Here is a transcript generated by otter.ai of The Content Mix podcast interview with Betsabé Yona, social media maven and entrepreneur, on themes of resilience and reinvention:

Carlota Pico 0:14
Hi everyone, I’m Carlota Pico from The Content Mix, and I’m excited to be here today with Betsabé Yona, who is the founder of Lusz Studios and has over eight years of experience in marketing, communications and photography. Betsabé, thank you so much for joining us today on The Content Mix.

Betsabé Yona 0:33
Thank you so much, Carlota, it’s an honor to be here. Yeah, thank you so much for such a nice introduction.

Carlota Pico 0:40
The honor is ours. To get the interview started off, I’d like to learn a little bit about your background, a bit about your company, and what drove you to build your own social media photography agency.

Betsabé Yona 0:54
Well, where should I start? I will give a bit of context about me so you get to know a bit about this story around it. So I studied communications back in Buenos Aires, where I’m from, in Argentina. And when I finished, when I was 22, I realized that I wanted to have an experience abroad. So I applied for several like programs, and I ended up working at the Organization of American States in Washington, DC, I did an internship there about communications. And then when I came back, I felt like I wanted to have more experiences abroad. And so I applied for a program in Tel Aviv in Israel. So I did a business development entrepreneurship program in Tel Aviv University and worked at a PR agency for a couple of months. And then I traveled around Southeast Asia and Europe for eight months. So I traveled on my own and I realized okay, maybe I like to be in Europe and everything. But I came back to Argentina because I felt like something was calling me back home. And at that moment, when I came back, it was very hard to find a job. So I always have the policy in my life, or like let’s say the life motto of, if you don’t have an opportunity, you have to make it for yourself. And when I traveled around the world, I realized that like, I really wanted to pursue my career in photography. It all came back to the moment when I was actually in Barcelona and I was taking pictures there at a festival, and this friend told me like “Wow, I love this picture, if you don’t pursue this passion further–” because I did a couple of courses, but I didn’t, like, work as that “–you’re gonna regret it your whole life.” And I like never forgot that. So when I came back, I started working as a photographer offering myself to like, PR agencies and brands and influencers. So I started working with some famous people back then in Argentina, and I asked them to tag me on their Instagram. And so my account started growing and other brands start hiring me. So yeah, that’s how I started that, and I ended up like doing fashion production, like creating content for brands, and also like photography for events and their social media and content creation. So then I kept kind of applying to jobs in Europe, but I was not sure, but I was just, like, seeing. I actually started a job in Argentina, because, in a fashion magazine there. And that was like, oh, it’s okay. I liked it. But the thing is like something… I was like, let’s keep applying and that’s the thing. I ended up applying for a job at a startup in Stockholm, Sweden. So I went through different steps, I had to do a project for them and everything. So I landed a job as project manager in communications for a startup called Universal Avenue here in Stockholm. But they also had back then offices in Barcelona, in Athens, in London, and Chicago as well. So, the thing is, like, I really liked Stockholm when I came here. I was like, I was not expecting it. I mean, I’ve never been in Stockholm in my whole life before. I was just like, applying to jobs in Europe because I really liked the life there. And also like, because Buenos Aires is quite unsafe and insecure, so I was like, I don’t know if I project myself there, and many other reasons. Even though it’s hard to leave your family and friends and loved ones, but still I wanted to have that chance. So I took it, and after three months, the company was not doing great. So they fired like, pretty much the whole team, including my boss and everything. Because the board of directors said, like, we don’t have money for the headcount. So they had to close the offices in Barcelona and in Athens—I mean, the one in Athens managed by themselves, but they didn’t have funding for that—and in London. So I was like, I’m not gonna give up. I was like, I said I was gonna stay in Stockholm. I’m just gonna stay somehow. So the thing is, like, I worked like day and night for many events for that startup and everything. So people in the management team fought for me, so I could stay. And I stayed there for five months more until the second time, the company was like, we don’t have for the headcount again. So they recommended me with a CEO from another company, and I landed an interview, so they got me a job. I did my whole like social media search before getting there. So like, I told them what they had to do better, I mean in their social media, and that’s a tip if you’re looking for social media jobs. I think it’s very important to do your research before an interview and see what value you can bring to that company, and the same of course as a freelancer now, when I work with my own agency.

Carlota Pico 6:16
I do want to learn a little bit more about what your company does now. What is Lusz Studios?

