We’ve all dreamt of being our own boss. Having a swanky office, a gifted team, innovative work and big clients, maybe your name on the masthead. But for most marketers, these castles in the air don’t anchor to firm ground. Why? It’s not because they lack talent, or that they don’t know where to start. There’s just too much competition before you make it as the cream of the crop. As brands set aside bigger budgets for digital advertising, it’s natural for everyone to want a piece of the client cake. There’s not much investment you need to start an agency. If you know your stuff, it’s actually quite simple. Working from home is easier than ever, and there’s little overhead costs. It’s landing—and holding onto—your first clients, that becomes difficult. But when has the road to success ever been a straight line? Little orange traffic cones can show up in the form of late nights, endless meetings, and countless rejections. But don’t dwell too long on these issues. If you have the drive, the passion, and the will to succeed, anyone can make it. Here’s our no-frills guide to get you started:- 1. Identify your niche, and build on it It sounds like a good idea to offer different services to clients. More options equals more projects, right? Wrong. This is not the best approach when you’ve just started out. Reputed agencies will already be offering integrated digital marketing solutions—as the fresh young thing, you have to find ways to stand out. Draw on experience and domain expertise. Identify your core competencies and build a market reputation in that segment. Advertisers starting an agency could focus more on creatives and design, while SEO experts might push forward based on their ability to reel in traffic. If you’ve worked in hospitality, your new digital marketing agency could offer custom solutions in food, travel and hotels. This narrows down your audience, weeds out competitors, and shows clients you know what you’re doing. Once you’ve built up enough testimonials and have a stable cash flow, you can gradually expand your niche. Always pick quality over quantity—remember, Amazon started with just books! Don’t waste precious earnings on renting offices or hiring too many people. Instead, set up a talented network of freelancers with only a few core staff on the payroll. Scale up as needed, but don’t skimp out on essentials like SEO experts or web developers. That’s the beauty of digital—all you need is talent, computers and good Internet to get started. 2. Your first client gets the ball rolling From cold calling prospects, to attending seminars and conferences to build your network, to generating leads through SEM, go all out when it comes to bagging your first few brands. Don’t go for big names—they probably have a long-term agency partner—and be open-minded about the businesses you want to bring in. Focus on startups who need help getting their operations off the ground. Give a solid sales pitch to break the ice, and maybe throw in a freebie or two. As you spread the word, it’s the unforeseen meet-ups that give you your first client. Don’t forget to tap into social Media channels. You’re just starting out, so people won’t come to you. Get ready to draw attention instead! 3. Know what you’re doing At the end of the day, it’s the business leader who pulls in the big bucks. Their knowledge of sales, combined with soft skills, will determine a company’s path—no matter how good the supporting staff are. As the face of the company, people’s opinion of you will affect agency perception. Your corporate communication—or even informal chats—must be crisp, clear and convincing. Brush up on latest trends and competitors. Don’t talk fluff. Your clients are probably testing out multiple agencies, and you must win their trust. Nobody will buy your services without the assurance that the CEO knows what they’re doing. Also Read: Incredible Blogging Stats to Inspire You to Blog 4. Have a system in place Creativity runs wild, but it needs policies and procedures to keep things in check. Your agency must have a uniform process while tackling any project. Right from converting leads into customers, to handing over the last deliverable, a clear-cut workflow must be in place. Who handles sales calls? What is the turnover period? Who manages client accounts and daily reports? How many revisions can brands ask for? Equip your team with all company guidelines, so that they don’t have to consult you for every step. 5. Mix marketing chops with technology If you want to grow as a digital marketing firm, you need the right tools to get work done. Project management software, team communication apps, keyword research platforms or social media know-how—get tech that streamlines your tasks and helps you work smart. Project management tools like Asana, Trello and Basecamp organise all work communications in a single place. Teams can report their progress as you assign and track tasks, as well as chat and share documents from a single window. This works wonders if you don’t have a physical office yet. Similarly, social media tools like Hootsuite and Buffer let you manage and analyse multiple channels from one place. The automation helps prevent confusion and mistakes if you’re handling many clients at the same time. 6. Be involved in the system Try to know every inch of your daily operations. Branding yourself as an expert digital marketer? You should be able to show that when clients start asking questions. Don’t micromanage your team, but be involved in their projects. Monitor their approach, suggest changes, and step in where necessary. Communicate regularly with clients and make sure to incorporate feedback. Over time, it gives your team a better idea of what to do for each account. 7. Focus on customer experience Business isn’t just about sales. The customer’s journey and overall experience is what builds the bottom line. Treat customers with value and respect, and strive to offer
