Becoming a freelancer: the journey of Gennaro Tello

If you work in social media management or digital marketing and you’re looking for some inspiration on how to handle constant changes, Gennaro Tello’s story has something to teach you.

In our universe, nothing’s certain.

  • Strategies that worked yesterday might already be falling short today.
  • A popular platform can vanish into thin air in no time (Clubhouse, anyone?)
  • Even your own motivation is constantly on the hunt for something fresh and exciting!

The perfect word to describe all this is impermanence – a pillar of Eastern philosophy that sums up, in a nutshell, how “everything is temporary, everything changes, and nothing lasts forever.” Sound familiar when you think about Instagram?

There is, however, some good news: embracing change can bring you peace of mind, and maybe even new inspiration to explore worlds you hadn’t yet considered. For Gennaro, that’s been an ongoing journey of discovering his passions, with a few key words leading the way.

Here’s what you can take away from his story:

  1. how to increase your conversion rates on proposals at higher prices: turn data into added value for your clients and show off your professionalism with specialized tools like… ahem, Not Just Analytics!
  2. the importance of transparency: using data analysis to clear things up with your clients and choose the right influencers to collaborate with
  3. how essential your personal experience is to facing professional (and life) changes

And don’t worry: no Not Just Analytics was harmed in the making of this case study – on the contrary, it was put to great use! 😏

Hi, I’m Gennaro

“But the path to becoming a freelance expert has been anything but linear.”

Name: Gennaro Tello.

Goal: conquer the digital world.

How did he do it? Well, that’s a loooong story – buckle up.

Before becoming a full-fledged SMM, Gennaro’s career was filled with all kinds of experiences that added to his professional growth with a truly eclectic twist. Born in Naples in 1986 while the city’s team was celebrating their first historic championship win, Gennaro made his first foray into the IT world back in 2000, creating his first website.

A Canva graphics expert and owner of an eBay store that became a Power Seller in just a few months, he expanded and honed his skills by blending various passions, like poker, blogging, and tourism.

By 2022, he decided to focus his passion for IT becoming a certified SMM and, just this year, finally going freelance. Today, he collaborates with numerous companies, helping them improve their online presence through tailored strategies, creating their content, and carefully managing their communities.

And tomorrow? Who knows – but we’re sure there will always be room for his enthusiasm.

Gennaro’s challenges

Throughout this winding professional path, one thing became clear for Gennaro: he needed advanced tools to face the new challenges of the social media world. He needed a compass, a thermometer, and a transparency test.

These are the daily challenges Gennaro had to face:

  • how to get real metrics on social profiles, avoiding the “sneaky ones” who buy followers
  • how to create detailed and pragmatic proposals to present to clients
  • how to gather reliable data to support the businesses he works with

And how did our trusty tool handle all of this?

NJL’s role in the story

Not Just Analytics played a crucial role in overcoming these challenges. And let’s be honest, Gennaro spent quite a bit of time exploring NJL’s advanced features!

Let’s say it loud and clear: the tool is just a tool, but it’s you who makes the difference. In other words, you need that spark. To improve the efficiency and credibility of his analysis, Gennaro has done nothing more than integrate NJL into his daily workflow.

Take note!

Proposals based on facts

A report generates an impressive amount of data. You can draw plenty of conclusions from these numbers, but there’s more to it. Gennaro, in fact, uses the information from our reports to increase the professionalism of his proposals.

His investment proposals can contain 40 to 50 pages of information – in essence, they’re a precise analysis of the current situation of a project. And, somehow, they show clients that you’ve got everything under control!

There’s no doubt that this greatly increases the chances of closing a deal, and it’s also an excellent way to stay ahead of the game and immediately understand a project’s strengths, weaknesses, problems, and advantages.

Hip hip hooray to the Report function, reliable even as a preventive tool!

It’s all about reliability

Gennaro also uses NJL to verify the reliability of profiles, uncovering any shady practices – ****like the pointlesspurchase of followers. If you immediately think of Influencer Marketing, you are right, but we still invite you to broaden your perspectives.

When it comes to proposals, it can help highlight the little flaws of a tricky client (or agency), allowing you to:

A) decide not to work together

B) set the record straight and (once again) demonstrate your expertise

It’s also extremely useful for providing clients accurate, verifiable data on their competitors, helping them avoid common mistakes.

If you’re looking for something like this, we recommend two key features on Not Just Analytics. First, the Verify Influencers function, which allows brands to request a business data verification from influencers or creators they want to collaborate with.

All, of course, backed by the security of Meta’s API.

Verify Influencers

And, in a similar way, don’t forget about the media kit we designed to flood the Influencer Marketing world with transparency and meritocracy. Anyone can create one for free – all you need is an NJL account – and use it as a real-time portfolio that showcases the performance of your Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube accounts.

Your personal brand

Lastly, never forget the fuel that powers a freelance business: your personal brand.

Gennaro Tello case study

The engagement rate analysis is the best feature ever, according to Gennaro, and by constantly monitoring it, he’s been able to refine his social strategy. Combined with advanced content analytics, he’s managed to bring his ER to a peak of 90%, gaining both more visibility and greater trust from potential (and current) clients.

Remember: use NJL’s data to analyze your strategy and improve it when needed. It’s hard work, but an unbeatable technique to increase the perception of your professionalism. Are you an SMM? Then your channels are your first portfolio!

“Wait, I read the whole article only to find out Gennaro has fewer than 1000 followers?”

If we were teachers in the ‘80s, we’d pull out a ruler. The number of followers on a profile doesn’t matter – what matters is the quality of those people. Gennaro is a great reminder that you don’t need thousands of followers to start doing business with your Instagram profile.

Behind every number, there are real people.

What can we learn from this story?

From Gennaro’s experience, we as a community can take away more than one valuable lesson. First, your personal story, the experiences you’ve had, and the changes in direction can become skills if you play your cards right.

Do you have a passion? It could become your competitive advantage.

Have you worked in a different sector? That might be your next niche!

And finally, we learn that the heart of an SMM’s work lies in data: a reliable starting point from which you can set sail to interpret, decode, and envision new strategies. Our job is to serve you the information on a silver platter, it’s up to you to transform it into new realities.

Good luck!