Source-derived protocol · GaryVee
Test Ad Creative Organically Before Paying
Post every piece of content you make for a sale or an ad organically first. If the post performs well in views compared to your norm, start running paid media on that creative.
3 actions
GaryVee's principle
When you're deciding whether to post a sales-oriented piece of content, always post it organically first before running it as an ad.
Your version
3 total
Decide which creative to run as paid media by posting it organically first and comparing its views to your account's norm.
When you're deciding whether to post a sales-oriented piece of content, post every piece of content you make for a sale or an ad organically first before running it as paid media.
Recurring · on your cadenceDone when: The content intended for a sale or an ad is posted organically.
When deciding whether to run paid media on a creative, compare the organic post's views to your account's norm.
Recurring · on your cadenceDone when: The organic post's views have been compared to your account's norm.
If the post performs well in views compared to your norm, start running paid media on that creative.
Recurring · on your cadenceDone when: Paid media is running on the creative that performed well in views compared to your norm.
Why it works
What GaryVee says this builds. Their framing, not ours — every line links to where they said it.
Organic performance is the signal for what to run as paid media
The speaker recommends comparing a creative's organic views to your account's norm: if a post performs well relative to your norm, that is the creative to put ad money behind, because content cannot get views unless the creative is relevant. He claims this should save an extraordinary amount of money, noting many people waste money on social ads whose creative will not convert.
View in the full analysis →Interest media: content merit beats follower count
The speaker argues the current environment is 'interest media' rather than social media: the same video got 300K views on his 15M-follower account but 8.2M views from a zero-follower account, so follower count matters less than the merit of the content itself.
View in the full analysis →Jab, jab, jab, right hook: free value sets up the pitch
Using his boxing analogy, the speaker says jab content (free value) sets up the right hook (the direct pitch); without the jab you lose. He observes too much of the content he sees is only the 'right hook' — 'you're broken, I can fix you, give me your money' — and warns that completely selfish content will not work; you have to mix it up.
View in the full analysis →
Source-derived protocol
Based on “Everything You Need to Know About Social Media in October 2026” by GaryVee.
- Source fidelity verifiedPassed · Oct 21, 2026
- Protocolability reviewedPassed · configurable template
- Editorially reviewedNot yet
- Supported by independent sourcesNot evaluated
Source fidelity means each creator-worded element was checked against the exact statements it cites. It says nothing about whether the approach works.