Mad Men is a huge success partly because of what it’s selling us: nostalgia. Watching episodes of Mad Men offers us a glimpse into bustling Madison Avenue of the 1960’s and gives us a hankering for the easier marketing days of yore. The surprising thing is many agencies are still operating as if they were stuck in 1962. Oh sure, the tools have changed with the arrival of social media and digital but old ideas, ways of doing things and corporate systems die hard.
photo credit: the Italian voice via photopin cc
More and more as agencies continue to serve as “yes men” to the brands they work for. Or is it “work with”? Either way, it’s way past the time for an agency to make a bold move and tell a client “We can’t execute the campaign this way because it will make no sense to our audience. Let’s try it this way because research and experience shows this is how we need to connect with those influencers and drive this call to action.” Public relations agencies continue to fumble when it comes to social media and PR. There is no excuse for this to be the case. One reason why this keeps happening is because the paradigm has shifted and the agencies have not (or refused) to keep up with how to effectively leverage new and social media in their campaigns. A winning tool Don Draper didn’t have in his arsenal is the modern day town crier—the blogger.
Bloggers are continually bombarded by promotions and goods by well-meaning PR agents and agencies. The agents and agencies in many cases might be sending the same products to the same bloggers with results month after month. When searching for the right blogger to sell products or services, agencies are confusing popularity with influence. Agencies are notorious for looking at shallow factors such as Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections, or Klout scores. While these factors may help to provide some background into the blogger, these factors alone do not mean the blogger is in indeed influential or can persuade his/her audience to execute on the call to action.
Therefore, what can help increase the brand/blogger connection? Research into social media and blogging has told us time and again coupons and giveaways can be successful in the short-term but these gimmicks do not necessarily translate into new customer acquisition or long-term loyalty. Brands could extend the shelf-life of their offerings by connecting with the right bloggers who nurture their ties to the target markets the brand is trying to tap into. This may sound overly simplistic at first glance but it really means being choosy and having standards in regards to first, which agency is awarded AOR (agency of record); and second, which bloggers and social media influencers the Brand invests in. For instance, number of Twitter followers shouldn’t mean everything. Anyone can buy followers these days. More importantly what’s the blogger’s track record of engagement and authenticity? How does the blogger handle disclosure? How does the blogger write negative reviews or stories? Are they sensational or factual? Does the blogger nurture conversations around the brands which s/he advocates? These answers matter depending on the type of results you are looking to accomplish. But the answers will help agencies and brands seek out the right type of blogger to help persuade the audience.
Brands need to be wary of agencies that are faking it till they make it. Even some of the Big Agencies are notoriously fumbling their way through the social media landscape. These Agencies have slapped up a shingle promoting their social media skillset but these agencies still deserve an ‘F’. Agencies are saying “Yes!” for fear of losing business instead of saying “Our recommendation would be to approach it this way…” Now more than ever, Brands must be vigilantly protecting their brand reputation and research and development.
Brands would be wise to push to for more experiential events and learning activities to educate bloggers on their particular unique selling propositions. These PR outreach programs may be a larger investment but it is also incumbent on Brands to hold Agencies accountable for how their billable hours are being spent. Investing in long-term relationships with bloggers who become Brand Advocates will prove to be less expensive in the long-run. The Bloggers turned Brand Advocates will tell your story with passion and real-life examples of how your product or service made their lives better or easier. Agencies pushing traditional marketing and PR boundaries into innovative and proven territories can drive integrated success stories that build an educated and vocal brand advocate basecamp. This is the modern PR dream that can be a reality for business and brands.
@susie_parker
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I love this post Susie, your comment " Agencies are saying “Yes!” for fear of losing business instead of saying “Our recommendation would be to approach it this way…”" in my opinion is one of the major reason's normally white hat people (agencies etc) are partaking in black hat practices. They have to show those clients fast, phenomenal results. I learned that lesson some time ago, if I have to say goodbye, I will. SoMe takes time and tons of effort, there is no magic pill or short cut. Man I am sharing this one for sure…EXCELLENT job my friend…
Gerry, I really appreciate your comment. It's a tough thing to stand up and call out what's happening across the industry but someone (we at Steamfeed have been leading the charge on being honest about the challenges our industry is facing) has to do it. And what seems to be getting lost is that the brands are paying money to agencies who don't deserve it. It could be well spent in another way and drive far better and more lucrative results.
I really enjoyed your post Susie. As a former Advertising Agency guy I would like to add my opinion on why agencies struggle with bloggers and social media. It all comes down to CONTROL. Agencies are very protective of the brands they work on, they think they are the only ones who can herd consumers in the direction of their client's products. We all know this is no longer true, bloggers and social media has shown that every person has the opportunity to share their voice. Brands are successful when they are supported by brand advocates and brand ambassadors, from check-ins on Foursquare to liking pages on FB individual consumers are broadcasting their brand preferences. The consumer voice has never been stronger, and this scares agency directors. The lack of control of their client's consumers keeps them up at night. By teaming with the right type of blogger, they jeopardize their influence and control. In the world of social influence, transparency is vital. The other issue is billing. The agency model was built on dictating paid media, the manipulated research and statistics about a client's percieved target audience was built to sell profitable media placement and billable production hours. All of this adds up to controlling not only the message but the vehicle as well. I am afraid until agency figure heads admit to the power of social influence (and figure out how to profit from it), they will fight it to protect their bottom line.
Thanks, David. I appreciate your POV for sure. I think it's crucial for agencies to understand brand advocates are the way of the future of marketing. They are the ones who are going to be trusted and looked toward to help their circle of followers, friends, and families to make better purchasing decisions. Agencies can leverage these brand advocates by creating win-win scenarios where prospects and advocates alike get to experience the benefits of the product or service. But I've seen too many times where agencies continue to throw free stuff at bloggers for contests and sweepstakes and there is no follow-up or even exploration as to the WHY that particular blog/ger was chosen. Do they fit the target market? Have they experience with the product or service? What is their blogging style? What are their readers looking for? Etc. A great disconnect exists in this vetting process and IMHO brands are paying the price.
Yep. I just kinda got burned by a "PR Expert." Great advice.
Thanks, James.
GREAT post Susie and truly in your camp on this subject. With the proliferation of "marketers" (easy access to claim a title, largely because of SM, IMHO) there has become a bidding war and even many of the "Big" agency get caught in the game just to jump on the bandwagon, fearing lose of a client. We challenge and debate with clients and yes we have told them " we just can not tell your story that way!" As for Likes and Followers as a base line, you are on target, just because someone has 50,000 "real" twitter followers, can they effectively move the needle? Perhaps 10 with 5,000 or 20 with 2,500 can better influence the brand. Finding those that you can invest trust with ones brand is paramount. That as David said, for some is a control issue!
Thank you, Randy. Agree and appreciate your thoughts.
I'm a blogger AND a social media guy at a digital agency and you've hit one of our biggest problems on the head. Even when I've made plenty of recommendations, there are still clients which go "No, do it this way because XYZ is popular" – the consideration is too much on page views instead of social shares! Many "influential bloggers" in my country (Philippines) do not even get 1-2 Likes/Tweets on their articles. How can this be true reach, right? Great post!