92. Subtle Selling and Building a Community in Social Media with Gavin McGarry

If you love sweets, which do you think would be a better option: practicing and developing willpower by keeping a bag of candies in the house but only allowing yourself to eat one a day, or not bringing candy into the house at all to avoid expending your willpower reserves? While this podcast is about marketing rather than dieting, this is a perfect analogy for social media in terms of having apps on our phones and constant easy access. In today’s episode, Gavin McGarry and I take differing stances on this question as part of a conversation that covers social media, various types of groups, the differences between generations, the future of augmented reality, and much more.

Find Out More About Gavin Here:

Gavin McGarry on LinkedIn@gavinmcgarry on TwitterJumpwire Mediainfo@jumpwiremedia.com

In This Episode:

• [01:26] - Gavin starts things off by talking about how to build a community on Facebook organically.
• [05:11] - We hear about the difference between Facebook pages and groups, and when it’s better to use one than the other.
• [07:07] - Stephan recently ran a 5-day challenge using a Facebook group, he explains.
• [07:42] - What is one of the most innovative ways in which Gavin has seen Facebook groups being used?
• [08:47] - Gavin explains the difference between secret groups and closed groups on Facebook. He and Stephan then talk about the potential different uses for the two types, and why secret groups may not be particularly useful.
• [12:42] - In response to Gavin’s mention of using Slack, Stephan reveals that he doesn’t use it much because he finds it to be a distraction. He and Gavin then talk about uninstalling social media apps.
• [15:18] - Stephan brings up the concept of willpower being a finite resource, and discusses how this relates to social media apps as well as the snacks that he keeps in the house.
• [18:13] - Gavin draws the conversation back to the addiction of social media, then debates with Stephan about the value of putting tempting things into people’s lives.
• [22:18] - Stephan takes a moment to encourage knowledge workers to cleanse their environments of the distractions that are designed to suck us in.
• [24:16] - A lot of people immediately assume that Gavin is always distracted because he works in social media, he explains. He then goes into depth in discussing social media across various generations and age groups.
• [30:40] - Gavin talks about how kids are using technology and tells a story about his one-year-old nephew, who was already addicted to iPhones.
• [32:22] - What does Gavin think about Snapchat, virtual reality, Snap Spectacles, and so on?
• [37:44] - A study showed that the brains of Millennials are wired completely differently, Gavin says, and explains how distractions are different across generations.
• [41:24] - Gavin relates what he has been saying about distractions to advertisements, specifically outdoor advertisements.
• [42:27] - Stephan talks about one of his favorite demonstrations of the power of augmented reality.
• [43:26] - Stephan shifts to discussing LinkedIn, which he admits can be boring if you’re using it in the traditional way. Gavin then explains what his problem with the site used to be, and why that has changed for him.
• [47:29] - Another secret about LinkedIn is that you can publish posts, which give you incredible visibility.
• [48:44] - What does Gavin think about LinkedIn groups now?
• [50:22] - Stephan talks about his experiences on Facebook, specifically that he’s impressed with closed groups that require an application to get in.
• [51:40] - We move into a lightning round of quick questions and answers. What are some best practice tips for videos?
• [53:13] - Should we care about WeChat, and be on it?
• [54:05] - What’s Gavin’s favorite relatively unknown Chrome extension?
• [55:59] - What does Gavin think is the biggest opportunity people miss when it comes to YouTube playlists?
• [57:16] - In terms of reach, does it matter whether you post from your phone, computer, Hootsuite, or others?
• [60:09] - How can people get in contact with Gavin to learn more or work with him?

Links and Resources:

Gavin McGarry on LinkedIn@gavinmcgarry on TwitterJumpwire Mediainfo@jumpwiremedia.comKevin KellyDeep WorkCal Newport on the Optimized GeekThis American LifeAugmented realityVirtual realitySnapchatSnap SpectaclesAikidoHyper-RealityLinkedInPewDiePieWeChatThe Great SuspenderEmail HunterContactMonkeyAngela Lin on Marketing SpeakHootsuite