On Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Social Media and Becoming a Better Marketer – Paul Jarvis [SSM047]

For all of history creativity has, in a sense, been taken advantage of by business.

Look at any musician’s record deal. Or any painter who has found someone to represent them and put their work in galleries. Or the author whose book you see atop the NY Times Bestseller list.

It’s a perfect symbiotic relationship. Well, that is, until recently.

Over the last decade, there has been a sharp rise in creatives as business people. But how can you, as a business person or marketer, learn to hone your inner creativity to thrive in today’s market?

Paul Jarvis, one-time touring musician, veterinary assistant, and paperboy turned full-time entrepreneur shares his insights into how many brands and marketers may be looking at social media all wrong. He also shares how creativity and human connection on social media might be easier than you think.

A huge thank you to Paul for packing episode #47 of The Science of Social Media full of inspiration and actionable takeaways for marketers looking to hone their inner creativity and drive real, human connections on social media. (Part of our brand new podcast series!)

How to listen: iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloud | Stitcher | RSS

This episode is available on:

• iTunes
• Google Play
• Stitcher
• Sound Cloud

In this episode, here’s what you’ll learn:

Paul Jarvis shares his journey from one-time touring musician to full-time entrepreneur. We dive into the intricacies creativity and the important role that it plays in social media and marketing success as well as how you can hone your inner creativity. We also get into some other great things like:

• How the best career moves can happen by accident (and often do)
• Why the “clutch” factor has been key in Paul’s career success
• How passion often follows expertise, not the other way around
• The importance of following market demand for your brand
• Why human connection is the most important factor for social media success
• The essence of creativity and how we’re all capable of being extraordinary

Why being human is one of the most important things your brand can do to connect

In Paul’s words…

“There are a lot of things that are dehumanizing in the marketing and corporate world today. There’s chatbots, and AI, and corporate jargon everywhere you look – even landing pages of most major companies! People create “humanity” in everything that they do, but that’s silly. We’re all surrounded by humans. People simply crave real connection with other people.”

A Great Moment

“Social media is the hook. People aren’t going to see your Twitter account and instantly buy something. But it’s a great place to give people a micro taste of your brand.”

– Paul Jarvis

Awesome People and Stuff Mentioned in the Show

• Paul Jarvis Home
• Paul Jarvis: Sunday Dispatches [Podcast]
• CNBC: Inside the Wendy’s Nuggs Guy and 18 Million Retweets [Article]
• Nuggs and Sass: Inside Wendy’s Social Media Secret Sauce [Forbes]
• Cal Newport – “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” [Book]

Favorite Quotes

• Being an entrepreneur and in my business specifically, I see social media as the hook. People aren’t going to see my Twitter account and then buy something from me, but they are getting micro tastes of my brand (of who I am).
• Most entrepreneurs super powers come from their ability to not be afraid to look silly or stupid and just try things.
• Content marketing is built around trust because sales and audience growth can’t happen without trust. You can’t fake it and you can’t build it immediately, it happens over time.
• Things start to go well when brands truly begin question how they can connect with their audience as real human beings. If you’re engaging, human, real, and interesting then that’s a massive benefit to your audience.
• I don’t build software companies, make courses, or write books because I feel like it. I would rather sit and watch Netflix. But when I start to notice that more people want something specific from me, that’s what I let drive me. In other words, I let market demand dictate what I do next.
• There gets to a point, in the path of many careers, where you realize that you’re not doing what you want to do. And it took me a long time to understand that passion follows mastery. In looking at people who are happy with their jobs, they tend to have mastered them.

How to Say Hello to Paul (and us)

Pau Jarvis is one of my personal favorites to follow along with online and on Twitter. And he would love to say hello to you! You can find Paul on Twitter here. And if you’re interested in checking out more of Paul’s incredible work or podcast (or anything else), head on over to www.pjrvs.com.

Thanks for listening! We’d love to connect with you at @buffer on Twitter or with the hashtag #bufferpodcast.

Enjoy the show? It’d mean the world to us if you’d be up for giving us a rating and review on iTunes!

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About the Show

The Science of Social Media is your weekly sandbox for social media stories, insights, experimentation, and inspiration. Every Monday (and sometimes more) we share the most cutting-edge social media marketing strategies from brands and influencers in every industry. If you’re a social media team of one, business owner, marketer, or someone simply interested in social media marketing, you’re sure to find something useful in each and every episode.  It’s our hope that you’ll join our 10,000+ weekly iTunes listeners and rock your social media channels as a result!

The Science of Social Media is proudly made by the Buffer team. Feel free to get in touch with us for any thoughts, ideas, or feedback.