Betsabé Yona 6:22
So when I was working at this company, Rebtel and then MAJORITY, I started having some clients from the other company where I gave social media workshops for hair salons and small fashion brands. So I started having some clients on the side. I mean, and also like as a photographer, I worked for some events and brands, I created content for Wella here, Nordic, or Moosh Studios as well. And also I took pictures for Hair magazine and Hyper Island magazine and Diane’s Media. So I always had like, my company on the side, but now I decided to do it full time. After, three months before also this company had to lay off some people because of our organization, and also like corona times. It’s a startup. So I was like, should I look for a new job and see how can I do in other parts of Europe or in Sweden? Or I think this is like, this crisis there is now is an opportunity for me to like, focus finally in my own projects. And it’s like, so nice to actually, I can choose which clients I work with. Because I was working in a FinTech and I learned so much from it and I’m super grateful for the time I had, but I realized that maybe more my side is like, lifestyle and also like trying to like, manage my own time in that sense. And I think it’s much more dynamic, at least for me, after working for corporate companies for a couple of years now, it’s like to decide, having like many clients and doing the products that I like from that. For example, I give workshops for clients so they can manage themselves their own social media, or personal branding workshops. But I don’t have to create the content myself, it sometimes depends on the client, of course, and their budget and what I decide to do. So I can like focus on what I really want to do and what makes me grow. And also, like, I am a very, let’s say, dynamic and curious person, I would say. But also like, you know, I don’t know how to say it in English, like I like doing many things at the same time.

Carlota Pico 8:51
Pushing the limits, taking risks, and curious all the time and learning how to do new things in different ways.

Betsabé Yona 8:59
Exactly, oh my god, you described me. Yeah, I like doing that. And also like I take every even like a bad experience, some people would say, as a learning. So in this case I’ve been through many things, many rocks, and like I’m just resilient and trying to be, like remind myself in many ways. So now it’s like actually going super well with my own company. I have clients from different fields, from fashion, also like health coaching, yoga, and restaurants, small and medium businesses mainly, which, Lusz Studios’ focus is more in companies that, or also like people who want to develop their personal brand. Helping, like unlocking that potential that they might have, but they don’t have time to develop it in social media, or also they don’t know. And some of my clients, most of my clients, don’t like social media, they don’t like maybe like promoting themselves. So I’m like, I help to push that part of them, creating the content for them and also the strategy to create different content buckets. And also like, also it’s kind of, like, kind of a motivation kind of way, also like kind of being a coach as well, in trying to make them feel more empowered to share the best version of themselves. Because sometimes like what I see is like there needs some… ones don’t connect, and what they do also don’t connect with what they reflect on their social media. So that’s what Lusz Studios does in one of their many services. And there’s different business units, which is like personal branding, well, photography, content creation, strategy, and also like I work as a coach for people who want to like work and live abroad. Because I have experience in that. So yeah, a bit of everything. It all depends on the need of the person or client. I also like, as a photographer I have then the other part, which is only in Stockholm, unfortunately, I cannot be in many parts of the world for that. But I work giving, like pictures for companies and also like influencers when they need content for their social media or brands. And also for people for like their Instagram, or Facebook or Tinder as well. That’s like the funniest one that I do.

Carlota Pico 11:29
Very interesting. Betsabé, why is it important for brands to be on social media channels?

Betsabé Yona 11:37
Well, I think it’s very important, and it’s not only my opinion. There are studies that say that like 90% of users in Instagram follow at least one brand. So today if you for example, I ask you like when you like look for a brand, let’s say a hair salon, or like a fashion brand, or even a company, what do you check first?

Carlota Pico 12:02
The website and their social networks, definitely.

Betsabé Yona 12:05
So it’s very important that like brands have that, and I see that today for example, a lot more brands have Instagram but like maybe three or four years ago, it wasn’t a thing, and the same today with TikTok. Frankly, like a lot of brands are not yet like prioritizing that, but I understand because social media takes a lot of time. And I think you have to create different content for different like social platforms. But they have to be, if they also want to get much more success and followers, because Instagram is getting much harder these days, right?

Carlota Pico 12:39
Yeah, definitely. I mean, there’s a lot of competition out there. So before jumping on the social media wagon, from your expert opinion, what assets and information does a brand need to have to get going?

