May « 2009 « FUEL LINES Fueling Ad Agency New Business Through Social Media

38 Ad Agency Blogs, Vote for Your Favorite for May

May 27, 2009

It’s time for you to vote for your favorite agency blog for the month of May. 38 ad agency blogs have been submitted to FUEL LINES. The winner will be featured on FUEL LINES throughout the month of June.

These are the ad agency blogs submitted for the month of May:

A Ride Uptown, Mascola/Group, New Haven, CT

B&A blog, Columbus, OH

Binary Pulse Social Media blog, Costa Mesa, CA

BINGenuity, Bing Design, Yellow Springs, OH

Blackhouse Creative blog, Greensboro/Winston Salem, NC

Blip, Martino Flynn agency, Rochester, NY

Blue Collar Branding, Locomotion Creative, Nashville, TN

Bolin Digital Blog, Bolin Marketing, Minneapolis, MN

Brains on Fire Blog, Greenville, SC

Brunner Digital Blog, Brunner Digital, Pittsburg, PA

Contact Media Blog, Contact Media, Tampa, FL

Creating A Brighter Shade of Green Marketing, Park&Co Phoenix, AZ

Cure for Common Marketing, Jackson-Dawson Marketing Solutions, Greenville, SC

Demi & Cooper Advertising blog, Elgin, IL

Design Buzz, Design Matters Creative Group, Lake Forest, CA

Direct Dispatch, Haggin Marketing, Mill Valley, CA

Fluid Studio’s Big Idea Blog, Bountiful, UT

Free Advertising Candy, EVOK Advertising, Lake Mary, FL

Healthy Conversations, Trajectory, Morristown, NJ

Karasma Media blog, Harlem, NY

Koroberi agency blog, Chapel Hill, NC

ID-ology blog, ID Branding, Portland, OR

Making Great Places, LWT Communications, Montgomery, AL

Mind Finds, KJA Communications Group, Alexandria, LA

MLT Creative blog, Atlanta, GA

New Ideas, The New Group, Portland, OR

Paramore | Redd blog, Nashville, TN

Razor Branding, The Russo Group, Lafayette, LA

Redpepper blog, Nashville, TN

She-conomy, Holland + Holland, Birmingham, AL

Silver Square blog, Silver Square agency, Fishers, IN

SPURspectives, Spur Communications, Overland Park, KS

Stream of Consciousness, True Creek agency, Alexandria, VA

Tidbits Blog, The Yaffe Group, Southfield, MI

Tradesmen Insights, SONNHALTER, Cleveland, OH

Underground Blog, The Creative Underground, Boca Raton, FL

VBP Out Sourcing, Glen Burnie, MD

WOMENK!ND , Womenkind agency, New York, NY

4 Comments | Social Media | Tagged: ad agency blog | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

How Do I Keep Up with Social Media?

May 17, 2009

The first step … in order to keep up … is to have the right mindset.

“How do you keep up?” That is one of the most common questions I’m asked from agency CEOs and executives when I conduct “New Business Through Social Media” workshops around the country.

One of the main reasons agency principals haven’t been as inclined to participate in social media is that they are already over extended with little time for anything additional in their professional or personal lives. When they make time to participate and understand social, is when relent that it isn’t going to go away and will continue to impact our industry. What will make the social media pill easier to swallow is the understanding the multiplicity of benefits it provides.

Social media only becomes a priority when you understand the multiplicity of benefits generated from it to you and your agency.

Here are my top five benefits of Social media from an ad agency perspective:

A Professional Enrichment Tool. This one benefit alone makes its it worth the time investment and believe me it is time intensive. The past couple of years I felt as though I were working on another graduate degree. But I can tell you the time I’ve devoted to a better understanding of and participating in social media has enriched my professional life. Social media is a tool that keeps me ahead of the curve with the rapid changes in communications and how those changes impact our industry. It brings focus, direction and discipline to my continued education.
New Business Tool. Having spent most of my career in advertising in new business development I can tell you that social media is the most efficient new business tool that I have ever used. It is like being in heaven to those who are charged with creating and maintaing an agency’s new business pipeline. Prospective clients call you, that initial conversation is much further down the road, your best prospects feel they already know you and when they make that call they are usually ready to do business. Social media teaches agencies the way they should have been doing new business all along. Creating a social media new business program is affordable, efficient and is easily maintained during the busiest times at the agency.
Branding Tool. Most agencies seem to be in a perpetual state of re-branding. It is one of the most difficult task they undertake and few agencies have done it successfully for themselves. They tend to be their own worst client. Social media is the best branding tool I’ve ever used. To be successful with social media, generate appeal, build a community of prospective clients and inbound lead generation forces agencies to answer some basic questions they haven’t answered in the past such as, Who is their best target audience? What is their most appealing point of differentiation?
Feedback Tool. Input from an agency’s target audience is one of the missing ingredients in their branding. It is difficult to develop the right kind of positioning and messaging without knowing what is truly appealing to your audience. Social media provides instant feedback from your target audience as to what is appealing and what is not in regards to your agency’s brand appeal.
Networking Tool. Agencies depend upon personal networks for survival. Social media is networking on steroids. Social media provides extremely efficient networking opportunities. It isn’t always necessary to attend lots of events to network for new business. If you have an mobile device or laptop you can network anytime and anyplace with lots more people than ever before. It is becoming possible to maintain connectivity from anywhere. I’ve been been able to stay connected and maintain my networks whether I’m in my car (someone else, driving of course), on a boat, riding in a plane or a train.

Social media provides such an efficient use of time that will pay big dividends on investment that time that makes it easier, to not only make room for it, but give it the priority it deserves.

19 Comments | Social Media, Time Management | Tagged: Ad Agencies, Blogs I Recommend, Michael Gass, Time Management | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

SlideShare: Fueling Ad Agency New Business Through Social Media

May 14, 2009

This is a recent presentation that I gave, how ad agencies can create a new business program through social media. A lead generation program that :

Teaches agencies how to do new business the way they should have been doing it all along
Is consistent and sustainable when the agency is at it’s busiest
Differentiates agencies from their competition
Creates a strong appeal among their best target audience
Is extremely efficient and continues to pay dividends from the initial time investment

Additional articles that may be of interest:

6 Comments | New Business Trends, Social Media | Tagged: agency promotion, Blogs I Recommend, lead generation, Michael Gass, midsize ad agencies, slideshare, small ad agencies | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Ad Agency CEOs Are Going Back to School for New Business

May 12, 2009

There are two questions that senior agency executives are going to have to answer: When will you make the decision to go back to school and how will you keep up?

This post is written primarily for ad agency CEOs. I already had great empathy for the pressures you were under, but now you are being swamped with more from the current economic crisis and the tsunami impact social media is having upon the advertising industry.

But, there’s no way around it, ad agency CEOs will have to go back to school. The big question becomes, “How will you keep up?”

If you don’t know who Jeremiah Owyang is you should. He is a Web Strategist, an Analyst for Forrester Research, an early adopter and leader in social media and author of the blog Web Strategy by Jeremiah. I thought I was burning the candles at both ends until I read this in one of Jeremiah’s recent posts where he said that he is often working by 3 am:

“How do I Keep Up? This is one of the most common questions I get from folks, or a variant: “Do you sleep?” or “Do you have a family?”

I can answer succinctly: “I don’t, in shifts, and yes… I think.”

I’ve dedicated my life to how the web helps companies connect with customers, it’s something I knew I wanted to do for many years, I’m lucky I fell into my passion. It comes with costs however, I’m out of shape, stressed, I don’t sleep well, and my blood pressure is up.

I didn’t get to bed last night until after midnight and I was up reading and writing by 5 am, I thought I my schedule was rigorous until I read that Jeremiah was up 2 hours earlier than me!

We are in the midst of a communication’s revolution. With the economy in the tank and the explosive popularity of social media, we’ve also been hit by the “perfect storm.” The advertising industry is in a state of flux. Our business model is being turned upside down and inside out. The way we acquire new business is completely changing. Things are changing so rapidly. We haven’t made it through the first big wave and hear rumblings that mobile media will explode in 2010.

Brian Solis, Principal of FutureWork, an award winning PR and New Media agency is one of those emerging new leaders wrote, “Media is experiencing a textbook Darwinian definition of survival of the fittest … Media will re-emerge as a more dynamic, nimble, and innovative medium.

Mainstay brands will persevere, but the cost of their education to learn how to compete for the future will be great. Some will wait until it’s too late only to awaken to a daunting challenge of creating and earning presence and relevance in a new economy.

How are you as an agency principal going to lead your agency and clients if you don’t find a way to keep up?

John Sonnhalter is CEO of the SONNHALTER Agency in Cleveland. A Top 100 B-to-B agency whose clients target audience are professional tradesmen in construction, industrial and MRO markets. John says, “All my clients are talking about is social media, blogging and Twittering. They are looking to me for leadership. The only way to do that was to experience it for myself.” So, at 60 John has become a prolific writer. He’s created his own blog, Tradesmen Insights. You can also follow John on Twitter or connect with him on Facebook or LinkedIn.

John explained to his wife that he was about to go through an intensive learning period. Going back to school while running an agency. The last time I talked with John, he and his wife were still together!

I could give you dozens of examples of other agencies that are completely revamping and retooling. So the good thing is, you are not alone, we’re all back in school.

I thought you might enjoy this short interview of Jeremiah Owyang to learn more how he is keeping up being an analyst over the fastest moving industry in business.

In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be sharing practical tips for How to Keep Up, particularly with agency new business through social media. You’re invited to share your tips and experiences as well.

2 Comments | New Business Trends, Social Media | Tagged: ad agency CEOs, Blogs I Recommend, Brian Solis, Forrester Research, FutureWork, jeremiah owyang, new media, Social Media | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

What to do if your ad agency isn’t digitally prepared for new business

May 11, 2009

A challenge to senior agency executives: Create your own digital apprenticeship program.

Tim Williams, author of Take A Stand For Your Brand, encourages agency execs to assure their personal relevance in the marketing communications industry. He writes,

“Increasingly clients are turning to agencies not only for help but for thought leadership in digital marketing, and only the most progressive agencies are in a position to deliver it. Agency principals recognize the urgency and importance of the shift to digital, but are personally unprepared for the change.”

Tim suggests a solution to the problem: Create a self-study program that provides a fast track understanding of digital marketing and adapting your agency to the new digital landscape.

He says, “Think about the digitally-talented people you know and you’ll realize most of them are self-taught. They took an interest in digital and learned it on their own. You can do the same, especially because everything you need to know about digital is online, and most of it is free at sites ranging from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) to ClickZ.”

Key learning outcomes that could be achieved:

Have a sound understanding of the general principles of digital advertising
Be conversant with relevant technologies, devices and opportunities for digital communication campaigns
Understand how to integrate digital into the overall marketing mix
Have insight into the operational and logistical challenges that face both the agency and clients in adding digital to the marketing offering
Have increased confidence and inspiration to recommend digital solutions to your clients and prospective clients

Read the entire article: A Digital Apprenticeship For Senior Agency Executives

3 Comments | New Business Tips, New Business Tools, New Business Trends | Tagged: agency principals, apprenticeship, digital marketing, Ignition, Tim Williams | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

A Great New Tool for Ad Agency Branding

May 7, 2009

Believe it or not, a blog is the best tool I have ever used to help ad agencies create an appealing brand for new business.

Most agencies that I talk with are either redesigning their website or are in a perpetual state of rebranding themselves. Both are a struggle for the majority of agencies.

Creating an agency blog can simplify an agency’s branding process and allows them to answer the tough questions “without throwing the baby out with the bath water.”

I have found that most agency principals are very uneasy to limit their appeal to a narrowly targeted audience through their agency’s website. I fully understand their concerns, fears and reservations. But I’ve learned that they are much more willing to use an agency blog to create appeal for a very specific prospective client audience, primarily because they are not being asked to “put all of their eggs in one basket.”

How can a blog be used as an agency branding tool?

To create a blog that generates traffic you have to first identify your audience. The broader the audience the harder it is to build traffic.

Here are a some examples of target audiences identified by agencies that are being reached through a blog:

Male advertisers who should be marketing to women
Advertisers who market to moms
Corporations who want an environmental marketing component
The legal industry
Health and healthy lifestyle brands
Reaching professional tradesmen
B to B technology companies
Manufactures who want to reach blue collar workers

The first step in branding is also claiming a target audience. Agencies have refused to identify their audience. In my opinion that is the main reason they have such difficulty with their own branding.

Agencies do exactly the opposite of what they recommend their clients do:

The majority of ad agencies try to appeal to everyone. The result, they appeal to no one.

Secondly a blog has to have appeal to its target audience if it is to generate traffic. You can’t dictate what is appealing to them, your audience becomes the judge and jury. They decide. It’s up to you to figure it out.

A blog provides a platform for input from an agency’s target audience which I think has been a missing component of an agency’s branding and makes it more very difficult process.

Without input from your audience you it is difficult to tell whether or not your positioning and messaging is on target.

Trying to create an agency’s brand, without input from their primary audience, is like shooting an arrow into the side of a barn and then painting a bulls-eye target around it. When it comes to creating an appealing brand for new business, a good number of agencies couldn’t even hit the side of the barn.

I listen to “agency speak” every day. A commonality of agency descriptive language that agency CEO Bob Hoffman, The Ad Contrarian, would say is mostly “bull-shit.” If prospective clients aren’t also saying it as well, they think it.

Thirdly, to build a blog that will generate significant interest and traffic you must become a specialist. A generalist will not have any appeal and will be drowned out by all of the crowded clutter of communications online. You aren’t the one who decides whether or not you are a specialist. Your audience has the deciding vote of whether or not you are perceived and elevated to the specialist rank.

A specialist is highly regarded and respected. People are willing to travel great distances, pay a premium for their services and recommend them to others.

Agencies will always have trouble creating their brand if they refuse to put a stake in the ground and declare how they are different from the rest. And let me save you some time by telling you what is not differentiating about your agency:

Full service
Comprehensive solutions
Great ideas
Results oriented
Integrated marketing approach
Wide range of experience
Diverse portfolio
Strategic
Great chemistry
Provide your best people
Award winning creative

Fourth, a necessary component that provides reason for people to come back to your blog often is the benefit. An agency doesn’t demonstrate that they “get” social media by having a blog. If their blog is about agency capabilities, client case studies, awards and other accomplishments they don’t get it and they will fail at trying to build a community of prospective clients.

Social media is not about your agency it is all about your audience. What are their challenges, obstacles and needs?

Writing for a blog teaches you to always lead with client benefits rather than agency capabilities. This is also a lesson for agency branding. Your agency’s brand needs to have relevancy, a functional benefit to your prospective clients.

Fifth, to grow your agency’s blog you need metrics and analytics. I’m receiving instant feedback from my audience as to what content and messages resonates with them and what doesn’t and can make changes to improve. If you have no measurement you are shooting from the hip, depending upon your intuition which often can be wrong.

Your agency’s brand, if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.

You need to recognize that your prospective client audience is central to the existence of your agency’s brand. A blog provides a unique way to engauge your target audience and have some reasonable measurement of your appeal, perceptions, quality of relationships and commitment toward your agency’s brand.

A blog will provide you with a more realistic “outside-in view” of your agency’s brand.

12 Comments | Agency Branding, New Business Trends, Social Media | Tagged: ad agency branding, Blog, Michael Gass, new business | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

100 Facebook Tools for Ad Agency New Business

May 5, 2009

Facebook now has over 200 million active users. More than 100 million users log on to Facebook at least once a day.

The INSIDECRM blog provides a comprehensive list of 100 tools and tips that will help your agency to maximize the marketing opportunities available through Facebook.

This is a great resource list that will make Facebook part of your agency’s social media marketing mix for new business.

Learn why Facebook has rapidly become the go-to networking site for marketers.
Learn about the current and future advertising opportunities on Facebook.
Learn about the endless ways you can use Facebook to promote your agency at no costs. Use your creativity and marketing mind to maximize these features.
Learn about the tools and applications, add-on features for Facebook, that will allow you to customize your profile and fan pages to build relationships with agency clients and prospective clients.
Learn how to narrow down your target audience through researching Facbook’s demographics.
Learn to taylor your social media new business strategy through”How-to Guides” to help fully utilize Facebook.
Learn the benefits of Facebook for small-to mid-size ad agencies from this list of tools and tips.

Bookmark and read, The Facebook Marketing Toolbox: 100 Tools and Tips to Tap the Facebook Customer Base

1 Comment | Facebook, New Business Tips, Social Media | Tagged: ad agency, Blogs I Recommend, Facebook, Facebook tools, INSIDECRM, Social Media, social media marketing | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

The Best First Steps into Social Media for Ad Agency CEOs

May 4, 2009

If you are a advertising agency principal and just getting immersed in social media, try this two step approach that will accelerate your learning curve.

I’m in Chicago this week conducting a couple of social media/new business workshops for ad agencies. I’m working almost exclusively with agency CEOs to help them get their head around social media and understanding why it’s such a great tool for:

Professional Enrichment
Research
Agency Branding
Agency New Business

Social media can be a bit overwhelming at first. To help them to “get it” quickly I simplify the process by having them do only two things for the first 30 days: Read and Write.

First, I show them the importance of developing a discipline to their online reading, making it strategic and organized by using a RSS Reader (RSS = Real Simple Syndication). I prefer using Google Reader. I make it a habit by starting each day by opening my RSS Reader. I have feeds from blogs, news sources, research, weather, sports all coming to one place.

Instead of constantly searching for what I need I have taken the time to have it all come in conveniently to one place and organized in folders. I can quickly share some of the best material through a number of tools that I have added to my browser bar without having to leave my Reader.

When I first started using a RSS Reader it was a bit awkward at first but I realized the potential to save time so I persevered. It has been a tremendous help.

Secondly, I coach them through the first 30 days writing for a blog. I’ll share more about agency blogging in a separate post and include more details of my philosophy and practical tips. Here I just want to stress the importance of writing.

I truly believe that you don’t know what you know until you write it down.

From my experience working for and with ad agencies through the years, most are terrible communicators. You are in an elevator going from the first to sixth floor with an agency principal and ask what their agency does. There aren’t many that can give you a clear concise answer.

I’ve found that writing regularly for your blog:

Helps you to become a better communicator
Guides you through the maze of social media
Accelerates your learning curve
Gives you the ability to confidently communicate it to your staff and to your clients

The only way you are going to “get social” is to do it. It has to be experienced first hand.

The vast number of agency principals aren’t leading in social. They are playing catch up. These two things, reading and writing, are the best ways to get you to where you need to be, in a position of leadership for your staff and clients.

Additional posts that may be of interest: