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Last night’s Emmy Awards brought with it some expected results and some well-deserved surprises. Game of Thrones walked away with 12 awards including Outstanding Drama Series and now holds the record for the show with the most Emmys. We expected nothing less from the realm! Breakout star Rami Malek won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the critically acclaimed Mr. Robot, while Tatiana Maslany finally got her much deserved award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Orphan Black. Other notable wins include: 1. Outstanding Comedy Series – Veep; Political satire at its finest, Veep continues to wow critics and audiences with its dry humor. Their Facebook page and Twitter keep us entertained with popular snips and quotes from the show and updates on upcoming seasons. 2. Outstanding Television Movie – Sherlock: The Abominable Bride; Arguably BBC’s most popular show, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are a match made in detective heaven. While both actors don’t have dedicated social accounts, Sherlock’s Facebook has over 5.6 million followers and hype is building for Season 4. 3. Outstanding Variety Sketch Series – Key and Peele; one of the more underrated sketch experiences, they finally received recognition for their highly relatable comedy. They’ve garnered a huge following over the years and though the show is now over, their Facebook page continues to remind us of their genius. 4. Outstanding Variety Talk Series – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; John Oliver made a name for himself on Last Week Tonight covering topics outside the usual late night repertoire including televangelism, public defenders and sex education. Their Facebook and Youtube are regularly updated and Youtube includes web exclusive clips. Click here for a full list of Emmy winners. For us at ACM, the question of the hour is how much has social media influenced the popularity of shows and actors/actresses? Do you think fans are capable of putting pressure on the academy to give recognition where it’s due? Without social media, would shows like Key and Peele or Orphan Black continue to fly under the Academy radar?

And the Twitter Award goes too… Twitter is currently accepting submissions for their annual Twitter Awards, a celebration of creative campaigns executed on the social network. Brands have been utilizing Twitter for many years to reach out to customers in innovative ways. Twitter’s structure forces a to-the-point strategy, so brands really have dig deep to engage with their audience. Twitter is currently very underused locally and regionally, and it’s reflected in our inability to submit entries for the Awards. Marketing Managers need to put aside time to research the viability of these social networks, and incorporate fresh ideas into their marketing activities. LinkedIn steps up its analytics LinkedIn is widely known as the go-to professional networking site that brings companies closely to the decision makers in their respective industry. However, marketers have lamented the lack of robust analytics which can help them improve campaigns. Good news! LinkedIn recently announced Conversion Tracking, described as ‘a set of capabilities build directly into LinkedIn Campaign Manager that lets you easily measure how many leads, sign-ups, content downloads, purchases, and other specific results you’re getting from your Sponsored Content and Text Ads campaigns’.  It’s about time LinkedIn! Multitask like a boss Marketer? Small business owner? Both? Then you understand the on-the-go lifestyle we face daily. Luckily, with the rapid advances in tech, our office goes with us, and there are countless great apps out there to keep us in the know. We highly recommend Hootsuite, Mailchimp, Microsoft Office, Skype for Business and Facebook Pages Manager. What apps are essential to your daily workflow? Email Marketing? Yes please! Inexpensive, robust, tailored and able to reach large audiences with a click. Including email marketing in your strategy is simply another way to specify the conversations you’re having with different segments and give them information that they want. There is no need to reinvent the wheel; there are countless case studies of great email marketing campaigns that have helped companies achieve their goals. Articles like that need to be part of a marketer’s weekly reading. The continued evolution of Social Media When Facebook first started, we communicated largely with status updates. That evolved to updates and photos, and now we’re in the era of video. Facebook Live quickly swept through the social site, with celebrities, news outlets and the regular chewbacca moms getting in on the video craze. All you need is a phone and Facebook app. As trends like these emerge, especially when it links seamlessly with how the market consumes media, marketers need to be on the ball, constantly thinking of how to present content in new and exciting ways. Remember, your first priority is your audience, and if you’re posting ads in the newspaper, while they’re spending the majority on their time on Instagram, for example, you wasting your resources.

Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective forms of digital advertising #emailmarketing is such an important piece of your #content puzzle! Give it the attention it deserves! I recently posted the above quote on ACM’s Instagram account and this week it became more relatable than ever. A colleague relayed a very disappointing story to me of a company that did not understand the value of email marketing. They stated that ‘Customers don’t know what they want, so we basically send everyone the same information’. #Icannot. Email marketing is a vital component of your digital strategy. It allows you to get very specific with your segments and bring tailored information to audiences which makes for more structured and measurable marketing. Not to mention, it is quite cost effective. Your audience will thank you for the extra time you took providing them with data they WANT, as opposed to data you have. That kind of personalization and exclusivity will be rewarded in the long run. Still not convinced? These 70 email marketing statistics will sway your thinking. The below snip focuses on ROI and, yes, you’re seeing those numbers correctly: I receive countless emails from companies and brands on a daily basis and every couple of days I do a quick run through to see how relevant the information is to me. My go-to sites such as Amazon and Blizzard Entertainment are always spot-on with the emails they send providing product updates or new features to look forward to, all in an easy to digest email. What emails do you look forward to receiving? More importantly, how many of those emails are from local sources? Like my colleague stated in our Social Media Roundup segment – “There are too many free and cost effective tools out there to use the ‘we don’t have funds’ excuse.” It’s time that local and regional companies take a closer look at what their audience wants and use email marketing to have that conversation with them. Join us every Tuesday on #ACMLIVE at 6 pm EST on YouTube, Facebook or LinkedIn to learn more about

The new feature gives businesses more data and features. If data excites you as much as it does us folks at AC Marketing, you’ll be thrilled to note that Instagram for Business is finally available in our region! With over 500 million active monthly users, Instagram is a powerhouse of a platform that leverages visual storytelling as its main appeal. With the Business option, you now have access to Insights. Similar to Facebook Insights, it provides analytics such as Top Posts, Follower Demographics, Reach and Impressions. To convert your current Instagram to a Business account, you must have a Facebook Page as both are linked. You must also provide at least one way for persons to contact your business, via email, phone or an address. On mobile, the profile’s appearance can be seen below: To learn more about using Instagram for Business, check out these helpful videos on setting up your profile, navigating Insights and more. Instagram’s Business Blog is another excellent resource for updates on the platform. Learn about companies and brands doing amazing things on Instagram, including popular names like KFC, Coca Cola, Mercedes-Benz and Salesforce. Join us every Tuesday on #ACMLIVE at 6 pm EST on YouTube, Facebook or LinkedIn to learn more about

Businesses should focus on growing their audience & rewarding the one they have. Have you ever been to a market of any kind? This usually involves people shouting for your attention and sharing all the reasons why you should buy from them. The fish market in Carenage, Trinidad, is no different. You are greeted by 3 or 4 vendors who basically have the same type of fish on display but each one has their own way of coaxing you. My routine when I approach is to scan their ‘catch’, review how clean their presentation is, then ‘award’ the winner with my purchase. This Saturday, I did my parade and the vendor I chose was the lone woman in the bunch and she not only gave me a ‘lil extra’ piece of king fish, but she also threw in two limes. Now for those who don’t have a lime tree, we folks know all to well how expensive these citrus balls have become. Needless to say, this gesture has won me over and it is likely she has become my first choice from henceforth. As I drove away with a smile on my face, I can’t help but parallel this offline transaction to the online world of Digital Marketing. Most of the brands I interact with usually focus on growing their audience and less about rewarding the ones they already have. Obviously it’s harder to see value in 500 likes on Facebook, but what if you’re engagement was 2%? That’s significantly higher than companies with 10 times the size and budget. These metrics can also translate to other networks such as email marketing. Instagram and so many more measurable platforms. This is also why strategy is important. We need to evolve the conversation from size of audience and direct sales, to a long term goal of growing brand soldiers. At the end of day, that woman has gotten my business for the long haul. Ultimately, it’s better to have a small army of active customers, than a crowd of bystanders. Join us every Tuesday on #ACMLIVE at 6 pm EST on YouTube, Facebook or LinkedIn to learn more about

