Toucan, a social media and interactive advertising agency incorporated in Dubai, is looking to hire locals to work in Jamaica.

The company, which opened its Kingston branch in January, aims to employ six people.

It currently employs an acting general manager from its Trinidad & Tobago office who will return home once vacancies for a general manager and a creative director have been filled.

“We want locals in each of our offices,” said Douglas Ames, the company’s managing director. Locals understand the market so they can serve the company’s customers more efficiently.

The company already has offices in Kenya and India as well as the one in Trinidad & Tobago.

It decided to expand to Jamaica after noticing that, while many people do web development and social marketing in the country, there are no companies officially certified by Facebook, Ames said.

“We can get customised Facebook applications and campaigns approved,” he said. Toucan is also certified in the management of Google online advertising campaigns.

The company has a fully trained international staff who have direct links to Facebook and can personalise their clients’ social media pages.

Social media websites have become a popular tool for businesses to engage their customers, ultimately contributing to the companies’ bottom-lines.

Already, Toucan has created blogs, placed advertisements on Google and Facebook, and written online games for international clients.

The company worked on the advertising campaign for KFC Jamaica featuring Trinidad-born American Idol judge Nicki Minaj. It developed a game that allowed fans to upload look-a-like pictures of the hip hop star. The winner received a ticket to the Reggae Sumfest.

Its Kingston office will deal with client management, billings and concept ideas for its customers.

Toucan’s programming and website design work is currently done in its Mumbai office but it hopes to train local programmers in two to three years.

The company aims to help businesses maximise their investments online, and is prepared to put its money where its mouth is.

It doesn’t ask for payment until its clients have been able to measure their results, such as whether they’ve reached all their fans.

With digital media, said Ames, clients want to ensure that their money is well spent.