Power of Influence: The social media geek you need to know
When it comes to the latest news and information on all things social media, one of our top resources is Matt Navarra’s weekly Geekout newsletter. Matt is a social media consultant based in Wales with experience working with the UK government and with the global presence of The Next Web. You can find Matt primarily on Twitter, his social platform of choice, because of the fast-paced nature of news. He’s posted over 100k tweets!
But more importantly, here is why you need this newsletter - Matt makes staying on top of the latest barrage of content around social media platforms easy. In one email each week he pulls together the latest social media industry news, platform updates, new tools and features-- and shares his tips & tricks for managing your own social accounts. While the newsletter is loaded with information, he makes it easily digestible with just the right amount of copy.
When we look for articles to analyze for M.T. Deco each month in our news or tips & tricks series, Matt’s newsletter is always our first stop and we have yet to find other resources that come even close to the value he delivers. When it comes time to get our own newsletter up and running again, his will absolutely be an example we will draw inspiration from.
On Twitter, Matt’s other main platform, his news coverage is largely focused on three areas: breaking social media news from across the web, like when platforms go haywire, platform-specific news, like Angelina Jolie becoming the fastest Instagram user to 1 million followers, and larger deep dives, like this report from The Verge about how the most popular posts on Facebook are plagiarized. He also tracks cutting-edge technology, like AR and VR, and provides insights to his audience.
That audience, for both Twitter and his newsletter, is largely other social media managers, and Matt specifically targets those at the top of their industry. It’s given him an even broader reach and serious clout. He is an expert to the experts, and that has made him a go-to for media outlets like the BBC, Tech Crunch, Social Media Today, and Refinery 29, among many others.
What’s he actually publishing that all these people care about? Matt doesn’t post a ton of photos or videos, his specialty is curation [specifically, selecting and organizing social-specific news items]. He scours everything so that others can be “in the know” without having to do all the legwork. He also concentrates on platforms that are suited to that curation, like Twitter and his newsletter + podcast. [Yes, he’s on Instagram, but he’s not nearly as active on it, which is OK and irrelevant to his specialty!].
For those of you out there trying to come up with content ideas, take a note from Matt and curate some lists in your area of expertise and be mindful of the best platform in which to do it. Examples could be top accounts to follow, top publications to follow, 5 top news stories on the week, etc. The specific things you pick and choose, while keeping your target audience in mind, is what will make you not only unique and different but can also help you eventually become a leading voice in your field, similar to Matt.
Matt is not only a helpful resource specific to digital and social media strategy news, his style of publishing also serves as an example when it comes to our clients and our own strategy at M.T. Deco. Here are some tactics that Matt employs that inspire us:
Simplify and don’t overcomplicate. It’s easy to get distracted by new platforms and features launching constantly. Depending on your business goals, it’s often best - and especially when you’re just getting started - to fully master 1-2 platforms. Start small and be consistent. Quality over quantity is best.
Be niche. Most people are scared of narrowing their content to a specific target audience for fear that it will alienate reaching large masses. It’s an understandable fear, but with so much oversaturation of information today, you’ll get much further by focusing on a targeted group and building a genuine small community than trying to appeal to everyone at the start.
Be hyper-aware of the best platform for your goals. Be honest with yourself about matching the best way to consume your content with the appropriate outlet. If writing and curation are your specialties, video platforms like YouTube and TikTok are a harder fit [though not impossible, it just takes time, effort, and work to figure out how to best bring your content to life in video form]. Don’t write off classic platforms like newsletters and Twitter, they might not be as sexy but they can help your reach more than you might think.
Being relevant is always going to serve you. No matter your industry [from hard news to interior design], there are legitimate news sources covering the latest developments, information, and trends in that space. Be in the know by engaging with, sharing, and curating that information for your audience. We live in a world where it’s no longer acceptable to live in a vacuum, so the sooner you get comfortable with this, the better for both you and your brand.
Matt recently did a Q&A with Social Media Today on the latest trends in social that brands need to know. Takeaways for us were his insights that shopping on social and the evolving ‘creator economy’ tools [think subscriptions and tipping] are both significant to the growth strategies for a lot of the big platforms. He also shared that TikTok is the most underrated platform in terms of marketing opportunities. Meaning, it’s still the wild west with no specific “rules,” so if reach is a goal and video creation is in your toolkit, get over there and start experimenting.
Subscribe to Matt Navarra’s newsletter and follow him on Twitter because his content is applicable to anyone working on their digital strategy and you never know, one of his tips might give you the small edge you’re looking for.