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Five takeaways from Social Media Week Toronto

From algorithm adjustments to the ever-changing video formats. Social media is constantly evolving, and as digital strategists it’s important we keep on top of these changes to better optimize our content for any platform.

The ruckus team had an opportunity to attend Social Media Week Toronto, which brought several leading social media marketers together to outline what’s new and upcoming for social media marketing. 

This piece highlights our key takeaways from the conference and what inspired us the most:

1. Select influencers that matter to your message

Brands often select influencers based on their reach with the goal of getting their content in front of a large audience. However, algorithms are customizing social feeds based on user behavior and the most relevant content users engage with and brands need to adapt. These four considerations are the key to selecting the right influencers for your brand:

  • Relevance: How often does the influencer talk about topics and information that are relevant to your brand?
  • Resonance: How well does the content resonate with the influencer’s audience? What is their engagement rate?
  • Reference: How big is their influence? Do other key influencers follow them as well?
  • Reach: Make no mistake, reach still matters, but the above considerations are far more important to maximize your campaign’s results.

2. Don’t count out other platforms

Facebook is a very cost-effective medium and it’s easy to funnel all your social marketing here. Especially if you’re a new brand or a new product, it’s a no-brainer to reach as many as 75 percent of Canadians. However, this platform might not be the only platform depending on the audience or marketing objectives that your brand could explore.

Platforms like Reddit and Pinterest were profiled as platforms to reconsider for your marketing strategies for these reasons:

  • Reddit has a community of strong opinions and could be a place to help drive traffic – however, beware of the content leveraged here and speak in Reddit-lingo to engage better with this audience.
  • Pinterest is full of lifestyle content with a strong base of users looking for wedding inspiration or meal prep ideas. Advertising on the platform has been getting easier and just as sophisticated as Facebook – they even launched a Toronto office!

3. Prepare for and embrace the chaos

To keep on top of the high volume of engagements during election night, CBC Toronto built a control room entirely for social, and an equipped team of social media producers to fill it. This amount of preparation and support benefited CBC as their team was able to:

  • Ensure that things ran smoothly.
  • Bring questions from online to their team of reporters, at the venues throughout the city to get answers from the candidates themselves.
  • Respond to each comment and reaction in real-time, which played a huge part in their live-coverage success as CBC’s Digital Producer, @vvalido explained, “it really helped to keep people interested.”

4.   Cannabis is here to stay – even if you can’t market it

At a session with Josh Lyon of Tokyo Smoke and Amanda Marino from Herb, we learned the background of marketing in cannabis (even though you pretty much can’t). To begin with, did you know that the word “cannabis” is politically correct – and that we shouldn’t use marijuana? Regardless, both agreed that education is the key for cannabis in the future, how they reach their audiences and promote their brand is done in a different way.

  • Tokyo Smoke – Working for a company that sells paraphernalia and cannabis products, they are unable to promote their brand on any social channel. They are not allowed to use images or videos that show people using their products – Tokyo Smoke can show their shops and pictures that may help people learn about cannabis, but none of their products. Since they can’t advertise, their social media and coffee shop methods are a great place to educate.
  • Herb –Their social media accounts are all about improving the image of cannabis and its users, while also being educational. They mainly play on YouTube, where they have both fun and educational videos – whether it is moms getting high and playing Fortnite, to learning about the history of 4/20. They try to use a lot of comedy as they say people always like to laugh. 

5. LinkedIn is In

LinkedIn is often thought of as a networking tool rather than a social platform with capabilities beyond job hunting and connecting with peers. After Goldie Chan’s Unpacking the LinkedIn Influencer session, we saw LinkedIn as a platform that can add value to any social campaign, especially in the B2B sector.

This is LinkedIn at a glance:

  • It currently has 565 million users worldwide, 40% of which are daily users
  • 57% of its traffic is mobile
  • 44% of LinkedIn users make more than $75K USD annually

LinkedIn users have a deep understanding of their industries and will engage with highly targeted and in-depth content, making it possible for brands to hyper-specialize their messaging to respective audiences.

Working with influencers on the platform has also proven successful. Consider partnering with LinkedIn influencers to build brand awareness for a B2B company, amplify a B2C product launch, or grow a company executive’s brand.

Finally, here are some individual profile LinkedIn tips from the session:

  • A professional headshot is a must
  •      Optimize your profile copy for SEO and include links to your other social accounts and websites
  • Post content that is specific to your industry
  • Include high-quality video in your strategy
  • Improve your SEO with strong written content
  • Add a personal note to your connection requests

Katie Boland, Amanda Carreiro, Vivian Kwong, Nicole Pomeroy, and Kevin Behar are all a part of the APEX/ruckus digital team. Need help with your social strategy? Drop us a line. 

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What podcasts are we listening to?

When I first listened to a podcast I loved how personal it felt. The experience was like listening to a private conversation with people I admired. As a PR student, I attended a live taping of Inside PR at PodCamp Toronto and it made me feel excited about this industry and that I could listen to leading professionals and their recommendations for students like me. However, that was almost ten years ago!

Since then, the industry has been maturing with 76 per cent of Canadians familiar with podcasts and 18 per cent of Canadians listening weekly, a growth of 20 per cent over 2017. This growth has shown great value for brands to have personal relationships with their customers or niche audiences. This content can be focused on specific conversations in a longer form than traditional channels like radio or television ads that can be limited to 15 seconds.

Looking for a new podcast for your way to work? Check out the APEX PR and ruckus Digital teams favourite podcasts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be even more meta, check out our latest ruckus makers podcast about podcasting with podcast panelists Amanda Muse, Hannah Sung and Jessica Moorhouse.

 

Katie Boland is an account manager at ruckus Digital. Need help with your social media approach? Drop us a line.

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So, what is User Experience Design?

After much reading, research and attending the UX Design Bootcamp from Miami Ad School Toronto, I could tell you that User Experience Design can be defined in many ways.

It all comes down to one common theme –the interaction and value that a product will provide to the user when using the product. Whether it is a website, tablet or even an app the user’s satisfaction should always be the main focus when developing the end product.

 

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” — Steve Jobs

 

What needs to be included in User Experience Design?

There are different facets or qualities of user experience according Peter Morville from Semantic Studios. Peter developed what we call the user experience honeycomb.

The 7 facets of the Peter Morville Honeycomb are useful, usable, desirable, findable, accessible, credible, and valuable.  This honeycomb helps brands define their products’ priorities, therefore providing a good experience for the user.

 

What is the User Experience Design process?

The User Experience Design process has different phases that are repeated, to help evaluate the design of the end product. A good example is the Double Diamond Design process, which has four steps: discover, define, develop and deliver.

Through the Discovery phase, a lot of research takes place, including primary and secondary research, competitive analysis, stakeholder interviews, user journeys, and more.

In the Define phase all the information from the Discovery phase is gathered and narrowed down to a creative brief.

Then comes the fun part, the Development phase where ideation takes place to come up with unique concepts based on the creative brief. These concepts are created, prototyped, tested and iterated. This is the part where the ideas are also refined to what works and what doesn’t.

After a lot of trial and error comes the last phase, the Delivery phase, this where the project is finalised and launched.

In the end User Experience Design is all about the customer needs versus their wants.

 

At this point in experience design’s evolution, satisfaction ought to be the norm, and delight out to be the goal. — Stephen Anderson

 

Following a good design process such as this one, will not only help you have a great product but a valuable user experience.

Vanessa Cuartas is an integrated media designer at ruckus Digital. Need help with design? Drop us a line.

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3 improv lessons that made me a better community manager

With brands like Wendy’s constantly “winning the internet” with clever social content and humourous banter with users, it’s becoming increasingly important for community managers to bring a level of wit and quick thinking to the job.

To sharpen my wit and perfect my ability to create content that resonates with target audiences, I spent 6 weeks taking improv classes, and I think anyone in the creative industry should do the same.

In case the idea of attempting to entertain a room full of strangers triggers your anxiety, here are 3 key takeaways I can share for anyone to apply to their day jobs.

  1. Let go and commit

In improv, the best performances are the ones where the actor fully goes for it. Hesitation or insecurity is obvious to the audience and can hinder the performance. As a creative thinker, when working on your next big idea, it’s best to stay away from the “but” and focus on the “yes, and” (a rule-of-thumb for improv).  When you don’t focus on potential limitations or obstacles, it’s easier to elevate your ideas.

  1. Act naturally

On the first day of class they say, “don’t try to be funny.” It may sound counterproductive, but it makes a lot of sense. It’s a lesson in being natural. Consumers can often tell when a brand is trying too hard to be “relevant”; the best content fits naturally into a brand’s voice.

  1. On the other side of panic is somewhere you really want to be

Just like improv, the creative industry is a fast-paced, ever-changing environment that can get overwhelming. Feelings of panic can impact the way you perform – but if you can ride the waves, push through the panic, and give your best effort without fear, the outcome is worth a standing ovation.

 

Amanda Carreiro is a community manager at ruckus Digital. Need help with your social media approach? Drop us a line. 

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Facebook

Summer Roadtripping with Facebook

On July 24, 2018, Facebook Canada held a #FBroadtrip session to outline what’s new and upcoming on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Incidentally, earlier this year, we asked Canadians what companies Facebook owns – to test whether news events would impact usage on it or other platforms.

What we found is that just over a quarter of Canadians know that Instagram is owned by Facebook and less than 1/5 know that Facebook also owns WhatsApp. (Facebook does not own any of the other companies listed in our survey, although some Canadians think they do.)

What companies does Facebook own?

Source: Google Consumer Survey by ruckus Digital April 14-18, 2018, sample = 1,000 Canadians

In that light, this piece highlights a few areas from this week’s Facebook session, as it relates to the Canadians’ expectations and equally importantly, as it relates to three key questions we’ve also been getting:

 

  1. Should our company reconsider being on Facebook?

If you’re there already and it makes sense for your audience, our opinion is no. When you’re looking at the numbers, the reality is Facebook-owned platforms still cater to the largest masses:

  • 24 million Canadians are on Facebook each month (larger than any social platform, 3x larger than Canada’s largest mainstream media outlet)
  • 14 million Canadians are on Instagram each month (larger than Snapchat)
  • 18 million Canadians use Facebook Messenger each month
  • Add +16% in audience reach when you add the Audience Network:
    • A larger external network using Facebook ads to display on third-party sites such as Maclean’s, CityNews, The Ottawa Sun, Breakfast Television, The Huffington Post, Slice, SportsNet and Driving.ca.

Facebook reiterated its commitment to making its platform “positive, safe and valuable” especially considering recent ‘delete Facebook’ initiatives and the flood of fake news.

While as communicators you may be getting similar pressure to rethink Facebook, Facebook’s commitment extends to these four areas:

  • Foster meaningful interactions |to give its audience more opportunity to connect with the people and passions they care about
  • Reduce the spread of false news | introduction of new policies to help tackle inauthentic activity
  • Be transparent and accountable | giving users more privacy controls
  • Equip for brand safety | providing more tools to help advertisers control where their ads are seen

 

  1. How are things changing for our audience?

We all know in today’s communications environments, consumers are in the driver’s seat. But one of the most important things that is changing for our audience is that they’re evolving themselves.

Because we live in a mobile world, we’re able to process info much faster than we used to. The MIT ‘In the Blink of an Eye Study’ showed that over a 13-year period we’ve gone from processing a thought in 0.30 seconds to

  • Processing a thought in 1/10 the time: 0.03 seconds
  • Processing an image in even less time: 0.013 seconds

Facebook reps added people “expect businesses to provide fast and frictionless mobile experiences” because

  • Consumers spend 1.7 seconds on average on with any given piece of content
  • 40% of people abandon a site if it doesn’t load after 4 seconds
  • 49% of people would purchase more on mobile if it was easier

Ultimately, our work needs to be better than these benchmarks to even resonate with our audiences.

 

  1. What should we care about with ‘what’s new’?

While Facebook has many new initiatives coming out across all its properties, the most exciting revolve around three areas:

  • Direct Response (DR) products “allow advertisers to get customers and potential customers to take action online, in-store and in mobile apps,” and will be expanded within Messaging apps including Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct and WhatsApp (in a non-intrusive way, including video)
  • Dynamic Ads for lead generation including contextual targeting of house listings, for example, which will show up in Facebook Marketplace because of an individual’s similar online searches (note: Facebook Marketplace is bigger than Craigslist in the US)
  • Video will also include dynamic insertion of most relevant creative based on an individual’s online activities, the ability to gather info (name, email, phone) for follow up, while vertical video’s prominence will continue to grow (thanks to the popularity of Instagram Stories – 40% of stories are video – with 100% full-screen experience)

BONUS: While there isn’t the ability to advertise (yet) on the recently launched IGTV (up to 1-hour long vertical video on Instagram), Chris Loves Julia was an example mentioned of users successfully launching on the channel. Be sure to check them out.

Kevin Behar and Diane Bégin are with APEX Public Relations and ruckus Digital. Need help with your social media approach? Drop us a line. 

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Grace Toby

5 QS: GRACE TOBY

Grace Toby – Freelancer

@GraceToby 

 

Our interview series continues with Grace Toby to talk about trends in the world of journalism and what she loves most about being a writer.

  1. What made you go into journalism?

 

“English was my major in university. I loved to write and found an internship at a magazine one summer. This is where I truly fell in love with journalism and the industry. Although the media landscape has changed drastically since I first went into the field, I love the idea of being able to learn about a variety of different topics throughout my work. It’s exciting to get an assignment where I need to research or learn about something I have little knowledge about.”

 

  1. What’s your favourite and least favourite thing about journalism?

 

“I love being about to write about a variety of different topics and interviewing strangers and having them open up to me. I get to learn something new with every story I write and it’s great to be able to share with readers new ideas or stories that they can relate to. My least favourite thing about the industry would have to be the uncertainty the future has to hold. The changing media landscape leaves little room to know exactly what will happen with new technologies and practices that are being adapted by media today.”

 

  1. Where do you see the industry heading in the next few years?

 

“I think in the next five years the industry will be very different. More online publications will surface with PR and marketing agencies having to adapt their pitching styles. More freelancers will be working in the field and individual relationships between freelancers and PR agencies are going to be very important.”

 

  1. What’s one piece of advice you can give PR agencies when pitching story ideas?

 

“Do your research. Make sure you know the beat of the journalist you are reaching out to. There is nothing worse than getting a mass email for people asking me to write about something that I have never covered before. Blanket pitches are not the answer here. If you aren’t sure about what the journalist writes about just ask them!”

 

  1. How to do you feel influencers differ from traditional media?

 

“I tend to only follow influencers that are experts in their field such as nutritionists, personal trainers, stylists, etc. I like to know the information being shared by those influencers is factually correct and authentic, since there is so much data being thrown around these days. The majority of influencers use content creation as a source of income and may not be the most knowledgeable about the things they are promoting.”

 

These five questions with Grace Toby were compiled by Kristina Mikhalkova, Coordinator, and Lindsey Soper, Consultant, APEX PR/ruckus digital. Follow Kristina on Twitter. Follow Lindsey on Twitter.

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Daneta Blog

5 QS: DANETA BUDALICH – BACHIU

Daneta Budalich – Bachiu
@DanetaB

We sat down with Daneta Budalich – Bachiu to talk about future trends in the world of Instagramming and what she loves most about being an influencer.

 

1. Tell us about what you’re working on currently.

 “I’m just in the midst of creating a blog and plan to launch next month. I held off for years thinking the platform would become irrelevant, but it seems like it’s a stronger channel for communication now more than ever.

My page will give my audience a little more about me – my interests, my home, my experiences with products, my shopping preferences… but I hope to deliver it in an easy to read, relatable way. I want my information to be relevant and attainable, but I also want to make my followers LOL!”

 

2. Why did you start Instagramming?

 “Instagram was an amazing source of inspiration for me when I first had my son. It also kept me from falling asleep during all those middle of the night wake-ups! I found a passion for styling and photography and things just snowballed from there. It also became my creative outlet as I pushed the pause button on my career in event marketing to raise my kiddos.”

 

3. How does being a mom influence the content you write, and your lifestyle as an influencer? Is it difficult to juggle parenthood with brand partners’ competing priorities?

 “What works best for me is partnering with brands and products I already use and love. It makes it so much easier to shoot and share if that product fits naturally into our everyday. There’s no denying the allure of authenticity for brands and consumers, and in our space, moms trusting and admiring other moms. It’s really important to me that I remain honest, and that sometimes means turning down partnerships.

Being a mom is my full time job, so I find myself sneaking in some shooting during nap times or when the kids are in their best moods. A lot of my editing and emailing happens in the evenings and sometimes really late at night (after the kids have gone to sleep!). Basically, I don’t get any time off! But, I love what I do and it’s amazing how much you get done when you are busy. The biggest challenge I have is being able to attend events when I have a baby glued to my hip, or when the household needs me the most (dinner and bedtime). In those cases, I have to pick my battles and do what’s best for my family first.”

 

4. Where do you see the industry heading in the next few years?

“It will be very interesting to see where the industry goes – how long Instagram and blogs will remain relevant. New apps will be created that will seem more desirable when compared to Instagram’s shortcomings, like the lack of a chronological timeline and an increase in sponsored posts. We are already seeing it with VERO. Video will be huge, especially for brands, so we will see a surge in branded video content and what influencers will put out there, as well as a big partnership between the two.

As for brands, I think many have realized the value of what the convergence of “content” and “influence” have created and we will see this type of marketing become the main focus for many big brands. This will create a new ‘Human to Human’ approach, or ‘Social Selling’ – finding ways for consumers to sing the brand’s praises while influencing other consumers, not the other way around. I think there will be more opportunity for influencers to enter long term ambassador-like relationships with brands – being the primary content makers that brands feature on their portals (for example, brands shifting to a more blog-like approach) with content that’s real and updated frequently (vs a standard website).”

 

5. As someone who’s been on both sides of the industry – working in it as a practitioner and as an influencer – what’s one piece of advice you can give PR agencies when working within their existing network of influencers, or those agencies that are looking to start working with influencers?

      “Developing sincere and collaborative relationships with influencers are key to shared success. I think you can achieve this by:

  1. Develop strong relationships | Don’t just email an influencer for a campaign opt-in when you have a deadline to a client and then never talk to them again. Really create a respectful relationship with the influencer. Follow up on lost campaigns, give them feedback, etc. Create strong relationships!
  2. Work for both parties | Manage client needs with the influencers, but also manage the brands expectations when it comes to the influencer’s work. The influencer’s main role is to ensure they are producing content that the client is happy with, but none of us want to break outside of our own unique style to achieve this (if we felt uncomfortable sharing content, it means it isn’t the right fit). Having a PR person stand up for the value of an influencer’s work is huge. Also, being fair when it comes to timelines and revisions, as well as compensation.
  3. Be educated and real | Understand influencers stats (not just followers, but engagement and quality of work, which is unique to every influencer), as well as being knowledgeable on the amount of work that goes into producing and sharing content will really help in the negotiations with both client and influencer. Also, be as honest as you can be! We all know there are budgets and KPIs but everyone wants to be compensated for their hard work.
  4. Collaborate | Give more when you can because that same influencer you have a great relationship with, will for sure do more for you when you can’t – when budgets and timelines are tight, they will be there to help you look good.”

These five questions with Georgia Eliopoulos were compiled by Kristia Pavlakos, Coordinator, and Derek Bathurst, Coordinator, APEX PR/ruckus digital.

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sparkler

5 QS: Georgia Eliopoulos of Extra Sparkle Please

Georgia Eliopoulos
Extra Sparkles Please
@extrasparklesplease

 

Up next, we sat down with Georgia Eliopoulos, creator of ExtraSparklesPlease.com, to talk about future trends in the world of blogging and what she loves most about being an influencer.

 

1. Tell us about your blog currently and the direction you see it heading in the years to come

“Lifestyle! As 60 per cent of my followers are moms and dads, I want to provide more content about family life in general. I also want to talk more about personal experiences… the stuff people “don’t talk about”. Most recently I started adding in food and recipes.”

 

2. Why did you start blogging?

“When I started this blog my slogan was always “because she had so much to say and wants the world to hear it.” I had people in my everyday life asking me questions and decided to take that and make it more accessible to them… just one click away!”

 

3. What is your favourite and least favourite thing about being an influencer in Toronto?

“My favourite things are the experiences I’ve had and the people I have met along the way. I’ve met two of my closest friends through this industry – if all of this were gone, I still have friends for life. My least favourite thing is how cut-throat and cliquey it can be. I’ve learned that the reality is that the “bloggers supporting bloggers” concept may be true, but people will do whatever they have to do to get ahead.”

 

4. Where do you see the industry heading in the next few years?

“Personally, it’s going to be interesting. EVERYONE seems to want to be a blogger, so it is becoming very oversaturated. This is what I am doing for a living and I can see how many people are finding loopholes in the system, which sets back the ones who are staying as organic as possible.

“I think bloggers in the next 2 years will end up gearing their content more towards podcasts and “video diaries” (not YouTube); people will want to visually see and hear what people have to say rather than looking at the same photos of people at the same trendy cafes and restaurants. I think in 2 years, Instagram won’t pack the same punch and we will have to rely on a new, more realistic platform to be heard!”

 

5. What’s one piece of advice you can give PR agencies when working within their existing network of influencers, or those agencies that are looking to start working with influencers?

“Be less sweet. There are a lot of influencers who have a sense of entitlement and people have to realize that you have to get through all the no’s in order to get a yes! I started working towards this in January and first started getting paid in September. Let us work to build a relationship with PR agencies and help you guys out. It goes both ways! Also, give us more links to purchase to include in our posts. For example, even if no one buys anything from one of your client’s posts, look at how many people’s interests are being piqued to go beyond Instagram and our blogs.”

 

These five questions with Georgia Eliopoulos were compiled by Kristia Pavlakos, Coordinator, and Laura Zechel, Consultant, APEX PR/ruckus digital.

 

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amanda's blog

3 tips to help you optimize paid social content

It’s no secret that paid social media content is becoming increasingly important. Social media platform algorithms are ever-changing, making brand content hard to stumble upon organically. While it is important to invest in paid social content, it is essential that content is also optimized to leave an impression on your desired audience.

Thanks to an insightful presentation by Paul Neto, VP of Digital at Kantar Insights, at a recent Canadian Marketing Association event, we’re able to share some key tips to help you create paid social content that works.

  1. Video matters

It is predicted that by 2020, 75% of total mobile traffic will be users watching video content. However, don’t wait until 2020 to implement a video content strategy. Video outperforms still images and plain text across platforms and should be where you invest your creative resources and paid support.

  1. Create your content for social

Gone are the days where you could repurpose your TV or print creative across platforms. Repurposed TV ads receive one fourth of the views compared to creative that is specifically made for social. When designing ads for social, keep the channel (and the channel’s audience) in mind.

  1. Make an impression fast

The average piece of content is only viewed for 2.5 seconds on desktop, and 1.7 seconds on mobile – meaning your key message has to be delivered quickly. On average, ad recall doubles if branding elements are featured within the first 3 seconds of your creative. Branding elements can include a logo, packaging, or brand colours. In case you’re also wondering what the optimal length of video content is, top performing content is 15 seconds or less and has the key message within the first 4 seconds.

To discover more ways to optimize your social media campaigns, follow us on Twitter.

Amanda Carreiro is a community manager at ruckus Digital.

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do the daniel

5 Qs: Danie Reyes, CEO, and Catherine Sugrue, COO, of Do the Daniel Inc.

APEXers and the ruckus team are asking five questions about the year it’s been and what individuals are looking forward to in 2018. Up first…

Daniel Reyes
CEO, Do The Daniel Inc.
@dothedaniel

Catherine Sugrue
COO, Do The Daniel Inc.
@cnsugrue

 

1. How do you choose the content you share with your followers?

Daniel: “It’s all about the things that actually resound with us. We would never write about or partner with anything we don’t believe in. We want to be one hundred percent transparent with our audience and the only way to do that is to make sure you are supporting things you believe in.”

2. In your opinion, what is an example of a compelling campaign?

Catherine: “Audible, a seller and producer of spoken audio entertainment, information, and educational programming on the Internet, launched in Canada last year. To promote the launch, the brand ran a campaign that contracted different influencers throughout the year, to promote awareness amongst consumers all year round. I think that’s a great way of keeping the narrative going!”

3. What are your most favourite and least favourite things about being an influencer?

Daniel: “The best thing about being an influencer is that no two days are ever the same! There are long term partnerships we can rely on, but every day at the office is always new. There are so many aspects involved in keeping this business running that you never get bored.”

Catherine: “The boundaries sometimes get blurred in this industry. Shutting off from work is not always an option. It’s hard when you’ve built a brand where every single second of your life needs to be seen, to ask for that time to yourself.”

4. How does it feel to have a partner who is in the same industry?

Daniel: “In the beginning it was a lot of fun because we used to go to the same events all the time. As both Do The Daniel and Fashion Nights continue to grow it’s fantastic to be able to support each other, but it’s also great to be able to operate in different circles. However, it’s nice to have the constant support and mutual understanding of the business and the industry.”

5. How do you see the industry changing?

Daniel: “For a long time, there have been a lot of individuals in this industry. Lately, we have noticed more and more that like-minded people are beginning to collaborate in teams, and create content for a larger audience. There is more support throughout the industry.“

These five questions with Daniel Reyes and Catherine Sugrue were compiled by Kristina Mikhalkova, Coordinator, and Lindsey Soper, Consultant, APEX PR/ruckus digital. Follow Kristina on Twitter. Follow Lindsey on Twitter.

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