money. But I really wanted to and I recognized that we needed to do our own products. We needed to do some kind of branding and I tell people, they鈥檙e like: “Well, what鈥檚 a brand? It鈥檚 just your name.” I鈥檓 like: “No, but a brand is not your name. A brand is what people say about you when you鈥檙e not in a room. That鈥檚 your brand.” We wanted to build a brand and I started selling a lot of urban hip-hop gear. And one of the things we sold were bandanas. And I swear it was just annoying because I thought we were going to sell bandanas to the urban crowd that we already knew. But what happened was we put it online and it started going international. It started going into the areas of our country that they call the flyovers because these guys were really getting engaged at the time with the hip-hop community. And they didn鈥檛 know what to do with the bandana. So the number one question I used to get was how to fold a bandana like Tupac. And I鈥檓 like: “Really?” I got it so much that I made a YouTube video on how to do that and it was a garbage video. I literally did it just so I didn鈥檛 have to answer the question anymore. I can just point people to the video. Long story short that video went viral, we have over 350,000 views of that video. I鈥檝e sold tens of thousands of bandanas back in the day and that was my claim to fame. So everybody was like, “How do you sell using YouTube?” which was really the origin of social media, it was YouTube.

Well, not really, I digress the actual beginning of social media was really AOL, but your audience is probably too young to remember that. But it was the same concept where you would literally join these chat boards and groups and you talk back and forth. And the first platform for social commerce was actually eBay because when you were waiting for the auction to end, people would have these chat boards and you would be talking about the products like they would talk about Beanie Babies. And you remember that was a very hot place to either find new Beanie Babies or to pick up some low-cost ones. All of that played into what people were asking me to talk about. And it was like early 2008-late 2008, somewhere around there and that鈥檚 kind of how I got into the social game.

Richard: Yeah, that鈥檚 awesome and the beauty to that when you created that video, it lives on and I don鈥檛 know if people really get that all the time, certain socials the life of that platform is a little different. I mean pitching the choir on this one, but the lifespan of a tweet is the shortest. But it鈥檚 very interesting because it鈥檚 the real what鈥檚 going on right now, live platform. I still when they debate with people back and forth like “Twitter going away.” It鈥檚 like “I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 going away.” And when you compare it to the Behemoth of Facebook, it doesn鈥檛 look that big, but would you like to have 50 million active users, I鈥檇 take it any day. But YouTube for sure lives on and I鈥檓 sure, I don鈥檛 know to the same extent, but you still probably get sales because of that video.

John: Well, I probably would but I don鈥檛 sell them anymore. But yes, I probably would, it鈥檚 still out there to help people. We still get residual money from watches and ads on.

Richard: Yes, and when VR happens again and Tupac鈥檚 doing concerts all new start over again (laughing).

John: Bam, and you just gave me an idea.

Jesse: The next platform coming, there鈥檚 probably a decent markup on a bandana.

John: Yeah, it was nice to call it God money, it could just fall out of the sky. I mean, it was just so good.
Richard: So there was something you said in the middle of that. I want to dive in a little deeper and it was about the brand and how you create a brand. How exactly to your point you get people to talk about you, what type of content would you recommend people? Let鈥檚 kind of segue that direction on what do you recommend when someone鈥檚 just getting started and there鈥檚 going to be various budget? Some people going to have more money. Some people going to have laughs, but just with the good old-fashioned phone. What do you think is a good way to get started for people on social and how they should communicate with their customers?

