How Dan McVey is leveraging Social Media to Build Brand and Influence - S04E01

In this insightful podcast episode, host Ian engages with Denver-based content creation and personal branding expert, Dan McVey. The conversation begins with an exploration of Dan's journey, tracing his life through entrepreneurship, and the significance of personal branding in carving a distinctive identity in a competitive marketplace. The episode underscores the critical elements of authenticity, storytelling, and relatability in content creation, encouraging creators to experiment and closely examine performance metrics to identify the most suitable platform for their target audience.

As the discussion progresses, the focus turns to content creation strategies, particularly the art of crafting engaging hooks that seize viewers' attention from the very start. They dissect the unique entrepreneurial spirit of Denver, where numerous individuals are betting on themselves, harnessing their passions, and redefining business ventures. The episode wraps up with shoutouts to inspirational figures and businesses, highlighting the sense of community and mutual support within the entrepreneurial landscape. This unified podcast episode is a treasure trove of insights for anyone looking to thrive in content marketing and entrepreneurship, emphasizing the pivotal role of authenticity, experimentation, and effective audience connection.

Dan's contact Info:
https://www.instagram.com/the.dan.mcvey/

Ian's contact Info
https://www.instagram.com/ian.realestateagent/
https://www.youtube.com/@MovingtoDenverColoradoWithIan

Transcript

0:23

what's going on everybody? And welcome to the Big Locals podcast. My name is Dan McVey. I'm a creative coach and video producer, and my favorite coffee comes from Rivers and Rhodes. Go get a decaf maple breve latte from rivers and roads. It's amazing. Whoa. I did not peg you as that kind of guy, Dan McVey. Um, especially with the, uh, decaf portion first. That part I don't wanna say I have an issue with, but it is definitely not something that I expected from you, man. That's fair. That's fair. Wait, what? Hold on. Why didn't you expect it? I'm curious. Because you're a high energy dude, man. Like you are always out and about. You're in content. You are shooting content for other people. And so that high energy, that high octane that I usually see from Dan, it's not from caffeine apparently. It is actually from just working out. Being Dan in general sounds like that's where the energy comes from then. Huh? Dude. Yeah. Um, I appreciate that. I'm glad, I'm glad that I can exude that for . Myself, for my clients, for everyone in my circle, Maddie, my fiance. Um, something I've been working on a lot is just working on me and who I am, how I can show up in life in general. Um, I actually, and maybe part of that is because I dialed back my caffeine like I used to, um, drink a lot of coffee, um, almost every day. Like every weekend for sure, I'm getting a, a, a latte from Rivers and Roads. And, um, after a while I actually had a, a panic attack and it, it was probably a little bit induced by caffeine, but some of it came from, , um, just a lot of the stress that was going on in my life, and if I could minimize at least the caffeine portion, I was like, all right, let's get that out of there and then we can work on the rest of the stuff. For sure. No, I mean, uh, I myself, I feel like I've had a high metabolism ever since I was a kid. Um, and whenever I do have coffee, when I have too much, the jitters, the hot sweats, everything happens and it's just, it's just more stressful, more anxiety inducing, if you will. Uh, so . I, it, it's funny, like it's a common, um, joke in my own household. Like Kat always makes fun of me. I like, I get a medium-sized coffee and it takes me three days to finish it and all I need is a couple sips in order to get me going. And I dunno if it's the running or if it's something in my own body, my, my chemistry. But that's all I need just to smell it, you know? That's about it. dude, I'm with that. Coffee is incredible. Like I love the smell. I love the taste, but like you said, you get a little bit of that, some something. You're like, all right, we're we're rocking and rolling. I dig it, man. Well, big shout out to Rivers and Roads. Uh, before I continue. Where is that? I've never even heard of that Shop. Yeah, so there's two of 'em. One is technically the, I think they call it Park Hill location, which is where I'm located, where I live, right off of M L K. And then, um, the, this, this one is like right off of Bruce Randolph. Um, so that's the, the original location. There's another one pretty much down the street at Curtis Park, so check out. Yeah, either depending on where you're at, park Hill or Curtis Park. Some of the best coffee in Denver. Sounds like it's closer to rows than they are rivers then, That was a good one. Dude. That was a good one. You're, you're clever. Thanks, dude. Um, so anyhow, dude, I, I truly appreciate you coming on board, man. Uh, you have been hitting the Instagram scene, the videographer scene, producing hella content these days, but, um, sounds like there's a lot more to Dan than just that. So I wanted to just, . Give that three D perspective of what Dan is prior to getting into your business, what you do every day. Um, and I wanna start it off with the music scene, dude. Like, before we even met, uh, or actually the first time that we met, I feel like a lot of our conversation was based on just metal, like, heavy metal music, man. Like you got some good taste and I, I feel like we bonded over that over anything else. Um, prior to like You know, the content creation or just working with me on certain shoots, but, um, have you seen any good shows lately? Is there any bands that you're listening to right now? Ooh, good call. Um, I haven't been to any shows. I am gonna be going to the Warp Tour Replacement when we were young festival. I don't know if you've heard of that. yes. Um, that's gonna be in Vegas next month. And it's like all the heavy hitters