Top Ten Video Blogs for Business in 2018
If you get your kicks watching cat videos, on-line gamers, political rants or tips on how to play the ukulele, this post is not for you.
If you are a person who doesn’t give two hoots and could care less about the marketing function of a business – an essential component for any sustainable enterprise - this post will not be your intellectual cup of tea.
This is intended solely for the business leader or marketer, determined to dig in and create long-term brand success in the New Economy.
And it begins with a fundamental understanding that no business leader in their right mind would say NO to mastering and owning these four pillars of modern-day marketing:
Free Advertising & Brand Awareness – 24/7/365
Deeper, Meaningful Connections With People Who Share Your Beliefs
An Expanded, Educated & Engaged Community
Real People Marketing on Your Behalf
As we enter the final quarter of 2018, it may surprise you to know that many CEO’s, entrepreneurs and small business owners are still saying “NO” to erecting and leveraging these four pillars. Their excuses are many, but their reasons utterly fail the logic test as the internet continues to overpower traditional, 20th century media vehicles. Which is great and most welcome news for readers and viewers like you, eager to re-position yourself for the next wave of how marketing will be done in 2020 and beyond.
If you are someone who is serious about saying “YES” to elevating your brand in 2019 and beyond, it always helps to watch and see for yourself how the top performers do it. Take time to watch our featured personalities and become more aware of what’s possible; how to be a more effective and relevant business owner, marketer and maybe a better person for being willing to run with your own ideas, share your own stories and put yourself out there.
Take time to watch our featured personalities and become more aware of what’s possible; how to be a more effective and relevant business owner, marketer and maybe a better person for being willing to run with your own ideas, share your own stories and put yourself out there.
EDITORS NOTE: This list features content from self-made folks who grabbed life by the bootstraps and actually DID something in terms of sharing their stories on video. The rankings are entirely subjective and do not hinge on subscriber counts or numbers of views. You will also notice that topics and subject matter these experts cover isn’t always directly related to what can be the bone-dry boring world of business, but they all share elements that you can re-purpose for your own story-telling efforts.
#10. KEVIN ROSE: 53,030 Subscribers
Serial entrepreneur Kevin Rose is also a Google Ventures General Partner, a Tony Hawk Foundation board member, and the founder of DIGG, a popular social news website. After dropping out of UNLV, Rose began coding software and in 2004 launched DIGG with just $1,200. In a few short years, DIGG was a smash success—and its founder, a rock star who appeared on major magazine covers and guested on ABC’s Nightline and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Kevin’s channel provides lots of great interviews with entrepreneurs along with other posts with sound business advice and interesting insights.
#9. BRYAN ELLIOTT: 109,982 Subscribers
Based out of Irvine, California, Bryan Elliott is the host of Behind the Brand, a show that’s gives us a backstage pass to what’s going on inside the minds of some of the most incredible innovators, entrepreneurs and people who are making things happen. Elliott’s goal is simple: To help business owners grow their companies and get insights from people who have “been there, done that”.
A former exec with Universal Pictures, Bryan shines the spotlight on his subjects as opposed to himself and delivers real-life business insights from a wide variety of guests.
#8. SUNNY LENARDUZZI: 207,534 Subscribers
Based in Vancouver, BC, Sunny believes that if you have a sincere intention to help, your content will reach more people than you could ever imagine. A former broadcast journalist, Sunny’s YouTube Channel was named as a “Must Watch” by Forbes and she was identified as one of 50 Must-Follow Women Entrepreneurs in 2017 by The Huffington Post. She has helped clients generate over $5,000,000 in revenue from organic YouTube traffic and made history with Applebee’s – earning over 1 billion impressions in 1 day.
With her breezy, easy-going style, Sunny inspires viewers to overcome natural fears and inhibitions about making their own videos.
#7. JOE ROGAN: 3,706,876 Subscribers
Tesla’s stock may have dropped significantly after founder and CEO Elon Musk smoked marijuana on YouTube but, the episode caused a seismic shift in viewers and listeners for The Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan and Musk generated more than 2 million views in 15 hours as they livestreamed for three hours and discussed — among other things — social media and the future of artificial intelligence. Rogan regularly gains thousands of new subscribers daily, but now the spike is roughly 250% larger than his average daily gain.
One of the most popular podcasters in the world, Rogan launched his on-line efforts on December 24, 2009 – demonstrating once again how it always takes ten years to become an overnight success.
#6. DAN MARTELL: 24,937 Subscribers
Father of two active boys (Mighty Max and Noble Noah) and devoted husband to the highly-driven Renee Warren, Dan is a personal friend, an accomplished Canadian entrepreneur and angel investor who freely shares his time and expertise with those who are dead serious about doing the work. In a single word, Dan’s superpower is the ability to make any business scale and achieve hyper growth.
Whether you’re looking for advice on hiring, marketing, scaling or business models that work, Dan delivers valuable insights into the level of strategic thinking and personal care that is demanded of today’s entrepreneur.
