Creative Agency Secrets

Update on yesterday's post about using Facebook to promote your agency …..

I got an immediate auto reply crom ClickyMedia …

Dear Rebecca,

Many thanks for your enquiry! 

A member of our internet marketing consultancy team will be in touch with you
shortly to see how we can help you.

In the mean time we have attached a Case Study for you to read.

We look forward to speaking with you shortly.

Kind Regards,

Sending a case study was a nice touch!

And then 40 minutes later, a reply from the Managing Director - Oliver Yeates

 Thanks for your email.

We do indeed generate business from Facebook advertising and it is entirely down to the levels of targeting we use.  We have specifically selected individuals whose job title includes the keywords "marketing" - this is why you will have seen our ad.

Here at Clicky Media we like to practise what we preach and our ads have certainly introduced our services to a number of Marketing professionals.

As with many on-line marketing opportunities which are arising after the huge success of Google Ads, click prices are relatively cheap and as such a very attractive return on investment is available.  Afterall we only pay for clicks ad the brand awareness and association is something we cannot afford to miss.Feel free to use this email on your blog.

Doubly nice.  And permission given without being asked! (well it is in my email signature….).

And so there's a really simple brief if you want to use FB - target job titles.  And from the logos on their site, FB is clearly one of the target areas they specialise in.

Well done. 

I have returned to facebook recently (to organise our annual Fest and Geeknbury).  It works well.

I forget how many people use it still very intensively.  But, what struck me as interesting was the number of creative agencies advertisign their services there.  They must really believe that businesses with purchasing power employ individuals who use FB….

here's who I found:

ClickyMedia - geo-social marketing (whatever that is!) 

Adstorm - online marketing specialist 

Data2Doormat.com - direct marketing (whose site is offline from the link)

And yesterday I saw Creation Agency (well I think it was them, but the ad's not serving today) 

Well - does it work?

I emailed each agency and will let you know the answers. 

Have just updated the earlier databases work to include some which came out of the comments (thanks Tomas and Chris).

Here is new summary document. Databases summary April 08

Reminder, I am transferring this blog to Creative Agency Secrets.  Here’s an interview i just did with Gill Hunt of Skillfair

Is it possible?  Can we now use VOIP as a tool for researching and finding new prospects?

I have been using Skype for  a couple of years now and it’s a great way to keep in touch with customers who are abroad using SkypeOut and to have extended conversations with UK customers / colleagues for free.

But the lack of a "directory enquiries" function makes this a poor substitute for other resources.  The SkypeFind function is supposed to be for ‘local’ businesses.  This strikes me as inadequate in today’s global reach www world.  Why would I use Skype to find a local business?  There are great sites  like Upmystreet.com for that in the UK.  However, I have, naturally listed Rowperfect and Rebecca Caroe on the off-chance that someone uses this to search for some rowing or sculling equipment or a business development consultant!

Now, a "SkypeCast" is definitley a possibility for some public speaking / seminar / workshop type focus if you can set it up so that a decent number of people sign up to listen at a fixed time.  But this requires good marketing and PR support, much the same as you would do for any marketing event.
[However, at the time of writing, most of the Skypecasts going on were definitely pornographic!]

Now I can see SkypeCast being a good CRM tool in order to offer insight and access to a close-knit group of key customers as part of a relationship management programme.  However, as a participant in webinars and even internal conference calls over the years, I find that the number of people who actually participate is much much lower than the number who sign up to join in.  If you do run an event like this that has a high drop-out rate, always offer people the opportunity to download slides or a summary of the conversation after the event if they missed it.

Any views out there?  Anyone using Skype as an active part of their biz dev?

BIMA do the BEST dinner debates.  I’ve attended a couple in the past. 

I am going to this event, and it promises to be a fantastic debate to add to the discussions that I started here and here.

Jamie
Galloway, Director of Digital Media, Central Office of Information. The
subject of the conversation for the evening is: ‘The future for PR in a
digital world’

[Nice use of English.. the future FOR not, you notice, the future OF….!]  Pedants of the world unite.

I have had three potential new customers approach me recently asking to work with me "for free" in order to try out what it may be like.

I am in two minds about this.  One of the difficulties about being freelance and working as an external consultant is that personalities matter and your customers generally like working with people they like.  Until they work with you they don’t know your style, the detail of your techniques or whether they like you.  [One of the difficulties is that what I do is not unique…. the base service is provided by many people-like-me but my expertise and experience is what delivers the unique service to my clients.  It’s hard to persuade everyone that this is the case and that it supplies them with better outcomes.]

And so to the freebies.  To do or not to do? 

I don’t have an answer.  To date I have said yes to two of the enquiries.  I facilitated a session for a City Law Firm and now have been asked by a listed PLC PR firm to give an hours talk to their business development teams. 
If I’m honest, both sessions have grated a bit.  But what do you do?  It is all about confidence. 

when you are building up your profile, sometimes you have to give a bit free (or just for expenses) in order to gain an audience.  But, once you are well known or more confident, a fee is entirely appropriate.

I have sliding scales of fees with different charges for large and small organisations and contra-deals for those who can offer me something in return that I value.  It’s worked well to date.

But back to the question.  Are they being cheeky?  Is this me being ignorant and taken advantage of?

P.S.  One has offered me a full list of internal department contacts who might buy my services with the understanding that I can pitch them afterwards.  This might be a useful contra that I can take up.

Here is a guide to tips on writing better proposals.

I am now writing longer ‘articles’ on my other blog.  www.creativeagencysecrets.com
Just posted a How to piece on early stage prospecting using Golden Questions.
let me know if you can use its ideas.

Hung out at the Salesforce Christmas event last night. ….. Entertainers at the door were probably the best thing there.

But, once inside I met a fellow Tideway Scullers member who now lives in SF and we had a great chat about when they last won the Britannia and what Hugh Williams and Rolf Munding are doing now…… never heard of him before and gave him my card but forgot to take his… think he was called Kirk…

PS why were Google giving out biros?