Some insights into why the platform is great for advertising With over 400 million+ users worldwide and 100 million+ unique users each month, LinkedIn has quickly become the go-to platform for professionals, across all industries and disciplines. It’s continuously evolving and providing services aimed at amplifying conversations for both B2B and B2C audiences. The platform is steadfast in holding true to its professional label, with members regularly frowning on posts that do not add value to their news-feed. Either you go business or you lose your audience. It’s a powerful networking tool, and there are countless case studies to hit this fact home, but how does this translate to attaining your business goals? How can you harness the magical properties of LinkedIn to reach that ‘achievement-unlocked’ moment? LinkedIn Advertising provides a robust process for rolling out campaigns to a targeted B2B audience. (Note that to use this tool, your company must have a LinkedIn company page.) It currently estimates that Trinidad and Tobago has 289,000+ persons utilizing LinkedIn (approximately 22% of the country’s population). The segmentation possibilities are what bring that number into perspective; from age and gender, to job title and seniority, to education and skills, you are able to determine where to direct your resources to derive the greatest value for your business. Perhaps your organization has decided on a segment of marketing and brand managers (among similar titles) within a specific industry, who you want to reach out to with a sponsorship advertisement. LinkedIn makes this precision possible and immediately lets you know how many persons your campaign will reach. You may be wondering: Why make this part of my budget? Why not use email or telemarketing, as these methods have worked in the past? The answer is two-fold. Firstly, it saves your business time, bringing the desired message straight to your target’s virtual doorstep. Secondly, it makes your follow-ups easier, as you can track the analytics of your advertisement and then proceed with personalized B2B communication to start building those desired relationships. Sounds to good to be true, right? That ultimately depends your willingness to commit to the platform. Like any other business decision you must understand both your needs and your clients’ needs to ensure the channel you add aligns with your overall strategy. In my next blog, I will discuss how certain companies have done their due diligence and made LinkedIn an advantageous addition to their social lineup. Join us every Tuesday on #ACMLIVE at 6 pm EST on YouTube, Facebook or LinkedIn to learn more about digital marketing in the Caribbean!

How the Crop Over hashtag became more popular this year We recently concluded the Crop Over season with a celebration of five years with Collision Foreday Morning. Our post-event activity includes reposting our revellers' photos via hashtag searches. After exhausting our brand's name, such as #CollisionFive and #CollisionForeday we searched for the generic #CropOver2015, the results were astonishing. Putting aside the incremental growth over the last 2-3 years, there was a significant jump in the usage of the 2015 Crop Over hashtag. To put it in perspective, that's close to 30,000 more compared to the previous year with an increase by 1,150. There could be several factors attributed to these numbers, which include Rihanna, who was contracted since 2011 to promote Barbados as well as the high number of Instagram Users. Instagram's staggering growth from 80 million in 2012 to 300 million in two years is a clear indication that the attention span for Facebook may be on the decline (or we continue to be less productive in our lives…shhh don't tell my boss!). Regardless of the change of social media platforms, this evident popularity seems to have gone unnoticed. This hashtag discovery leads me on an investigative path, and it's quite interesting the lack of visibility from the biggest Annual Festival of Barbados. The private sector is definitely active and present, but the Crop Over Instagram profile has not been updated in 38 weeks. There is however a VisitBarbados Instagram profile which takes a broader look at Barbados, not specifically promoting the festival. Also, take note that these two brands are active on Facebook. There will always be something new to shift the consumer's attention, may it be from the television set to the computer, but from a marketer's perspective, we must try to keep ahead or just simply be updated with what's next. We're like that geeky friend who no one invited, but you tolerated them until they became accepted in your circle and you can't picture life without them. Yep, that's the cost-effective way to ensure you are aware of the brand without being too evasive. There was talk regarding the renewal of Rihanna's contract last year with the chairman of the BTA Adrian Elcock saying "...there was likely to be a change in the structure of the new deal to reflect plans contained in the strategic focus as it related to the restructuring of the agency." As insignificant as an updated Instagram account may seem to you, it's clear that Rihanna's presence has made a visible difference, however, I wonder if the decision-makers are equipped enough to pivot with the times and truly grasped the value of a hashtag. Would you like insight into content, data, and advertising delivered to your inbox? Subscribe Now to ACM Weekly

Some tips for local political parties that are advertising online. We’re heading to the final stretch before the polling stations close and part of me is extremely relieved to know the fury of red and yellow will subside. I spent the majority of my adult life outside of Trinidad and Tobago, so this was my first full blown Election experience, with an interest in their use of Digital Media. Coming from an environment, roughly 6 years ago, when I had to convince one of the leading Ad Agencies to include Social Media in their portfolio, I was quite impressed with the mere inclusion of Facebook and YouTube ads (yes, I’m happy by any growth). At the risk of being erroneous, I believe it’s safe to say Politics fall under Public Sector and they have join us citizens online. *insert round of applause here* I can’t say who said it was a good idea, and better yet who agreed, but when you enter the circle of social media trust, one must learn the rules before entry. As it’s too late now for the parties with the bigger marketing budget, I’m hoping someone finds this rant in the next five years and suggests the following; 1. Understand your audience One size does not fit all. There was clearly no plan of execution for their digital campaign. One party obviously had a bigger budget on Social Media, however both failed at attracting a wider audience. Generation Y knows how to navigate the Facebook page to ignore your ads, worse yet we will download app blockers to specifically target your name and anything that resembles it. If you are joining our party, understand our language, stand out and find a way to capture our attention. 2. Build Rapport with Communities Online So I was schooled on the term Cottage Meetings, the concept intrigued me and simply sounded like politically driven focused groups. Similarly there are multiple NGOs with Facebook pages. Why are their posts not on the popular political party Facebook pages praising what these organizations are doing? Digital platforms allows any entity to replicate your offline efforts with lesser output. Just make sure to remember #5 before you start. 3. Do you know what I need? Apps seemed to be the popular choice and I am not sure what they do, regardless I had no inclination of downloading them. However, if any party created an app which anonymously allowed me to share my views on any given subject, I’ll be all up in that! It could even go beyond just my opinion and include my age, location, gender and anything relevant to winning a campaign. Imagine the St Augustine candidate specifically referencing an issue on the podium that was discovered using the data gathered? Now that may not get me to put on their colour and go to a rally, but I may just turn on the television. 4. Social Integration For a twin island who gets integration so well offline, we really suck online. There are not many places in the world where Muslims, Hindus, Baptists, Catholics and so many more that can live in harmony. That will forever be my #1 admiration for our society. Somehow I thought that would translate to our approach to digital touchpoints. That seamless integration of social media, website, offline ads and general brand awareness is possible. Maybe it’s the Nirvana of Digital Marketing. I hope to live to see the day. #DreamsDoComeTrue 5. Ah Love Ah Hashtag It may annoy coders to see the evolution of Hashtags, but I will never apologize for my excessive use of them. That’s why my major disappointment with these electoral digital campaigns is the lack of hashtag usage. It could have gone so differently and include the nations issues that are relevant to specific areas of the islands. Be honest, do you really care about that pothole in Arima? Not unless you are forced to go beyond the lighthouse (yes, I’m a North gal :)). Outside of the general campaign slogans, there was so much that could be done with viral Hashtags. With that said, I am still elated to see the inclusion of digital and happy that the importance of social media goes beyond the private sector. One question remains; will the use of Digital continue regardless of who wins the elections? #Advertising Join us every Tuesday on #ACMLIVE at 6 pm EST on YouTube, Facebook or LinkedIn to learn more about digital marketing in the Caribbean!