of pop punk, like Blink Green Day, p some 41, uh, a bunch of other bands that I'm just like so pumped to relive my childhood. And I've been going through this like awakening of. Of myself, like through this business journey. You know, like, like I said, we got super excited when we met and when we talked about music. And you can just tell like music for both of us has been a huge part of our lives and through this business business journey, I've left some of that behind. And so I really wanna rediscover that. You know, going to concerts is one thing I'm working on, . Um, getting back into the, the social media realm, uh, in many capacities, but one of which I wanna start doing more music creation and there's like so many ways you can do it. So that's kind of what I'm working on. Did you go to last year's when we were Young Fest. no, I didn't. No. Did you? Me neither. And the main reason why I asked that is because I saw the lineup. It is stacked beyond belief. Like how in the world did they have that kind of budget to have all those bands come back from a hiatus from being broken up, like the starting line, some 41. I mean, it was just insane, that lineup. And then I thought about it. And I thought it was just a one day thing. I was like, wait, wait, wait. Hold on. So you're telling me I have to be in five places at once? Because it sounds like a warp tour situation where there's gonna be several different stages and I could be missing one of my favorite bands for a different band. But that was sort of a drawback. If it was like a two day thing, I am all over that festival, you know? Yes. And that you're giving me flashbacks to when I went to work tour, uh, back in college, dude, because there were, there was definitely, I specifically remember, um, I. There was two bands that I wanted to, to watch that I was like, I had to make a decision. And, um, you know, no matter, no matter what, it was gonna be a good, you know, set depending, you know, on which band it was. But, um, regardless, you're right, like if the heavy hitters are all out there, it's like, dude, where do I go? It's gonna be tough, but I'm just, I'm just pumped to be surrounded by, um, that scene and to just . Listen to some, some nostalgic jams again, you know? And in Vegas too. You're gonna have a good time, dude. That sounds awesome. Um, one more thing that I wanted to bring up on the music scene is I did a little bit of, uh, research on you. And when are you gonna make more metal covers, like the one you did for Closer by the Chainsmokers?'cause that was pretty legit, dude. You got like 75,000 views on that one. That's sick. Crazy. Honestly, I used to do that. I. Like religiously when I was through high school and it slowed down a little bit in college and then got outta college and started, you know, my business journey and then it really just tapered off after that. But I'm glad you asked because recently, this is part of my, my personal journey, I've realized music is such a huge part of my life Hmm. and I lost myself a little bit in this kind of chase for You know, finding what is the thing that I have to do, whether it's content or, you know, whatever the business journey I'm on. Um, and whether or not it's gonna like pop off. I think now in 2023, there's a better chance than ever that I. That kind of content can turn into a career. Um, but I don't wanna focus on that right now. I just wanna focus on, like you said, like getting out some fun content, reliving and rediscovering those parts of me that I kind of left behind. Um, and getting back into just playing, having fun, doing those kinds of, you know, pop punk goes, pop covers. Um, so you can expect some of those, hopefully . In the next, you know, few weeks to month. I'm just trying to just get back into it, so Love it, dude. Freaking love it. Uh, I need more of that in my life because that was a huge album in my adolescent journey. Punk goes acoustic, punk goes pop. Uh, it was a huge part of my life too. So, uh, excited to see more content on that dude. So, um, now let's, I, I kinda wanna, I feel like we're talking about Dan. Current 2023 age right now. So, um, maybe back it up a little bit, if you don't mind, Dan. Like, have you always been living in Denver? Where did you come from and what year and how did you find yourself doing this? Uh, it doesn't have to be super long. Just a good synopsis of it, you know, Yes, sir. So it all began when I was a young Ladd, no, um, Honestly, though, uh, when I was a kid, I would make movies, movies, you know, videos with my brother, with my friends. We used to live on this farm in Iowa. That's where I grew up. Um, and it. I am incredibly blessed by my parents to give us that life of, we rode dirt bikes and you know, we had all the fun stuff you could do out on a farm in small town Iowa gave us a lot of creative freedom to just explore ourselves and, and have fun. And that is really where I thought and knew even that I wanted to do video in some capacity. So, um, After I got out of high school, I briefly went to San Francisco for a woman. Um, that didn't turn out as well, so I ended up moving to Denver in 2017. A good friend of mine was like, Hey man, me and my lady are moving to Denver. I know you've been, you know, having some struggles out there. You wanna give it a shot? And I was like, cool, let's give it a try. Moved out in 2017. And yeah, just kind of started, uh, doing free stuff for people. You know, I had this degree in college, uh, for doing digital media, so I at least got some of the credentials. I didn't have a ton of, uh, samples or a ton of a, a big portfolio behind me. So went from starting to build the portfolio up. I did free work. I reached out, I went like . The whole cold internet method of just searching people on Google, on Facebook, just reaching out and saying, Hey, I'll do a free thing for you. I'll do it really cheap, whatever. And that's really how I started, uh, my journey of doing paid work. Um, and then from there, just kind of slowly worked into, I met some different people, um, to get me to where I'm at now in terms of . The real estate stuff and um, creative agency as well. Yeah, dude, this is really interesting because a lot of the people that are in this creative field usually come from a background of like, let's say,. Corporate America or this nine to five situation, and they're like, screw this. I'm more creative than this. I need something with more flexibility. I wanna be my own boss. And then they go into, let's say, paid media shoots, videographer, things like that. So here you are that have. That stuck with it ever since you were in Iowa before 2017 and you even went to college for this stuff and you went through that trial and tribulation of hustling, man, that cold emails, cold follow ups, things like that. What made you really stick out, uh, with it? Did nothing else just pique your interest or was it something that you were just good at and you're like, I don't see myself doing anything else? I think it was that like I, took a liking to creating content and telling stories and that that was really what it was, I think is like all the connections that I made with the people. Like I really, as a freelancer for example, I really, I. Believed in telling other people's stories, taking, you know, their experience, their, uh, journey that they've been on in business, in life, and sharing that with people are like one of my Kind of main services that I would do is the V B C, the video business card where, you know, you interview a business owner and they, they tell their story, we get some cool B-roll, and it's just like, it's a fun, solid, emotional piece of content that every single business owner should have. And so I built my, um, kind of built my business on doing that kind of stuff and. As we've, you know, molded into this crazy social media world, attention seeking world and getting world, um, it's shifting into, you know, a lot of different kinds of content. Um, but yeah, I, I've, I really just genuinely think I, I like connecting with people and, um, getting to know the person behind the business. So you're creating content for content creators.. Why is this such a pivotal age? Because you mentioned that we are now in this age of attention, attention, attention. So when you do capture these pieces of content for other people, like what's the purpose? Like, why do people want to create these pieces of content for the world to see the audience to see, or even just their local community to see. Yeah, great question. So the real reason that you need to have a presence on social media, I. Uh, yeah. One, it's show your experience. You need to show that you're a professional and that you know how to do the thing that you're selling, the service that you're selling, or whatever it is that your expertise lies in. But the other thing is you need to be able to communicate a message effectively. this is something I've been working on in my life, as you've noticed, through doing live, uh, live videos on Instagram. Like I was literally just doing one earlier I talked with my, my coach, shout out Sergio Naro. Um, he has been helping me work through a lot of stuff that I went through in my past that has kind of been keeping me from being able to share my message authentically. And it just driving the point home that if you can't do that, if you can't share your message authentically, not a lot of people are going to want to work with you or trust you. It's like how? How can you help them if you can't even communicate your own message about what you do? So, That kind of clicked for me, and one, I'm trying to get better at that myself so I can help others do that. I've been doing it for a long time, but I don't think it's been hitting as hard as I want it to, and I still believe I have a lot of value that I can add to my clients and anyone out there looking to to up their, their content game. Yeah, a hundred percent man. The content game. And, uh, speaking of your own experiences, like with me personally and me talking about me coming from San Diego to Denver . And just releasing that out into the wild via YouTube. It's funny how many clients that I've gotten as a real estate agent and having people move to Denver as well from Southern California and they're like, Hey, Ian, I kind of wanna work with you because you know what it's like to live in Southern California, going from the straight up, sunny, 70 degree weather. Pretty much year round going into Denver and looking at it at it from that lens, they can connect with that aspect of it. And they know like, and trust me, because they've heard me talk for hours after watching a lot of my videos and then realizing like . Okay. I kinda like this guy and I don't know anything about them, but they know everything about me, right? It's kinda a weird relationship, but at the same time, it just makes things so much easier for me to connect with them immediately rather than having to work with a discovery call. Cold calling, cold emailing.. I love video and content creation, which is why I initially hit you up, Dan, of like, I saw that you were doing these Vbcs video business cards for all these other real estate agents and other people in the industry. I was like, you know what? I think it's about time I started that and that's when I first started my journey too. So, and I'm also glad that you're doing your experiences and your hobbies on your Instagram page, and I saw that you pretty much rebranded that whole page saying, Hey, I'm just gonna . Have my content, my experiences, and my hobbies so that people can get to know me on Instagram. So, uh, let's talk a little bit about that because you made some really good pieces, number one on skits and we, we will get to that. But number two, your soccer, like love for soccer, man, it is brilliance and you're pretty good man. So if you don't mind maybe talking about your experience with that and um, maybe capturing that content and, um, you know, why Soccer of all things. Yeah, dude, it is hard to put into words sometimes what the game means to me. But I started playing when I was in high school, like late high school, senior