Felipe Abreu

Felipe Abreu has made a name for himself as a photographer, entrepreneur, editor, and cultural and social media expert. His art is soon to be featured in The Louvre museum in Paris, France. In 2011 Felipe started in photography and he wanted to present his work, but he didn’t have the budget to employ a promoter. So, along with help from his girlfriend, who has a degree in communications, Felipe taught himself how to master social media and market his work. Among other jobs, he is currently employed by Amarello, which publishes a quarterly contemporary cultural magazine where he posts daily on their website and social media regarding the culture. During his two years so far at Amarello, Felipe has helped grow the fan base and raise sales of the magazine.

I asked Felipe why he thinks Facebook is still so big.

He said that it’s mainly because people are used to it; from young kids to older adults, everyone knows how to use it. Facebook, he says is easy to navigate and everyone who uses it has their own audience, and because the platform is now so large, they have a lot of power. So on Facebook you can have ads that pay, and as a user you can pay to be seen, as well as from a user’s standpoint you can post pictures, videos, written posts, as well as host events, and invite people, etc.

I asked him what the benefits are of using any social media platform were/are.

Felipe says that while it’s important to have a strong social media presence, before that, it’s important to evaluate whom your target audience is, and where they are. Once you know they’re using a certain kind of social media platform, you can reach them when you need to talk to them.

When discussing how you use social media to focus on the audience, Felipe shared that Amarello specifically didn’t have a constant social media presence when he first began working with them. The magazine had around 10k fans on Facebook and after two years they now have close to 30k fans/followers. He said raising that number helped them be able to bring a lot of new people to the magazine and because of that they now have a wider audience to talk to.

Amarello does sales only through Facebook, so you have to use Facebook to buy the magazine at a better price. He says to make social media part of your business because in social media it’s good to have a hub, a website, blog, or online store to direct people to so you don’t lose focus. Establish your goals, figure out who your audience is and which social media platform they’re using. When you find them, listen to them, watch how they interact, what they say, and after that, talk to them. Translate your businesses’ values to them through social media. Look at social media as an important and delicate tool. Figure out your strategy, and to whom you’re talking.

Just like when you first established your business, you’re talking to a specific type of person. Your audience with your business is the same as your audience with social media. Be on platforms that are relevant to your business.

Felipe says that you can find out what platform your target audience is using based on the demographics and their behavior, from that, you can figure out how they will behave on social media.

On all social media there are creators, critics, and collectors, those are the people who interact more by either producing or interacting with the content that’s posted. And then there are spectators and joiners who don’t interact that much. When you know that, you can find where certain ages and social profiles are on social media. Facebook provides demographics based on your fan base and you can use that info to see if you’re talking to the people you want to or not and you can change.

If you are interested in increasing your professional social media presence, contact Felipe via his website, Felipeabreu.carbonmade.com or email him at [email protected].