Betsabé Yona 12:51
I think it depends on the kind of brand first and like on the budget that they have, because also like maybe it depends also like on the objectives that they have. Because for example, one of my yoga clients who is working on her like yoga brand to sell classes, she told me like “I don’t want to be like the next influencer of yoga that has a million followers.” So then the budget is going to be completely different and like also what she wants to allocate on advertisement is different, right? It depends on the objectives that every brand has, either a personal or a business brand right, or a service. So then, if you have a whole company, let’s say, I think there’s companies who have like the whole social media team, even a person for influencer marketing, or one like specifically for even TikTok. Like now these days, they’re hiring TikTokers to be doing specifically TikTok, because maybe older people they’re like, “I don’t know how to manage this thing, I will hire an expert.” But if you have a small business, maybe you don’t even want to hire a person full-time for social media. So then you hire me, for example, where I do the social media, for those companies that want to like have it as a consultancy service, or creating content. And the content question, that’s a super important question, because I think it’s important to create authentic content. Today we live in the era of the unfollow of Instagram. That’s what I read in many places and I totally agree. Because it’s like, especially with brands, people don’t follow so much brands. And for example, apps, like you don’t follow for example, Apple. Like unless you really like their pictures and they add an added value to you. So that’s why storytelling is very important for a brand. For example, let’s say a restaurant. One of my clients is a restaurant owner, and people go because they enjoy the time with him. Like they go there and he knows like which wine they like. You know, so it’s like, for people who don’t know that restaurant, and they just see maybe just pictures of food, let’s say. Like you have to add like an “About Us,” for example in your website, you know. Or in Instagram show a bit about like the story behind the person there. Having, for example, in an Instagram TV, or Instagram highlights, it doesn’t have to be a post of that. Like, it could be but what I mean is like, it’s very important because people want to follow brands with values today. That’s what matters. Because like we live in a more competitive world, right? I mean, there’s many brands, like most brands are commodities. So that means like, many people can have that, many brands can have that. Like you follow Nike, for example, because they share the stories of the athletes and anyone can be an athlete, it’s not like before. So if you follow, for example, a fashion brand—I like fashion brands that not only post products, but also post, like good tips for, I don’t know yoga or like three different looks made by an influencer that I like, and that the influencer doesn’t have to be like, just like a person with a million followers, it can be… Micro-influencers are much more trending these days because they have much more engagement than the big influencers. So it’s very important to, like, there’s a lot of brands and like, especially small and medium businesses who don’t know, they might spend like, a big amount of money. Like I cannot say even numbers because it depends on the influencer, right? I mean, on influencers that they’re not from their niche. So it’s very important in that sense to hire a person that like really communicate your brand’s values, right? I mean, today’s all about values in the sense of like, for example, Tiger Woods—like you know what happened with him once people found that he was, I don’t know, he had a problem with his marriage. Yeah, I don’t know the full story, but like after that brands stopped hiring him. So it’s very important: who are you standing with? It’s not only about the numbers, right? It’s about the values. And that’s what like brands maybe should do more. I mean, and then you learn from excellent brands that also maybe have big budget, but you can also, I really believe that you can also do that with a small budget and creating the content yourself. It just takes time and strategy, of course.

Carlota Pico 17:27
Betsabé, these are all great topics and great tips as well. I think you brought up several different subjects, which I would like to dive further into, but unfortunately, our time is limited. As a summary of that response, I understand that you’re saying that the most valuable strategy that any brand can follow is zooming into their persona: finding out who their persona is, zooming into them and creating a relationship with that audience. Because one size does not fit all. So the strategy that one company follows may not necessarily be the same strategy that a different company within the same sector is going to follow, because each company has different objectives, and therefore, according to their objectives, they need to zoom in to their target audience. Is that a fair assessment?

Betsabé Yona 18:21
Yeah, definitely. Definitely. You summed it up super well. It really depends on their assessments and like, that’s why social media is so good. Because before people used to advertise, for example, in a magazine and spend a lot on that, and then you don’t know who it’s getting to, like with social media and advertising, you get like, exact results of how things are working. And you can ask if you don’t know which content to give to your audience, you just have to ask them. So I think that’s like so valuable these days. And I think many brands are not using it. It’s like more of a, it’s a two-way communication.

Carlota Pico 19:01
Yeah, it’s all about building relationships, knowing your audience as well, and listening. It has so much to do with listening. There’s a lot of noise out there right now across social networks, and so I’d like to learn about some of the tactics that you use to attract the right type of attention to your clients’ brands.