When it comes to hashtags and memes, this segment of internet culture is ubiquitous across social and digital platforms. It’s simply another form of communication, another way to bring specific points across, to induce certain emotions in an audience and to express oneself or one’s brand. #tbt or #ThrowbackThursday/#Throwbackto/#ThrowbackTuesday is particular popular and, in a nutshell, involves reminiscing on past moments by posting old photos. How popular you ask? Well, Instagram currently has over 335 million posts tagged with #tbt. It comes as no surprise that a hashtag embracing nostalgia would be this powerful. (My blog on nostalgia can be found here). The question is: how can companies utilize such internet culture to speak to their customers? Recently, my colleague sent me the above picture of a promotion being run by Massy Stores, a regional supermarket chain. The below picture was taken from Massy Stores Trinidad’s Facebook page. Both are a great example of merging online media and offline marketing techniques to create a fun, recognizable slogan across two channels that helps drive their promo home. It shows that Massy has an understanding of current online trends and it’s refreshing to see companies taking advantage of these viral tags to differentiate themselves from the noise. So remember, the next time you come across viral hashtags or similar internet media, try to think outside the box for your brand. Not everything will be applicable but you will find that sweet spot that elevates you from your competition, both in the online and offline space. #Facebook #Instagram

The warmth of the islands? Convenience is everything. With the rapid improvement in technology coupled with an increasingly hectic on-the-go lifestyle, it is important for brands to stay in-tune with their market and invest in options that brings them ease. Yes, we’re looking at you Caribbean Airlines. While promotions are welcome, it is both disappointing and disconnected from the market’s expectations that flight bookings cannot be made via a mobile phone. Social Media Security Checks Planning to fly out for vacation in 2017? Your social media name may become an important addition to your travel information. U.S agency Homeland Security is proposing the addition of a ‘social media identifier’ to forms for travelers to complete when entering the country. It has sparked heated debate across many tech companies and groups, with many citing it as an invasion of privacy, and a precursor to other countries introducing similar proposals.  So, be mindful of that status you’re posting about the bad customer service you received at that U.S. restuarant – Homeland Security is watching you. Facebook has its eye on your interests Why would you see the above Rituals Facebook ad in your feed? Perhaps under your tastes/preferences, you like coffee, or hot beverages, or cozy breakfast spots etc. Facebook recently took a step forward to educate users on how the company markets to them based on their interests. The Ad Preferences page gives a summary of a person’s interests, and their FAQ gives a transparent view of Facebook Ads. The Social Media Zoo In the face of a social media storm, is deleting your company’s social presence the right move? The Cincinnati Zoo certainly thought so. After having their social media feeds bombarded with Harambe memes, as well as the Zoo Director’s Twitter account being hacked, the Zoo called it quits on social. While the ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em’ adage is fantastic advice for social media managers, that approach is tricky in this sensitive situation. What would your company do if faced with a similar public barrage? Proliferation of Memes 100 years from now, when civilization looks into the archive of the human race, they will be thoroughly blown away by memes, I’m sure of it! It’s truly an interesting, creative, outright amusing way to communicate on topics, both casual and serious. #Rio2016 had a front seat to the meme circus, from Usain Bolt, to Michael Phelps, to the debacle of the green pool. Much of our pop culture now is steeped in memes. It will be interesting to see if memes survive the test of time, and how companies continue to utilize this creative medium.

The Olympics and its fanfare are now over and brings with it the marketing case study of the month. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) took a rigid stance on how Olympic-related content was shared on social media by both athletes and brands. While it is understandable that an event of this scale would take steps to protect its intellectual property, these rules show a disappointing disconnect with social media and how content is presently consumed. NBC, who owns exclusive rights to the U.S. Olympics coverage, aggravated this problem by only allowing 30 minutes free streaming on their website. The website content wasn’t available outside that region. The IOC also placed a ban on GIFs, which boggled the minds of sports writers as they lamented the inability to use one of the most versatile and accessible content formats. This was in stark contrast to the 2012 Games, where GIFs were highlighted as a creative form of storytelling. For me, this article sticks the landing. Millennials are a complex, elusive and picky bunch. Acknowledging the problem that Olympic viewership is skewed to an older demographic and then taking contradictory steps to further alienate Gen Yers solves nothing. Furthermore, it’s not millennials fault that the Olympics saw low ratings; in this age of digital media, dictating how persons watch the games is a recipe for sub par viewership. Perhaps a step in the right direction, the IOC, in collaboration with key sponsors such as Coco-Cola, launched The Olympic Channel in an attempt to engage with the younger demographic. It remains to be seen whether the exciting content being promised is enough to keep audiences interested.  We’re four years from Tokyo 2020 and one can hope that during that time, the IOC continues to explore the evolution of social media, technology and how content is disseminated. Who knows, in 2020, we’ll probably be able to experience the Olympics via virtual reality and it would be a shame if something that incredible is bogged down in unnecessary rules.

Can you be insured for social media fails? If your company becomes the butt of a Beyonce-esque hashtag, it may be time to put aside your pride and educate yourself on the inner workings of social media. Earlier this week, a local insurance company came under fire for a posted letter reprimanding an employee for his hairstyle. Aside from being implicated in an embarrassing manner, the situation proved that the company has no grasp on its PR or social skills. It also raised a debate on social media activism and whether platforms, such as Facebook, are appropriate places to raise such concerns. Pokemon is a GO! Pokemon Go was recently rolled out to Trinidad and Tobago, and immediately brands started to take advantage of the hype. From local mobile companies, to restaurants, to movie theaters…it’s refreshing to see companies utilizing the popularity of Pokemon in their marketing strategies. Clearly persons were paying attention to the app’s effect during its international roll-out. Of course, a couple of questions become obvious: 1. How long will this hype last? and 2. Are we crossing a line legally when using various Pokemon imagery? Is your President more hip than my Prime Minister? We literally get goosebumps whenever we hear about the POTUS (who is also on Twitter) (and FLOTUS, who is on both Twitter and Snapchat) maintaining close communication with the public and the global community. It gives a personal touch, especially within a field like the Public Sector which can sometimes feel like a maze for the average citizen. Local and regional politicians should take notes accordingly. If there was a medal for rules and regulations at #Rio2016… The Summer Olympics have dominated the last two weeks, capturing the world’s eye as athletes compete in Rio for gold. Unfortunately, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has come under scrutiny for its extremely rigid limitations on sharing Olympic 2016 content on social media. Many have lamented that it creates great disconnect, especially for persons unable to watch their team on live television. One can only hope that the attitude towards digital content evolves in time for the next Olympic Games. Where is your brand, Instagram Stories or Snapchat? Instagram Stories have been available for about 2 weeks and Snapchat has been around for over 4 years. While Instagram boasts a more search-friendly and flexible network, Snapchat is touted as the place for teens, a particularly tricky demographic for brands to connect with. They’re both interesting and engaging apps in their own right, offering a world of possibility to give a vice to your brand/company, but surprisingly they’re underused by local and regional brands. Our questions is Why?

For the last 4 years I have been using Google Ads to promote my annual event to the Diaspora in the USA, UK and Canada. This year I decided to experiment with the different platforms and send a few ads to our Facebook page. Needless to say I was surprised when they disallowed them. I’m aware there maybe some type of algorithm crunching out patterns on the Worldwide Web and liable to get it wrong at times. I logged my ‘complaint’ and waited with a positive outlook, only to be shut down by a call from what sounded like an Asian engineer, somewhere in India, confirming that my ad was not valid. My shock may have been evident in my voice, but that did not stop me from requesting the reason. I was advised that ads with links requiring users to sign-in are not allowed. Imagine my surprise when I was reading a Mashable article and saw this banner ad to the right of the screen; This leaves me with many unanswered questions; is my ad budget not big enough to bend the rules? Isn’t Google and Facebook arch-enemies? Doesn’t this look like a Benetton ad? For all those other Marketers out there, please share your experience. #AmIAlone

Does your company understand social media? Do they understand that it is ubiquitous, that ‘viral’ can be as dangerous as it is both significant and frivolous, that you are open not only to your local or regional market, but to a global audience? Let’s face it, the phrase ‘All publicity is good publicity’ only holds true if your name is Taylor Swift. We’re currently in an age where voices around the world are speaking up on a variety of topics once considered taboo. Racism, feminism, religious freedom, LGBTQ rights…these are conversations that were sometimes perpetuated via digital means before being picked up by mainstream media. Our world is small, and growing smaller as each year passes. Companies, across all departments and disciplines, need to understand this, because the sharing of information is no longer a confined activity. Trinidad and Tobago has between 600k-700k monthly active Facebook users. Mobile subscriptions are around 1.9 million. Our small twin islands are very well connected and our population can become very vocal when the situation calls. As I scrolled through Facebook on Saturday morning, I stumbled across a local insurance company that I immediately wanted to ask the question at the beginning of this blog, ‘Does your company understand social media?’. In a nutshell, an employee of the organization shared a warning letter reprimanding him for his hairstyle, stating that failure to comply with their policies can result in termination. He posted a picture, assumed to be taken on the same day he received the letter, displaying his attire and groomed hair. The gentleman in question is Afro-Trinidadian. Needless to say, the insurance company’s Facebook Insights will be artificially inflated this month as their page exploded with concerned, passionate and angry posts and memes from local and international onlookers. Other past and current employees have allegedly started coming forward to share their horror stories regarding this company’s working environment. Much of the obvious has already been stated regarding the handling of the situation during the weekend and up to the media release which is debatable in its obtuseness. Any social media manager or 1st year Marketing student can tell you that for a situation as sensitive as this, deleting visitor posts before addressing the issue is PR Failure 101. As I type this, person’s are still logging their disbelief and disgust on the company’s Facebook page. The media release post has over 450 likes/reactions, 1k comments and 700 shares. Many of them are customers threatening to move their business to another insurance company (perception is a hell of a thing, which I wrote about here). Apart from the many underlying issues surrounding this matter, as a marketer, I see it as a case study for other companies to take note of. This is not a #epicfail to forget in a week’s time. Times are changing, communication is changing, cultures are always intertwining, and the sooner companies embrace these rapid movements forward, the better they can speak with understanding to both their internal and external customers, and to the many topics affecting our global community. ** Below, I’ve highlighted some other noteworthy social media fails and the lessons learnt in the aftermath. My advice to any company, be it small, medium or large, is to educate yourselves so you don’t make the same mistakes: From SeaWorld’s fall from grace, to ESPN forgetting the basics of copy and paste, these mishaps will give insight into the mistakes that even multi-billion dollar companies make on social media. DiGiorno’s horrifying insensitivity rivals US Airway’s NSFW reply to a customer complaint. These examples will teach you how not to make social your enemy.

Event management is a multi-faceted cluster f***. You plan for perfection, and still have a b-z backup file in-case something goes wrong. And things WILL go wrong. It’s an inevitability of the event universe. If I learned anything during my 3 days in Barbados, and the 3+ months I’ve been managing Collision Entertainment’s social, the above is the most significant. Crop Over 2016 and more specifically, Foreday Morning was an unprecedented eye-opener. Sure, my boss, the owner of Collision Entertainment, had regaled me of five years’ worth of ups and downs but the age-old musing still stands: seeing is believing. Barbados is an island of beauty and diversity. Boasting some of the best beaches and resorts in the world, it attracts a multi-cultural demographic to its shores. Crop Over is no different and during Collision’s distribution, I had the pleasure of meeting both Caribbean and global partakers who shared the same energy and excitement for the Foreday experience. Look eh, that #grilledfish was smelling so #damngood 😍 #waytomyheart #throughmystomach #barbados #oistins #fishingdistrict #latergram #foodie #foodcoma #foodislife #travel #travels #travelgram #travelphotography #localexperience #authentic #yummy #tuna #getinmybelly #hangry #grilling #grillmaster #foodadventures #foodgram A photo posted by Nicole M. (@alexwspark) on Aug 1, 2016 at 10:02am PDT Many persons praised Collision for its simple registration procedure, how quickly the team responded to queries across all our platforms and how pain-free package collection was. Needless to say, the work that goes into the back-end processes to ensure customers are smooth-sailing on the road saw a lot of long days and nights and a web team who stood toe-to-toe with everyone to get s**t done. Quick, let’s take a #wefie! #kbye 😎📷😄😉🍺 #collisionforeday #barbados #cropover2016 A photo posted by Collision Entertainment (@collisionent) on Jul 28, 2016 at 5:58pm PDT Here’s some things that stood out for me during my trip: 1. Your team is your lifeline. A captain doesn’t get the ship to port by herself. From the time I landed in Barbados to before I closed my eyes for some much needed sleep, the Collision team displayed cohesion the likes of which corporate entities only dream of emulating. I was floored. From bringing packages together, to running over a mile and back to bring paint to the band, to coordinating at ungodly hours of the morning, they were on it. Cherish your team, or else someone else will. 2. Your fans are your evangelists. Collision prides itself on a Foreday experience like no other but what truly makes it stand out is the blatant excitement of the revelers. When a fan says they tell anyone and everyone that Collision is THE Foreday band to play with because all they have to do is have a time, nothing comes close to the gratefulness you’ll feel to be doing what you’re doing. This #crew tho! ❤😉📷🎧🎶 #ourfansarebetterthanyours #collisionforeday #barbados #cropover2016 #caribbean #totheworld #groupshot #grouppic #lit #loveourfans #havingatime #squadgoals A photo posted by Collision Entertainment (@collisionent) on Jul 31, 2016 at 7:23am PDT 3. Contingencies. Plan A. Plan B. Plan freaking Z. Assume all things will go wrong and start your plan from there. In the hours leading up to Foreday, we thought all was well. We were ready to paint the road (pun intended). Many things went wrong on the night, and the team reacted on the fly, patching the issues as we chipped down the road. It reminded and taught everyone to continue working and improving each year, and never take for granted the dynamic nature of an event, especially one as complex as Foreday. 4. New experiences give you new perspective. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a party person. I’m an indoors person, an introvert, someone who would never have flown to Barbados for Foreday Morning of her own free will. Clearly the universe had alternative plans and now I’m writing this blog, and I’m able to honestly say that I’m beyond happy to have experienced Foreday with Collision. I’ve learned so much in such a short space of time, and developed a hands-on understanding of the unique vision my boss has for her band.  Needless to say, I’m inspired and ready to learn even more. So bring it on 2017 ’cause I’m       ready to be doused in paint again.  Learn more about #CollisionForeday: www.collisionentertainment.com https://www.instagram.com/collisionent https://www.facebook.com/CollisionEntertainment @Regrann from @imagin.inc – Year 4 with my Collision family 📷 By Charles Phillips #ImaginInc #collisionentertainment #bajantrinilink #vibes #foredaymorning #paint #party #jouvert #фестиваль #покрасить #kadooment #carnival #cropover2016 #cropover #festival #barbados #caribbean #trinidad #246 #Regrann A photo posted by Collision Entertainment (@collisionent) on Jul 30, 2016 at 8:05pm PDT