A few weeks ago, we had the honor of being able to ask all the questions we wanted to Matt Navarra, our favorite social network specialist! ?
He was able to give us a sincere feedback on his vision of social networks. We’ll let you know a little more about this atypical character. Don’t hesitate to leave your questions and impressions in the comments!
Part 01: Let’s get to know each other
Laura (Swello)
Hello Matt and thank you very much for your time!
First question: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us how you got to where you are today? ?
Matt Navarra
My name is Matt Navarra and I’ve been working in social media for 10-12 years now. My first job in this field was in 2007, when I worked for the UK government as a digital communications expert. I have worked with different government departments such as the Cabinet Office and the Government Digital Service.
Then I was Social Media Manager for The Next Web in 2013: I managed events and social media for five years.
Now I work as a freelance social media consultant for many brands, companies and publishers.
Laura
Can you tell us more about your experience at The Next Web?
Matt
In 2013, I started as a Social Media Manager. Initially, they wanted me to write for them as a journalist or social media reporter, but I am not a journalist. I never claimed to be one, and I wasn’t trained to be one, so I didn’t feel comfortable. And then they asked me if I would be interested in running all of their social networks, because at the time there wasn’t really a manager. So, I accepted! ?
I worked with the editorial and news teams who helped me find new content to broadcast, as part of our strategy of interacting with our communities. At the beginning I was alone in this position and, as time went by, a team of 5-6 people formed around me. I then realized that we were the forerunners of a new communication era.
Another part of my job was to work on conferences.
When I started the conferences, 5,000 people were present for one day. When I left, more than 25,000 people were there over two days. In fact, it seems to me that the last edition where I was present, we generated more than 800 million impressions on social networks in the seven days following the conference. So, it was quite a big operation! ?
It took six months of reflection to establish a content strategy for social networks. In 2013, I was only doing a LiveTweet of the event. At the time I left, we had a team of about 15 people managing the social networks for the event in Amsterdam.
I had very good mentors among the founders of The Next Web : Boris and Patrick, who gave me a lot of creative freedom, the opportunity to experiment and this is something I may not find in any other company (apart from mine of course). It was a very important period of my life, I stayed there for a very long time and it was really unforgettable!
Laura
What was your dream job when you were a kid?
Matt
I wanted to be an airline pilot! ✈️
I’ve always wanted to work for British Airways or another airline. In fact, I had a job experience at Bristol Airport in air traffic control. I had started training for my private pilot licence, but I didn’t have the level.
I was good at some tasks, but very good at others, more important ones. Mathematics was one of them. That’s why I quickly took a step back from my career and decided to turn this passion into a hobby.
Then I graduated in Business & Marketing and worked for a bank. I also trained as a primary school teacher. I did a whole series of different jobs. Then I had an opportunity for a role in the UK government with a social media part. I got more involved in that job, there was a lot of interest in what I was setting up and that’s what sparked my interest in social media.
Originally, I had no intention to work in social networks, it was not planned at all, it just happened naturally. ?
Part 02: Let’s talk about social networks
Laura
Today, what is your favorite social network and why?
Matt
My favorite social network is Twitter because that’s where I started my first missions with the British government. It’s also a place where people like me, who are interested in news and technology, usually get together to chat.
I also really like the possibility of getting information “at the source”.
Finally, I also love the accessibility it brings on Twitter, anyone is accessible, whether it’s a CEO of a large company, a celebrity or anyone else.
To this day, I still consider it THE most useful platform for me/in my field. ?
Laura
What do you think of the new features and algorithms that social networks have recently updated? Like for example the removal of the number of likes?
Matt
All social networks have some kind of algorithmic flow. The changes to the algorithms will continue to progress, they are improving and perfecting year after year. These algorithms are not static, they change. In fact, the number of variables in some of these complex algorithms is so large that there is no point in trying to defeat them one way or another.
With respect to the more recent changes to Facebook, priority is being given to comments and other more meaningful forms of engagement, which is good!
For the removal of likes on Instagram, I think it’s part of the shift towards a more regulated and social networked world. And it’s already in place. Social media platforms themselves feel the need to show that they are responsible and that they act. They also need to show governments that they are doing something, that they are aware of the challenges posed by the massive use of social networks in relation to mental health and other factors.
I think the goal is to get users to focus more on what makes sense and to reduce the number of users trying to play with the algorithm (editor’s note: especially to have a lot of likes via bots for example, but little real commitment), which is vanity. I wonder what the impact will be, it’s still being tested by different platforms and we’ll see if they will go further.
Laura
Today, we feel that it is absolutely necessary to pay for visibility on social networks, particularly on Facebook and Instagram. What do you think about that? Also, what would be your advice to be seen on a low budget?
Matt
These platforms are not charitable. They are businesses and should be considered as such. They are there to bring money back to their shareholders and investors. They have several ways of doing that, including Ads.
To answer the question, yes, companies need to use social advertising if they want to raise their profile and benefit from the considerable engagement that social networks have.
Looking back, the more people started to use social platforms, the more brands found them useful and the more news feeds were flooded with sponsored messages. Over time, prices gradually increased, and the visibility of organic Posts decreased as time went by. This is just a natural consequence of the operation.
You can still generate a fairly large amount of organic activity without paying for it, it’s just based on a few things.
Any advice I can give you?
They are classic, but first you need to understand who your followers are. You have to determine what stimulates them, what interests them, what arouses their interest, to meet their expectations. This will help you deliver content that is more likely to engage them organically. For example: videos, images, articles, the type of topics, interests or trends…
Obviously, the content produced must be of the highest possible quality. But that doesn’t mean you have to create a video worthy of a Hollywood production. Sometimes, videos with less work are the best because the authenticity is obvious. Rather, it’s about producing something qualitative in terms of the information and entertainment it provides.
This is what I recommend maximizing what you want for free/at low cost!
Laura
In your opinion, what is the future of social networks? Will they still be present in ten years? If so, in what way?
Matt
I don’t think social networks are going to disappear like that. They will evolve and adapt to the environment in which they will be used.
We are currently facing a great upheaval, especially with governments around the world trying to regulate the use of social networks. This will undoubtedly have an impact on the evolution of social platforms and how we will use them. In fact, there has been a big shift in the use of private messaging applications/private groups lately. Therefore, to answer the question “what will social media look like in ten years’ time”: there will still be a lot of developments.
Another thing, even though video is very popular at the moment, we need to think about ways to deliver audio content in a new way, whether it’s through podcasts or voice support.
There is also augmented reality and virtual reality, which are not yet very widespread, but which are likely to be more integrated into our daily lives in the future. All this will surely change the way we use social networks. The way we look, feel, the devices we use to access them…
And of course, we may have a new social network that will come along. A new platform that will surpass all the others. And the leader may no longer be Facebook or Instagram. To tell the truth, it’s hard to be sure of any future in the next five to ten years, everything is moving very fast. But with the future and new regulations, a new leader may emerge. The question is who…
Laura
We want to know your secret! How do you always manage to be the first to know everything about social networks, even if it’s just recently? Do you have a special connection with Facebook, Twitter…?
Matt
I am simply a multitude of sources of information. I search online and I also use a variety of tools to help me do so, such as NewsWhip Spike. It’s one of my favorite tools, it helps me find news/popular content associated with keywords or topics (which was the most shared, which created the most engagement over different periods of time…).
I also use a data mining tool based on Twitter, which allows me to display important tweets related to what I’m interested in. I really like TweetDeck, a tool on which I was able to create a number of Twitter lists and sections to help me. In addition, I also have people in my community who see things that I couldn’t see/missed and send me private messages to warn me.
Otherwise, I look a lot at applications and platforms myself, to see if I can find things by browsing the source code or testing different features. And then I communicate directly with social networks. I have good relationships with most of them. So sometimes they give me information that is not yet communicated or ask me for advice on things they are going to implement.
Finally, I take part in many important events in the Social Media.
So, it’s simply a wide range of information sources! Then being recognized as a person a little addicted to this kind of news probably helps me aha! ?
Part 03: the future
Laura
You have travelled all over Europe (and even the world) to meet entrepreneurs and social media managers. Could you summarize these experiences for us?
Matt
Most of the time, when I’m travelling, I attend events and speak at them. Last year (2019), for six months, I travelled in Europe to Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Australia in Perth and also to London and Dublin to meet social media managers and get to know part of my community.
An agency in France, Dare.win, asked me to come to her office for a workshop. So we organized a conference for those interested. Some of their clients or people following me on Twitter were there. It was a great experience, I really want to continue doing this kind of event in the future!
In addition, I always aim to broaden my Facebook group for community and social media managers. In order to offer relevant content, I also surround myself with influential people in the social network world: my travels around the world allow me to interview some of them in my podcast.
Laura
Where do you see yourself in five or ten years?
Matt
I’ve been self-employed for two years. It’s all still pretty new to me. Therefore, I hope at the very least that in five years I will still be doing what I am doing today and that there will be enough opportunities that will present themselves to make it possible. More and more companies are interested in having me work as a consultant or social media expert. This then becomes more and more important in my life.
I also hope that the podcast will continue to grow and become increasingly successful. This would allow us to receive ever more interesting guests and to gain in quality and visibility.
I would also like to be able to get involved in charitable organizations because it is important to me. Using my experience and connections would allow me to spend more of my time helping in hospitals, the United Nations, the Red Cross or local charities. If my business grows the way I hope, I could hire people to work with me and then be able to take more regular time off.
I would be delighted to see that happen over the next five or ten years. ?
Laura
We’re coming to the end of this interview Matt. Before we thank you, could you tell us where we can meet you? ?
Matt
You can find me on most social networks (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) and mainly on Twitter under my name Matt Navarra.
I recommend again my private Facebook group: The Social Media Geekout, it’s a great place to get the latest social media news, get help and ask questions. Or you can check out my newsletter, that I just launched!
And then, of course, my podcast GeekOut which counts 13 episodes so far. We discuss the world of social networks and its new features with big names in the field such as Chris Messina (the inventor of hashtag) or Andrew Bosworth (Facebook) and Collen Stauffer (Pinterest). ?
On behalf of the whole team, once again a huge thank you for this great Interview Matt, it was an honor! ?
