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

If 2009 was the year to forget for the advertising industry, what’s next?

December 31, 2009

2009 has become the year to forget for the advertising industry.

“If you look at 2009, we have not seen a convergence of so many issues and crises at the same time. It was the perfect storm,”says Maurice Levy, chief executive of Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s largest ad companies, with clients including General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola.

It’s “the worst” the business has seen since Zenith began tracking ad spending 21 years ago and “likely the worst since World War II,” says Steve King, Zenith’s global CEO. “It’s been between bad and horrific.”

Over 163,400 advertising jobs lost since the beginning of the recession.

A round-up of some predictions for the advertising industry for 2010 may be brighter but still a difficult year ahead.

For Ad Industry, 2010 Promises Scant Relief – WSJ

More Firing Than Hiring at Ad Agencies – Ad Age

Seven Predictions for 2010 from eMarketer’s CEO

‘Great Race’ Between Traditional, Digital Shops – ADWEEK

Four ways technology will change advertising in 2010 – CSMonitor.com

How To Fix A Broken Advertising Industry – Forbes

Convergence at Heart of Top 2010 Ad Trends – Nielsen

A lot of small-to mid-size ad agencies have been the exception to the gloom and doom of 2009. Many have actually prospered during this period. 2010 could be a break out year for your agency’s new business if your agency has a consistent inbound new business pipeline generated by a clear focus and appealing point of differentiation to a specific target audience.

Additional articles that may be of interest:

1 Comment | Agency Leadership, New Business Trends | Tagged: 2010 predictions, Ad Agencies, Advertising Age, Advertising Industry, adweek, eMarketer, Forbes, Maurice Levy, Nielsen, Publicis Groupe, Steve King, Wall Street Journal, Zenith Global | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

23 ad agency blogs. Select the one that best understands social media.

December 28, 2009

Examples of ad agency blogs. Review and decide which of them really “gets it” when it comes to social media. Pick-up ideas for your own blog.

23 ad agency blogs have been submitted to Fuel Lines. Vote for the best agency blog for the month of December. The winner will be featured on Fuel Lines throughout the month of January and included in the voting for ad agency blog of the year.

Cast your VOTE by Clicking Here

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

Alstin Communication’s Blog, Philadelphia, PA
ART + Science, The Partners + Simons blog, Boston, MA
B2B Ideas@Work Blog, MLT Creative, Clarkston, GA
Beloved Experiences, Beloved Experiential, Orlando, FL
Brand Rants, The Duffy Agency, Malmo, Sweden
BroganBlog, Brogan & Partners Convergence Marketing, Birmingham, MI and Cary, NC
Dana Communications blog, New York, NY
Content to Commerce, Big Fuel, New York, NY
Demi & Cooper Advertising Blog, Elgin, IL
Fluid’s Big Idea Blog, Fluid Studio, Salt Lake City, UT
FootPrints, Walker Sands Communications, Chicago, IL
Logical Juice, Media Logic blog, Albany, NY
Media Two Point {OH}!, Media Two Interactive, Raleigh, NC
MDi Media Group Blog, Mobile, AL
New Jersey Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations, a blog from Brigham and Rago Marketing Communications, Morristown, NJ
RIESTER BLOG, RIESTER Agency, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City
The Core Nation | Rants, Core-Create, Inc. Somerset, NJ
Share, BCAD Group, Toronto, CDN
Sound Bytes, Mason, Inc. Bethany, CT
Tangent, Sharpe Partners Interactive Agency, New York, NY
The Ad Contrarian, Hoffman/Lewis advertising, San Francisco, CA
TV Is Not Dead, Ad Partners, Tampa, FL
Up Your Ups, Wheeler Advertising, Arlington, TX

Leave a Comment » | Research, Social Media | Tagged: Ad Agency Blogs, Michael Gass, Social Media | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

It’s Time to Monetize Social Media for Ad Agency New Business

December 21, 2009

It’s time for agencies to get serious about social media. We’re beyond debating the validity of social and beyond just sticking our toe in the water. It’s time to monetize social media for ad agency new business.

Ad agencies will need an integrated social media strategy if they are ever going to see the payoff from their participation. An agency blog should be the central component. The place you can drive targeted online traffic through SEO, Twitter, email newsletters, Facebook and LinkedIn.

The blog becomes the “gateway” to your agency and the “face” of your agency. As important as it was to have an agency website, it is now equally important to have an agency blog.

But … having a blog isn’t something you check off your list of social media “to do list.” To have credibility and generate inbound new business leads your agency blog must be developed the right way.

10 Ad Agency Blogging Tips for New Business:

The very first question you must answer, before you create your agency’s blog is, “who is our best target audience?”Without answering this question you will find it extremely difficult to generate traffic. If your blog has not traffic, no audience, no community … then you will have NO leads.
Descriptor Statement: Clearly define what your agency’s blog is about. You can be somewhat creative with the title for your agency’s blog, but not with the subtitle, the descriptor statement. It needs to tell your readers exactly the purpose for the blog within seconds. Some examples: Fuel Lines: Fueling ad agency new business through social media, She-conomy: A guy’s guide to marketing to women, We Play in Traffic: Driving traffic and sales using retail branding and advertising.
If everyone is responsible then no one is. If the blog’s primary objective is to generate inbound new business leads then the person charged with new business for your agency should be the one to oversee the agency’s blog. Someone has to be responsible for keeping the blog’s focus, generating blog content and repurposing that content through other channels.
Keep the blog platform and template simple. The less people you have to depend upon the better. You want to be able to make changes easily and quick. As much as possible keep IT and the creative departments out of the process. You’ll need to be able to update the blog even when your agency is at its busiest. New business stuff tends to be put on the back burner, especially when the agency is busy.
Set a goal to post a minimum of 3 times per week. Its preferable to post each week day. To be consistent, your writing needs to become a ritual. Part of every business day.
Repurpose blog content. You can easily repurpose your agency’s blog content through Facebook and LinkedIn using special applications available in each platform. You can create an Excel spreadsheet of your blog post titles and URLs and upload those into a special 3rd party application called Social Oomph to repurpose blog content through Twitter accounts.
Focus on Client Benefits. Blogging keeps your agency focused on what is important to your prospective clients. It forces you talk to their benefit instead of talking about your agency. There is nothing about any of your agency’s 3 C’s … Credentials, Capabilities or Case studies. Remember, “the moment you start to sell on your agency’s blog is when you will lose your audience.”
For your agency’s blog to be effective, your text must be scannable. There is a completely different writing style for web vs print. A lot of ad agency professionals have difficulty with the transition from print to web. Nielsen Norman Group ’s research found that 79 percent of their test users always scanned any new page they came across online; only 16 percent read word-by-word. “How do users read on the web? They don’t … they scan,” is a good resource article for writing your agency’s blog.
Be Transparent. You wont appeal to everyone but the appeal can be strong of those you do. People want to work with people they know, trust and like. Social media, blogging in particular, allows you to network with hundreds of people on a daily basis. Here are some examples of agency CEOs who are blogging: Bob Hoffman, Park Howell, S.A. Habib, David Bohan, Avi Savar, Edward Boches, Steve Kleber, Stephanie Holland and Eric Brody.
You must give to get. Show that you have a genuine compassion for your audience and a willingness to help with their marketing challenges and obstacles by “giving away your thinking.” That is opposite to our agency wired brains but to have success in social media it is a must. Prospective clients are drawn by the helpful content. They understand how you think, your points of view. Then when they are ready, they’ll initiate the contact and when they do the conversation is much further down the road than if it came by way of a cold call.

There have been a number of agencies reporting new business success through the use of social media and using an agency blog as the central platform to their social media strategy. It’s time to stop playing around with social media and start to see its true potential as a tool for inbound lead generation for agency new business.

If you have any questions or additional tips, please don’t hesitate to share them in the comment section below or email them to me at michael@michaelgass.com.

Additional agency blogging articles:

4 Comments | Agency Blogs, Agency Leadership, Social Media | Tagged: ad agency blog, Blogs I Recommend, Edward Boches, Michael Gass, Social Media | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

No. 1 Ad Agency New Business Article for 2009

December 16, 2009

Out of more than 200 Fuel Lines’ articles, “Ad agency having explosive new business growth by leading with social media,” was the number 1 read article for 2009.

The Russo Group, a small ad agency (full time staff of 19) in Lafayette, Louisiana, is having explosive new business growth using and leading with social media. Instead of laying off they are hiring. 104% net profit over this time last year. New clients, all outside their market, located in California, Illinois, Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington D.C. Washington state even England. All won without having to pitch and their prospective clients called them. The hard cost for last year? $11.95.

I talk with ad agency CEOs on a daily basis. There was a lot of doom and gloom in the beginning of 2009. I understand the pain and frustration many small to midsize ad agencies are having in the midst of a global economic crisis and a revolutionary shift in the advertising industry.

Now for some good news. I think you will enjoy FUEL LINES first podcast interview with Jaci Russo, principal of The Russo Group. Jaci is impressive (more so than her interviewer). Jaci’s agency was started in February 2001. A typical small full service ad agency that had been obtaining new business through a cold calling system, referrals and networking.

Realizing a change was coming, Jaci lead her agency into social media and she is using it as a new business tool. The (updated) results:

14 new client acquisitions since January
Agency’s profits up 104%
New clients located in Texas, New York, California, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Illinois, Washington State, Washington D.C. and London. A complete reversal from prior years, where 94% of their business came from within their market. The trend is now reversed. The geographical barriers are broken down.
Almost all of the new client accounts were won without a pitch. Clients want to work with someone that they know, like and trust. Social media provides the channel to best accomplish it. Networking on steroids.
All of these prospective clients that became clients initiated the call to the agency

In the following audio taped interview with Jaci Russo, she discusses social media, its impact upon her agency’s business model, new business acquisitions and profits.

Interview with Jaci Russo

“There is a change coming … you can’t be all things to all people … people like to do business with people they like … not everybody likes us but that is okay … we’re now fishing in a global pond … we’re not laying off, we’re hiring … we don’t see a recession … clients are still spending but they are moving their budgets into different places … I feel very connected to what is going on in the world … if you have nothing else but time social media is not a bad way to invest it … social media right now is the biggest tool in the tool box for now … most results and least expensive … this is how (new business) is suppose to work.” Jaci Russo

I want to say thanks to Jaci for willingness to share and provide positive example to agency’s in these trying times.

Here are a few ways to engage Jaci online. I’m sure she would enjoy hearing from you.

Additional articles that might be of interest:

Social Media “Teaches” Ad Agencies to Promote Themselves the Right Way

Ad Agency Survey Finds Traditional New Business Methods Aren’t Working

Is it the end for cold calling as an agency new business tactic?

Social Media Impacts Ad Agency New Business

A Revolutionary Time for Ad Agency New Business

Agencies Gaining New Business Opportunities Using Social Media

Unconventional Times Call for Unconventional New Business Methods

4 Comments | Agency Blogs, New Business Trends, Social Media | Tagged: Blogs I Recommend, Jaci Russo, Social Media, The Russo Group | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

10 iPhone Apps for Ad Agency New Business

December 10, 2009

For your social media efforts to be effective for inbound lead generation, its important for you to stay connected. Apps make it easier to do so, even when you are at your busiest.

If you don’t have an iPhone I highly recommend them. I was a long time Blackberry loyalist but finally decided to make the switch. Its been worth it. The apps are a big part of the iPhones success. There are now over 200,000 and and its expected there will be over 300,000 iPhone apps before the end of 2010.

The iPhone is a handheld computer. It not only is my phone and allows me to send and receive email but also web browsing, GPS, games, scanner, radio, TV/Video monitor and much more.

I’ve assembled a list of some handy iPhone apps that allow me to be efficient as I travel and make the most of my time out of the office. Here’s my personal top 10 list:

1. WordPress app for iPhone

This iPhone app lets you write posts, upload photos, edit pages, and manage comments on your blog from your iPhone or iPod touch. With support for both WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress (2.7 or higher), you can up and going in seconds.

Available on the App Store

2. Tweetdeck app for iPhone

Tweet on the go with all your favorite TweetDeck features, including the ability to view and update Facebook, direct from your iPhone.

Available on the App Store

3. Facebook app for iPhone

Facebook for iPhone makes it easier than ever to stay connected wherever you are. You can easily update your status numerous times day once you have Facebook in your pocket. The site lets you search for people with just a few quick taps and call your friends directly from their profile. Facebook events become even easier with your iPhone, as you can quickly look up maps and directions on the go. Available on the App Store

4. DropBox app for iPhone

The free Dropbox iPhone app lets you:

Access your Dropbox on the go.
View your files on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
Download files for offline viewing.
Take photos and videos and sync them to your Dropbox.
Share links to files in your Dropbox.
View interactive photo galleries.
Sync downloaded files so they’re up-to-date.

This is one of my favorite apps. I use it to transfer documents that I’m using while traveling, and documents that I need to share. Super simple. Works easily across Mac and PC’s as well as iPhone.

Available on the App Store

5. Scanner Pro app for iPhone

Scanner Pro transforms your iPhone into portable scanner. It easily handles situations when you have printed document that should be send by email and there is no scanner nearby. You can scan multipage documents and email them or upload it to your DropBox (mentioned above). You also can transfer a scanned document to your desktop computer over Wi-Fi and, if you use iPhone 3GS, transform it into editable MS Word file with desktop OCR tool of your choice.

I never dreamed I would use this app as much as I do. It has come in very handy.

Available on the App Store

6. Evernote app for iPhone

Evernote’s claim is that it helps you remember everything. This iPhone app lets you create notes, snap photos, and record voice memos that you can then access any time — from your iPhone, computer, or the web.

Special features:

Create text, snapshot, and voice notes any time
Snap photos of white board, business cards, or wine labels and Evernote will recognize the text in the images
Turn your iPhone on its side to scroll through an endless stream of notes.
Quickly find your note by location using Evernote’s map view

Available on the App Store

7. MEO (My Eyes Only) app for iPhone

My Eyes Only is an iPhone application designed to secure your personal information by password protecting encrypted personal information that includes, web site passwords, credit card numbers, banking information, identity card information, passports, and other personal information that iPhone users want to carry with them for instant access. MEO uses secure RSA encryption to protect sensitive information from loss or theft, and protects access to all MEO personal information with user chosen passwords.

Very handy.

Available on the App Store

8. Dragon Dictation app for iPhone

Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition application that allows you to speak and instantly see your text or email messages, 5 tims faster than typing on the keyboard. You can send voice-to-text messages on your iPhone by SMS, Email or paste into any applications.

Simple to use and works surprisingly well.

Available on the App Store

9. Jeremiah Owyang’s Blog app for iPhone

Web Strategist, Jeremiah Owyang, is among the first bloggers to have his own iPhone app that extends his reach to the mobile medium. This is not only an example of what is to come from other bloggers, Jeremiah offers great insight into web strategies, interactive marketing and social technologies.

Available on the App Store

10. Advertising Age app for iPhone

The most recent news and views from Ad Age, the leading source of the advertising/marketing industry. You can read it and share it while on the go.

Available on the App Store

Additional article that may be of interest: Creating an iPhone App for Your Ad Agency’s Blog

15 Comments | New Business Tools, Social Media, Time Management | Tagged: iPhone apps, Michael Gass, Social Media | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Comment on Other Blogs to Generate Ad Agency Traffic

December 7, 2009

For inbound new business leads, you must have traffic to your site. Commenting on other blogs is a way to generate traffic to your agency’s blog.

To be part of the conversation, increase awareness that will in turn generate traffic to your agency’s blog, it is to your advantage to read and comment on other blogs. Below is just one example of how one of my blog comments has led to significant blog traffic and awareness to my site from comments I’ve made on other blogs.

I weighed in on a discussion regarding college football’s Bowl Champion Series (BCS) recent venture into social media. An Ad Age Blog, Adages, a post titled, “BCS Enters Twitter: Beat Down Like Notre Dame in a Bowl Game.” Here’s a few excerpts from that post:

“Today’s social-media lesson comes courtesy of college football’s Bowl Championship Series: If you know your product is universally loathed, Twitter is not the place for you.

The BCS — better known as the cartel that prevents college football from choosing its champion in a rational way — opened a Twitter account this morning. Shortly after taking to the field, it had three tweets, a couple hundred followers and, well, let’s just say the end result was reminiscent of what’s happened when media- and BCS-darling Notre Dame (another gripe against the system) actually made it to a bowl game the last few years.” Posted by Jeremy Mullman and Ken Wheaton.

“If the balloon boy dad set up a Twitter account, even he would not draw the level of venom @InsidetheBCS is right now.” Sports Illustrated columnist Stewart Mandel

After following @InsidetheBCS and checking out the conversation for myself, I followed up with my comments to Jeremy and Ken’s post. Mine was a different point of view from theirs …

“I’m not a proponent of the current BCS system by any means. But after reading your article I decided to start following @InsidetheBCS on Twitter. They may have had a rough start out of the blocks but today it seems to be some genuine dialogue going on. It is much more civil than I expected and whoever is Twittering for the BCS is doing a good job by not being defensive. I think you’ve got to credit them for taking their lumps and participating in the conversation. It to early to say this was a fiasco or a win but if they continue to engage and grow their audience as they’ve done today I think they will be the better for it.

One of their responses … “@davidburn Didn’t expect to be welcomed with open arms, but we felt it was important to join the conversation.”

Soon after my comments were posted, they were read by Ad Age columnist, Rich Thomaselli who sent me this note:

Michael,

Saw your comment on the BCS stuff online at adage.com and wanted to reach out to you. I am doing a more expanded story for Monday’s print magazine and was hoping you could tackle a couple of questions more in depth and drop a reply to me at some point by this afternoon.

1) If your product is universally hated, should you even be in social media?

2) Ari Fleischer’s PR firm …. good or bad move?

3) Is the real issue here about the amount of money on the line, both the guarantee from the BCS bowls to the schools and the $500 million from ESPN (and more from other sponsors) ? It would seem to me a playoff would generate even more sponsor money.

Any thoughts and insights are greatly appreciate.

Best,

Rich

Richard P. Thomaselli

Advertising Age

I replied my response to Rich’s questions. His article was soon published in Advertising Age: Wondering What Not to Do When It Comes to Social Media? Learn From BCS. It included this brief quote from me:

“According to social media/new business consultant Michael Gass, president of Michael Gass Consulting, Birmingham, Ala., “If they are genuinely searching for ways the BCS can improve through dialogue, that will be evident. If they try to use social media as a propaganda platform, you will know it soon enough.”

From the comment I left on the Ad Age blog that led to the quote above has generated excellent traffic and attention to my site. Commenting on other blogs also:

Develops networks and relationships
Builds your credibility
Creates links to your site
Expands your online footprint

Additional articles that may be of interest. The top 10 social media articles of 2009:

10 Comments | Agency Blogs, Social Media | Tagged: Ad Age, Ad Agencies, Adages blog, Advertising Age, BCS, blog traffic, blogs, Bowl Champion Series, Jeremy Mullman, Ken Wheaton, Michael Gass, new business, Rich Thomaselli, Social Media, Stewart Mandel | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Blog of the Month for November: Swedish Ad Agency’s Blog is Selected

December 6, 2009

For the first time, an ad agency outside of the US has been selected as Fuel Lines ad agency blog of the month.

The Duffy Agency, an independent, advertising agency located in Malmö, Sweden, the agency’s blog , Methodical Madness was selected as Fuel Lines’ Ad Agency Blog of the Month for November with 31% of 439 votes cast. Dana Communications blog, New York, NY, came in second with 17% of the votes.

Sean Duffy and Hank Fågerstedt founded The Duffy Agency in 2001. The Duffy Agency is part of the Transworld Advertising Agency Network (TAAN) TAAN is an association of independent advertising agencies from around the world and the second TAAN agency’s blog (Sonnhalter: Tradesmen Insights) to have been selected this year.

Agency founder Sean Duffy said that they use Methodical Madness to focus on tactics. The agency has a second blog called Brand Rants that focuses more on strategy.

Follow The Duffy Agency on Twitter.

Check out these Agency Blog of the Month winners:

October: Ad Mavericks

September: Brand Cottage

August: AgencyNet

July: The Russo Group

June: 919 Marketing

May: SONNHALTER

April: The Creative Department

March: Sapient Interactive

February: Razorfish

January: Zapwater

Additional articles that may be of interest:

Leave a Comment » | Agency Blogs, Social Media | Tagged: Ad Agency Blogs, Dana Communications, Malmo, Social Media, Sweden, TAAN, The Duffy Agency | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

10 Most Popular Blog Posts About Blogging for New Business

December 4, 2009

A blog is now as important to your agency as was your agency’s Website. The blog is becoming the “gate-way” and the face of the agency as its Website becomes more the agency’s brochure. Here’s some excellent resources to help your agency blog for new business.

Zemalf.com is the personal blog of Antti Kokkonen. He has assembled a great list of 42 most popular blog post about blogging in 2009. The posts on Antti’s list were picked from Digg, Delicious, Twitter and other social networks, based on the number of “votes” the posts have received in those services.

I perused through this list to find the top 10 that are most relevant and helpful for your agency’s blog:

Click on the following link for the entire list of the: 42 Most Popular Blog Posts About Blogging

Four people that I read and highly recommend as a resource for blogging:

Additional articles that may be of interest:

1 Comment | New Business Tips, New Business Trends, Research | Tagged: Ad Agencies, ad agency blog, Antti Kokkonen, new business, Social Media | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

2010: The future of magazines and ad agency promotion

December 3, 2009

Online resources such as Mashable help you stay ahead of the upcoming communications trends that will impact your clients as well a agency new business. An excellent read and video was posted by Mashable writer, Stan Schroeder, on the possibilities of Apple’s Tablet on the future of magazines.

This Sports Illustrated demo is very impressive and deserves a look. Its amazing that magazines are already anticipating the possibilities of a kindle version that could become mainstream.

This can also generate some ideas for how to using this technology to introduce your agency to your best prospective clients. Lots of possibilities for agency promotion here.

Go to the following link to read Stan’s entire article: Time Inc. Shows Us Their Idea of the Future of Magazines [Video]

4 Comments | New Business Tools, New Business Trends, Promotion | Tagged: Apple Tablet, Blogs I Recommend, magazine, Mashable, Sports Illustrated, Stan Schroeder | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Study: When it comes to advertising experience matters

December 2, 2009

A special note to the small-to midsize ad agencies: This post has helpful intel that will relate to your clients but I want to stress, keep in mind, that this information relates just as well to your agency. This is a prime time for agency new business. According to Forrester consumers now spend nearly as much time online as they do watching TV. Just think of the possibilities of reaching your best prospective clients online.

Razorfish “Digital Brand Experience Survey” shows that even though consumers are more empowered than ever before, they still desire a relationship with a brand, and a brand has a major say in that relationship. It’s just that brands need to shift their thinking from one-way advertising to two-way consumer experiences if they want to take advantage of the attributes of the digital world.

I’m grateful to my good friend David Deal who passed on this Razorfish research and his key takeaways:

Consumers are not shutting out brands – they’re interacting with them. 77% of consumers surveyed have watched a commercial or video advertisement on YouTube with some frequency; 69% have provided feedback to a brand, either through a website or a third-party service like GetSatisfaction.com; 65% have played a branded browser-based game. Moreover, 70% have participated in a brand-sponsored contest or sweepstakes.
Digital experiences create customers. The overwhelming majority of consumers who actively engage with a brand in digital fashion are much more inclined to purchase products and recommend the brand to others.
Digital can make or break a brand. 65% of consumers say that a digital experience, either positive or negative, changed their opinion of a brand. Of those, 97% said that their experience influenced whether they eventually purchased from the brand.
This is the year of the brand fan. According to this study, 40% of consumers have friended a Facebook brand page, and 26 % have followed a brand on Twitter.

Click Here for a PDF version of the report

3 Comments | New Business Tips, New Business Tools, New Business Trends, Social Media | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass

Tiny Ad Agency Generates Big Interest and Opportunities Through Social Media

December 1, 2009

Forbes Selects: Thirty Women Entrepreneurs to Follow on Twitter

Last year Holland + Holland, Birmingham, AL, celebrated its 25th anniversary. This was your typical small, full service advertising agency. Excellent creative that was strategically based with a staff that had great chemistry that was fun to work with. Sound familiar? Then they added social media to their new business marketing mix and the results have been revolutionary.

The first thing social media allowed them to do was to easily discover and hang their hat on a unique and appealing position that has in turn created a national interest for this tiny agency.

For the first time in their history, Holland + Holland has been invited to participate in two national pitches in 2009. Their president is now frequently called upon to speak across the country and author guest columns and posts. Her blog, She-conomy, has been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal and she was recently named to Forbes Thirty Women Entrepreneurs To Follow on Twitter. Social media has allowed Stephanie and her agency to compete in a much larger arena without geographical limitations. Their agency’s positioning gives companies a reason to seek them out.

Check out Stephanie’s blog: She-conomy: A Guy’s Guide to Marketing to Women

What is appealing about your agency’s positioning? Is it unique? Differentiating? Does it give clients a reason to seek you out?

Social media allows you to more easily position your agency without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Create and hone your positioning WITH engagement from your best target audience.

Input from your prospective clients, your target audience, is the missing ingredient in agency branding. They are the judge and the jury as to what they find appealing about your agency brand. Social media helps you create a positioning that is of clear benefit to them, not agency’s capabilities and credentials.

Additional articles that may be of interests:

3 Comments | Agency Blogs, Agency Branding, Social Media | Permalink
Posted by Michael Gass