Mr. Drew Larison

This blog is going to be a little different than my usual blogs. In the last few weeks I have been blogging strictly about Social Marketing and Social Media, but this blog is going to be a little more personal.

If you guys don’t know my whole path in life has been a little different than the average 21 year old. After graduating High School I went to a small Private Christian College. I did not enjoy it at all, which didn’t surprise me since I had never been a big fan of the whole classroom environment. I hated class, and I hated what I was studying. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise when I tell you that I only lasted a year at that school. I came home and went to a small Community College, but it was the same story.

I wasn’t happy. I halfway went to classes, had a job at a fast food restaurant, and slept in until noon almost everyday. This was one of the most depressing times of my life. I had no idea where my life was going.

Since I wasn’t doing much with my life at all I started watching a lot of YouTube videos, specifically a channel called “The ShayTards”. If you guys have never heard of this YouTube channel, it features a man named Shay Carl and his family the “ShayTards”. Want to know what makes this family so awesome? All their videos contain is a daily video diary of their lives. Did I mention they have over ONE MILLION Subscribers on YouTube? Yeah, you read that right..ONE MILLION people watch this family live their lives on a daily basis. Did I mention that Shay and his family are getting paid over $150,000 a year by YouTube? Yeah, awesome. In one of the ShayTards videos Shay was reading this book titled, “Crush It”. Being a huge ShayTards fan, I bought the book and read it. I never thought that one book would change the rest of my life, but I was wrong.

“Crush It” was a book that is all about finding your passion, finding out how to make money off of your passion, and being happy. This book could not of came into my life at a better time. The book was written by a man named Gary Vaynerchuk, aka “The King of Social Media”. He is all about using Social Media to help businesses market themselves. Social Media Marketing was perfect for me, I loved business, I loved Marketing, and I loved being Social. I had never felt so sure about something in my life. So, naturally I pursued my passion. I read books, I listened to long talks, and I learned a lot.

I was starting to be happy again. I had worked at two car dealerships while I was in High School, so I decided I would try to get a Social Media Marketing Internship through them. I went in, talked to my old boss and after waiting for 2 weeks I was notified that I got the internship. I was doing it, I was living out my passion.

The Internship went great. My responsibilities ranged from making status updates for each dealership to making YouTube videos of cars. I learned a lot and I got to really make sure that this is exactly what I wanted to do with my life. While I was driving home one day a man in a Toyota Avalon stopped me in my neighborhood to talk to me. I had no idea who this guy was. So honestly, I was kind of nervous.

“You’re Drew right?”

“Yes, sir. And who are you”

“My name is Michael Kebrdle, I am the General Sales Manager of Kokomo Auto World. I would love to have lunch with you sometime”

“OK? May I ask why?”

“It’s about a job opportunity”

“Oh, ok.”

He gave me his number and drove off. I called him back two weeks later and we scheduled lunch. I met him on my lunch break and within 5 minutes he had offered me a Full-Time Position with benefits to be the Internet Marketing Manager of Kokomo Auto World. I was shocked. Eight months ago I was in my Mom and Dad’s basement, sleeping in until noon, and then playing Call of Duty for two hours. I could not believe it.

I have been working at Kokomo Auto World for almost three months now and I love it. I also started my own Social Media Marketing Consulting Company, Larison Social Marketing Agency. I’ve never been this genuinely happy in my whole life.

I’m not telling you guys this story to brag on what I’ve done so far in my short life. I’m telling you this story to encourage you to do what you are passionate about. There are so many people in this world that are doing a job that they hate, and I’m going to be honest…it makes me so mad. The way this world is there is no reason why someone should be doing something they hate.

It’s not going to be easy, I forgot to mention this, but while I was working 25 hours a week for that internship I was also working at a local deli and running all Social Media Pages for a local gym. I worked my butt off. But when you are doing something you love doing it doesn’t seem like work, and that’s what it’s all about.

I love hearing peoples stories, and I want to hear yours. If you’re sick of your job and want to start doing something you love please email me at Drew@LarisonSocialMarketing.com or tweet at me at @MrDrewLarison. If you have any questions you can always just leave them in a response to this blog post. I want to meet you.

If you’ve read all of this, I love you Haha!

Twitter-@MrDrewLarison

Facebook-Facebook.com/DrewLarison

Email-Drew@LarisonSocialMarketing.com

 Seriously, thank you for reading,

-Drew.