#5. WILL SMITH: 3,658,560 Subscribers
Why would a Hollywood A-lister with blockbusters and classic songs under his belt decide to enter into a new 21st century arena? What prompted Will to make a calculated decision to launch a YouTube channel in December of 2017? Why is he cozying up to internet celebrities to help promote that channel? What is the real reason the Fresh Prince is getting vloggy with it?
Whenever Will tries something new, he tends to have the Midas touch. Watch his channel for any length of time and you will see an established superstar willing to make a Grand Canyon leap into the opportunity that video story telling provides for any business or personal brand.
#4. RUSSELL BRUNSON: 63,425 Subscribers
Internet marketing expert Russell Brunson is someone worth watching. The co-founder of ClickFunnels, Brunson has a strong background in direct marketing and a solid personal reputation. A graduate of Boise State University in 2006, Brunson is unique in the tech space for refusing to fund his creation with any venture capital. Married to his wife Collette, they have five children together and an estimated net worth of $37 million.
Whether or not you use his ClickFunnels platform or read his books, Brunson’s YouTube channel provides exceptional advice and this video confirms, he and his team are always on the lookout for other great ideas.
#3. LILLY SINGH: 14,358,402 Subscribers
She took to on-line video as a way to help deal with depression before becoming a multi-millionaire and internet sensation. Since launching in 2010, Lilly’s channel, has generated more than 2 billion views. Originally from Scarborough, Ontario, Lilly and her older sister, Tina — also now a YouTuber — were given a traditional Sikh upbringing by their parents who had emigrated to Canada from the Punjab. Growing up, she wanted to be a Power Ranger or a rapper before her parents steered her towards a psychology degree at Toronto’s York University.
Now based in Los Angeles, Lilly has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and on YouTube with everyday folks like Michelle Obama, Seth Rogen, Bill Gates and some dude who calls himself “The Rock”.
#2. CASEY NEISTAT: 10,425,463 Subscribers
Josh Parlee of Defiant Astronaut Media first introduced me to Casey over the Christmas break of 2015. At first, I reacted in typical boomer fashion. Couldn’t make sense of it all. Wanted to know how this could be monetized. Didn’t understand how delivering great value and growing a loyal audience would have any business application. Fortunately for me, Josh persisted and the next day forced Dana Zilic and myself to take a second look at some of the work Casey had done with companies like Samsung, Mercedes and NIKE.
And then it clicked.
At one time, Casey was a 16-year-old high-school dropout with a pregnant girlfriend, living in a trailer park who had no idea that there would be a day when he would turn the Internet upside down. He has a style all his own, much like anyone from Shakespeare to Dickens, Hemingway, Kerouac, Disney and Spielberg, but always maintains dramatic tension in his story telling. There isn’t a single person or company that’s looking to win big in 2019 that wouldn’t benefit from studying Casey’s videos as a way to make their branding efforts count.
If there is a common thread that weaves its way through this Top Ten List is a baseline understanding that nobody was “realistic” when they launched their video projects. Being “realistic” is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity; guaranteed to keep you playing second fiddle to the competitors around you who are determined to pick up a bow and make their own music.
And it is in that spirit, that the #1 spot on this list of Top Ten Video Blogs for Business in 2018 belongs to ….( dramatic drum roll … )
#1. GARY VAYNERCHUK: 1,649,124 Subscribers
This hyper-focused, hyper-aware son of Russian immigrants started producing on-line videos as a wine critic with WineLibrary TV in 2007. Since them he helped grow his family’s wine business from $3 million to $60 million and Gary Vee hasn’t looked back. He now runs VaynerMedia, one of the world’s most popular digital agencies with a team of 900 and annual revenues that exceed $200 million.
"Document, Don’t Create”, “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” and “Reverse Engineer the Finish Line” are some of Gary’s manifestos only understood by the rabid followers of VaynerNation. This on-line community feels they are part of Gary’s global journey of building a successful media agency and the digital revolution of all business models.
Highly opinionated, brash, but enormously generous with his time and attention, Gary Vee has his share of critics with his bold, coarse and unfiltered approach. His superpower is unvarnished clarity as the unconventional blue language and delivery provides concrete tips and strategies for anyone who wants to crush it with social media… and get the f**k out of their own way.
“Greatness is not this wonderful, esoteric, elusive, god-like feature that only the special among us will ever taste, it’s something that truly exists in all of us” WILL SMITH
p.s… As you might expect, a list of this magnitude would not be complete with a few honorable mentions.
MARTIN LATULIPPE: 26,005 Subscribers
Discover what happens when Quebec-born, New Brunswick-based Martin sits down with Gary Vaynerchuk at a recent event in Toronto and discusses the issue of legacy.
EVAN PUSCHAK “The Nerdwriter”: 2,333,320 Subscribers
In this episode, San Francisco-based Evan answers the eternal question: How does Fleetwood Mac make an album?
JUSTIN & GREG: 3,883 Subscribers
And finally, this pair from the Prairies. these rowdy Regina Renegades roar in from Saskatchewan with a blast of clarity on the trouble that 98% of all businesses have with their marketing.
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