John: Yeah. I think that鈥檚 the key. It鈥檚 about communication with your customer. If you know what they need and you start providing it for them, they will talk about you. That鈥檚 really at the simplest level. The reason why Amazon is always talked about it鈥檚 not because Amazon has the greatest selection. It鈥檚 not because Amazon has the greatest prices. People think they might because they don鈥檛 search anywhere else. But the reason why people talk about Amazon and why Amazon is winning at this game is simply because of the service it provides. It is their service. That is the brand. I know if I order something on Amazon and I鈥檓 a Prime member, right, Prime is their service, I get it in two days and that鈥檚 why they鈥檙e winning the game. You have to create an experience for people that can鈥檛 be duplicated and add value to the product that you already give. Most of our products get made in some third world country, or China or something like that. Right? Most of us don鈥檛 make handmade, our own products. So what the deal is I can find whatever it is you鈥檙e selling, that somebody else can make by doing a great Google search and putting my name on that product. And I have a product, that鈥檚 like Kevin on Shark Tank always talks about. It鈥檚 like what makes you any different than anybody else? Well, you鈥檝e got to figure out how to add value to your product and a lot of times that is going to be the service that you provide. There was a company called Zappos that Amazon never could beat in shoes. Zappos would be kicking Amazon鈥檚 butt so much that Amazon ended up having to buy the company just so that they could compete on shoes and Zappos brought their customer support understanding to the Amazon world. Zappos was the ones that had unlimited, you could return shoes no matter when. And everybody鈥檚 like “Well, why would you do that?” Because look, I have something and I have to get it to you in 14 days. Your return policy is 14 days. Guess what for the first 13 days all I鈥檓 going to remember is that I need to get that stuff back to these people. But when you tell me that you got six months, guess what, about a time five months goes by I鈥檓 not even thinking about that, right? So literally when we implemented some of that stuff when we extended our return policy, we got fewer returns, believe it or not, because at some point it鈥檚 not something that鈥檚 top of mind anymore. And then after a while, you just like “I have kept it as long, I鈥檓 just gonna keep it”. But the deal is we were beating our competitors because the competitor had this strenuous “We don鈥檛 take any returns back or we only take it back in  seven days. And we鈥檙e sitting there going, we鈥檙e laughing because now people are recognizing our brand because of the experience that we were offering to that customer. You got to figure out how can your experience be better for customers because today price comparison is not going to win you the game. All that is is a big drain and you鈥檙e going to watch your profits go down the drain because somebody鈥檚 always going to come back and beat you on price at some point. You don鈥檛 want to compete on price. A brand is something that you can slap your name on it and actually charge more for the product. That鈥檚 a real brain. If you can鈥檛 charge more for a product because of your brand name, you don鈥檛 have a brand, you have a label.

Richard: Yeah, it鈥檚 so interesting, you say that it鈥檚 almost like we鈥檙e thinking about this or talked about it ahead of time. The price game, the commodity-based sale is definitely losing a battle. And you鈥檙e going to lose to that company you just described because of Amazon, they understand it鈥檚 that customer experience. Right? I mean if we think Costco hit a home run with Kirkland, wait till we see what Amazon does with Basics, right? It鈥檚 going to put that to shame if it鈥檚 just because they got all the data too but you have to do a brand. It鈥檚 kind of counterintuitive as I listen to you talk about it where it鈥檚 like you extend the return policy, you鈥檇 think: ‘Oh my gosh, that鈥檚 going to make it worse’. But it makes it better because it鈥檚 this customer experience you鈥檙e talking about it. We live in a day and age鈥� you used to have to drive a long way to go to a competitor. And now you can be inside of a Macy鈥檚, they piss you off and you can buy from Nordstrom on their Wi-Fi. So it鈥檚 all about customer experience and giving them that best experience is what鈥檚 going to make them stick with you. They literally can change to somebody right there. Pull out their phone and buy it from someone else when you piss him off. But even with the information marketers have out there because we know a bunch of those people, not just products. They give away their best stuff and you literally have probably giving millions and millions of dollars worth of information to people but people will still pay to have you come say it one more time because it鈥檚 that important.

John: They know there鈥檚 something deeper. They just feel like there鈥檚 something deeper. ‘What is it? You鈥檙e not telling me, John.’ (laughing) Yeah. I just told you, told you: you want to build a brand — do what I just said. So what has to be more?

