I actually had every intention of making this post a top 10-style post about my favorite agency blogs (as well as a few of my colleagues’ faves). But during those conversations on the Twitter back channel, a common question kept popping up: What constitutes an agency blog these days?
Good question.
There were many traditional agency blogs mentioned by colleagues from across the country. Among those mentioned most often: Fast Horse’s blog (which really doubles as their agency Web site); Brains on Fire; and Weber Shandwick’s Social Studies blog (a few friends are frequent contributors including Doug Hamlin, Greg Swan and Daniel Honigman).
No doubt, there are many others. As a Minneapolis guy, I’m a big fan of what they do over at Top Rank. Lee Odden has developed one of the most well-read agency blogs in the country–and one that pulls in content from a host of contributors at the agency. But, what about Dave Fleet’s blog? Rachel Kay? Heck, even Adam Singer since we’re talking about Top Rank?
These people–and many others just like them–work for (or run) PR or digital agencies across North America. But, their blogs aren’t necessarily traditional agency blogs. In fact, if most people visited these blogs for the first time, I’m guessing they’d think they were strictly personal blogs.
My question: Does it really matter?
Is the model of an agency blog shifting? What about Chris Brogan? Doesn’t he head up New Marketing Labs? But, his blog doesn’t fly under that masthead necessarily. Or, what about Jason Falls (in his prior life)? When working at Doe Anderson he was just as active in posting to his popular Social Media Explorer blog. When visiting the blog, you certainly knew Jason worked for Doe, but it clearly wasn’t the agency’s blog. But, didn’t the agency benefit from Jason’s opining online?
At this point, I’m not sure there’s a right or wrong answer to the “which model works best?” question, but it also seems there’s a definite shift going on here. A shift that involves the free flow of ideas and a trend from corporate branding to personal branding (I know that buzzword is going to get some people going!). Let me tell you what I mean:
* A shift from case studies to ideas. Let’s face it, most agencies like to talk about themselves. It’s not a jab. Just reality. I’ve been on the agency side. I know. But, in today’s climate, I’m not sure anyone’s listening. But, people are listening to ideas. And, ideas are everywhere these days. So, competition is fierce. And agencies also have one huge advantage: They have a sizable amount of talent. Just look at Fleishman Hillard. Matt Dickman, Jessica Smith and Justin Goldsborough working for one organization (and those are just the people I know about). All those people have personal blogs about digital PR. They share ideas–for free. And, at the very least I believe that has a very strong halo effect for the Fleishman Hillard brand (and allows these individuals to get smarter about digital PR by sharing and learning from others online–information and learnings I’m sure they all apply to client work each and every day).
* A shift from the “we” to the “I” culture. This isn’t to say agencies are shifting away from a team-based culture. Just that the personal branding angle has big potential business implications for agencies. Think about Dave Fleet at Thornley Fallis. Dave’s blog is one of the most respected and well read in all of digital PR. But, other than the standard disclaimer and his bio, it has no “formal” connection with TF (again, it doesn’t fly under the TF flag). But, I’m not sure it has to, either. If potential clients or people who read Dave’s blog like his ideas, they will call or email him. And voila: New business. People buy ideas. Do they necessarily care if they come from a particular agency? In some cases, an agency’s reputation and brand definitely make a difference in the “purchase decision.” But, so does an individual’s “brand and reputation. I’m guessing there are more than a few clients at TF that signed up strictly because of Dave Fleet and the ideas he shares online. Just call it a hunch 😉
* A shift from the agency brand to the personal brand. I know this one is dangerous for agencies because talent comes and goes. But, talent’s going to come and go anyway. Why not take the best advantage of that talent while it’s in-house by encouraging and rewarding personal branding activities? I still think the agency blog has a place in the marketing mix–but personal blogs bring another element to the table. With the personal blogs, the agency is tapping into a whole new network. The blogger’s network. It also obviously offers a more personal connection than you can foster on an agency blog. It’s person-to-person instead of agency-to-person. And, personal blogs are much more…well…personal. You can get to know the blogger better. Sometimes they don’t necessarily post about PR-related topics. And, that opens up a window where you, as a potential client, can get to know the blogger on a different level. And, hopefully, it allows you to connect with that blogger in a different way. And, for agencies, the hope is that connection is positive and that you pick up the phone and call.
What do you think? Is the concept of an agency blog shifting? I’m very curious to hear what you think.
Arik, this is a great topic for conversation. First, I want to point out that I do NOT work for an agency and as such only have observational opinions about agency/individual blogs.
As I search for ideas, concepts, tactics, etc. in the PR industry that I can find in the blogosphere, the best ones win for me. I am exceedingly impressed with the talent, writing, and sharing that happens on the blogs you mentioned and many others.
I think agencies would do themselves good by encouraging individuals to blog. This shows off their talent and helps the blogger and by extension, the agency, be seen as thought-leaders to current/prospective clients and casual observers in the industry.
– @vedo
Content wise, I think you are on top of it. Agencies need to write for their clients, for their future clients, for what they both might be typing into Google. And of course stay true to their branding, culture, etc.
When it comes to ownership of the blogs, I see 3 models. You have touched on two.
You have the agency blog. Written by multiple peoples at the agency. And despite the best efforts, it will always be harder to build community around an agency than a personal brand in my opinion. There are exceptions, you have listed a couple, but broadly, personality comes out better and there is less of an agenda when the person writes, not the agency.
Which is of course the second model. Just have the individuals run with their own blogs. This is great, except for the small detail of the blog is theirs and goes with them when they leave. See Jason Falls, see David Armano. I mean, forget for a second that both of those guys are brilliant, any agency would be silly not to buy them up for their blogs alone.
The third model is something I have seen MindComet do very well, the agency framed personal blogs. They have their social media guy, their creative director, their principle, and usually even their dev guys writing different agency blogs built around personality and focused on a niche. They get a little community building out of this. Even more SEO juice as these are naturally more niche publications.
The solution? Of course there is no answer there. I think you need all three. If you are a 5 person company, you probably only want one blog to focus on. If you are 100, your employees will already have their own blog, and the agency should have a couple of their own.
My take. Cool conversation. Thanks for posing it.
I totally agree with your comments here. Agencies have got to get away from bragging about all the old stuff they’ve done and start talking about great, new ideas and exciting people with interesting points of view.
Hey Arik,
This is a really interesting and important conversation.
I think one question that a lot of agency blogs forget to ask: Who is my target audience?
You blog can have a variety of different purposes, regardless of whether it is a personal or agency blog. Are you blogging for business development? Are you blogging to show personality and build a relationship with clients? Are you blogging to illustrate thought leadership?
There are more ways than ever to achieve blogging success these days as an agency, but they are completely based on meaningful metrics, accurate measurement and good analysis.
Maybe instead of asking if the concept of agency blogs is shifting, we should examine if the goals of agency blogging are shifting?
Thanks so much for the post Arik.
Jason: Thanks for stopping by. I think that third model you suggest is very interesting. Many advantages to targeting a more niche audience, as you allude to. It’s an interesting trend though. In the past, individuals have found rode on the coattails of the agency’s brand. Now, in some spots (David Armano comes to mind), the agency might be riding off his.
Dan: Thanks for the comment. I agree with your question. I think most would say their target audience is obviously new clients. But, I think we agree it’s also: vendors, potential partners, recruits and existing clients among others. So, from a big picture agency perspective, we’d be wise to take all those audiences into consideration, right? I also wonder if agencies look at their Google Analytics reports once a month? I mean, that’s what they would encourage their clients to do, right?
Good discussion!
@arikhanson
Arik, are you reading my Outlook calendar? I am leading a meeting on this very topic at Fleishman-Hillard KC in about 30 minutes. No lie :).
Why are we having this meeting? Because we don’t have this down yet and frankly, don’t know all the answers. But I’m very glad I read your post this morning because I think you and Jason have hit on a very important point — it will always be easier to form community around a personal brand (don’t know why people have such a problem with that term btw) than an agency brand. No way around that.
I don’t know what our entire Web presence should look like at FH or FH KC. But as far as blogs go, I’m leaning toward a portal that shows off what we as an agency has to offer in thought leadership by promoting our employees posts and conversations.
See, I don’t think people always draw the connection, for example, between me, Matt or Jessica and Fleishman-Hillard. I see Dave Armano and Jason Falls as brilliant minds, but I wasn’t aware of what agencies they worked for until I read your post (or until mainstream/social media covered Dave’s move to Edelman).
And if you’re thinking that I don’t want to make my personal blog all corporate-looking with a bunch of my agency promotional materials on it, well, you’d be right.
Small agencies or sole proprietors seem to be different here, btw, because the agency head (you and Rachel Kay for example) is the business brand.
I think your last paragraph hits it right on the nose. Big and small agencies need to realize one thing to be successful — that relationships, thought leadership and “selling” are becoming much less about the agency brand and much more about the people the agency employees. Retailers take their best products and put them in window displays to catch the shoppers’ eye. Shouldn’t agencies be doing the same?
Great post, Arik. Learned something from your perspective as always.
Best,
Justin
@JGoldsborough
Your timing with this one, Arik, is fantastic. The agency where I work has been going through the blog revamp process and we too have encountered the “We” v. “I” debate…
After a lunch meeting with Paul Gillin, we’ve realized that it’s not so much about following the blogging sheep, but finding what works best for us, our clients, and most importantly, our readers. A trend, no less, seen across all social media outlets. (Let’s be honest, this isn’t a new idea to any of us.)
In my opinion, an agency blog shouldn’t function as output, but rather as a social means to meet a metrics end. All trends aside, blogging decisions should be made to functionally fulfill the agency’s hopefully well researched and measurable goals whether they be hinged on agency stats, innovation, or personal branding.
Still, easier said than done, I suppose.
It really gets down to the fact that different people have different areas of expertise, which is why professional services (including all the marketing disciplines) are a trifecta of the brand, the service and the person in charge of delivering same. Where I think your argument holds SO MUCH water is the question of audiences — if you have people speaking to different audiences, I personally believe they should have their own platform — or a common shared platform for the people who address the same audience. Thanks for bringing this up!
I don’t think the agency blog is shifting towards personal blogs, I just think that they are starting to see the value in having employees develop personal brands. I feel like in the past, that transparency wasn’t there. If you were doing something personal online it was strictly that- personal. There was a line between what you did from 8-5 and what you did after hours (or on your lunch break….).
You posed the question of whether agencies could benefit from their employees personal blogging, and I think that yes, they most definitely can. One of the main reasons agencies create blogs is to help their reputation- establish expertise, credibility, network. Individual blogs do the same thing. It isn’t just a timesuck. It is allowing your employees to branch out, make a name for themselves. Building your personal brand = building a reputation, an online presence.
I like the trend towards personal blogs within an agency, but I also get why an agency would want to keep all that content in a centralized place, especially when you have employees coming and going.
Why not get the best of both worlds by using personal blogs, and also aggregating all the posts on a centralized agency blog? If someone didn’t want a personal post to end up on the agency blog, they don’t have to post it. Seems like a good compromise.
Hey Arik, this is a good discussion you’ve started here. 🙂
The term that comes to mind when you talk about moving from “we” to “I” and the agency blog models is “brandividual”.
Interestingly, our blog at TopRank Marketing started as a personal blog and as the consulting practice grew, I turned it into an agency blog. It’s been a great platform for connecting with peers, customers and the media. Having staff that are capable of contributing to it has been invaluable and gives them great exposure.
I appreciate the comments about having an objective and writing for a particular audience. So many agency blogs write for the industry vs existing or potential customers. That wouldn’t be an issue if the only goal was to be well known to industry peers. If the goal is to influence or directly acquire customers, then content needs to address their needs, not focus on agency chest beating.
Great post Arik.
Arik,
Very topical conversation, one that I was having about public relations serving as an online spokespeople as well. There are some important considerations in allowing individuals to propel themselves forward on the back of an agency brand, only to leave their followers (which the agency will not retain).
It changes the objective of the communication. For example, individuals tend to promote themselves as much as the company. There is nothing wrong with that, but as mentioned earlier, individual communication tends to have a different style compared to agencies working as a team to add value for their clients and perspective clients. Multiple objectives, much like multiple messages, don’t always stick.
Where I agree with you wholeheartedly is that agencies do tend to overemphasize the past. We (they) rest on hand-selected past accomplishments as somehow indicative of what we might do for the next client. And yet, I have yet to work on a campaign that works the same or looks the same.
Very good stuff to consider.
All my best,
Rich
Arik- you’ve obviously tapped into the zeitgeist on this one! As a solo PR pro, I find the discussion fascinating, and I think your central point is absolutely true: “people are listening to ideas.” If an agency can showcase that it offers those leading thinkers (via a Portal or other method), clients are sure to take notice.
Justin: LOVE the retailers/shopping window reference. That’s exactly it. And, we’re already seeing some agencies doing this now.
Alison: Thanks for the comment. I also think agencies shouldn’t get hung up on the numbers. As we counsel our clients, it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. Your blog could have 50 followers, but if it’s an engaged group and it’s working toward your goals, it’s a success.
Danielle: You touch on an important concept. Should agencies make time during the day for staff to blog/interact online? I’d probably say “hell yes” but I also understand the need to bill time. That’s a very interesting debate-especially, again, considering we probably counsel some of our clients to do the same (encourage staff to tell your stories).
Lee: Thanks for stopping by. Agree completely on the audience front. That’s why I enjoy your blog so much. You bring in different perspectives and you focus on the ideas. So many agencies focus on case studies, wins, etc. Who’s that speaking to?
Rich: I might argue that trend is shifting, too. Is David Armano really riding on the coattails of Edelman? Or, is it the opposite? Probably a bit of both, but it’s not the slam dunk it used to be. Thanks for the comment!
Kellye: Thanks for the comment. As a solo, you’re right, the rules are much different. But, we’re all selling ideas. So, if I’m an agency owner I try to find the best way I can to use the talent I have to sell ALL our ideas (without giving away too much, of course). There is power in numbers.
@arikhanson
Andy: I like the idea of sending posts from personal blogs to the agency blog (if the topic is relevant of course). The will drive traffic back and forth between the two… people who read the agency blog will discover the personal blog and vice versa. It is also being completely transparent, which is always important.
What is an agency, Arik? When you reference folks like Dave Fleet and Rachel Kay, they work at agencies but their blogs are not agency blogs I opine — unless their agency employs a staff of one. Otherwise, their blogs must be bylined by different agency staff.
The difference between a personal blog and a non-personal blog (call it what you will) is whether a person is the primary contributor or if more than one person does it. Dave’s and Rachel’s blogs, to my knowledge, are only written by them respectively; so by my logic, they do not have agency blogs. Whether Thornley and RKPR have agency blogs I don’t know, but for it to be classified such, it needs more than one author.
People feel connected to a person and not an agency which makes the personal brand so much more powerful. I think we are at a time where as an agency you have to take the risk (if it is viewed this way)to have an employee or employees develop their personal brand and become bigger than the overall agency brand. The risk is if they leave. Well then they do and your agency received exposure from their personal brand that they would not have received without it.
This really provides great insight and thought for an agency who is still on the fence of the employee personal brand.
Our blog,www.hmatime.com, is a combination of all that you’ve mentioned. The entire team contributes – we write about our clients and projects we’re involved in both personally and professionally. In addition, we write about the industry, our views on issues facing public relations and communications.
First of all, thanks for the kind words about Fast Horse and our blogging efforts. We all put a lot of time and energy into that, and we truly believe it’s time well spent.
As for this shift from a focus on “agency blogs” to individual blogs, I’m not sure that’s quite the case. Without having much in the way of evidence to cite, I’d argue the opposite is more likely: A bunch of smart, motivated folks, years ago, started blogging about what they do at work, and after some time, some smart agencies recognized the value in doing that same idea-sharing at the agency level.
And regardless of which came first, I cannot deny the value of either: Smart people can and should be blogging about what they do, showing off how smart they are. Agencies should do the same.
And though it might not be interesting to read a blog that’s chock-full of self-promotional case studies, the value of including this sort of content somewhere — prominently — in an agency’s Web presence (tradition Web site, blog, blog-with-pages, or whatever) can’t be denied.
The ideas you’d write about on a blog only mean so much without stellar work to back them up, and at the same time, your work will struggle to be stellar if you’re not exercising those blog-fueling idea muscles.
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