year. And I had played football for all through my, you know, youth football and then high school. And I never liked it, man. I never liked playing football, but I played soccer my senior year, my last year of high school. And I was, I fell in love. I was like, what have I been doing this whole time? So that was one thing. It kind of sparked something in me like, this is a different kind of sport that requires a different level of skill and. Not only that, when I was, when I took that passion into college, I was basically learning to play as a college student. And you know, a lot of people that play in college that they were probably like high school, top tier athletes. I was just this dude learning to play still. And it was fun to be around that atmosphere 'cause I learned a lot quicker. Not only that, But what I have learned through college and then getting out of college, it was specifically in college that, um, I met a friend, uh, who was going, uh, to the campus and whatnot, and he was from Bangladesh and like to meet someone from a totally different country and they love soccer just as much as I did. That's when it all really clicked, is like, oh my God, this sport is so much bigger than, you know, me kicking a ball around. I. It's, it like, it's a universal language, and that's when it really started sparking for me. So I took this all into, you know, uh, wherever I moved, I, I played in San Francisco. I've been playing since I joined, or since I came to Denver, I actually started. Um, there was no, I don't if you know, like futsal, what futsal is, Not familiar. Okay, so futsal is like a different kind of style of soccer. It's playing on a flat surface, smaller side. It's like what you would call street soccer like, like what the world knows as soccer is like futsal. It's like traditional flat people play with their, you know, shoes off. Like it's just like the most expressive form of soccer. And there was no futsal like Facebook group. I actually went out into Facebook and I checked . Um, when I first moved to Denver, like, okay, how do I start playing soccer with people? Are there groups out there? I got on Facebook groups and Meetup and all this kind of stuff, but, and there were quite a few Sal Courts around the area actually in Denver, which I was pretty surprised to see. But there were no like formal sal meetups, so I actually started a Facebook group. That group has gotten to over the past few years, like 1500 people. Just in that group, just literally just by me creating it and then people searching and finding it on Facebook. So it was kind of ridiculous. So we did that and then since, I mean, probably the past three years or so, I. I would post in all the different Facebook groups and go, Hey, we're hosting a pickup here. I would slowly start meeting more and more people that saw me as the guy who was making the posts, like, oh, Dan's getting people together. We should, you know, get along with him and be sure we're always coming to these groups and through me simply posting, putting it out there that I wanted to host and help. Bring people together. I formed a really tight-knit group of people that we now play with every single Saturday. We usually go to Broomfield Commons, um, big old soccer complex and play. And out of that, a few of us, like five other dudes, have finally gotten together and said, we don't wanna just organize soccer. We want to build soccer up to be. One of the biggest things in Denver, because at Lowkey is very big in Denver, but there's not a lot of people out there doing like content or sharing stories. You know about people that play the game and why they play the game and that kind of stuff. There's tons of, you know, soccer businesses and organizations. So it's like we're trying to discover and share, um, It's the awareness, dude, like you're bringing out the awareness. And a lot of people find that market share as super valuable because they wanna play soccer too, and instead of them just like finding these random people to play with, they want something that's a little bit more regular, something that you are providing content for, and get people excited Monday through Saturday, or sorry, Monday through Friday or whatever it might be, and then play on Saturday. To have a lot more fun. So maybe just to plug the Facebook group, just in case anyone who's listening wants to join that group, if you don't mind. Uh, what's it called? Yeah, so that Facebook group is called Denver Futsal Soccer, I believe. Or Denver. Yeah, Denver Futsal or something like that. I need to double check that. But just you, you'll find there's a, there's a picture of a futsal court, and then our actual page that's promoting all of this kind of content is called Bare Bones Soccer Collective. So, Love it. Nice dude. Freaking love it. And uh, there's not too many people out there. I know. My wife Kat loves soccer too, so I think we're gonna have to make a trip out there to Broomfield.'cause I had no idea that this existed either. So it wasn't until I did a little bit more research on you, Dan, that I was like, okay, this is, this is pretty legit Yes. I love that dude. Come through. Come Nice. Um, going back to the content side, because you know your soccer relation, I mean your soccer relationship, I would've never known if it weren't for your content. Right. And there's a lot of people out there that want to produce that content. However, I. They are in a certain niche. Let's say they're a cook or a chef, and they want to create this constant flow of content and let's say a hundred percent of their content is food related. There's that side. And let's say for me, particularly because I'm a real estate agent, uh, I am struggling with this because there's people out there that have seen some really good success with a hundred percent of their content being purely real estate related. However, I see the opposite side where Some people are producing content at 80%, just purely entertainment, skits, stories, hobbies, getting to know the person a little bit better, and then the last 20% is how . You show yourself or present yourself as a professional in your field, like as a real estate agent. And I found that as of right now, like my content strategy is Monday and Friday. I provide real estate related content, and then Wednesday is memes stories. Hobby related things. And so far it's not like I've shot up with any particular strategy, but it also feels the most relaxing to me because I can show a piece of myself and also something that I'm good at and people could reach out to me because of that content. So I was wondering what your opinion is of that sort of different two strategies on the opposite sides of the spectrum. Do you go all in on the niche or do you feel like someone should get to know you better as a person? 100% you are your brand. So with that said, you should absolutely focus on Content that shows who you are. Not to say, like you said. Um, there's absolutely a place to share your expertise and that is initially when this whole kind of wave of social media short form content really started popping off the past couple years, that's what people were focusing on is cool. Like I can share, you know, things in my profession, I can share my expertise. And you should, you should still do that. But like I said, you are your brand, so share more of that authenticity, um, and share your journey too. Like I don't think people like to see a picture perfect feed of, you know, beautiful poses and all the money you're making and you know, that kind of stuff like, There. Maybe some people get super motivated by that, but that is not me. I'm sure it's not you either. Um, but yeah, that is my, my 2 cents I would even say like yeah, like an 80 20 split almost of, um, just being in you making content that you wanna make. And this is the very thing that I'm focusing on right now. I've just been trying to experiment and that's okay. You can experiment. You should experiment because you'll never know what's gonna work If, if you are making primarily content around what your profession is and it's working well, then good. Like you found the right audience and you're the one to speak that message. To the right people. But if you're not seeing the results, then maybe what the audience that you're, um, that your followers are, um, watching is not what they want. So you need to look at the analytics, I'm sure you do this as well, like look at who's watching what videos and which ones are getting more views and which ones are getting more engagement. It's uh, it's a game really. You have to look at the numbers and be yourself is the last real piece. Yeah, dude, that's really good. Um, I'm glad that you're able to echo on that because, um, it's a, it's a big part of . How I generate business, and I'm sure it's how you generate business as well, and people that are small businesses. Sure. You can post up content that's, uh, wow, look at my pie, look at my, you know, the things I've created, but also let's get to know you, which is kind of why I've developed Big Locals podcast because they might just see your content, but they need to know the person behind the content. You know, let's say like Shoe Dog with Nike. Like you see these Nike brands, you see these shoes, the clothing, the events, the sponsorships. But you need to know what the C e O is like or what the business is like beforehand, or not beforehand, but behind the curtain. And that's kind of what Big Locals podcast is about. Just to like shed some light pop up the hood to see what. What this all is about, right? Um, so let's say someone's like truly convinced that, yes, I gotta make content. And there's a lot of people that come out to myself and maybe they come out to you as well. Like, Dan, you are killing it with the content. You are consistent. You see the power of it, but I just don't know how to start. How does someone who has never been on camera before, they have that nervousness, they have the jitters. Um, how do you help them overcome that? Is there some sort of silver bullets or do you feel like there's, um, like a mental shift that you help them guide them past that, you know, Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. It can be tough. Like this is the very thing that I've been struggling with, um, to even, uh, get myself on camera, particularly lives can be scary if you go live and you're like, what if I stumble? And what if I don't say the right thing? And what if so-and-so watches it, you know? Um, but the, the real, um, that I do to coach people is I, I make them feel comfortable. First of all, it's like this. The thing that you need to know is you are an expert in what you do. Hmm. You are talking about things that you want to talk about, so you, you know this deep down, you know what you're talking about. So you don't need to worry because you're just sharing your message and you're telling your story, and that is kind of the thing that I try to have people keep in the back of their mind. Yes, it can be scary getting in front of people and getting in front of the camera and, um, speaking your truth. But the main thing is it just takes practice. You just have to practice. If you, if you don't, um, think you're good at it or you want to get better at it, no one's ever accomplished anything or gotten better at anything without doing that thing over and over and over again. So that is my, my big piece is . Realize that you are an expert and you gotta practice Mm-hmm. practice makes perfect. Well close to it. It actually just means progress, right? You can never be a hundred percent, but, um, I completely agree with you, dude. Like when I first started making videos, I cringe when I first look at my initial YouTube video, like, Hey, what's up? I'm Ian like, No one really cares. You know, they wanna get straight to the education. They want to, uh, learn more about you, like in depth. Like, what are your opinions? What do you like about Denver? What don't you like about Denver? What kind of person should not be moving here? Right? And it's funny how there's certain ss e o or certain keywords that people, uh, search