As an advertising agency, you might think that getting new clients is easy. After all, if you’re highly skilled and knowledgeable, then that should be enough, right?
Well, yes and no.
It’s one thing to have the expertise but in such a competitive and saturated market, even advertising agencies need to seek out and look at alternative ways to stand out. In order for agencies to continue to grow and gain business themselves.
So we thought it would be worth sharing some of the ways that advertising agencies can gain new clients and inspire you to try some of these methods yourself, whether you’re an ad agency or a brand looking for new customers.
1. Try content marketing
Content marketing is a form of marketing that involves the creation and sharing of online material which includes:
- Blog posts
- Images
- Videos
- Social media posts
- Podcasts
The distinction between content marketing and regular content is content marketing doesn’t directly promote a brand or its service. Rather, it demonstrates authority in that particular industry. An example could be a bakery that writes about types of bread or tips on how to the perfect belgian bun.
In the context of an ad agency, you may want a piece of content creating such as an article about improvements that a business can make or the most controversial ads of the 20th century. With then a paragraph suggesting marketing and advertising options. The same sort of approach can be done in video content and also through social media content.
Besides the display of authority, content marketing can also help with SEO efforts which then boosts visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Check out these content marketing tools:
2. Try outreach marketing
Outreach marketing is an effective method for acquiring new clients. Again, this is predominantly about providing a service to a group that may need it, such as content creation that you would then outreach out to bloggers to showcase on their established websites. It works well with content marketing as you are able to feed out and create a strategy based on outreach of your business and brand.
A great example of unique, high-quality outreach is Diamond PR’s campaign for Florida Marriott where they worked with 8 travel bloggers. The result was a heap of coverage for their client, including 39 blog posts, over a million unique monthly visitors through the travel bloggers, and a dedicated hashtag—#BloggingFL—reached almost 8 million tweets.
3. Try online advertising
Many people use the internet these days to find and source information that they need, so online advertising could be one of the best ways that an advertising agency could gain new clients. It can include online adverts that run and using platforms like Google Ads can be a great step forward.
Using different online methods to advertise, be that through social media platforms or otherwise, can help you to build your audience and subsequently have your business seen by the right people and potential clients.
Facebook Ads, for example, will let you use their engagement and tools to create ads to be seen by more people than it would if you just shared it to your page. The costs can vary but it can prove to be a very successful method of online advertising and it can be great PR for your business.
4. Try social media
On the subject of Facebook, one of the best ways these days to advertise any business, let alone just you as an advertising agency is to use social media. Coming up with a social media strategy can help you to understand what it is you need when it comes to creating content.
Small factors that you can take into consideration would include different content, images and videos. You will also want to ensure that you focus on building the audience organically, which means engaging and responding to comments and direct messages.
Further to that, social media can be a great way to advertise if you understand the algorithms and the best times to post. Making the most of when people are online and pushing your content through quality and consistency.
Here are some social media management tools that you can use:
5. Try traditional marketing
There is so much focus on online marketing and advertising these days that we can forget there are other offline methods that could prove extremely useful. Radio is a popular advertising option that could be very successful. People still listen to the radio in their cars and advertising locally or even on a national level could be a great option to consider.
Other offline methods include:
- TV
- Magazine and newspaper ads
- Trade shows
- Networking events
- Business expos
- Leaflets
6. Try local ads
Advertising locally is one of the markets that many people are yet to tap into, but in truth, this could be a lucrative one to explore. Locally, people are wanting to support other local businesses and you may find that you could be the only one offering your services in your area. There are many ways that you can advertise locally. You could use offline methods that include local papers and magazines or even things like leaflet drops. Or you could choose online methods such as advertising in local Facebook groups.
Many communities hold events throughout the year and at some point, these will be perfect networking opportunities for you to get involved with local businesses. Local advertising is one of those things that we should explore more to gain more sales and with there being more focus than ever before to support local businesses, you may find that you will be helping others as well as them helping you by becoming new clients.
7. Include case studies on your site
Using case studies is a great way to showcase what you can do and a more informal approach to showcasing your skills. People are not always interested in what you have to say and would rather take the word and experience that others may have. You could use case studies on your website, advertise them through your social media links and also share them with potential customers and clients.
Examples of case study pages on agency sites:
Case studies use positive language, showcase statistics and results and give your potential customers and clients an in-depth look at what you can do.
8. Try online directories
We’ve written about the power of online directories before and they shouldn’t be overlooked in 2020.
Here are some stats:
- 76% of UK consumers research or get inspiration online before they make a purchase
- 66% of people prefer to shop online, compared to 27% who prefer otherwise
- The number of online shoppers is expected to hit 2.14 billion by 2021, meaning 26.8% of the global population will be digital buyers
With traditional directories like the Yellow Pages and Thomson Local Directory moving online, that meant a transition for business listings. Now, directories are more advanced and have a stronger reputation than they used to, back when people used black hat tactics to gain better rankings.
Besides those online directories, you also have things like Google My Business and Bing Places, and marketplaces like Adzooma Marketplace, Clutch, and The Manifest.
9. Try email marketing
Despite rapid advancements in communication, email is still around and shows no signs of disappearing anytime soon. So why not use it to promote your ad agency?
Blogs and content marketing can do a lot but there’s a certain buzz you get from an email from someone you know and trust. Try starting a weekly email newsletter full of advertising tips, interesting articles, opinions and more.
And if you’d rather not do it all yourself, you can use an email marketing firm to help with a campaign or check out these email marketing tools:
Conclusion
There are so many different methods that you can try and as an advertising agency, you will know only too well the value in certain paths to explore. But the main focus for any advertising option that is chosen should be the type of content that you share to make it unique and different.
More people are being exposed to content these days as statistics for social media and monthly active users are getting bigger, so the type of content that you share is just as important as the method of advertising you choose. Hopefully, this has given you something to think about when it comes to advertising agencies getting new clients.
But if you need some more inspiration, Adzooma Marketplace is home to a variety of different agencies such as Spread Like Wildfire that offer advertising and content marketing services.
