Social Media Marketing for Startups with Louie La Vella

February 15, 2017

Do you have a startup and have no idea where or even how to start marketing yourself on social media?

Are you looking for proven strategies and tactics on how to use social media marketing for your startup?

Launching a new business is tough enough. Trying to navigate through the wild world of social media marketing does not make it any easier. Fortunately, we’re here to help you out this week with our show.

This week on the Social Media Social Hour, I have a conversation with Louie La Vella and we talk specific strategies and tactics your startup can leverage through social media marketing.

Let’s do this!

About the show:

The Social Media Social Hour is a podcast for marketers and entrepreneurs looking to get on the social media fast track. The podcast is an interview format, where each week I get up close and personal with top brands and influencers to talk social media, tech and online marketing. Each week I share tools that I personally use to help me with social media management, sales, marketing, accounts management, and productivity. The Social Media Social Hour is presented by Tack – Power your marketing with authentic content from customers and fans.

In this episode, here is what you’ll discover:

About Louie La Vella:

Louis is an Entertainment Branding Expert. He has been crafting and creating marketing and social media marketing strategies for concerts, large music festivals, nightlife venues, and up & coming talent.

Key Takeaways and Memorable Quotes:

  • Louie works in the entertainment industry as a marketing consultant and creative consultant to music festivals, celebrities, and music labels.
  • Louie has been working with the entertainment industry since he was a teenager when he created events for clubs and bars.
  • Social media has been a game changer for the music industry in how artists distribute their music.
  • Social media has given control to the artists over the record labels.
  • Social media has also given control to the consumer too. To create authority, Louie questions if information just needs to be free.
  • If you’re business or start-up is brand new to social media, Louie recommends creating authority in your industry. To do this, you have to understand what your story is so you can pitch it.
  • Once you know your story, perhaps you can get on podcasts, or get placement in other publications. To get there, you need to create a great story.
  • “People buy into stories, so it’s crucial to tell a great story.” ~ Tyler Anderson
  • When approaching podcasters, publications, etc., to stand out you must forge a relationship. Louie recommends finding which writers fit your story. Don’t make your initial outreach a pitch, make it about that person.
  • “When you build relationships, you’re building your rolodex.” ~Louie La Vella
  • The most important thing to consider when selecting social networks is to know where your audience is.
  • When placing ads, there will be a variety of objectives to consider. From awareness and branding to something that’s more sales driven.
  • When it comes to growth, you’ll get growth residually by putting out great content and strategically marketing it.
  • Automation tools are great, but use them with caution.
  • It’s ok to automate to ease your workload, but ALWAYS pay attention to what’s going on. ~Louie La Vella
  • Louie believes automation tools have hurt Twitter.
  • Louie recommends using ad dollars to promote content as the growth will come from those who like your content.
  • Likes are nothing more than a vanity metric.
  • Vanity metrics only go so far.
  • When you launch on social media, you may create accounts on multiple platforms, but you’ll eventually see the traction and engagement on a few and those are the ones you should put most of your resources and time towards.
  • Louie’s vision of the top social networks:
    • Facebook — Making fantastic moves with different ad tools and features. Still should be a heavy focus for most businesses. It’s his #1, even with B2B.
    • Instagram — For consumers, it’s a very visual platform and it will continue to only grow. Should be a platform businesses invest more time in. Crucial that it ties into Facebook and can leverage their ad tools and data.
    • Twitter — It’s a quick conversation platform. But there is a lot of overlap with the other channels. If he eliminated it, he’s not sure the fans would care.
    • Snapchat — The gears behind your marketing. Now Instagram Stories is too. However, Snapchat is still great for reaching Generation Z.
    • LinkedIn — Does see some value for B2B, but not essential for B2B, you can still capture people on Facebook. LinkedIn Groups have become spammy and a lot of people have migrated to Facebook Groups.

Items/people mentioned in the show:

Louis La Vella’s Six Pack:

  1. Kenny Chesney or Jimmy Buffett? Buffett
  2. Jimmy Buffett or Usher? Usher
  3. Usher or Madonna? Madonna
  4. Madonna or Metallica? Madonna
  5. Madonna or Aerosmith? Madonna
  6. Madonna or Frank Sinatra? Madonna, but really tough to go against Frank.

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