Month: May 2020
Social Media Management: Strategies During Times of Crisis
As the reality of #StayHome and #Lockdown loomed large, brands had to think fast to ensure they remained relevant to the coronavirus’ impact on social media. The regular messaging would not work. Anyone who tried to sellor promote—or sounded like an opportunist—received a backlash. Strategies changed overnight, and now, we are living in a new era of social. Here are the big strategies in social media crisis management that have been appreciated by users: 1. ‘We are there for you’ One of the key stances that brands had to put out on social media during the corona crisis is that they would stick by their customers to resolve issues. Travel continues to be one of the most affected sectors because of COVID-19. As reality dawned that summer (and probably, winter) travel plans would take a hit, customers started cancelling trips. Some travel brands were prompt to share updates, others took a bit more time. But most eventually stated that they were accepting all cancellations, and that refunds would be processed as per regulations. This interval was seen as a time to gain trust and loyalty. To show that in times of crisis, customers still came first, and that brands were ready to push their own issues aside to ensure that customer problems had standard procedures to be dealt with. We also saw many CEOs share hopeful messages via their companies’ social channels (and also on e-mail) about business continuity plans, and what their company strategies would be for the next few months. 2. ‘We are doing our bit to get the word out’ In the initial days of the virus, there was a lot of confusion on what steps to follow and precautions to take. People turned to their social feeds for news, and many brands stepped up to meet this demand and educate their audiences on maintaining hygiene and the best practices to emulate. Once #SocialDistancing and #StayHome became a reality, brands started doing their bit to ensure these ideas were adequately promoted. A spark of innovationcoursed through several brands, as they recreated social distancing with their logos. McDonald’s, Zomato and Swiggy all sent out messages that they could offer ‘contactless’ delivery. As a stroke of mischievous inspiration, students from the Miami Ad School created a fake Netflix campaign using outdoor advertising. They innovatively put out spoilers of their favourite shows on signs and billboards,declaring that avoiding them should be a great reason to #StayHome. 3. ‘We can still connect with you innovatively’ Customers and prospects were staying home and working from home. Lots of extra work, some free time, some boredom and kids to handle. Brands decided to chip in with help. From online quizzes and puzzles,to new recipes and things-to-do lists, to 101 ideas to keep children engaged, to how to spend all this quality time with family—brands have devised ongoing ways to engage with their customers. Several publishing houses and universities even released books and comics across genres to revive the love for reading. Brands not only shared ideas, but also asked customers to share what they were doing. The inflow of user-generated content (UGC) became an inspiration for many to share their photos and express solidarity. 4. ‘You can learn’ Online learning suddenly emerged as a top activity. Whether it is upskilling courses or hobby classes, education brands are vying for your attention. You can learn to draw, paint, dance, sing, pick up an instrument, or join a fitness program. You can pick up digital courses and have a completion certificate when you get back to your job. Several of these courses are first being promoted on social channels. The UGC from the courses (completed paintings or fitness videos) then provided additional content to create a viral effect. 5. ‘We can go free/freemium’ When the opportunity comes calling, brands decide to make do with their best offerings. The #StayHome period is being used as a great time to offer free trials and get people hooked to a service. If you download the Cure.Fit app, you can get free access to several workout videos. Sunday Bricks is offering free daily LEGO lessons under their ‘Stuck at Home’ initiative, pushing children to build racing cars, Humpty Dumpty, and even the Himalayas using LEGO bricks. Many brands are going the freemium way too, by offering a few lessons or demo sessions free of cost. This demonstrates their value before customers are asked for a paid upgrade. Also Read: Best Tips For Writing Great Social Media Post 6. ‘Here’s what our brand is doing’ Brands are using LinkedIn to keep their fraternity informed about their efforts to fight the Corona crisis, and to laud their front-line personnel who are risking their own safety to ensure things keep moving. Conglomerates have opened their coffers and hearts to join the fight. Some are on a war footing to make ventilators economical, others have opened meal kitchens or are donating funds and protective equipment to relief efforts. LinkedIn has become the medium of choice to share this information. Careful to avoid chest-thumping,brands are using an empathetic tone to spread news of their efforts and win over viewers. What’s next? Depending on where you are in the world and how the situation fares for you, social media communication will evolve to encompass what your customers, and the world in general, is going through.Until you have a plan, here’s some food for thought: a) How can you re-use your old content in the current context? b) How can you connect with influencers to create content for you? c) How do you connect with other brands to explore synergies? d) What’s your go-to-market plan after the crisis gets over? Need help charting your roadmap? Connect with us for a free consultation on social media marketing services today.