So much lately I have been pushing about how companies should be on the Internet. I have also pushed how companies should have a presence on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook. But the more I have looked into Marketing I have realized that being on those platforms is just half the battle. Please don’t think that I’m taking back everything that I’ve ever said about Social Marketing. I still believe that Social Marketing can be the most successful way to market your business and that having a presence on those platforms is very vital to a solid marketing plan. But the more I have really gotten into Marketing the more I realized that it is much simpler than that. It’s not about Twitter. It’s not about YouTube. It’s not even about Facebook. It’s about people. If you understand that then your business will win.

So many companies that I have talked to think that just having a physical Marketing presence is enough to be successful. If you are one of those people please listen to me….IT’S NOT!

When you aren’t engaging with your customers or potential customers, the customers don’t feel special. They don’t feel like you actually care about them. They feel like they are just another number in your books. You can’t be in the business world without being the people world, it just doesn’t work.

Think of it like this. Imagine your business as a body. Your employees are the arms and legs. The owner is the brain. Your customers are the heart. You would die without the customers. Treat your customers like they are vital to the survival of your business.

I know it sounds cliche’ but treat your others how you would want to be treated. Or in Marketing terms, stop Marketing to people in ways that you wouldn’t want to be Marketed to yourself. The Word cold calling literally sends chills down my spine every time I hear it. Not one person in this GIANT world that we live in enjoys some crappy telemarketer calling them trying to sell a crappy product. So why are companies still doing it?! Because they don’t understand people. They are in business for all of the wrong reasons, and until they finally understand it they will lose.

Whew. This was just a little rant that I had to get off my chest.

-Love you guys,

         Drew.

Twitter: @MrDrewLarison

Email:DLarison@KokomoAutoWorld.com

My life is going really well right now. I turn 21 in less than two months, I’m doing a hardcore diet where I’ve lost 14 pounds in a week and half, I finally got a job, I’m starting up my Vlog again, and I have an A in my Summer School class.

Back to this diet thing I’m on. I am on a strict low calorie diet where I am only allowed to have 960 calories a day, and along with a diet comes working out. Mainly I have been running and walking. I can gladly say that I have been getting better and better everyday. I usually do two miles and my two mile time has gotten smaller and smaller everyday. (CONSISTENCY FTW!!) Have any of you guys ever done a hardcore diet? It sucks. But I already feel so much better physically. I’m in the best shape I have been since 8th grade, I know….that’s pathetic.

But other than all of that stuff, I’m just living it up as usual. I’ve got a good group of friends that I hang out with all the time. Summer is going by really fast BTW. Don’t ya think?

Oh yeah! I’ve got some advice for you movie lovers. One Word: Inception. I saw Inception last Saturday night and it automatically turned into one of my favorite movies of all time. The composition, the story, the acting, everything was perfect. it is definitely a movie you have to see.

Also in movie news, the movie The Social Network is coming out soon. Is anybody else really excited about this movie? I was talking to a friend of mine the other day, and he made me sound dumb because I was so excited to see it. If you guys don’t know what I’m talking about, here is the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUuPPC9YaVo

But that’s all I have for now. I hope your Summer is going swell, sorry I’ve been watching Mad Men and I have been saying 50’s and 60’s terms lately.

(BTW!) My Dad is having surgery on his back tomorrow, so if you’re the praying kind…you know what to do.

In a survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, an overwhelming majority of technology experts and stakeholders believe that social networking and online sharing is more than just a fad for today’s youth.

More than two-thirds of those surveyed indicated that the Millennial generation — otherwise known as Generation Y — will continue to use social networking tools as they mature into adult life stages and have families of their own.

The research is part of Pew’s fourth “Future of the Internet” study which includes responses from selected experts and Internet () users who were asked to think about “the future of the Internet-connected world between now and 2020.”

When it comes to Millennials, 67% of experts in the respondent pool agreed with the following statement:

“By 2020, members of Generation Y (today’s ‘digital natives’) will continue to be ambient broadcasters who disclose a great deal of personal information in order to stay connected and take advantage of social, economic, and political opportunities. Even as they mature, have families, and take on more significant responsibilities, their enthusiasm for widespread information sharing will carry forward.”

Pew found that the experts believe the advantages and social benefits of sharing personal information online far outweigh the consequences, an attitude that these young “digital natives” will carry into adulthood. A survey response from a Mozilla programmer exemplifies this notion: “Unless Generation Y has a collective privacy-related epiphany, they will continue to happily trade it for convenience.”

There’s even consensus that society may learn to forgive these teens of their youthful errors in judgment online.

Those dissenting with the majority (29%) believe that Generation Y will lose interest in social networking and age out of sharing personal information online.

At the rate teens are using social networking sites, it’s easy to see why the experts believe social media usage will grow with younger generations as they mature. Where do you stand on the subject?