The question of how to get people to trust your product is one that everyone asks whether conscious or subconscious. I recently read an article talking about some of Tiger Wood’s endorsers starting to drop the famous golfer over his recent car crash incident. Now for the record I was not there and I have no idea what actually took place that night. What I do know is that Tiger Wood’s Lawyers suck and he has some major damage control to conduct on his brand.

The one thing that Tiger Woods can’t take back about the incident that happened is the forgone conclusion that people have reached about the actual event regardless of their factual accuracy. When people are left to their own devices they will conceive whatever they want based on the limited facts they know. Remember the story about people shooting up grain silos in the middle of the night after tuning in late to the radio broadcast of War of the Worlds?

An invisible line was crossed by Tiger that spoke loud and clear to everyone, that he is as human as we are and has skeletons in the closet. Those two revelations have shattered the trust and opinions people have formed about Tiger over the last decade or two. All of the branding and advertising that Tiger has taken part of by some of the biggest companies in the world have made his likeness to be that of a perfect and happy family man who is extremely gifted at golf. That foundation has been cracked.

I can almost say with certainty that Tiger or another family member called one of his lawyers and told them what happened that night. The lawyer probably determined that the best course of action would be to not talk to anyone, including the police (legally fine in Florida). This has some major problems from a branding perspective because 10 minutes after the event took place, everyone on Twitter already knew about it. Now the world knows about what happened that night, which is worse than knowing exactly what happened.

I have dealt first hand with Tiger’s lawyers regarding a domain dispute. The same course of action was taken with me, in a very lawyeristic form: don’t talk, just hit people over the head with legalese. I decided because of how Tiger’s lawyers went about the issue I would put up a fight as I was legally right and they had no real leg to stand on. Had they simply opened up dialogue with me and expressed what they wanted, I probably would have simply given them the domain.

What does all of this have to do with getting people to trust your product? Simple. With the advent of instant communication and the Internet, brands can not go about things the same way they used to. Listening to lawyers all the time can damage your brand just as much, if not more (even if they are legally right). I am sure Tiger’s lawyers were doing the right and correct thing from a legal standpoint, but now Tiger is losing endorsements and suffering for lack of transparency. The brand water has been tainted.

People who get a hold of information that is not resolved will want a resolution. If your brand has an issue, the best thing to do from a brand standpoint is to address that issue head on, hopefully via the same medium. All of the lawyers might cringe when this happens, but what is worth more, the brand’s integrity and future profitability or having that lawyer around?

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a post about how bad lawyers are. This is about the court of public opinion for which lawyers don’t hold degrees. When this type of problem arises with your brand, it is important to think about legal and social ramifications of the solution. Once done, some things can’t be undone.

*picture from http://pspinc.net/wordpress/?p=495

I had the pleasure of talking with Gary Vaynerchuk last week about his new book “Crush It! Why NOW Is The Time To Cash In On Your Passion.” I received a copy of the book a couple of days before and was able to read through it in short order (about 2.5 hours). I highly recommend you get a copy. Below is the video I put together for your viewing pleasure (with the help of Brian Matson, Mr. FargoMoorhead).

The biggest takeaway from the book and talking with Gary was the focus on branding and how to pursue branding to the ends of the earth. In the end, everyone has their own brand and if you aren’t managing and interacting with others, your brand will be determined for you. So as Gary would say, jump in the trenches and get dirty.

All of this brand management and social interaction comes at a great cost of time and participation. It doesn’t take a lot of money or talent to set up a Twitter account and start talking to people. But the currency of the day is sweat, not dollar according to Gary. The more you spend doing what you love and building your relationships with others, the more successful you’ll be. The reality is this works for everyone and everything. That is why Gary’s message is priceless. Here is the video he references in the interview, The 80/20 Business Rule.

I mentioned the other day on Aylln Hane’s Video Blog that it really boils down to what you want, your goal. Without knowing your end goal or desire it doesn’t matter who you get your information from: Vic, Griz, Problogger, Gary Vaynerchuk, Seth Godin, Warren Buffett or whoever. You have to know what your goal is, find the person who best fits your personality and style to model, then spend every waking moment (minus family and work) pursuing that goal. And guess what? You’ll reach it.