on, let's say Instagram or TikTok, that are highly searchable. And your video can pop up first because it's funny on TikTok, . That there's a video on there that is definitely not performing as well on the Instagram channel, because on TikTok it's more of a search engine, and I've noticed that my lead-based paint video is my highest watch video. I think it has like 10,000 views. I. But on Instagram, I think there was like 200 views, like no one cares about about it or maybe they're just not able to search it. So even within each category or within each platform, there's a certain style to this stuff. And maybe if you wanted to like talk about it a little bit more on that, Dan, but seems like Instagram is your platform first and are you going to any other platforms as well? What do you suggest for those people starting out? Yeah, it's a good point to know who . is your ideal audience. Who is your ideal client? Whoever you're trying to talk to, and where are they? Where are they living? What, where are they consuming content? Um, what is their platform of choice? So if we're talking about you and me, Ian, right? Like we're talking about metal music, for example, and we just started a band and we wanna start like Post in content and reaching people who are, you know, in that like 30 to 40 range, they're metal heads. Um, you know, like if you're thinking about who those people are and there's research out there, you can literally Google this. And like put that client in and say, what, where are these people? Um, they're most likely gonna be on Instagram that age range, right? Like that's the millennial age. Instagram is our platform. So probably posting there, running ads, reels, like all that stuff. That's gonna be Instagram. So it's all based around who is your audience? TikTok is gonna be younger. It's that, um, . Gen Z right? Um, is gonna be mostly on TikTok. There's some, there's definitely millennials, there's definitely older people. There's a great range of people that are on all of these platforms. It's just about who's mostly on them and what is your goal with content, um, and what's the message you're trying to convey. So that's, that's my advice there. I like it. Yeah, just uh, 'cause Facebook has that sort of Gen X feel, maybe even boomer feel. But , you get Instagram. That's sort of like where our, uh, clientele might be, our demographic might be. And then Gen Zers are more on the TikTok, Snapchat, that kind of feel. So I completely agree with you, especially, um, yeah, that lead-based paint video, it's like, Anyone who is brand new to buying a home, they see lead-based paint and they're like, W T F, how do I deal with this thing? Right? So then they're searching for it, and then my video pops up, let's say on just TikTok or whatever it might be. So that new first time home buyer, they're like 20, 25 age range, and then they search on TikTok for that specific video. So, great, great points on that, Dan. Um, let's say for someone who's a little bit more, maybe not beginner, but let's say amateur to getting more proficient in content creation. And I'm sure you've worked with various types of people, different types of demographics, different industries, brands and things like that, but those that are pro behind a camera or in front of the camera, I should say, are they good at and what gets the views, what, what's a certain style of video that you would say like, okay, this is gonna hit real hard. Yeah. Good. Good question.. So the videos that go viral are the ones that are relatable for one, and they're the ones that, the host is a great storyteller. So stories are very underrated, I think in today's content world. I was just talking with, um, one of my associates, the one of the guys I'm partnering up with in this social agency, um, and he's like, Uh, the word content is just so overused right now. Content, content, content. We're, we're trying to tell stories, we're trying to make incredible videos that really hit. So it's the people that can garner attention for one and who have a great way of telling stories. Um, and then again, like I said, the, the relatability. Is another huge one. Like all the ones that I share with my fiance, for example, are like, you know, it's like some dumb video about like, here's what my boyfriend did or something. You know, it's like that kind of stuff like that you, oh, this is totally us. You know what I mean? Like if, when you think about shareable content, it's relatable content, so it's relatability and the ability to tell a great story. Mm. That's really good, dude. I've, uh, noticed that too. And, um, I, I will say that there is an aspect to it that's new-ish to me, and as far as like getting, uh, Started on that story. Um, something that I've been doing, and maybe this is something that you have been using as well, is that hook, like getting the people immediately interested in it, then you can tell your story on that. Because if, um, you know, with the age that we're in short form, I could just swipe and that's half a second of action. In order to never watch your video ever again, you need to have that like, okay, wait, I should stop and listen to this story. Right. So is there anything about hooks you wanted to talk about a little bit, because I feel like that's also kind of important for my videos personally, but I don't know if you've seen that same result as well. Yes, dude. You know your stuff. Absolutely. You know what a good hook is. So, um, for me, with the things I look out for and what a good hook is, is a question or a statement that is polarizing. Or grabs attention, right? So, um, and there's many different tactics that you can go about messing around with these. Um, like , my par, my partner again at this, so the social agency, he made a video and one of his, uh, videos was, you know what makes a great hook? And he said, here are three hookers that you should use on your next video. And then he goes into, do you see what I did there? Purposely saying something wrong. That's a way to get attention. Right. Ooh, that's good. so like, on purpose, just