I’m often asked don’t you ever run out of ideas for blog posts? I did have struggles in the beginning but after time, 178+ posts later, I’ve found my rhythm. I have an additional 45 drafts that I’m currently working on. I never run out of ideas for posts.
What is the key? To remember that your agency blog is about value to your target audience. It’s about them, not you or your agency. You write to provide answers to their marketing challenges and obstacles. Your blog becomes a resource and you become a trusted expert. Someone they come to know. Clients want to work with someone they no and trust.
If you are just starting an agency blog, I’ve put together 25 blog post ideas to help you get started.
Make a list of the top ten blogs of importance to your target audience
Be among the first to break industry news
Provide information of industry seminars and conferences that would be of interest to your target group
Conduct your own survey/poll and write a post about the results
Provide your comments and links to industry articles that would be helpful to your target audience
Develop an ongoing weekly posts of good thought provoking quotes
Profile of industry leaders and influencers
Provide a synopsis of research and industry reports and links to the full data
Highlight new communication, web tools, how they work and what benefits they provide your target group
Provide lists of online resources for
Challenge and tell why you disagree with high level personalities within the industry when you have a differing opinion
Report from a conference, seminar or trade show
Provide a podcasts of a taped interview with industry leaders
Analyze the current climate in your target groups industry
Be among the first to identify industry and business trends that will impact your audience
Provide an analysis of big brand best practices and mistakes
Identify bloggers of interest and post your recommendation for them as a resource
Review books of interest that are a help to you and share with your readers
Identify the most important marketing challenges facing your audience and provide solutions
Check your analytics and provide a list of your top 10 blog posts for the month, quarter and year
Engage your audience with a contest and the ability to cast their vote or share their opinion
Invite an industry leader to write a guest post
Discuss industry associations
Provide a list of your favorite links
Post about different marketing tips and tactics
While writing a post for a agency blog always consider this question: “Will this article be of use to your target audience?”
Park & CO president, Park Howell, came up with a great idea to help his ad agency staff better understand new media. He led his agency to create their own employee Film Festival competition.
The agency’s staff were divided into 8 teams. Each team had to create a self-produced video that would be uploaded to YouTube and then they were to generate traffic to their video. The winning team would receive $1,000. The winning criteria was to get the highest number of clicks.
The winning team was led by Kim Hodge and team members included Courtney Steuck, Heidi Moore and Sabrina Sherrell, also known as the “Bad Ass Babes.” They attributed their success to a well planned marketing strategy. They knew that cute animal video’s often became a popular subject that easily became viral. They created a 30-second parody of a Gap commercial, with dogs lip syncing to Depeche Mode’s “I Just Can’t Get Enough.”
The group started planning the shoot and called on a host of friends, the area’s best directors of photography, editors, and grips. They were able to persuade the crew to donate their time promising to use the $1000 prize money and donate it to a local animal shelter.
Following a day of shooting and edits, the team got together, and played the video. They knew immediately that they had a winner!
At the official opening to the Film Festival, all the videos were played and awards were given for Best Cinematography, Best Actor/Actress and Best Direction. Then the 8 teams were set free to their offices to upload the videos onto YouTube and to start spreading the word.
The Bad Ass Babes constructed a great email to accompany the link and out it went, with “Dogs Helping Dogs” in the subject line and our pledge of $1000 to charity if their video got the most clicks in their agency’s competition. They posted it to every person in agency and personal address books and to their Facebook pages. They also identified blogs and websites dedicated to animals, and within 2 weeks their video was being viewed in countries as far and wide as South Africa, The Netherlands, and Australia.
They also had numerous dog-related Yahoo! groups working with us, sending out daily reminders to their members to click the video. Rhodesian Ridgebacks are featured heavily in the piece and breed groups around the world started to take ownership of the piece and joined forces with us to ensure the dog’s video would win.
Their video was even posted on the largest dog blog in world www.dogster.com
Kim’s team grew from 4 people, to an online network of over 40 people, all dog lovers, because of the charity aspect made contact with animal blogs around the world to promote the video.
After a 4-week posting, the team ended up with 8350 clicks, with their nearest competition over 7000 clicks behind!
The teams winnings were donated to The Arizona Animal Welfare League/SPCA, the state’s oldest and largest no-kill shelter, which provides temporary homes for nearly 2,000 dogs and cats every year and offers medical and behavioral treatment for those in need.
The winning video:
Park&Co have been already been able to utilize the results of their contest in client and prospective client meetings. It has been a great tool to promote their agency.
Study: Cone finds that Americans Expect Companies to Have a Presence in Social Media. The results of the study refer to the 60% of Americans who use social media.
93% of “social media users” expect companies to have presence in social media. 85% believe a company should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media.
“The news here is that Americans are eager to deepen their brand relationships through social media,” explains Mike Hollywood, director of new media for Cone, “it isn’t an intrusion into their lives, but rather a welcome channel for discussion.”
The results of the Cone Study refer to the 60% of Americans who use social media.
If this is the expectation for companies, what about the same expectations for ad agencies? Should they not also be a participant? When agencies should be leading you’ll find a significant number of small-to mid-size agencies are not even participating. They are woefully behind when it comes to social media.
Almost 60% of Americans interact with companies on a social media Web site, and 25% interact more than once per week, Cone Business in Social Media Study says.
56% of American consumers feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment.
Americans believe that companies should use social networks to solve my problems (43%). Companies should solicit feedback on their products and services (41%).
Companies should develop new ways for consumers to interact with their brand (37%).
Companies should market to consumers (25%).
Men, a much sought-after target in the online space, are twice as likely as women to interact frequently (one or more times per week) with companies via social media (33% to 17%, respectively).
“The news here is that Americans are eager to deepen their brand relationships through social media,” explains Mike Hollywood, director of new media for Cone, “it isn’t an intrusion into their lives, but rather a welcome channel for discussion.”
Harder-to-reach audiences are ripe for social media interaction
A way to involve your agency in social media is to use these tools for your agency’s new business. Used correctly, you’ll build a community of highly targeted prospective clients.
It’s time for you to vote for your favorite agency blog for the month of October. 10 ad agency blogs have been submitted to FUEL LINES. The winner will be featured on FUEL LINES throughout the month of November.
The Accenture Global Digital Study was published a few years ago, but this look back is also a great look forward. The study provided a view of the long-term future of advertising. More importantly to you, it identifies the change, challenges and call to action to ad agencies.
The study’s six key findings:
Advertising agencies have the most to lose in the transition to digital advertising.
A real threat to the survival of advertising agencies and traditional media companies that do not embrace new technologies and business models.
Advertising will become more performance-based.
Analytics will become more accurate and more critical to the business.
Advertising relationships with customers will become more interactive.
Traditional advertisers are largely unprepared for the wave of digitally driven change about to engulf them. Especially in terms of customer analytics, targeted advertising and customer interactivity.
Those surveyed for the Global Digital Advertising Study were unanimous that major disruptive change is coming — and that those who fail to respond will simply find themselves swept away. Agencies are affirming that the change has come!
Bare in mind that this shift in advertising brings with it a dramatic shift to your agency’s new business practices and innovative new ways to promote your agency.
The amount of interest in Twitter continues to soar. But even with its popularity, a lot of agencies haven’t figured out how best to use it. My approach has been entirely from a new business perspective. I thought it might be helpful to share my approach and what I’m learning.
How I use Twitter:
Traffic. I use it to raise awareness and generate traffic to my blog, FUEL LINES. My analytics indicates that Twitter generates the most traffic to my blog. This isn’t traffic-for-traffic sake, but highly targeted traffic. I’m able to do this by identifying my target audience in each repurposed post title. It might sound mundane but it works very similar to SEO.
Resources. Twitter allows me both to share and glean resources that are pertinent to my consultancy. Valuable, fresh and the most current, cutting edge information for me and my readers. Examples:lmdupont@michaelgass great link! def. bookmarking for reference. chrisbroganGreat perspective on the NMS event. http://twurl.nl/tun4y8 . Would love your comments on his post.michaelgassSurvey Finds Economy Impacts Ad Agency New Business Practices http://tinyurl.com/4kso3m
Education. I’m also learning from the most influential, and innovative minds in emerging new media as I develop my understanding and expertise in this arena. Examples:mpranikoff@michaelgass thanks for coming to the PR Newswire seminar this morning in Nashville. I hope you found it useful.
Connections. 24/7 direct access with ad agencies around the world. Just this past week I’ve had conversations with agency principals from New Zealand, Australia, England and here in the states in cities such as Birmingham, Chicago, San Diego, Phoenix, Nashville, New York and St. Louis. Examples:StalelifeHi Michael. I’ve been enjoying your blog articles recently. As a young agency, we should probably chat in person sometime!spurpaul@michaelgass Excellent Post today Michael: Everyone in Biz Development for an Ad Agency should read this blog! www.fuelingnewbusiness.com. JonathanGunson@michaelgass ”once in lifetime opportunity to grow their agency during the current, turbulent financial crisis.” Agree, but tell me more?
Community. This tool allows for the development of community. It’s not all business and here you get to know people personally. That adds another dimension to the conversations. Example: ThomRainerOn the sidelines at Bryant-Denney Stadium. Bama players now joining us. Hey Saban- come see me!
Share Resources (70) - Successful learning in the 21st Century is not what you know, but what you can share, so 70 % of my Twittertime is spent sharing others voices, opinions, and tools.
Collaborations (20) - 20% of my Tweets are directly responding, connecting, collaboration, and co-creating with like-minded Twitter colleagues. From these important tweets, lifelong professional and personal relationships have been forged.
Chit-Chat (10) 10% of my Twittertalk is “chit-chat-how’s-your-hat” stuff. It is in these “trivial” details shared about working out, favorite movies, politics, and life in general that I connect with others as a human being. These simple chit chats are what have allowed me to know that I am never alone, and there is support whenever, wherever, and however I need it!
Your Twitter Engagement Formula will, of course, be different, but I encourage you to create one. Engage with purpose and intention, and Twitter success will follow! Angela
When asked about their top three sources for new business, most agencies picked the traditional methods such as referrals, networking and presentations.
Observation: Even when the traditional methods are not working and the growing popularity of new media, agencies have been slow to change their new business practices.
Michael Gass Consulting recently sponsored the 2008 Advertising Agency New Business Survey, a national online survey of small to midsize advertising agencies. The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into the perceptions and trends regarding agency new business in light of the current tumultuous economic climate.
Our sample came from a database of 4,955 U.S. full-service advertising agencies ranging in staff size from 5 to 80 full-time employees. An online link to the survey was also made available. We emailed the survey advertising agency CEOs and new business directors in August and kept the survey open through October 5, 2008 using an online questionnaire. There were 302 agencies that responded.
The survey was developed and results analyzed by Michael Gass Consulting, with greatly appreciated support and input from Dr. Phillip S. Rogers. Special thanks to THE LIST for providing the data sampling.
For the latest agency new business updates subscribe to FUEL LINES by Email
Michael Gass, agency new business consultant, primarily to small and mid-size advertising agencies, utilizing both traditional and new media tools.
Advertising is in a chaotic state. The economic crisis coupled with the rising popularity of social media has made the advertising industry uncertain. The large advertising agencies are having to work more creatively for a lot less money.
“Can the BIG league agencies survive in a minor league media world?”
This is a legitimate question that the larger agencies are trying to answer.
BIG agencies and their major league clients are doing their best to play in this new era of advertising, as million dollar media budgets give way to more modest ad budgets that continue to shift more and more to online media. It must be a huge step for BIG agencies to have to come down to the minors. Just think going from shooting national, star-studded television commercials to videos shot by a novice using an inexpensive web-cam that receives over 3 million views.
BIG league agencies very existence is in jeapordy. There is more competition from smaller-to mid-size agencies than ever before. Especially those “minor league” agencies that are willing to put their stake in the ground and stand for something.
“Anyone can now play in this game.”
This is an exciting time for small-to mid-size agencies. Anyone can now play in this game. Nimble, aggressive minor leaguers, with home field advantage, can even play for major league clients feeding creative ideas into new technologies.
The starting point for any ad agency new business program is your positioning. It is a fundamental prerequisite for small and midsize agencies. Positioning is everything. But it is also the place where most agencies where most fail.
“Every decision an agency leader makes will be a better decision when made against the backdrop of a well-defined positioning. And every decision either contributes to or detracts from the agency brand; very few are neutral.
Branding your agency means moving from the middle and taking a side. If you don’t claim a position, you will be positioned simply by your location. Which is really no position at all.
They (agencies) are so eager to be ‘full-service’ that they try to stand for everything. But standing for everythingis the same as standing for nothing.”
Positioning is what differentiates a brand in the customer’s mind. It is how you go to market.
Advertising agencies need positioning because prospective clients have lots of choices—and if you don’t stand out, you are going to struggle with new business.
In a recession your competition steps up their new business activities. Small to mid size agencies are out trolling for more business. Larger agencies are willing to accept smaller accounts when business is tight. Referrals and newtworks tend to dry up.
Brand coach Josh says, “If you can’t say why your [agency] brand is both different and compelling in a few words, don’t fix your statement, fix your [agency] company.”
Can you define your agency in a simple statement? I can’t begin to tell you how many agencies I know struggle with this.
Answering such a simple question isn’t that easy is it? One way to approach it is to think about why your agency brand matters to your target audience. I’ve taken a number of agencies through a series of steps to discover what makes them the only. It is a discovery process that is a journey to the core of their business. Remember, you can’t promote your way to being the one and only — you have to start with it.
Without a point of differentiation you will find it difficult to effectively market and promote your agency and you will struggle to succinctly define your agency and what it does.
Clear positioning provides:
An increase in your agency’s relevance
A direction for how your agency spends its time, money and resources
An understanding on the types of persons to hire
A better new business win ratio
A strong appeal to a select group of prospects
Prospects that line up with your agency’s core strengths, what you do best
A broader market area
Stop taking a “shotgun” approach to new business. Your agency will still obtain new business from referrals, networks and from those CMO’s who worked with you in the past but have changed companies and want to work with your agency again. If properly positioned, narrowing your agency’s focus, it is possible to have the right kind of prospects who seek out your agency when they know who you are and what you stand for.
Of the reasons why it was “harder or a lot harder” to obtain new business, the majority of agencies said prospects were more difficult to reach and there was fewer new business opportunities.
Observation: Agencies tend to put new business practices on the back burner when times are good and they are busy. Then attempt to jump-start their new business pipeline in difficult times. When we experience a down market usually agency referral business dries up.
Michael Gass Consulting recently sponsored the 2008 Advertising Agency New Business Survey, a national online survey of small to midsize advertising agencies. The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into the perceptions and trends regarding agency new business in light of the current tumultuous economic climate.
Our sample came from a database of 4,955 U.S. full-service advertising agencies ranging in staff size from 5 to 80 full-time employees. An online link to the survey was also made available. We emailed the survey advertising agency CEOs and new business directors in August and kept the survey open through October 5, 2008 using an online questionnaire. There were 302 agencies that responded.
The survey was developed and results analyzed by Michael Gass Consulting, with greatly appreciated support and input from Dr. Phillip S. Rogers. Special thanks to THE LIST for providing the data sampling.
For the latest agency new business updates subscribe to FUEL LINES by Email
Michael Gass, agency new business consultant, primarily to small and mid-size advertising agencies, utilizing both traditional and new media tools.
Seth now makes Tribes available on iTunes as a three hour audio book for less than a dollar.
I’ve been sharing through my writing for FUEL LINES that our clients are not looking for partnership, they are looking for leadership. In the current Communication’s Revolution that impacts the advertising industry so dramatically, agencies aren’t leading. They are woefully behind the curve of emerging communication technology.
In his new book, Tribes, marketing guru, Seth Godin, does a masterful job of showing all of us in the advertising/marketing industry how to create and lead a following and demonstrates the care and feeding of a tribe.
Seth encourages leaders to take a proactive role in harnessing the power of their followers. A great book for agency principals.
About the book:
You know about waiting in line at an Apple store, or the look on a fellow Deadhead’s face. You know about the way it feels to go back to the church where you grew up. You know about the real power of a brand.
According to Godin, Tribes are groups of people aligned around an idea, connected to a leader and to each other. Tribes make our world work, and always have.
The new opportunity is that it’s easier than ever to find, organize, and lead a tribe. The Web has enabled an explosion of all kinds of tribes — and created shortage of people to lead them. This is the growth industry of our time.
Tribes (the book) will help you understand exactly what’s at stake, and why YOU can and should lead a tribe of your own.
Over half of agencies surveyed said that obtaining new business was “harder” or “a lot harder” than it was in 2007.
Observation: Traditional methods of obtaining new business has not been effective. The rise in popularity of new media plus the state of the economy has accelerated marketing budgets move to online. According to current research, traditional ad agencies are not digitally prepared.
Michael Gass Consulting recently sponsored the 2008 Advertising Agency New Business Survey, a national online survey of small to midsize advertising agencies.
The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into the perceptions and trends regarding agency new business in light of the current tumultuous economic climate.
Our sample came from a database of 4,955 U.S. full-service advertising agencies ranging in staff size from 5 to 80 full-time employees. An online link to the survey was also made available. We emailed the survey advertising agency CEOs and new business directors in August and kept the survey open through October 5, 2008 using an online questionnaire. There were 302 agencies that responded.
The survey was developed and results analyzed by Michael Gass Consulting, with greatly appreciated support and input from Dr. Phillip S. Rogers. Special thanks to THE LIST for providing the data sampling.
For the latest agency new business updates subscribe to FUEL LINES by Email
Michael Gass, agency new business consultant, primarily to small and mid-size advertising agencies, utilizing both traditional and new media tools.
Michael Gass Consulting recently sponsored the 2008 Advertising Agency New Business Survey, a national online survey of small to midsize advertising agencies. The purpose of the survey was to gain insight into the perceptions and trends regarding agency new business in light of the current tumultuous economic climate.
Our sample came from a database of 4,955 U.S. full-service advertising agencies ranging in staff size from 5 to 80 full-time employees. An online link to the survey was also made available. We emailed the survey advertising agency CEOs and new business directors in August and kept the survey open through October 5, 2008 using an online questionnaire. There were 302 agencies that responded.
The survey was developed and results analyzed by Michael Gass Consulting, with greatly appreciated support and input from Dr. Phillip S. Rogers. Special thanks to THE LIST for providing the data sampling.
For the latest agency new business updates subscribe to FUEL LINES by Email
Michael Gass, agency new business consultant, primarily to small and mid-size advertising agencies, utilizing both traditional and new media tools.
Some of my readers are learning blogging and social media. There are lots of resources online that are helpful as you develop an expertise with social media. From time to time I’ll share some of the resources that I’ve found helpful to me.
One of those sources is Mike Sansone. Mike is an independent business consultant specializing in business blogs and conversational copywriting. Mike’s blog,ConverStations, is one of the top 50 marketing blogs ranked by AdAge’s Power 150. He provides an excellent glossary of blogging and social media terms that you will find very helpful to me. There are also literally hundreds of links to other blog and social media resources located on Mike’s site.
I just received a forwarded email from one of my clients that I wanted to share. It was from a prospective client and the person had this to say:
“Also, I just wanted to tell you that I like what you guys are doing over at Locomotion. You guys are starting to build some buzz. I rarely heard anything about Locomotion until the past year so I thought you guys might want to know that your efforts are making an impact.”
Locomotion has created a blog, built an email data base, uses email campaigns, AdWords, PRWeb, online surveys, Twitter, LinkedIn and many other new media tools to increase their online “foot print” over a short period of time. The buzz has been generated through the execution of a new media plan for the agencies new business.
Another agency, Off Madison Ave is generating 5 inbound new business leads per day using new media.
I’ve built my new business consultancy to small-to mid-size advertising agencies primarily through my FUEL LINES blog. The blog helped me to be focused and differentiating that has been appealing to my target audience. I’ve steadily built traffic through SEO, good content, email newsletters, Twitter, PRWeb, Surveys, Polls, Facebook, LinkedIn, article marketing, white papers, etc. It has been a tremendous learning experience for me and has helped both personally and professionally. I’ve been able to assist clients in developing and enlarging their online footprint. To experience new media for themselves.
This is an exciting, revolutionary time to be in advertising. We’re riding a wave of new communications tools that are extremely effective. Once you experience them for yourself, your marketing mind kicks in and you see how they can be used to promote your agency as well as promoting client services and products.
I’ve found that helping my agency clients create their own blogs, provides lots of added benefits:
Helps them to differentiate themselves, find the right messaging
Focus on a target audience, category or discipline or a combination of these
Compels them to always lead with benefits for their clients rather than boast and brag about agency capabilities
Helps them to build trust and relationships and we all know that prospective clients like to work with people that they know and trust
Positions the agency as being experts and having a keen understanding of the challenges and obstacles of their target group
Allows for new business beyond an agency’s location, networks and referrals.
Agencies can create a strong appeal to their target audience and the prospective clients will actually initiate the call, when they are ready and that conversation will be much further down the road than a cold call.
David Armano, AdAge, writes, “As an individual, my blog is one of the most effective manifestations of “marketing” I could have produced for myself.
Speaking from personal experience, I could not have predicted many of the outcomes I have had since launching a blog, but I believe following an“unconventional” path is a core reason behind everything that I’ve learned from it. For a couple of hundred dollars a year and a whole lot of dedication and effort it’s been priceless to me. So as I think about how times are becoming more unconventional — with unpredictable financial markets and political change in the air — I can’t help but think that it’s more important than ever to get serious about what it takes to do these types of initiatives right. It just doesn’t look like conventional marketing — it’s different. And unconventional times call for unconventional tactics.”
85 percent of all brand purchases are made by women yet only 3 percent of advertising creative directors are women. That disparity apparently isn’t happening in the Social Marketing arena.
You can actually promote your ad agency using social media. Agencies such as Off Madison Ave are generating inbound new business leads on a daily basis. Social media is affordable and allows you to test your messages and positioning with your key target audiences. You need to learn how to use these tools and allow your marketing mind to “kick-in” so that you can use them for your clients but also to understand how they can be used to market and promote your agency.
Twitter is a social media tool that I wouldn’t have thought had much application for marketing but I’m now a believer. It is a great marketing tool. I’ve put together a few resources that I thought would be helpful as you explore this tool and learn how it can be used to promote your agency.
This is a great list of Twitter Tools that can enhance your Twitter experience: 140+ Twitter Tools
One of my favorite tools is Tweeter Later. You can keep your Twitter supplied with new tweets even when your not in front of your computer. You have the potential to connect with over 2,000 persons instantly making your blog post, survey, industry or agency news viral. Just keep providing rich content and you will build your following and a great network.
Another tool that has been helpful is Tweet Scan. This tool also provides nice features such as Auto Follow and Auto Reply. Use Twitter Search to find others to connect with. Try typing in “CEO” to see how you can use this tool to build a network of potential clients.
Get others telling your story and recommending your agency.
Locomotion Creative, Nashville, TN recently conducted an online survey. Their survey explored awareness and usage of social media — including social networking, Wikis, podcasts, e-mail and blogs — was sent to Locomotion Creative’s opt-in e-mail distribution list.
“While not a scientific study per se, the survey gives us a reasonable and reliable snapshot of attitudes held by business executives about the growing importance of social media,” said S.A. Habib, founder of Locomotion Creative, a marketing firm. “It reinforces the fact that companies must continue to give increasing emphasis to social media as part of their marketing plans.”
Survey respondents acknowledged the growing importance of social media and how it impacts the way companies do business and generate sales.
The survey helps position Locomotion as being an expert and a leader in social media marketing to their key target audience. They engaged their target audience through participation in the survey and emailing the results to them. Locomotion was also able to gain publicity by launching a press release of the survey results through PRWeb which allowed for distribution:
On industry-specific Web sites and blogs
Premium placement for enhanced search results
Social bookmark links for increased Web 2.0 distribution
Welcome to my blog, FUEL LINES: The best business development tips, tactics, practices and trends to help ad agencies, PR firms and digital shops create a more clearly defined focus and differentiating business strategy.
Click here to listen to my experience using social media from an ad agency new business perspective, BlogTalkRadio interview conducted by Trey Pennington
Posted by Michael Gass 