Reading Gary’s book “Crush It!” is one way to help you reach your goal. I said before I highly recommend you pick up a copy and get fired up. This book with help you tremendously in organizing and prioritizing your work to reach your goal the Gary Vaynerchuk way. If you don’t want to go the same route as Gary to reach your goal(s) then use the book as inspiration to get fired up about your goal and dominating everyone else in your niche.

I give the book two thumbs up and will reference and recommend it to just about everyone. It’s your choice in how you pull information from the book and apply it to your life. For $13 or so, it is more inspirational and packed with solid info than any other e-book. Most of the information presented in the book can be found on GaryVaynerchuk.com and if you started at the very first post you’ll gain a lot and save the $13 and reading time. Knock yourself out and Crush It in one way or another!

I would never advocate you try to become and do something that you are not. But if you’re so excited about your goal or a subject that you can’t sleep and want to connect to every single person on earth about it, Gary and Crush It has the formula for you. Care more about everyone you come across in life and business and you’ll win.

This is an interview with Jason from iwearyourshirt.com. Jason came up with a fun and interesting idea for marketing businesses by wearing a paid-for shirt everyday for one whole year. For Jason to wear a shirt, businesses or people paid by the day starting at $1 January 1st and $365 for December 31st. He still has some days left and is more than willing to wear and promote your shirt for any number of days.

What inspired you to start iwearyourshirt.com?

I’ve always been an out of the box thinker and lover of creative and interesting marketing/advertising ideas. I wear shirts on a daily basis, don’t typically care what the shirts say and knew that a lot of companies make shirts to promote their stuff. I put 2 and 2 together, started my pricing structure extremely low and exploited a bunch of free social media tools on the web to help me out.

What has the overall perception been with your idea of wearing a new shirt everyday?

When I first started the project back in October of ’08 there was a mix of positive and negative feedback. My friends/family obviously supported me 100%, but like me, they didn’t think it would take off as well as it has. I just gave my first ever presentation at a Refresh Event in Toronto and not one person clapped when my name was announced to speak because they had never heard of me. 7 minutes later my presentation was done and people were clapping and lining up to ask me questions. Moments like that are very rare and really awesome.

When do you think all of the day slots will be sold off?

A couple times this year I guessed and was wrong. I am not worried about the last remaining days selling out, but I hope it happens sooner than later!

What do you plan on doing after the end of the year?

Wearing more shirts obviously… Ha. The project will continue in some shape or form, I just haven’t figured out exactly what that is yet. I love meeting all these new great companies/people and wouldn’t mind having my wardrobe picked out for me again. Maybe start next year at $2? Can we lock you in for a day Josh?

Josh Here: I would absolutely love to book days next year if you were to do it again. Especially if I get first dibs.

What are some of the different venues you plan on visiting while wearing others shirts?

No planned venue visiting. I’ve told people from the start, I am living my life.. You didn’t spend $67 and get to tell me what to do all day. You spent that money to have me be your advertising for a day, get your name out there to a new audience and see me in your shirt. As far as planned events I will be attending, I have a few weddings coming up, a trip over the summer at some point to somewhere tropical and that’s it.

Have you had any strange encounters while wearing other people’s shirts?

Not too many strange encounters. I always get really funny looks when I explain the idea to a complete stranger, a stranger who is typically not internet savvy. I have had a couple ‘celebrity sighting’ moments. I had someone DM me on Twitter saying they were sitting behind me in a movie theater and I had a guy come up to me in the Washington DC airport and ask if I was “the iwearyourshirt guy”? That stuff is pretty neat.

How would you measure the success of your shirt wearing venture with nearly four months behind you?

I would say it has been very successful. 334 days have been sold at this point, I haven’t gone a month without a monthly sponsor and I am still receiving media attention. I really enjoy meeting new people and encourage anyone to reach out to me. My e-mail address is iwearyourshirt@gmail.com and my Twitter name is @iwearyourshirt. I’m easy to find and happy to chat. Obviously when I am sitting on Oprah’s couch I know I’ve made it… haha, kidding, maybe.

How much time a day are you spending on the adventure?

Typically between 6-10 hours depending on the day. I spend a lot of time interacting with people on E-mail, Twitter and Facebook throughout the day, along with all the content creation that goes on (daily photos, video and live video show). The more time I spend, the more results I see. I could spend 3 hours a day and be done, but I know I wouldn’t be in the position I am right now.