Betsabé Yona 19:23
That’s a very good question as well. I think the, I mean, there’s a lot of noise, especially in the bigger, biggest networks. I mean, Facebook, Instagram, even LinkedIn. LinkedIn, I think there’s much more value, but also it depends on who you follow, right? I think this goes back to what I was answering in the previous question. In a sense that like in order to, since we live in the era of unfollow we have to bring value to the people that follow us. So that’s why it’s important to ask your audience what do they want? What do they like? What would they like to see? And for example, think about your buyer persona and who they follow on Instagram, for example. So then create a content that, ask yourself, why do they follow this person, and then also create content that is similar to their interests. So let’s say Jay Shetty, I love following him on Instagram. He’s a life coach. I’m doing the coaching sessions with his Genius Coaching Group, and he gave 21 days of meditation live on Instagram. And that’s a free service that he’s giving to people because of COVID-19, and that also brings a lot of audience that they’re like, okay, I’m gonna follow him, because everyday he has a live, so I have to get a notification for that, in order to like, that’s why I would follow him or like, the videos that are super shareable content. I think brands have to do a content that like, what this, the question that you have to ask yourself is like, what would my audience get from this? In that sense, create a content that will be valuable to them, because otherwise they will just unfollow you, that’s very easy, and they will not engage with it. It’s very important to look at the metrics of engagement. Today in Instagram, for example, the most important engagement is the Save button, and also the share, right? It’s like, that’s the next level, because you can like and that’s something, you can comment and it takes more effort. Because people just don’t want to spend too much time, and then if you save or share, it’s because it was a valuable content for you.

Carlota Pico 21:42
Yeah, definitely. That’s really good advice. Let’s talk about your company, because there is so much competition out there, and there’s also a lot of noise on different social media channels, I’d like to learn about the demonstratable actions that you take to provide your customers with more value—which is a buzzword that you’ve constantly been repeating throughout this interview—or a better return on their investment.

Betsabé Yona 22:08
What I added to the companies is that I really care for the owner, for the company’s values. And I take the time to do my research on what is like really important to their own objectives. It’s a more personalized experience, I would say, and more empathetic with what they want to share, what they like feel comfortable with, especially when it’s about a personal brand. Also like, the trust that my clients have on me, because it’s like giving your social media passwords and seeing what they can do. It also requires trust, I think. And in that sense, it’s super important to have that relationship with the clients. The same in photography; when I do portrait photographs, it’s like creating a relationship with my client, because a lot of people, like for example when I take for a teen, it’s the first time they’re doing, like a photo session for themselves. So they’re like, “Oh, do I look too dumb? How should I look?” And I think it’s super important to have a relationship with the client. And also like in Sweden, I don’t speak good Swedish, I’m learning now. So that’s why it’s another barrier that I have to go through, because it’s like, they really have to like me as a person or as a professional, and how I work, to like, pick me over someone else, right? It’s already making a first step from their comfort zone to hire me.

Carlota Pico 23:42
We are coming towards the end of the interview and our time is limited. So before we wrap up, I do want to talk a little bit about coronavirus, because it’s had a major impact on the marketing industry. The economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are far reaching across all different industries, but when it comes to advertising and when it comes to marketing budgets, they tend to be the first ones that have seen the immediate effects of the virus, right, beyond obviously health effects on people’s wellbeing. What major lessons have you learned about marketing during this time? And what do you think the future of marketing will look like? Do you still think it’s going to be so heavily reliant on influencers?

Betsabé Yona 24:31
Well, two really interesting questions. First of all, I think the coronavirus has taught companies the importance again—sorry that I bring so much this point—that values are super important. Like you see for example, I always like check LinkedIn and follow a lot of companies on LinkedIn. So I checked that like, L’Oréal, Louis Vuitton, Hermés, Zara—all big companies are donating to help with the COVID-19 costs. Like they started making, they reinvented themselves. That’s a really big word. Like it’s a very good time to reinvent yourself. I did it, like I mean, I lost my job and dedicated myself to my own company and I looked for clients myself. And like I think it’s, I really believe that if you like, take the guts to like, be resilient, and like reinvent yourself, companies change. Like, for example, there’s so many fashion brands in Argentina, that is a country that is like super struggling, it’s been 80 days of quarantine, they’re gonna be in default soon. That’s what economists say. But companies like, they started making themselves their own, like, face masks, and that I think that’s so brilliant, you know, they’re adapting constantly to the new needs of the market. So I think the brands that will survive are the ones who adapt themselves. And that like, think the bigger picture, not only the product, but also the values that they can share. Like, for example, I think it’s very important how brands communicate. That’s what I also give to my clients: communications in times of crisis. So you can’t like go and send a newsletter and say, “Buy my product, two for one” when it’s like a pandemic happening. First you have to care about your clients and like sending a message, for example, travel companies did that and they are the most affected, right? And now it’s trending also that brands have to be sustainable. So brands that are sustainable, adapting themselves, to sum it up, and also being resilient, they will be the brands that survive and like thrive. And as far as influencer marketing is concerned, so far I think it’s really, it keeps growing. Of course, in one moment it can be saturated, but also I think, what is like trending more, and what we have been seeing the past years, is that micro influencers and nano influencers are the ones that are bringing a bigger return on investment to clients. Because exactly because, sorry I’m reformulating this, because big influencers, they’re so used to selling products that people stop believing in, it’s like before the famous people right, and the advertisements. You’re like, oh, this is another advertisement, and that’s why I think two years ago, now influencers have to put #ad. But a micro influencer or a nano influencer is someone that is like, has also a deeper bond with their audience. They reply to messages, the audience feels closer to them, and that’s why they trust them more. Again, goes with the brand, that relationship you have with your audience is super important—especially with influencers.

Carlota Pico 27:57
Yeah, so engaging with your audience.

Betsabé Yona 28:00
Exactly, and showing more the real selves. Like, for example, Kendall Jenner is one of the people who has more followers in Instagram in the world. And she did a campaign with Kenneth Cole the other day where she spoke about her mental health, and did a challenge for people to say how you really feel and she said, “Oh, I feel anxious some days, some days I feel better.” So that’s what people want to see, right? It’s like they don’t want to see a perfect person is like everyday trolling, especially in this time, like, it’s very important to show that you care. And brands have to choose people that care. Because then if a brand hires an influencer, for instance to do an advertisement that doesn’t have like, let’s say what they would say, good values. I say like this depends for everyone which values are the best, but like, for example, like today, anti-racism. Nike did a post for Black Lives Matter. So it’s super important to like, stand up for what really matters. And also yeah, exactly. Again, sorry, I say exactly, I say, I have my thoughts here. And then it’s like, they have to come out I think very fast. Brands that like shut up about values and they don’t stand for things, those are the brands that people start distrusting. So it’s very important as well to show that.

Carlota Pico 29:17
Yeah, definitely. You brought up some really great points that I’m sure are very valuable to our listeners, especially those that are right now trying to navigate the ins and outs of the social network world and then need some tips on how to connect with their local audiences. Because at the end of the day, there’s always a human behind every channel. And that human needs to know how to connect with other humans as well in order to drive their brand to the next level. Well, we are at the end of the interview, but before we wrap up, I want to ask you one last question. And that would be, what makes you passionate about social media?

Betsabé Yona 30:04
Oh wow, I’ve never been asked that question. I love social media. I think what makes me passionate about it, it’s because first I’m passionate about people. I am very interested in ethnography and I traveled around 35 countries by myself, and that’s what I love the most: connecting with people I don’t know. Every person is an experience, and the more different they are, the most interesting are for me. And in social media, it’s a good way that when you are at home, you can like meet people around the world, brands. In the same way, you can still have that authenticity and that connection, and like, it makes it much, I think what I like the most is like, the democracy that there is in social media. Thanks to social media, I could start my own company, because I could, like, contact the brands directly on Instagram through a direct message, or a very famous person that for me before would be unreachable, thanks to like Twitter, it started with Twitter and Instagram, and Facebook, it’s not the same, like as reaching brands and famous people, influencers. So I think it’s amazing. It’s super democratic how you can like also see the behind-the-scenes of people and the real life, right? It’s like people follow more today because of the Instagram Stories a brand or influencer have, because that’s what you see every day. So that’s what I like about social media. Also, like you can see politicians, politicians have Snapchat in order to show what was their day-to-day. And I think it’s very, yeah, it’s very interesting and democratic.

Carlota Pico 31:40
Excellent. Well those are awesome tips, Betsabé. Thank you so much for joining us today on The Content Mix and for sharing your insights with our audience.

Betsabé Yona 31:50
Thank you so much. Thank you so much. It’s an honor, again, to be here. And I love the questions that you do. Thank you.

Carlota Pico 31:58
Thank you, Betsabé. And for everybody listening to us today, thank you for joining us. For more perspectives on the content marketing industry in Europe, check out TheContentMix.com. We’ll be releasing interviews just like this one every week, so keep on tuning in, and see you next time. Bye!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai