Your motivation matters in agency new business, especially using social media.
My first position at an ad agency was as an AE, working directly with one of the agency partners. I’ll never forget his advise to me one day while we were eating lunch together. He said,
“My background is in sales and when I’m in a meeting with a prospective client, I’m thinking to myself … my money is in their pocket. How do I get my money out of their pocket into mine?”
Sometimes the best life lessons I’ve learned have been from those that I vowed never to be like. I’ve discovered that prospective clients have a strong sense of what motivates you.
Advertisers and their ad agencies are looking at social media, the first mass marketing media that isn’t supported by advertising and wondering, what is in it for me?
Radio, TV, your newspaper exists because of advertising and to please the advertisers.
Seth Goggin’s blog is ranked number one by AdAge Power150. In a recent post he points out,
“The internet is different. It wasn’t invented by business people and doesn’t exist to help your company (agency) make money. It is entirely possible it could be used that way but it doesn’t owe you anything. The question to ask isn’t how does this help me?” The question to ask isn’t, “but how does this help me? The question to ask is, “how are people (the people I need to reach, interact with and tell stories to) going to use this new power and how can I help them achieve their goals?”
Social media is an interactive event and online social marketing needs to focus on developing community. The most important term is ’social’ – be social, be a part of the community, and the results will speak for themselves. Interact within these social communities for the benefit of everyone, not just yourself, and the results can be tremendous. You may find your agency’s profile and reputation growing, the number of quality visitors to your sites growing, and, ultimately, your new business growing.
photo credit: Intersection Consulting via photopin cc
