Who Is Luca Massaro?
Luca Massaro is a London based digital marketing professional who who specialises in social media marketing and talking in third person.
Who is Luca – Part I: That Italian Kid
Howdy and Welcome. I am Luca Massaro.
Actually Luca isn’t my full name; I was born Gianluca Massaro (after Gianluca Vialli, of course) and was nicknamed Gianni for as long as I can remember. However, growing up with a nickname that rhymes with fanny isn’t as fun as it may seem… having to say “no not shamlooka” isn’t much of a laugh either. Also, no-one has the energy for a three syllable first name, so cut the crap and the Gian. Hi there, I am Luca.
Right now, I am 26 and am the Head of Social Media for Hurricane Marketing Ltd – a London based Social Media agency as part of Target MCG, the UK’s fastest growing media and communications group.
Who is Luca – Part II: Being From London Doesn’t Make You Cool
I’m a Londoner. Londoners are arrogant and our cockney accents are supposed to command attention. Well they don’t, but in “Lock, Stock” and “Snatch” they do; so from the get go, I thought I was the shit, reciting the line “…an aristotle of the most ping-pong-tidily in the nuclear sub…” when people wanted to hear that infamous cockney.
The reality is this: being a Londoner isn’t really an advantage. I had to leave London to realise this and figure out who I really was underneath the supposed charm and the “No-one likes us” chants at Millwall footie matches.
Four years at University, and an experience filled deferral year later, I graduated a completely different person to the ignorant and overly confident budding DJ lad that left for Portsmouth.
Away from the smoke I learnt about myself. I learnt about opportunities, networks, communities, tribes and playing to peoples egos to climb the power ladder.
My first attempt at entrepreneurship was in creating a society named ‘Unsigned Talent’. The aim was set about grouping together talented students in a cool/elite club. This is where I learned about fundamental elements such as management, leadership and organisation. Fundamentals that would remain with me, growing and changing as I continued on my journey to success.
What followed was the creation of my own Event Management business. Between 2007-09, the business was responsible for bringing some of the UK’s favorite acts to perform on the South Coast (Jay Sean, Tinchy Stryder, Chipmunk to name a few).
Expanding on what I’d learnt from the Society, I invested a lot of personal and external resources and liquidity into the business. We ran sponsorship and advertising campaigns for our events and my team of 20+ staff were all paid on hourly rates. For more information on this venture, please see my old WordPress blog.
I left University with a degree in Music Technology. My tutors expected me to fail because I was running a business full time. I did not fail and left Portsmouth with a degree and the aspirations to take my knowledge and experience back with me and to my new London life.
Who is Luca – Part III: Connecting The Dots & Creating Opportunities
I touched back down in London with the idea that being an entrepreneur with a degree and some credibility was going to land me a job at Universal Music within a few months. Cue the sounds of my head hitting the floor as a wake up call.
Fortunately in my dissertation, titled ‘How to build an Entertainment Company using Digital Marketing and Social Media’, I was lucky enough to have established a relationship with some brilliant contacts. I had also taught myself how to use Social Networks to source and influence influential people and build relationships online.
Using Twitter/Linkedin/My Blog, I took advantage of being able to find and connect with the people I wanted to work with/for. Landing myself a variety of internships, I built relationships and offered assistance to companies and individuals who were new to running campaigns online.
I voiced my ideas when I had the chance to speak and most of the time they were approved. One of the most important learnings I found was that no price can be put on offering your knowledge and experience for free. Gaining trust and respect with influential people equates to reputation and referrals. Referrals equal paid work and employment.
Incase you didn’t read that carefully:
Free Advice & Knowledge -> Trust & Respect -> Reputation & Referrals -> Paid Work & Employment
From the period of July 2009, when I left Portsmouth University to June 2010 when I started working for one of the biggest Football Clubs on the planet, I had grown into a Digital Professional with a successful reputation online and offline.
It took me less than a year to grow from graduation to full-time employment, and to build an effective and sustainable profile for myself in London. Social Media and modern technology has opened up the gate of opportunities for everyone. If you understand the basic Fundamentals of Communication, learn how to play your role and can influence the influencer; the opportunities are there for the taking.
In the time period above, I worked and built relationships with brands such as Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC, Liverpool FC, Google, Twitter, EA Sports, SAMSUNG, Nokia, Blackberry, Apple, BSKYB, MTV, LinkedIn, Myspace, BBC, E-Dialog, Gumtree, 1000Heads, Warner Bros., Universal Music and more…
Who is Luca – Part IV: Be Yourself
I am not a Guru or an Expert. I do not produce Digital Strategies and enforce ridiculous charges to teach you things you should learn by yourself. I do not spam links about how I can make you millions using Social Media.
What DO i do? I love helping people who have ambition and because not everybody is technical or business savvy, I offer my skills. I live to give back and make a difference. I am building my own legacy of remembrance. I hope that my story, experience and knowledge can assist in someone else’s dream.
