Being an agency person in the world of Social Media can be an interesting journey. On the one hand, I am out here learning so that I can offer the best advice possible to our clients. But then recommendations come through my Twitter stream that are geared towards the “do it yourself” mentality. This places me in an untenable situation. I can try to argue that something that works decently and is super duper cheap is not really good for you, or I can say, “Hey, try this out everybody!” And talk our agency out of potential projects.
The problem with this dichotomy is that it makes it seem like agencies are job shops. We are all about making stuff, right? We make ads, we make websites, we make business cards. If you can find a way to do those things, you don’t need an agency. Right?
The problem is that the word “agency,” like so many other words in this rapidly evolving age, is no longer the same thing that it was even five years ago. There are still agencies out there that really do just focus on project work, but that is not the whole story. Agencies, as I have said before, are really in the service industry. We are like the folks who own your favorite restaurant. Yes, we make the food you eat. But we also can tell you what wine will go best with that meal. We can tell you how to warm it up so it tastes just as good tomorrow. We can tell you what dessert will be the perfect follow-up. Yes, we also enjoy getting paid for doing that stuff. Just like your favorite restaurant.
I’ve only ever worked for one agency – my family’s agency. So I can only speak to what we do and how we do it. There are some things we can do that you might not be thinking about at all. And that last part – that’s why the “do it yourself” mentality keeps me up at night. It’s not about the fact companies can now do a lot of things themselves. It’s about the fact that those projects are not the whole story. There’s a whole world beyond just creating a sell sheet. Here’s a small sample of what we do. How many of these things are on your radar?
1. Analyze publications with a fine-toothed comb, including examining the folio, looking at the BPA statements, and talking to publishers and sales reps about potential concerns
2. Take calls from publications who either want you to advertise or maybe who want to include you in editorial
3. Handle invoicing tied to your advertising campaign
4. Make sure you are protected against vendor mistakes, like a magazine running your ad by mistake and then trying to charge you
5. Copywriting – for anything
6. Product Research, including assisting in creating focus groups, industry research, etc
7. Connect with vendors that will benefit you, from people who sell premiums to printers to videographers and voice specialists
8. Consult with you on whether a company or product should be purchased
9. Offer constructive criticism on a project
10. Offer ideas on how to improve customer satisfaction
11. Offer ideas on how to improve employee satisfaction
12. Create materials for your sales meetings
13. Consult on the development of your e-newsletter
14. Execute your e-newsletter
15. Conduct research to see if Social Media is right for you
16. Help you implement your Social Media Plan
17. Recommend trade shows to attend
18. Recommend trade show promotional concepts
19. Orchestrate corporate outings
20. Create promotional materials tied to corporate outings
21. Keep you updated on what is happening in the industry and with your competition
22. Alert you when you encounter good or bad buzz
23. Plan marketing campaigns for and with you
24. Implement marketing campaigns for and with you
25. Research how your competition is using their websites
26. Develop websites that will make sense to your customers and that will outshine your competition
27. Consult on Search Engine Optimization strategies
28. Consult on web hosting
29. Consult on e-commerce stores, including issues like taxation and how to calculate shipping
30. Keep you updated on the newest goings-on in the world of technology and marketing
31. Offer product concepts
32. Assist with budgeting
33. Consult on international marketing
34. Media placement
35. Ad Development
36. Recommend campaign measurement strategies
37. Implement/monitor campaign measurement strategies
38. Recommend appropriate paper stock and printing methodologies
40. Represent your company via meetings with publication representatives and other personnel tied to your industry
41. Recommend topics for news releases
42. Develop and send news releases
43. Create/recommend opportunities for article inclusion in key publications
44. Make sure your marketing is remaining cohesive and coherent
45. Monitor new industries that might be relevant to you
46. Develop campaign and corporate tag lines
47. Help your company build towards a bigger future through research and planning
48. Organize your content in a sensible, easy to navigate way
49. Proofread everything tied to your company
50. Assist you in anything else you might need to make your company grow