Our recent research into 200 agencies’ marketing reveals that agencies are still struggling to utilise digital platforms and social channels to their advantage effectively. Let's delve into the findings and explore strategies to overcome these challenges.
Understanding the Proposition Dilemma
One of the key challenges plaguing agencies is the lack of clarity in their value proposition. Shockingly, 42% of agencies surveyed grapple with undefined propositions. Even more concerning is that 52% fail to communicate the client challenges they solve. This deficiency in proposition clarity can harm conversion rates, leading to confusion, frustration, and a lack of trust in the brand.
35% of agencies resorted to using generic phrases within their positioning that dilute their distinctiveness. These generic terms lack authenticity and insight into the agency's unique offerings. More worryingly, agencies employing generic terms demonstrated a significant disparity in content creation, producing less relevant content across social media, digital channels, and websites. This disparity not only undermines the agency's value proposition but also hampers its ability to effectively engage with its target audience.
Navigating Social Media Content Challenges
Social media is a vital component of any agency's marketing mix. LinkedIn is the social channel of choice for agencies marketing themselves.
However, our research highlights several areas for improvement in social media content strategy. 60% of agencies still fail to tailor their content to the distinct audiences of each platform. They repurpose the same content regardless of whether it’s on LinkedIn or Instagram instead of really digging into the audiences they have on each platform and crafting a strategy to reach them.
We often see that Instagram is a great channel for design agencies to harness new talent, however, its less likely to bring in new clients. Therefore, their content should be tailored for other designers rather.
Overcoming inconsistency
Inconsistency is a theme across agencies’ marketing, and irregular social posting remains a prevalent issue, with 38% of agencies not updating their active channels at least once every two weeks.
To address these challenges and maximise the effectiveness of social media marketing, agencies must prioritise strategic content planning and audience targeting. This can be managed by leveraging quieter spells in client work. Getting the team to work around a specific content theme to create thought leadership and opinion pieces will allow them to be scheduled over the coming weeks and months when work gets busier again.
Founder brand versus agency brand
Leadership presence on social media also emerges as a concern, with 30% of leaders scoring low due to a lack of original content creation. To bridge this gap, agency leaders should actively share insights, industry news, and personal opinions, enhancing the agency's relevance and visibility on social media.
Agency leaders should actively participate in content creation and sharing, offering unique insights beyond the brand's messaging. Workshops or training sessions can be organized to educate leaders on the value of personal brand building and its impact on the agency's overall social presence.
We also see that smaller agencies tend to overindex on their founder brand, spending more time and attention on that brand than on their agency brand. This strategy works well until agencies reach a crucial tipping point. At this point, the agency founder’s network can no longer deliver the scale of opportunities the agency needs to continue to grow.
We, therefore, recommend agencies begin investing in their agency brand before they feel the pinch of declining leads from their founder. We’re also big fans of the LinkedIn Algorithm Report by Just Connecting. It’s the best data-led resource we’ve come across to inform social strategy for both personal and company brands. You can find it here.
In a competitive landscape where differentiation is paramount, agencies must leverage social media as a strategic tool for marketing success. By addressing the challenges outlined in our research report and implementing targeted strategies for improvement, agencies can enhance their market visibility, drive client engagement, and, ultimately, achieve sustainable growth in the digital era.
You can download the full report now to gain even greater insight into the perils of agency marketing and how to overcome them. If you’re wondering if your agency is one of the 200 agencies we scored for this year’s report and would like to access your scorecard, get in touch.
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