like messing something up, seeing if someone catches it and like, oh, did you say hookers? You know, like, yeah, obviously it worked so Um, you know what I mean? So that is, that is a really good way. So yeah, absolutely. The hook is huge. Those first They say three to five seconds, but it's, it can be even sooner than that. Like, like two seconds is like the sweet spot. Like say something as soon as possible or they're gonna, like you said, they're gonna swipe to the next one. Yeah, a hundred percent. No, dude, this is gold because, um, with the attention getting the brand awareness, content creation is huge, man. So, um, digging into your business and what you provide for a lot of your clients, it sounds like you're working with clients that need that brand awareness or want to get out to the masses.'cause one piece of content can be viewed by thousands of people. So you wanna make sure that it's good, high quality and entertaining at the same time. So, um, what kind of clients are you looking for right now and is there a certain demographic or a certain industry that you're particular in, or does that not matter? It doesn't matter as much. I am really looking to work with people who are serious about their business, telling their story, and I. Getting attention. Like if, if you don't want clients, if you don't want attention, if you don't wanna share your story, that's okay. You know, continue with how business has been for you. Like, honestly, if. If business is good the way that it is. Okay. But, uh, we're working with people who are really ready to step into their authentic self share who they are, and like I said, tell that story. Um, we've been working with, I, I work with my, my personal coach, so I create content for him as well. And the whole process of how we do things is very intricate. So we have . Me, the video producer, the onsite camera guy. Uh, but not only that, I'm coaching you through the process of, um, you know, we, we have all the ideas ready beforehand. Um, but how do you get that message out in a way that Ian would say that thing? Um, and I really coach you through saying it the best way possible, getting the best hooks, um, just like easing you up to like . Just be yourself on camera.'cause like we were talking about, that can be really hard sometimes, especially if you're with someone or you're in a certain environment and, um, you're just trying to work on how to do that. So that's one piece of it is the video production and then the backend stuff is we come in and we look at, alright, who are you? What is your service that you provide? And then we look at the general industry on social media. What are people like you doing on social media and how can we. Um, do similar things, but do it in the voice that Ian would do it. Um, so we're, we're doing the research, we're also helping write scripts. We're helping come up with ideas, um, and we're really helping tell the story that you want to tell in the way you want to tell it. So that's, those are the kinds of clients we're working with. Like I said, coaches, Uh, working with, um, a gym owner who's trying to reach more, you know, get more clients for his gym. Um, we're about to work with a guy who does, he's got a cleaning business, but he also wants to grow his personal brand and become a coach. So like, there's all different kinds of people that we can work with to tell the stories. Um, I just am super. Pumped to talk to people and help them like see what their potential is and what kind of person they are and just bring more of that out of them on camera. Because there's only one. You right Dan. Like there's only one you. You're unique and there's a reason why people wanna work with you. And there's a reason why people might possibly not wanna work with you and that's okay.'cause there's a huge amount of people, there's like 7 billion people in the world and I'm sure you can find what. At least a thousand. Right. People of that 7 billion that wanna work with you. So I completely understand you, man. This is really good stuff. Um, more specific to Denver. Um, has there been anything in Denver or the influence of the Denver community that has affected your way of doing business? Maybe a style of doing business, maybe different kinds of shots? Um, is there anything that . You could do here that you aren't able to do anywhere else. Hmm, that's a good question. I think Denver is definitely pretty unique in that We have a lot of entrepreneurial spirit here. You know, like there's tons of people doing so many different kinds of things. Um, and it's why this scene fascinates me and why, you know, there's so many possibilities for content. Um, you know, Denver, like I said, it's a, it's a, it is a melting pot. Um, and it's really cool to see . Just where, where everyone comes from their unique perspectives on, um, on business, on, you know, how they do run their business. Denver specific. I mean, we can go out in the mountains and shoot some, you know, some pretty content, get some, some sick backgrounds and, and get all Zen out there and whatnot. Um, There is a certain allure to Denver though, isn't there? Like just, it is the mountains. It is the, the outdoor, um, adventure kind of spirit here. And that plays definitely into a lot of the entrepreneurs here, I think as Yeah. And I'm glad you really brought that up because, um, the. Time of Covid when I first came here in August of 2020. Great time to make friends, right? Yeah, right. all the restaurants are closed, bars are closed. Uh, a lot of the venues are closed for that time. And I was like, how the heck do I make friends at this time? And I realized going out to these outdoor farmer's markets where there's people starting their own business when they got furloughed from their original job, um, let's say mostly in the restaurant industry. They're great cooks, they're great bakers. Ice cream makers, whatever it might be, even candle makers, right? But they weren't able to utilize that in a more open space until they got furloughed and they're like, well, no better person to