The 56th Grammy Awards, #thebiggame

       Beyonce and Jay-Z prove their dominance once again, Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar are the latest duo, Pink is quite the acrobat, Taylor Swift loses (for once), Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr make a comeback, Lorde sets a new nail trend, Daft Punk remains silent, and Queen Latifah weds 33 couples in an emotional performance from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. But the most important topic of the night, Pharrell's hat.

        The 56th Grammy Awards proved to be an epic night in performances and music awards this past Sunday night. It was impossible not to know every detail that happened on that stage as social media reigned superior throughout the anticipated ceremony. Tweets were being posted by friends, parents, celebrities, businesses, even my local news station at home in Macon, GA: 13WMAZ Straight From the Heart. But who's in charge of the social networking behind one of the biggest annual nights in Hollywood?One woman. Her name? Lindsay Gabler.


     
       Gabler is the Social Media Specialist for the Recording Academy, and responsible for promoting one of the most special nights in music every year. Gabler uses a wide variety of social media accounts to sponsor this night and works on its promotion around the clock, 365 days a year. In an interview, Gabler stated that the Grammy's is like her big game, what she has been preparing for all year. Her accounts not only bring excitement to people in the preceding months, but during the show she is live tweeting and posting about all the details. Most people don't realize that there are dozens of other Grammy's awarded but not aired that night, so it is up to Gabler to make sure the public is updated on each of these awards. The Grammy's currently has 1.35 million followers on Twitter, 195,461 followers on Instagram, and 1.8 million likes on Facebook. Gabler is an excellent example of how social media truly is a job in the promotion of a brand. Because of her work, people are beaming over the Grammy's and buzzing about the ceremony both months before and months after.

So go check her out, she's an inspiration in the social media world!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiwjuYag8Ig

LEGO: From Childhood Toy to Movie Connoisseur

LEGO's. A reminder of the past and what it was like to be creative as a child. Our imagination could run wild as we were able to construct whatever we desired with these small attachable pieces of plastic. The LEGO brand began to develop nearly a century ago, and has become quite the empire today. Recently, Americans have become ecstatic for the newest LEGO creation, The LEGO Movie. Warner Brothers is expected to have an extraordinary turnout at the box office February 7 when the movie premiers, as they have utilized social media and its marketing strategy's to lure people into the cartoon world of LEGO's.  The LEGO Movie currently has nearly 20,000 followers on Twitter, 280,000 likes on Facebook, and 2,000 followers on Instagram. The film has been utilizing all of these social media accounts in order to build a stronger fan base, specifically Twitter and Facebook. An example of one of these strategy's would be the "Fan of the Week" awarded through Facebook and Twitter weekly to a fan or group of fans who have posted outstanding examples of their devotion to the brand. Stars of the film, such as Elizabeth Banks, Chris Pratt and Nick Offerman, have consistently tweeted about the movie and expressed their excitement for its release. The movie has also used Twitter to promote a gaming system in which you can create your own LEGO character and join online games with the characters from the movie. The LEGO Movie began exploiting the benefits social media can bring to a brand and has successfully made Americans aware of the film and captured their excitement. With two weeks to go until the premiere, I suspect the movie will be quite successful and I know I personally can't wait to sit in the theater and see what Warner Brothers has created.