"The RSW/US Thought Leader Survey Webinar— Where social fits into your agency new business program today." 9/25/13 In the 4th webinar of our RSW/US Summer series, RSW/US Director of Business Development Lee McKnight Jr gives three reasons why your agency should stop using social for agency new business and dig deeper into findings from our 2013 RSW/US Agency New Business Thought Leader Survey Report. Lee also touches on questions asked by thought leaders Michael Gass and Jay Baer from our survey, on topics including SlideShare and why it can be so helpful to your agency new business program, and how the newly expanded LinkedIn profile pages work and can add another layer to your new business program. And finally, Lee addresses specific responses and questions from agencies relating to social and content and the realities of their place within a complete, and successful, new business program.

1. The RSW/US Thought Leader
Survey— Where social fits into
your agency new business
program today

2. Taken from our 1st annual Agency New Business Thought
Leader Survey Report.
Given we at RSW/US typically generate questions for our
surveys, we thought it would be helpful to get perspective from
some of the industry's leading agency new business Thought
Leaders.
We asked each of them to submit questions they believed
would prove helpful to agencies across the country.
Background

3. We would like to thank the following Thought Leaders
for including questions in this survey:
Jay Baer
Michael Gass
Paul Roetzer
Tony Mikes
Tim Williams
Tom Martin
Peter Caputa
Background

4. Tweets=
@rswus
#agencynewbusiness
Will be posting webinar on rswus.com and slide deck
on SlideShare.
Background

5. I. 3 Reasons why your
agency should stop using
social for new business

6. II. Specifics on SlideShare
& Expanded LinkedIn
profiles

7. III. Specific responses to a
few agency survey
comments

8. I. 3 Reasons why your
agency should stop using
social for new business

9. 1. You don’t know who
you’re trying to talk to.

10. In our survey, Michael Gass asked
“Has your agency had success using
social media to generate new
business leads?”
I. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You don’t know who you’re trying to talk to.
// Page 4

11. // Page 4
I. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You don’t know who you’re trying to talk to.
58% responded “yes,” a big jump from the same question in our
“RSW/US 2012 Changes in Social & Digital Survey Report,” where
only 37% of agencies found social successful in generating new
business leads.

12. More agencies are using social media for new business
in 2013 but still don’t know how to use it.
I. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You don’t know who you’re trying to talk to.
// Page 4

13. Which brings us to comments like these:
“Continue to generate content for FB, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Pinterest and other sites -- and to
merchandise our activity on our site and
elsewhere -- but have yet to receive ANY value
in return.”
I. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You don’t know who you’re trying to talk to.
// Page 4

14. What’s the definition of insanity-doing the same thing
over and over and expecting different results?
I. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You don’t know who you’re trying to talk to.
// Page 4

15. Maybe it’s how
these agencies
are doing it.
I. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You don’t know who you’re trying to talk to.
// Page 4

16. • Who’s reading your content?
• Who do you want to read your content?
• You want clients to read your social output and
think-”I want them to do that for us.”
I. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You don’t know who you’re trying to talk to.
// Page 4

17. • What’s the time frame for success and is it
realistic?
• Don’t stretch too thin.
• Is there a plan in place with defined parameters?
-which sectors to hit?
-research performed?
I. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You don’t know who you’re trying to talk to.
// Page 4

18. No matter what the channel,
new business is not an overnight exercise.
I. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You don’t know who you’re trying to talk to.
// Page 4

19. 2. Stop using social for
your agency new
business effort if . . you
don’t have a content plan

20. You've got to say something,
better yet, stand for something
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

21. Agencies tend to turn off right
about now-creating content is
difficult and time-consuming-
but it doesn’t have to be.
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

22. Agencies aren’t being
creative enough when it
comes to new business
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

23. 2 biggest challenges=
-Time/Organization
-Coming up with the content
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

24. As to time/organization: go back to Lee’s mantra:
start small
1) 1 post a week (or month)
2) Simple editorial calendar-who writes it
3) Focus on a core group of soc med platforms (Twitter,
LinkedIn, Google +)
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

25. As to the actual content-Don’t make
it harder than it needs to be
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4
“The rule of 5 is that
each and every content
development
undertaking should
produce content assets
that can be used at
least 5 different ways. “
Ardath Albee

26. What to write about or curate (and you must do both.)
Always start with this question:
“Does the content you’re creating or curating showcase your
agency expertise and/or sector knowledge?”
At least 80% of the time.
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

27. Where does it come from?
1) Your own client
experiences
2) Set up Google alerts
3) Solicit guest posts
4) Interview your prospects
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

28. // Page 4
Jay Baer asked a question in our survey-”Does
your agency make an effort to interview its future
clients via blog posts or pod casts, and if so, or
not-why?”
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan

29. // Page 4
76% of agencies said no.
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan

30. One reason agencies typically
give us for not having a
consistent new business
effort is time, or lack of it.
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

31. Interviewing a prospect you want to work with is a good
idea because it:
1) takes very little time-craft smart questions (don’t
pander) and offer a Skype or email interview
2) people like to talk about themselves and
3) it gets you noticed by that prospect.
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

32. Several comments after this question noted the difficulty in actually getting your
prospect to agree and then take the time to complete the interview.
Fair enough, but I can tell you from experience, very few agencies are doing this-
it’s worth the effort to set your agency apart from competitors.
II. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . .
you don’t have a content plan
// Page 4

33. III. Stop using social for
your agency new
business effort if . . you
can’t make it come alive

34. “You can buy attention (advertising). You can beg for
attention from the media (PR). You can bug people one
at a time to get attention (sales). Or you can earn
attention by creating something interesting and valuable
and then publishing it online for free.”
David Meerman Scott
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

35. Before you start-do you have your agency
positioning nailed down?
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

36. // Page 4
Tim Williams asked agencies-To what
extent do you agree or disagree with
the following statement: "Our agency
has a focused positioning strategy
designed to attract clients that want us
for what we do best".
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive

37. // Page 4
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
Over 65% of agencies said they agreed.

38. At RSW/US we talk to a lot of agencies and they often think their
positioning is spot-on, when it is definitely not.
Very simple to make sure it is however, and that’s by having
someone outside your agency, or even outside the industry, give
their opinion.
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4
One tip however, and specifically to those
agencies in the 65%:

39. If anyone, but especially a prospect, doesn’t understand in 20-30
seconds how your agency is unique and what type of agency
you are, that’s (obviously) not effective positioning.
Agencies should revisit their positioning and its effectiveness every
quarter.
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4
That doesn’t mean reinvent the wheel every
quarter, but revisiting your agency new business
positioning with a fresh pair of eyes will keep your
effort sharp.

40. • So now that your new business positioning includes social,
what next?
• Learn What Is Important To Your Audience
• The fantastic piece of good news here: you already know it!
• You live it.
• Show them what you know and therefore how you can help.
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

41. Basic tips:
• Tell readers what you want them to do
• Make 90% of your tweets link to articles, blog posts, pictures or
video that relate to your message.
• Use a mix of headlines, questions, facts & figures to drive clicks
and retweets
• Use mentions and retweets to call out authors
• Leave 20 characters for retweeters to add content
• Use your own voice in a professional way to add some
personality
Michael Gass-How To Write The Perfect Tweet
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

42. Let’s get more specific:
Pinterest:
Avoid human faces. Images without human faces
get repinned 23% more often than images
with faces.
Look for red. Images that are predominantly red or orange see
twice as many repins as other images.
PR Daily How to create perfect social media posts
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

43. Let’s get more specific:
Facebook:
Be positive. Positivity is more appealing and
inspiring for your fans, and it will encourage them to share your
post.
Provide a link. Drive fans to your website. After all, your
Facebook page exists to support your business.
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4
PR Daily How to create perfect social media posts

44. Let’s get more specific:
Google+:
Tag people. When appropriate, tag brands and
people in your posts to encourage them to comment
or engage with you.
Include large images. Don’t settle for the tiny photo that
automatically appears when you include a link in a post. Upload
a larger one to grab people’s attention.
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4
PR Daily How to create perfect social media posts

45. III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4
PR Daily, How to create perfect social
media posts

46. Then there’s this from Digiday: Inside the Best Agency Twitter
Feeds:
Agency Twitter accounts are often dull as dishwater. Instead
of using the opportunity to poke fun at the day’s news, or to
amuse followers with pithy one-liners, the majority choose
instead to tweet links to press releases, offer unseemly praise
of clients or to retweet Ad Age articles.
Digiday, Inside the Best Agency Twitter Feeds
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

47. Then there’s this from Digiday: Inside the Best Agency Twitter
Feeds:
There are a handful of agencies out there, however, that
have taken a different approach. They’ve opted instead to
publish content that their followers – real people – might
actually be interested in. And top talent in many agencies are
doing the tweeting, rather than pushing it off on the PR
department.
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4
Digiday, Inside the Best Agency Twitter Feeds

48. III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

49. III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

50. III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

51. Humorous?
Absolutely
Does that help your
new business effort?
Partly.
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

52. Along with humor,
make it personal and
make it pertinent as
well
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

53. // Page 4
Jay Baer asked: “Does
your agency publish
content on SlideShare?”
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive

54. // Page 4
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
Does your agency publish content on SlideShare?
Almost 80% of agencies surveyed say no.

