I’m going to continue the analysis I started last week here.
Agency X and Social Media
Agency X has active Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts. But are we active enough?
To be honest, Agency X’s activity on Facebook is excellent. There’s room for improvement, but the interaction on the “Agency X Interns” Facebook page is impressive. We encourage employees to upload content – photos of Agency X outings, interesting articles, or a goofy sketch someone did on their lunch break. Facebook alone accounts for 12.3% of all consumer time on the internet (L2ThinkTank), and we need to continue to utilize this goldmine of web traffic. Social media is a place where a brand can be more casual, and the grassroots feel of the Interns’ page is appropriate, effective, and entertaining. It promotes fans’ interaction with Agency X in a less formal setting.
Agency X’s Youtube and Twitter accounts are not used as frequently as they should be. Twitter is a great way for us to post updates, links, images, or anything Agency X-related. It’s a place to establish a voice, a reason, and a following. Some corporations tweet over 30 times a day (and most likely lose many followers as a result), while other companies only tweet every month or so (which probably also turns off followers). We need to shoot for a few posts a day to develop a voice and build a following. Agency X has a few videos on YouTube, but lacks a branded channel. If we begin to regularly upload content onto YouTube or similar video-sharing sites, Agency X’s brand awareness and reach will expand.
Overall, Agency X does a pretty good job in social media. Our Facebook page is a great look into Agency X from a more personal side. However, we also need to focus our attention to Twitter and YouTube to get our voice out there.
Agency X and Mobile
There have been a lot of exciting advancements in mobile technology over the past few years. Mobile sites, spartphone applications and iPad integration are three categories that significantly increase consumer interaction, and I know that will be increasingly important in advertising.
Sure, as an ad agency, it’s our job to get people to buy stuff. However, customer interaction, to me anyway, is even more important than the actual purchase itself. The dialogue between businesses and consumers is paramount in developing a brand identity that meets consumer needs and desires.
After going on Agency X’s website on my iPhone, I was impressed to find that it was very compatible with mobile technology. It is an easy site to use from a phone, but I would like to see a better way to view our uploaded content. Agency X has some great material on the site that communicates our identities as both Agency X employees and quirky individuals. It would be nice to be brought directly to that material on a mobile site – every extra link I need to search for results in me losing interest on the site.
Agency X has been doing some really cool work with smartphone applications. We’re in the middle of a project right now that is not only a great piece of technological work, but it will be an amazing tool for our clients. That innovation is vital to Agency X’s success. As the agency continues to create innovative strategies for our clients, I expect us to work more and more with mobile sites and apps.
The iPad is a really fun way of interacting online. It sucks for typing, but that is not what the iPad is all about. In my mind, it’s for two things: apps and browsing. The iPad is a way to physically interact with the digital world – it’s all about clicking, pushing, swiping and sharing interactive media. As more consumers use iPads (or other brands of tablets), we need to keep in mind that those users want simple entertainment and interaction, and we need to implement both of those elements in digital media campaigns.
People don’t want to see a sales pitch. They want to be entertained. Well, with mobile sites, smartphone applications and iPad integration, they can have both.
So What Is Agency X’s Digital IQ?
For a more traditional agency, Agency X has a pretty high Digital IQ. We’re not quite genius, but we’re not challenged either. Our website is everything it needs to be – clean, functional, concise and easy to navigate. Our digital marketing is good, but I think Agency X could improve its search engine optimization and email clients more frequently. We’re present (and active!) on blogs and Facebook, but our Twitter and YouTube (as well as whatever’s the next big thing in social media) accounts are not as active as they should be. Agency X is always thinking ahead, and as a result, our mobile efforts have been strong, but I expect more resources to go into this field in the future.
It’s hard for an agency to focus so much attention to its own digital branding efforts. I think that part of the problem lies in the very nature of an advertising agency. So much time is spent proactively working on clients’ jobs that it is difficult to find the time to work on our brand’s digital presence, especially since it takes such considerable time and effort. However, as Agency X continues to develop its digital strategy, our devotion to raising Agency X’s Digital IQ will pay off.
Agency X is doing a great job keeping up with the trends in new media. However, I think its time to lead the pack. There is amazing technology being developed all over the world that we need to utilize in completely unique ways. Even though Agency X is a more traditional agency, I believe digital media will have a large presence in most of our future campaigns.
A brand’s Digital IQ is directly related to that brand’s perceived value. Knowing this, we should further develop our brand’s digital strategy. Not only will it benefit our clients, but it will increase Agency X’s value as a whole.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my thoughts (some of the people at the agency really didn’t).