Marketing Profs

Among the many reasons businesses are curious about using social media is that they see it as a way to reach current and potential customers. There's probably no better case study on how a business leverages social media to connect with customers and grow itself than Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library.

Using social media, and especially an infectiously popular video series called The Thunder Show, Vaynerchuk has become one of the stars of the social media sphere. The Thunder Show allows Vaynerchuk to connect with customers by doing product demonstrations (often panning wines he sells).

His passion for the industry comes through in each episode.

As a result of his success in using social media to build awareness for Wine Library, Vaynerchuk is deservedly acknowledged as one of the experts in the social space. He is a constantly requested business and social media speaker, and we are delighted to have him keynoting the Marketing Profs Digital Marketing Mixer conference.

Here he shares with us the reasons your company should pay attention to social media, and what impact these tools will have in the years to come.

Q: At the Marketing Profs Digital Marketing Mixer Conference you'll be keynoting, with the topic being "Uncorking Your Brand With Social Media." You are a wonderful case study for building a personal brand via social media, but how would you explain the importance of social media to a business that isn't familiar with this space?

A: Social media in my opinion is the next battleground for branding. Like print, then radio, then television, then the internet, this is a clone of the internet space that has a lot more impact on your brand.