Meet Jamie Val | CEO of Spitfire Social Media & Professor of Social Media Marketing at UNLV

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jamie Val and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jamie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
During the recession in 2009 it was very difficult to get a job. I was about to graduate with an MBA, and I had previously worked in Marketing part-time for a start-up. Social media marketing was in its infancy, and in this job I was tasked with handling the Facebook community we had developed. I realized early that social media management was about to be something huge for businesses across all industries, so I decided to create an agency to manage social media. I started Spitfire Social Media in 2010, and the rest is history. I knew at that time that I was ahead of the curve, but that was a risk I took to assume that social media would become as prevalent as it is.

What should our readers know about your business?
The key to social media is to focus on relationships. Social media is supposed to be social, and that’s how I’ve approached my business relationships as a social media professional. To be successful in the social media space you have to be authentic and provide value to your audience. I’ve learned that developing authentic relationships with clients allows me to showcase my clients’ businesses in a fun, social way– without a sales approach. Spitfire is a niche social media agency, and marketing agencies that focus on other digital strategies don’t always consider relationships with customers online, and they may not have a social media strategy at all. We leverage our expertise by working with all kinds of traditional marketing and digital marketing agencies by doing what we do best… social media. I’ve learned that bigger agencies don’t want to deal with the stresses of social media, because it’s a lot of work, and we are happy to take this task off their hands.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Drive to the beach and take a walk down the Strand. If you’re adventurous, bring a bike and make it a several mile long trip to bar hop! Stop at any of the Piers on the way and you can’t go wrong, especially for happy hour. Rent a paddle board or boogie board to get the full beach experience.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout is dedicated to my clients, who challenge me to develop creative strategies that are unique and innovative. My clients are my “bosses;” we have a mutual respect that requires a laser focused targeted approach to meet our social media goals. I love seeing my clients’ businesses grow, and I am so happy to be a part of their success.

Website: spitfiresocial.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spitfiresocial

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamievalgrolle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpitfireSM