FUEL LINES Fueling Ad Agency New Business Through Social Media

So many new media channels, so little time!

It’s been almost a year since I launched my ad agency new business consultancy almost entirely through the use of new media. I had to become a quick study and I’ve learned to use these tools through personal experience. Doing what I recommend my clients do and practicing what I’ve been preaching.

Agency principals often asked, “Where do you find the time to read and write all those blog posts and handle work for your clients?”

Then there’s my participation in other social media such as LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, Podcasting and YouTube to name a few. 

What is my motivation? I’m a participant because I’m a believer that I must know emerging media and the changes occurring in the advertising industry for my own professional survival. We are in the midst of a communications revolution that is as dynamic as was the invention and growth of television to our culture and its impact upon the ad industry.

My approach to new media is focused. I have learned to develop a disciplined approach and that disciplined comes from defining my target audience and how best to I can be positioned to benefit them through my services. 

When I’m writing blog posts for FUEL LINES I’m writing to a target audience. Providing posts to to help them overcome their obstacles and challenges in effectively promoting their small-to mid-size ad agency. I primarily write about new business tactics, tips, trends, talents and tools. I write exclusively for my target group. That provides me with focus and direction.

Having a target audience, I know how they find my blog, what key words they tend to use. I know the places they frequent online. I know what their interest are by checking my analytics and can hone my writing to their needs. I know the amount of time they spend on my blog and even where they are located. 

My target group engages with me online and I learn more and more of what their challenges are. Just this week past week I have had interactions through email, blog post comments, Twitter, LinkedIn, FaceBook and by phone with ad agencies located in Phoenix, Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, Dallas, San Diego and even agencies in Canada, Brazil, England and New Zealand. I learn first hand the new business climate, problems and solutions.

Because I am a consultant to small-to mid-size ad agencies, that is a very narrow niche. It’s limiting. I don’t have a strong appeal outside my target group, outside of my specialty. But I do have a strong awareness and appeal that has been generated in a relatively short period of time at very little cost using new media.

But it allows me to build national, personal brand awareness and positioning of expertise that I could not have achieved using traditional advertising and marketing. 

Participating in social media is a professional survival tool for those in the advertising industry. It keeps me current, connected and informed. I’ve learned first hand how to use these emerging media tools to promote my consultancy and that has provided the knowledge to understand how to use them for my clients.

Barbara Bacci Mirque, executive vice president of the Association of National Advertisers, ANA, recently observed that “more and more advertisers are leading their agencies into new media, not the other way around,” and that “clients are the ones who are personally and professionally experimenting with new media forms and directing their agencies to look into them.” 

“When I started out in this business in the mid 80’s as an assistant product manager at The Frito-Lay Company, we expected our advertising agencies to be innovative and inform us about what was hip and cool – now it appears to be the other way around,” she wrote in the ANA blog. 

I’ve taken the attitude that I’m back in graduate school and I’m putting in the extra time to immerse myself for my personal benefit as well as being able to provide help to my clients. I confess, I’m working a lot of nights and weekends. But I can say truely that it has been worth all of the time and effort. Lead generation from new media is beyond my expectations. 

This is an exciting time to be in advertising. We are in the midst of a communication revolution. It is possible for small and midsize agencies to be ahead of the curve and make great gains for their business.

The best way to understand new media is to experience it first hand. So roll up your shirt sleeves and get involved. 

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