I got to meet Shep Gordon last year.
If you don’t know who Shep is… He’s probably one of the biggest music and entertainment managers ever. Throughout his career he represented stars like Blondie, Gipsy Kings, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper… and many more.
But what’s really fascinating about Shep is this: He’s the guy who invented the whole concept of "celebrity chef” in America.
The story goes like this...
One day, Shep meets this Michelin Star chef in Europe, and becomes very good friends with him.
The curious thing about this chef was, people would treat him like a celebrity. They’d come to hear this chef speak, watch him cook… They would admire him and, in general, they’d treat him like he was a rock star or something.
Shep was intrigued...
Then, one day, another friend of Shep's bought a television network here in the US and decided to start a food network. But there was one problem: This network friend didn't have any content to broadcast...
Shep immediately thought of his European celebrity chef friend (and all the other chefs he met through him) and saw a huge opportunity. So he offered a deal: Shep would provide the content for free in exchange for ad time.
Long story short, that collaboration created household names like Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, Nobu, Wolfgang Puck… and so on.
But here’s the reason I’m telling you all this…
The more I'm paying attention to how celebrity works, the more I’m realizing… celebrities can be manufactured.
In fact, all the reality shows today are doing exactly that. The reason all these people become famous is because they get on TV. It’s not the other way around...
And guess what? You can use that same “tactic” in your own business, just as well...
Because in reality, Facebook (or Instagram, Youtube, etc) is your TV network. And you can use it to raise awareness about you and your business… to provide valuable content... to entertain, and motivate and educate people...
So you become an authority, a celebrity, somebody that your target market knows and loves and trusts. And by the time your prospects are ready, you’re going to be the only one they’ll want to do business with...