Richard: What would you recommend? Let鈥檚 make a scenario up. It was a pretty good tip of the iceberg there with the how to fold a bandana. Do you think you should make these videos about most frequently asked questions or what鈥檚 a good starting point for someone?

John: That is the starting point. Find 10 things that are your most frequently asked questions and make 10 videos on it. And the key is you want to name the video how the question is asked. Alright, not how you ask the question, not how you think a question would be at, but exactly how your customer keeps asking you to question. In my case, it was how to fold a bandana like Tupac. Guess what my video is called, ‘How to fold a bandana like Tupac’, right? That鈥檚 because that鈥檚 what people are searching for. Especially in this new era. See we don鈥檛 understand what鈥檚 about to happen. What鈥檚 about to happen with voice commerce, see, because when you had the desktop, it was great. You could type in something and you鈥檒l get a hundred different results. But if I ask for toilet paper to Alexa or to Google home, I don鈥檛 want a hundred results. I want one result and what that means is that the ability to do a selection of product is going away. And it鈥檚 only going to be the one product because nobody wants a whole bunch of options. They just want what they want. What is really going to be coming so important in this new voice Commerce era, you鈥檙e going to have to get the people to ask for your product by name. Because selection is really going away. It鈥檚 amazing what鈥檚 about to happen.

Jesse: Yeah, that鈥檚 it. I love that advice there because, of course, a brand is important but how does it really relate to what鈥檚 going to happen in the next couple years? Voice is the perfect explanation for that, because yeah, I get it if you say ‘I want a bandana’, you鈥檙e going to get the top option from Amazon. If you鈥檙e on Alexa from Google, it鈥檚 going to be probably something to Walmart or Target. But if you say ‘I want a bandana made by such and such brand.’ Now they鈥檙e going to lead you to that particular website. But otherwise, you鈥檙e going to be buried, number two is nowhere. There鈥檚 no number two.

John: Realistically, even on Google or Amazon right now the number one result gets more than 60% of all the buys. Just think about that, the number two gets 25%. And all the rest of them are fighting for what is that, eight? 12-15%? 15, somewhere around there. So you need to be top of mind. You鈥檝e got to be top of mind. Brand building is something, it鈥檚 one of the things that people do not understand. It鈥檚 an ongoing and a long play, you鈥檙e not going to build a brand overnight. That鈥檚 something you do while you鈥檙e selling.

Richard: So do you recommend people start on one platform or start on a platform where their customers are or how do you feel about that?

John: You want to start where your customers are. Absolutely, and the thing is and where they鈥檙e buying. I mean our customers, yes, are on Facebook, but are they buying on Facebook? Maybe not? Probably not, but maybe they鈥檙e buying on Pinterest. I don鈥檛 know. So should we talk about just social platforms right there, right? So you want to find out where they鈥檙e hanging out in social. The other place you want to go to of course or possibly marketplaces if that鈥檚 something you鈥檙e into trying. Then go for it, be on Amazon or Ebay or an Etsy. Those places are pretty good for getting started, definitely good for brand building, right? I think if you鈥檙e just getting started, what you really want to do is focus in on one or two platforms because multiplication by zero will get you zero. So many people are like: ‘Look, if I could just put it onto more channels.’ No, figure out how to sell it on the channel you鈥檙e on first. Like what did you say, three-point something billion people on Twitter or whatever. And then everybody acts like they want the hundred and fifty billion on Facebook as if that 3 billion is just too small for you. Really? Come on! Figure that out first and then let鈥檚 multiply what鈥檚 working on that platform to other platforms. There鈥檚 so much garbage around us that we always think the next platform is going to do with, the shiny object syndrome kills our ability to really focus. Focus is where the money is. Dig deep.

Jesse: I think that鈥檚 great. Of course, we鈥檙e in the business, we know all sorts of stuff. We actually give our customers all sorts of advice on this podcast. But I think the better advice is yeah, there鈥檚 a lot of things you can do, but pick one or two that you really like, that your customers are really on. If you think all your customers are on Pinterest because maybe it鈥檚 a little crafty or it鈥檚 a food thing. And you鈥檙e not on Pinterest, maybe that鈥檚 the one you want to focus in and learn. But if you鈥檙e selling to younger people, you might have to learn Instagram. I mean Instagram is probably a good stock answer.

John: It is a good stock answer for younger people. They are like 补苍迟颈-鈥�

Jesse: Yeah, the anti-Facebook owned by Facebook.

John: I know. ‘I鈥檓 quitting Facebook. I鈥檓 going to Instagram.’ That鈥檚 not working.

Jesse: Yeah, you really showed Mark Zuckerberg there. (laughing)

John: There鈥檚 Sally, and I鈥檓 gonna date May, even though she鈥檚 Sally. (laughing)

Jesse: Yeah. I always get a kick out of that one too. People are gonna switch to another platform. ‘I鈥檓 on Facebook, Twitter, now Instagram.’ So they start out, they get any brand. We get a lot of beginners that are listening to the show and maybe they haven鈥檛 made that many sales. Maybe they鈥檝e made 50 sales, a hundred sales total and so. They might not really know the platform where people are hanging out. They popped up a site, got some sales doing some ads, maybe testing the waters with a bunch of social media. How can they hone in? What鈥檚 the hot tip here? We can give them to pick that platform. I mean, I know it鈥檚 not easy鈥�

John: They want to start looking for groups. You want to start looking for groups like on Facebook. Even if you go back to the old school forums, and find out where people are talking about that vertical of products you sell. So let鈥檚 say, you sell women鈥檚 apparel. I鈥檓 sure there鈥檚 a lot of places where people talk about women鈥檚 apparel, let鈥檚 say blouses. All right. Well, that鈥檚 fine what they鈥檙e saying about the frustration of purchasing blouses. And find out what they are talking about, how they鈥檙e talking about it, what they like, what they don鈥檛 like. The first thing you want to do is start listening to the conversation because there鈥檚 gold in listening to the conversation. Another place that I kind of like doing some detailed research is actually on Amazon. So if you鈥檝e got a product that is similar to the Amazon product, you go out and look and see what people are saying in the comments and you don鈥檛 really want鈥� I mean the good comments are great, everybody鈥檚 loving it. Find out the one star, start reading the one-two star ones and that鈥檚 going to give you is detailed information on how you can differentiate from other people鈥檚 products. If they鈥檙e saying they hate this part, they don鈥檛 like this part, ‘I wish you鈥檇 had鈥�’ Those are things that you can implement and put into your products and into your product descriptions so that it鈥檚 answering to the frustration that people are already talking about. And then, of course, you start if you鈥檙e the expert on鈥� I鈥檓 the expert of folding bandanas, so I find places where people are talking about how to fold bandanas. Oh, I鈥檒l give you another, just let鈥檚 run with this example. So again, I think everybody鈥檚 wanting to do the Tupac thing. I didn鈥檛 realize that bikers use bandanas all the time until I started listening to the chatter out in the world. So it鈥檚 like, okay now I got wording that I can use, so bikers will be attracted to our bandanas when they鈥檙e doing their searches. I got words for skaters that use bandanas and how they explain, what they do in a bandana and why they wear it in their pocket or this, that and the third. You just out there. There鈥檚 so much content that we miss because we鈥檙e always trying to push, push, push. Yes, but if you just listen, you start being able to create content that pulls for you.

Jesse: Got it. No, that鈥檚 great advice. I think you created this, you had this idea. Maybe you didn鈥檛 think it was your best idea but it took off like wildfire and now just by listening to other people, listening to the comments coming in, you鈥檙e able to create other content That was a few years ago, you were creating YouTube videos at that time. Is that what you would still do? If you鈥檙e in that business would be doing YouTube videos first or would you be thinking elsewhere?

John: You know what, I probably would not necessarily be doing YouTube videos, but if I found out that yes, this is the issue and it needs to be demonstrated. There鈥檚 nothing better to demonstrating something than using a YouTube video, right? Okay, or a Facebook video. And I do say there鈥檚 a difference. It鈥檚 the same video, you just upload it to the native platform these days. Create a YouTube video and then put a link on to something — that just doesn鈥檛 work anymore. Those guys are competing with each other for traffic and they will deprecate how many people see your link based on that. So yes, I think videos fantastic for doing what you do. I don鈥檛 think I even said that those 10 videos that I told you, make ten separate videos, not the top ten questions. You make ten separate videos nice and short, three to five minutes at best. You should be able to explain something. I do still like video, I think videos still on the rise and it鈥檚 growing. Now let鈥檚 say you have some other stuff once you do the video. What I like about videos you can repurpose. I can extract the audio and now I鈥檝e got an MP3 file. I can take that MP3 file upload it to Rev, and that鈥檚 Rev.com. I鈥檓 not doing a commercial here, but that鈥檚 where you can take audio and it turns it into text. And now you鈥檝e got a blog post that you can put out there. So when people do the search, they鈥檒l see your video. They might see you talking through the audio parts and now you鈥檝e got an actual blog post to go with it. I take that blog post. I put it on my site. I take that blog post. I put it on Mention. I鈥檝e given all of these is credible links that go back to your store. Right. Now when Google looks at your store, they鈥檙e seeing you got links coming from all of these social channels, which they ranked highly and the more of those you have, the greater your chance you have of being found.

Jesse: That鈥檚 great.

John: Just it鈥檚 a game. It鈥檚 a game. You just got to play the game.

Richard: Yeah, and it鈥檚 to your point where, yes, you want to make 10 different videos but it鈥檚 more important to actually make sure you鈥檙e putting those in the right places and you鈥檙e playing the game. Because to your point earlier about brand, you鈥檙e seeing even in Google search results they鈥檙e heavily favoring brands. Because probably that same reason. Everyone鈥檚 fighting for that same customer experience and they will no matter what platform they鈥檙e on, they鈥檙e trying to protect their customers. Some do it better than others, some don鈥檛 do it so well. But that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e really trying to do. They want to鈥�why you say upload it natively, they want you to stay on their playground. If you鈥檙e Google, they want you to stay on their playground. If you鈥檙e Facebook, they want to stay on that playground. So you really listen to John there, in that you want to find out first and foremost what the questions are being asked. Use our mouth and our ears in proportion to what we鈥檝e been blessed with two to one at least. Mostly I鈥檇 probably say it鈥檚 even a little higher than that. But listen and then create content the way your customers are searching for it. Name it the way they鈥檙e searching for it and then put that in the places where they鈥檙e at. But it all starts with what do you stand for, what are you making and then finding those groups and listening to what they鈥檙e saying.

John: I love that. I love the ‘what do you stand for.’ People love that store. You got to stand for something. And that鈥檚 part of a brand like Patagonia. That鈥檚 part of their brand. It鈥檚 what they stand for and people use that stuff because they are outdoor enthusiast as well that loves to protect nature. Bam. Now you get it. I see these two guys on TV right now right that are cleaning up the ocean. You鈥檝e seen this commercial?

Richard: No, not yet.

John: You haven鈥檛 seen this commercial. It is these two surfer guys that were just in Bali and stuff was washing up on the beach, just because where Bali is located a lot of plastics were just on the beach. And they just started a charitable organization where they were going to just start cleaning up the beaches literally in the last I think maybe three years. This company has taken off right even though it鈥檚 a non-profit and it鈥檚 a charitable organization. Just the amount of press they鈥檙e getting and things like that is because they have a cause behind it. Cause marketing is a real thing. It鈥檚 a real thing. And if you鈥檝e got a story behind that, that becomes another reason why people stick and stay with you. There鈥檚 a stock business, every time you buy their pair of socks, they gave a pair of socks to people in need. Those kind of stories generate natural press that generates buzz naturally and people start talking about it because they want to be a part of the cause. We want to feel like our random consumption but it鈥檚 like ‘At least I鈥檓 buying socks for another person.’ You know there鈥檚 a shoe company that does the same thing. So I mean that鈥檚 another way to get in front. Another thing you want to think about. After all we鈥檙e doing all this. You guys already have customers. If you just got a few customers, then look you need to talk to those customers and see if they will leave you some testimony, if you can get it on video. That would be fantastic. Matter of fact, I鈥檝e only sold three of these things. But if I give you that product for free, would you make a video if you like it? They鈥檒l probably say: ‘Yeah’, and I鈥檒l get that video. Now I get to take that video and start putting it all around places and a testimonial from somebody else is worth a thousand times more than you talking about your own self.

Jesse: Yeah, that鈥檚 great. And I think something you鈥檝e mentioned several times now is video, it鈥檚 kind of coming back to video here several different places. That is the new medium.

John: What鈥檚 the old saying? ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ A thousand. I think today it鈥檚 worth ten thousand. Yeah. So video鈥檚 not going anywhere. Our kids are not getting smaller people. They鈥檙e not. And our video is in our hand now. When you鈥檙e seeing people they鈥檙e watching something. The amount of time people consume just watching crap is amazing to me.

Jesse: Yeah. Why not be part of that crap? (laughing)

John: We might be part of that crap on these. But the other thing is too, I can鈥檛 remember, I saw a study there and they say how much time actually gets wasted from watching videos in stream. Because if you just think about it, you go and you鈥檙e going through your stream and then a video starts playing and you give it 30 seconds. Well, you know you do that 10-20 times a day. That鈥檚 time you were not planning on wasting on watching videos. That鈥檚 how engaging videos are.

Jesse: Yeah, it鈥檚 crazy. I was listening to a podcast on the way in today and they were talking specifically about Instagram Stories. Instagram Stories didn鈥檛 even exist two years ago and now that鈥檚 the dominant way that people are consuming video on their phone and it鈥檚 just short little videos.

John: Years ago they recall Snapchat.

Jesse: Yeah, then Instagram stole it and did it. It鈥檚 video and it鈥檚 super short and people get it. They take it by just picking up their phone and pushing that button.

John: So it鈥檚 just telling a story. ‘This is my day’. And I mean it鈥檚 so simple. And what I was reading something where Facebook Stories are taking off to Facebook. Given that more footprint in your timeline as well. So these are all things that you could do so simply. You can tell the story of how you guys started a business. You can show how you do your packing and shipping. You can talk about how much you love your customers. You can do videos on all kind of stuff. I get it, a lot of people won鈥檛 watch it but the few that do could be the ones that you sell to.

Jesse: Yeah, that鈥檚 perfect. I know we鈥檝e been kind of pounding the table on this one a little bit too, so I鈥檓 glad that somebody else is telling our customers: ‘Yeah, you have to make a video.’ Social media is not just sending out tweets and typing things on Facebook. It鈥檚 a video, it鈥檚 just video.

John: Yeah. And the best videos are not the well-produced ones. Just think about the last time you saw a viral video and tell me, was it in a studio with ten thousand dollar cameras and multi-angle shots? No.

Jesse:It鈥檚 probably a selfie.

Richard: It鈥檚 kind of. I鈥檝e noticed it鈥檚 at the polar extremes. It鈥檚 either the cell phone like to your point, or it鈥檚 the Harmon brothers with Squatty Potty or something. To your point, because I don鈥檛 want to derail them, highly produced videos still can really do the trick. I mean they鈥檝e done a bunch of really good ones as you know. I鈥檓 sure you鈥檝e spoken at some of the conferences where they鈥檝e talked about it. But ‘don鈥檛 let that stop you’ is really your point. You don鈥檛 have to make it highly produced, these people are trying to run a business. You need to think back again if we kind of recap on what you鈥檝e said. Listen to the audience of who you鈥檙e trying to sell to. They鈥檙e going to tell you, what they want and then you create content and you literally鈥� we鈥檙e seeing videos super important but you also said audio. You also talked about voice and you talked about transcribing that into a blog post. These are things you can do. One thing and get a lot of use out of that one thing. And then you get really good at that one place but then you also put it in other places. So what we鈥檙e really trying to get across to the people here that are listening is you got to start somewhere. And the best place to start is listening to what people are asking for. Then give them what a concept, give them what they鈥檙e asking for and they鈥檒l start to talk about you. The beauty of a brand too, that we didn鈥檛 really get into but I鈥檓 sure you would attest to, is when you get loyal fans you almost don鈥檛 have to worry about the troll hate chatter on social because your customers will jump in and protect you faster than you can even get on.

John: Absolutely. Because you get brand fans and brand fans are your best defenders.

Jesse: Yeah, I know. I love it and I鈥檝e seen it. I鈥檝e seen it in action as well. It鈥檚 great because the social media, you do have to be on it. You can鈥檛 let people fill up these feeds with a bunch of crap. You get off to fight it but when your customers start fighting back for you. Oh man, then you鈥檙e starting to win. It takes a while but you鈥檙e starting to get there.

John: It starts with it. Let鈥檚 just say one thing about the Squatty Potty video. I get it. But more than anything it had a story. The video was actually crappy compared to a real highly polished video. It can鈥檛 be. Happiness comes from the craziness of this video. But it had a great story. Can you imagine somebody sitting there is like ‘Yeah, we鈥檙e gonna lick a lollipop or a cone full of unicorn poop. Yeah, that鈥檚 funny as hell!’ But you never know if that鈥檚 going to play out. You never know. I remember Dollar Shave Club, that one to me was like ‘Oh my God, I love this video.’ But I don鈥檛 think they could have thought that it was going to be that big. Nobody can really just tell you what a customer or the public is going to gravitate towards. Because at the same time Squatty Potty did what it鈥檚 doing. You鈥檝e got the kid in the back seat that鈥檚 just got his teeth pulled and he鈥檚 still all loopy and that thing has got ten times more than a Squatty Potty video. You just never know what鈥檚 going to catch on. And I don鈥檛 know how many people have tried to make this Squatty Potty video. Quite successful, right?

Richard: Yeah. It鈥檚 a good point there. It鈥檚 all in the story. That鈥檚 one. And then two, just back to your dollar shave club. Did you see what Dollar Beard Club did with that too? They鈥檙e basically鈥�

John: I got to go look now.

Richard: Oh, it鈥檚 hilarious. You鈥檒l love it. They literally basically completely make fun of it. Look it up. You鈥檙e going to love it. But it鈥檚 the same thing. ‘And what do we do, blah-blah-blah?’ And he鈥檚 like slaps the guy who鈥檚 got shaving cream: ‘We sure the heck don鈥檛 blah.’ But you know I can鈥檛 I don鈥檛 want to curse on it. You鈥檙e going to love the video. It鈥檚 hilarious. But so it鈥檚 a little bit of you got to be yourself, but you can learn from what other people have done so it鈥檚 not like you go out there and implement what they鈥檝e done. You still have to keep your story. But when you see the success, it does leave clues that you can learn from. Doesn鈥檛 mean exactly but it definitely clues you can learn from.

John: Absolutely.

Jesse: Yeah. I think for listeners here, hopefully, you guys have picked up some of those tips. If you鈥檙e you listen to us again and take some notes because there is a blueprint here inside this podcast for you to test things out and start to build your own success. John, I really appreciate you being on the show here either. Any last places where we can find out more about you?

John: JohnLawson.com, my name dot com.

Jesse: Awesome.

Richard: Thanks again, John.