55. And here’s a sample of several open-ended comments we got:
Haven't heard any stories of new business dropping into an
agency's lap because of it. Otherwise, you need to keep your
best ideas for your clients and not the general surfing public.
As with most social media channels, it's narcissistic superficiality
and "look at me" over any real substance.
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

56. The rise of visual content marketing is
forcing marketers everywhere to re-
evaluate their overall strategy.
No longer can a marketing
professional rely solely on white
papers and blog posts to get their
message to prospective buyers and
customers.
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4
So why use it:
It’s now vital to include a visual
element across all marketing
campaigns.
Social Media Examiner, How to Use SlideShare to Generate Leads

57. So why use it:
-SlideShare is an essential part of any successful content
marketing strategy for many businesses. It’s much more than
just a place to upload your webinar slides, it’s a powerful social
community with a reported 60 million monthly visitors.
-One of the top 150 sites on the Web
-3 billion slide views a month
Social Media Examiner, How to Use SlideShare to Generate Leads
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

58. So why use it:
The reality-because visual content is so critical, the ability to
embed SlideShare presentations across multiple channels is
huge and it’s easy.
In case you still doubt, a few stats overall :
When sharing your offers consider adding photos, visual content
gets 53% more likes than the average post.
Smedio, How to Optimize Your Marketing for the Visual Marketing Revolution
Heidi Cohen, 5 facts prove visual content is a guaranteed-winner
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

59. So why use it:
-Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic an average of 12%
more than those who don’t.
-94% more total views on average are attracted by content
containing compelling images than content without images.
Smedio, How to Optimize Your Marketing for the Visual Marketing Revolution
Heidi Cohen, 5 facts prove visual content is a guaranteed-winner
III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4

60. III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4
brandongaille.com, Slideshare Statistics and Marketing Tips

61. III. Stop using social for your agency new business effort if . . .
You can’t make it come alive
// Page 4
Click pics for direct link
Click pics for direct link

62. IV: Responses to
open-ended questions

63. Responses to
open-ended questions:
Newly expanded LinkedIn
profile pages

64. // Page 4
Another question from Jay Baer
that invited multiple questions
from agencies:
“Do your agency employees post
multi-media content (photos,
videos, presentations) to the newly
expanded LinkedIn profile pages?”
IV: Responses to open-ended questions:
Newly expanded LinkedIn profile pages

65. // Page 4
IV: Responses to open-ended questions:
Newly expanded LinkedIn profile pages
About even.

66. The question elicited many responses similar to these below:
We have just had a conversation about including LinkedIn in
our mix. I think it could be valuable, some of the younger
staff have mixed feelings.
Didn't know about the newly expanded
LI profiles!
Need to learn how.
IV: Responses to open-ended questions:
Newly expanded LinkedIn profile pages
// Page 4

67. IV: Responses to open-ended questions:
Newly expanded LinkedIn profile pages
// Page 4
Expanded LinkedIn Profiles:
What are they: The
ability to add your
visual content to your
profile
Users will now be able
to add more images,
videos, resumes,
presentations and
comments and likes
from other users.
Don't just say it. Display it on your LinkedIn
Profile.

68. IV: Responses to open-ended questions:
Newly expanded LinkedIn profile pages
// Page 4

69. IV: Responses to
open-ended questions
Agency Success w/ Social
Media

70. I think we need to tick both boxes. On one hand, I think the Social stream and
our fresh content looks alive on the front page of the website, so - I think we
need to be there. But - as outreach, I don't think it's effective. We have, for a
client, created content that gets thousands of hits a week and has built to a
total of close to a million downloads - with great feedback. And the content is
classic and classy and attracted stories on NPR and WSJ, etc. But - it hasn't
moved the needle on his sales.
IV: Responses to open-ended questions:
Agency Success w/ Social Media
// Page 4
Briefly describe your agency's success or why you lacked success using social
media for new business

71. IV: Responses to open-ended questions:
Agency Success w/ Social Media
// Page 4
Socially Charged Agency New Business

72. IV: Responses to
open-ended questions:
Inbound Strategy

73. IV: Responses to open-ended questions:
Inbound strategy
// Page 4
From Tom Martin’s survey question, “Please explain
why do you (or don't you) have a formal inbound
business development program?”
We had one but could never stick to a publishing
schedule. We eventually just stopped badgering
people to develop the content. Morale improved and
inbound leads stayed the same (zero).

74. Inbound is the buzz word of the year for agency new
business.
It has it’s place.
But know what
you’re getting in to.
Bottom line-even if
abbreviated and in-house-you need it.
IV: Responses to open-ended questions:
Inbound strategy
// Page 4

75. Webinar on
www.rswus.com
& slide deck on
SlideShare

76. Download The 1st Annual
RSWUS Agency New
Business Thought Leader
Survey Report Here

77. View this webinar.

78. Want to know more
about RSW/US? Contact
Lee at lee@rswus.com

79. Thank You!