Do Ad/PR Agencies Get Social Media?
February 29, 2008 | 6 Comments
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This morning I came across an article written in Adweek by Brian Morrisey entitled, “Social Media: ‘Agencies Don’t Get It“, which makes the claim (based off of latest research by TNS/Symfony) that, “If social network marketing is a puzzle, agencies might not be equipped to help clients see the big picture”.
This survey polled more than 60 marketers in North America, Franc
e and the UK to find out just how these agencies are feeling about their agency’s ability to help them implement social media tactics. I’ve encapsulated the article in the following points:
1. Agencies tend to apply traditional tactics to social media. The article mentions because agencies have little experience developing social media campaigns, their clients feel they treat social media the same as other traditional tactics. The article noted that, “Clients complained that their agencies — creative, media, public relations, design and others — typically treat social channels like blogs as traditional media. In other cases, their ideas are not backed up by practical skills in the area. What’s more, one client pointed out that his agencies have little of their own experience using social networks or video-sharing sites for themselves.”
2. Agencies aren’t equipped with the resources. The survey noted that nearly 50 percent of marketers said social-media efforts needed to be handled at an executive level with “significant” resources.
3. Agencies aren’t ready to implement. While agencies may be able to sound like they understand the space, they aren’t yet prepared internally to implement. Jim Nail, the chief marketing and strategy officer at TNS/Cymfony noted that, “You get the sense that agencies talk a good game,” he said. “They put up a good presentation about what social media is, but when you get to implementing campaigns, the day-to-day management skills are not meeting the marketers’ expectations.”
Now I do know that there are some agencies that are exceptions to the rule, and those are agencies that dedicate staff and resources to study social media, and who interact frequently in the space. These agencies will have a better understanding of how to implement. Unfortunately, at this point in time these agencies are few and far between - mostly due to the lean nature of the business which prevents agencies from purely dedicating staff to social media efforts.
This being said, if you are a client that is on the fence of whether to go with your current agency or to work with a social media agency, I’ve listed the following questions to ask:
1. How is the agency interacting in social media? Are they involved themselves? Do they actively monitor their brand?
2. What experience does the agency have in developing true dedicated social media campaigns? How were they executed?
3. What type of messaging does the agency feel is appropriate to social media? Do they pull or do they push ad content on customers?
4. What are their processes? Will the agency have a plan to engage the community, or a clearly defined scope of work? Will they have a core team dedicated to the execution of this campaign?
5. How does the agency measure campaign success? Do they actively report and monitor social media campaign progress?
Help Wanted: Search Engine Copywriter
February 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment
As Ignite continues to grow, we’re looking for new team members who want to both do great work and be part of the growth of something pretty exciting.
I know I should do a fancy job listing, but figured it was more natural to say what I need in a blog post.
Basically, I need to hire another strong writer. Full-time. Located here in our Cary, NC office. ASAP.
The ideal person will have worked as a search engine copywriter, will have their own blog, likely uses Twitter, has a great writing “voice” of their own but can put on other voices easily, and wishes they could get paid to work in social media all dang day.
If that’s you, drop me a note. A creative note befitting your status as a crafty social media writer-type would be even better. (Email is my first name @ignitesocialmedia.com)
Look forward to hearing from you. ~Jim
Social Media Club for Wednesday…
February 18, 2008 | 1 Comment
Hi everyone, it’s Lisa.
Just wanted all of you to know that this Wednesday I regretfully won’t be able to make it to the social media club (or TIMA’s awesome event!). Ignite just got a new client and we are hitting the runway tommorrow morning at 7 am on a flight out to L.A. Just got word today, and as you can imagine we are thrilled!
But no worries - Lee White and Jeff Tippett are going to run the show and are going to do a great job with it, so I hope all of you make it out to it and enjoy a drink on my behalf 
Oh, and twitter us with updates!
February Triangle Social Media Club: Social Media and Enterprise 2.0
February 11, 2008 | 20 Comments
Hi Everyone! It’s that time again - for the Triangle Social Media Club of February.
This February event is going to be bigger and better - thanks to one of our members, Jeff Tippett at Calvert Holdings who is opening up his office space, which happens to be “renovated” with a bar. So it looks like we are step above Panera this month, and Jeff will be providing some drinks and some food (and our very own bartender!).
Our discussion leader this month will be Lee White, who will guide us in a conversation about social media and Enterprise 2.0. Lee brings his expertise from GlaxoSmithKline where he was the Sr. Manager of Social Media Development and will be speaking of how to “Re-imagine the Organization with Social Media”. Here are the crucial details:
Location: Calvert Holdings - 1225 Crescent Green, Suite115 Cary, NC 27518
Date/Time: Wednesday, February 20th @ 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Topic: Social Media and Enterprise 2.0
If you are planning on attending, please RSVP in the comments (we need to know for food and drink purposes), and watch two slideshare’s before coming to the meeting. You never know, Lee may throw us a pop quiz:
Re-Imagine (Slideshare by Lee White)
Meet Charlie, What is Enterprise 2.0 (Slideshare by slgavin)
Hope to see you there!
Ignite Social Media Introduces Social Media to Carolina Ballet
February 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Jim Tobin announced that Ignite Social Media will be the official media sponsor of Carolina Ballet’s Cabaret. As media sponsor, Ignite will be providing Carolina Ballet with the technical expertise for promotions using its social media services.
“We are excited at the opportunity to work with the Ballet,” Tobin, president of Ignite Social Media, said. “Social media is all about building relationships with customers – relationships that go beyond just a one-time sale. As a social media agency, our objective is not only to help the Ballet use social media tools to reach new, younger audiences, but to help build lasting relationships that will keep audiences coming back.”
Joan Caviness, Director of Sales and Marketing for Carolina Ballet, will work with her team and Ignite to develop and implement social media tactics for the Ballet.
Caviness stated, “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Ignite. Adding this unique skill set to our team will allow us to make connections with new audiences like never before.”
To learn more about social media best practices or its applications in marketing and customer outreach, please visit www.ignitesocialmedia.com. For tickets to Cabaret, which runs from February 7 to February 10 at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, see www.CarolinaBallet.com.
January Triangle Social Media Club: Podcasting
January 11, 2008 | 11 Comments
Now that we are getting back in the swing of things for 2008, it’s time to vent all the pent up “social media talk” you spared your family from during the holidays.
First, I’d like to recap our three main goals and objectives for 2008 that we discussed from our last December meeting:
- Center discussions around the business/marketing applications of social media, rather than a sole focus on the tools themselves.
- Make Raleigh a central hub of social media.
- Define the ROI of social media.
This being said, I’m proud to announce that this January’s Triangle Social Media Club Event will be on the topic of podcasting, a discussion which will be led by one of our own social media club members and podcasting guru, Kipp Bodnar.
This discussion will cover how podcasting can be used for marketing, how to promote a podcast, and the benefits of developing a podcast (and I’m sure even more of Kipp’s insight). Below are details into when, where, and who is invited:
When: Wednesday January 23 @ 8:00AM
Where: Panera Bread at Brier Creek (7840 Alexander Promenade Place, Raleigh, NC 27617)
Who: Social Media Geeks
Hope I will see all of your bright and shining faces in the morning. If by chance you aren’t on the email list (and would like to be harassed by me closer to the 23rd) - please leave me a message in the comments section and I will add you to our database!
Submit Blog Ideas to Ignite’s 2008 Editorial Calendar
January 8, 2008 | 6 Comments
Hi Everyone!
Since I’ve been out for the holidays to recharge (and then most recently to assume a role as a maid of honor) I’m really just now getting back in the social media groove of reading, writing, and participating.
With that being said, in light of the new year and in our promise to continue a discussion on social media marketing that interesting and insightful, I’m attempting to develop no small feat: a blog editorial calendar for Ignite for 2008.
First, I must state that as a social media agency, we always do these for clients with blogs- to make sure we have fresh, interesting content and that it is on strategy with our clients goals and objectives. However, as we have gained clients - we have forgotten that our own most important client is Ignite. The result? Falling into a “what am I writing today” approach from the day to day. If you write a blog for your company on a regular basis, I assume you have done this more than once or twice.
Not only is this approach against our mantra, but it guides us further away from our audience. Instead of writing what we feel like writing (or what is easiest for that day) - we should take the approach we use for our clients: to develop content with the purpose of achieving audience participation and business objectives.
Therefore - I’m reaching out to you, our readers. If you have a social media marketing question you need answered, a topic you want covered, or a review on a particular social media campaign - you name it- please submit it in the comments below. After that, I’ll try to incorporate it into our 2008 calendar (giving flexibility to cover topics or discussions that are time sensitive) and we’ll work on covering it (and give you a little shout-out in return).
With your input, and our clear plan of action, we hope to grow even more for 2008
Ready for 2008, the Year of the Social Media Agency?
January 2, 2008 | Leave a Comment
It’s January 2nd. It’s cold, even here in North Carolina. But we’re rested and ready for a great 2008. Are you?
I personally believe that 2008 will be the year of the social media agency. Not everyone will have one (probably until about 2010), but it will become commonplace among the thought leaders. That’s both my prediction and my hope (as well as my resolution).
Welcome back to you. Fire up Snitter, check your Facebook requests and get back at it…
Thanks for a Great 2007, See you in 2008
December 22, 2007 | 2 Comments
We won’t be actively posting anymore in 2007, as Lisa and I are off re-charging batteries. Gene is keeping our site and the client sites up (and quietly improving them as our holiday gifts to you). Comments are, of course, always always welcome.
A lot of companies say that 2007 was their best year ever. It’s true for Ignite. Of course, it’s our only year ever, so that really helps.
But launching a social media agency and defining what a social media agency is and does has been great. Thanks for our clients, thanks to our readers, thanks to you.
Looking forward to a great 2008 with all of you.
~Jim
Ignite is Hiring!
December 19, 2007 | 5 Comments
We’re staying quite busy over here at Ignite as our client base is expanding rapidly. Because of this, we are keeping our eye out for qualified candidates that enjoy/understand social media and would be interested in joining us in our craziness.
While we have a lot of needs (ex. Jim’s need for more Facebook friends) - the following are our current highest areas of need:
1) Content Developers: In social media, frequent, valuable content is king. That’s why we are looking for strong writers in variety of styles and voices who could apply this talent to blogging, twittering - and many other social media applications that we may apply for our clients.
On the production side of content development, we also are looking for audio/visual producers who have talent in the filming, recording, and editing of videos and podcasts.
2) SEO/SMO Gurus - We need social media gurus who have a solid understanding of both SEO and SMO. Do you know how to leverage organic links and how to promote and optimize social media efforts to increase search results? If so, we’d like to speak.
Hey, we know job descriptions are vague - especially in the newly evolving space of social media, so if you are interested in the above possibilities please send an email cover letter and resume to jim *at* ignitesocialmedia.com and we’ll go from there. While a lack of formal education in social media isn’t a problem (because, really, who has it?), a lack of experience in the area either professionally or as a hobby/passion is.