How to Write More than 10,000 Words a Week?
I love writing. That’s what I do almost the whole day, every working day of the week and month and year. Well, you guessed it – I am a writer and I love being one. I usually write about 3000-4000 words a day, depending on what I am writing. If it’s heavy stuff like writing a blog that needs loads of research, I write about 2000-2500 a day. When it’s less heavy stuff, I can crank out more. So the point of this blog is to answer a question – how to write more than 10,000 words in a 5-day week? From my experience of working with a content agency, I have seen interns starting with 500-1000 words a day. Some writers even struggle to reach 2000 in a day. The point is you don’t have to write 4000 words a day, but if you are trying to reach a goal of more than 10,000 words in a week, there has to be a plan. It does not always mean you need to be a fast writer. It means you need to organise yourself better, and stick to a process. Writing isn’t the same as any other task. It requires considerable planning, research and writing. There is no magic pill or quick mantra that can make you churn out 5000 words a day or help you finish writing that book that you’ve been putting off for weeks. However, there are certain tips and techniques which can help you write more. Let’s explore more of that. Be S.M.A.R.T About Setting Writing Goals If you want to maximise your output as a writer, you have to be realistic about it. There are no benchmarks. The effort, the thinking and planning that goes into each piece is different. For instance writing 4 blogs posts of 500 word each is different from writing a long article of 3000 words. Keep this mind when you set targets for yourself. S – Specific Be specific about your goal. Do you mean to write 4 blog posts of 500 words each or a 2000-word-long product guide. The word count is the same but goals are different and will require a different approach. M – Measurable Create goals that you can measure. Don’t give yourself vague goals like “ Learning to write brilliantly” etc. Set goals that you can measure your performance against and check off as you progress each day. Say for instance, getting done with two chapters of the book each day or writing 2 blogs of 700 words each. You can then measure your performance at the end of the day or track your performance at the end of the week. And before you know it you’ll have completed a manuscript by the end of the month. A – Achievable Set goals that are attainable. Don’t set out to complete a book in one day because that isn’t possible. R – Realistic You should set realistic and relevant goals for yourself as a writer. This will help boost your productivity and mould you into a better writer with time. T – Time bound Set a time-frame for achieving your daily goal. Are you planning to get the tasks done in a day, two days or a week? This will help you stay inspired and motivated. Take Notes Keep a pen and paper handy at all times because great ideas or thoughts often strike at the most unexpected times- while driving, while taking a shower, while watching TV etc. Note it down. Not because it’s ready to read or it will complete your piece but simply because writing it down is the only way to give your ideas a tangible shape. Take down notes as and when they strike. Come back to it when you’re actually ready to write. Believe it or not, it will make your writings go a lot faster. These random scribbling go a long way into giving your ideas a concrete shape. It’s a lot easier than starting with a blank paper. You can’t build a house without the necessary materials. That’s what these writings are-materials to help you write building of a piece. Focus on One Type of Writing Ever been in the situation when you’re writing a comprehensive blog and suddenly you’re asked by your boss to come up with some tweets for a client’s Twitter handle? Annoying but real. Being a copywriter simply means everything writing-related falls in your plate. Writing long-form content requires concentration and unbroken rhythm. You can’t accelerate when there is heavy traffic. If you want to know your speed limit, you need to drive on a clear lane. Similarly, in writing you need to focus on one style of writing at least initially until you have had some experience. Once you have picked up speed in a particular type of writing, you can accommodate other tasks as well. Outline This is the key to writing long-form content that makes sense to the reader. Give your blog, article or e-book a structure. Make this a part of the research process. Outline is what gives your thought a direction when you’re writing; else it becomes easy to lose track of the subject as you move along. Deciding on the outline takes time but saves a lot of time eventually when you actually sit down to write. Writing without an outline is like going grocery shopping without a list, you end up buying a lot of things you don’t need. Read Other Good Writers Finally, if you want to produce great work while at the same achieve your writing goals; you have to read some of the great works produced by other great writers. Reading will give you ideas and enhance your thought process. Spend time reading and your writing will gradually get better. Love Writing Lastly, there is simply no other way to get better and faster at writing than by loving what you do.