bet on than myself. And I love that aspect of it, of investing in yourself. Investing in what your skillset is, instead of hoping for that paycheck, hoping for that raise from that W two job, from that corporation. And it just feels so much more organic here versus where I come from. Back in San Diego, everyone had a W two job. Like there was hardly any like independent contractors and entrepreneurs. It just felt, well, at least within my sphere and my circle. And I grew up there for like 30 ish years, so I was like, Well, this is a different scene here in Denver and, um, you know, also a reason why I brought up the podcast to number one, make friends , but also number two, bring up the little guy. Like have them tell their story on this podcast and have the world hear about it and connect with more people all at once with just one piece of content. So, um, I dunno if you wanna touch on that a little bit more, Dan, I'll leave the floor to you if you wanted to touch on that a little bit. Dude. Yeah. And it's amazing what you're doing. I think it's, it's admirable. It's a step to, to put yourself out there for one, um, and not know what the reception is gonna be like, you know, for. Uh, talking to all these different business owners and how it'll go, but like, it was a testament to you and what you wanted to do, and you started doing it and you've been crushing it. And I think that goes to, you know, like the, um, the tune of every other entrepreneur out here in Denver doing that exact same thing, like they have betted on themselves and they have . Known, there's a deep level and a deep sense of knowing that there's something greater out there for them. And I've always felt that even before I moved to Denver, like I had all these passions and things that I wanted to w you know, figure out and express. And I just haven't been able to do that until really the past, maybe . One to two years. Um, but yeah, for everyone out there like do that work, do that work on yourself to uncover what do you really love? And if you have that, um, it doesn't have to be like, you don't have to be an entrepreneur to do things that you love, but if you can and you can, um, cross the two paths of here's what my passion is. Oh, I could actually make money doing that. That's the sweet spot right there. Um, and it's just really cool to be surrounded by people in Denver, like pretty much all of my, I would say acquaintances and most of my friends are entrepreneurs. And it's just, it's just a, a testament to like where we're at. And, um, it's a cool time. It's a cool time to be alive, man. Tell you what, I love it, dude. It's a what? A what a great time to be alive. I love that Drake album, by the way. Hey. what? A time to be Alive. That's what it is. Um, last question I wanna ask you, Dan, before I let you go, is, um, is there anyone you wanna shout out here? Any businesses, certain people that have helped you along the way? Um, . Try to keep it local, but of course anyone and everyone is, uh, an option for you. Yeah, 100%. So, um, the two main people I would shout out, I'll say three. So the first one is my coach, Sergio Nro. He's running, become the standard, um, coaching. He does performance coaching, is what he calls it. And it's basically, um, it's been, it's the journey that I'm sharing right now. It's . You're going through four different domains in your life and you're optimizing each one of those, your body, so your health and your fitness, your business, your career, whatever it might be, um, balance, which is your relationships with your friends, your family, in my case, my fiance, and then your being, which is your spiritual connection. Doesn't have to be God, it doesn't have to be. Uh, it could be the lamps sitting next to me, you know, like whatever you feel you can connect to. So, um, he works with all of those domains and helps you optimize each one of 'em. It's the reason I've been able to, um, explore myself and dig deeper and push my business to the next level. So work with Sergio nro if you need to coach. And then we've got Maddie, my fiance, she runs a gym in Northwest Arvada called Fit Body Bootcamp. If you're looking for high intensity, um, short, like 30 minute workouts with an amazing team that's gonna push you and keep you accountable, um, you want something different in your workout routine. Fit Body Bootcamp. Um, and then the business that I started, and the reason I met Ian is real estate media. We're called Just Pen to Denver. Um, and we do listing photos, videos, all that stuff for your listings. And we also do the kind of stuff I was talking about, branded video content. Get your name out there on social media, um, and grow your personal brand. So those are my, my three. Love it man. Thank you so much. Um, I, I lied. There is one more question.. How can people find you, man? Yeah, so Instagram, uh, my main page that you can follow me on is the Dan McVey. It's the Dan Period McVey, M C V E Y. Uh, you can find me on YouTube as well, Dan McVey. I'm currently not doing as much YouTube. I'm trying to focus on Instagram, um, and just doing as much there as I can. I think that's another note. Just focus on one platform at a time. Optimize one, and then maybe you can move to the others. But I'm trying to do Instagram. That's the main thing. So the Dan McVey. And then if you wanna visit just pended as well. That's, um, just pen to Denver, just period pen period. Denver. Love it. Thank you so much, Dan. I am Ian realestate agents. I might change it to just Ian realestate and plus it's not as long and uh, I don't wanna just be that agent. I wanna be an investor, anything real estate related, but we'll talk about that later as far as branding goes. But dude, Dan, thank you so much for hanging out, man. I truly appreciate you. Um, this has been a blast, especially when people wanna learn more about content and just getting their brand out there and getting people to know them. As a person and a business. So thanks so much for being on The Big Locals podcast, man. Thank you, sir. This was awesome. Appreciate you.