Take a step back and look in the mirror!

ad agency thought leadership

Mirror, Mirror, who’s the fairest one of all?

When you’re getting your hair done and it looks like your hairdresser hasn’t tended to her own hair in weeks, it makes you a bit nervous. You might assume she’s not good at her job, right? The same goes for the business world. If the company you are discussing working with has a site that is spammy, lacks credibility, or simply doesn’t look good, you begin to question the quality of the company’s work.

So, let’s dive even deeper into that and take a look at ad agencies. Their purpose is to help share their client’s message in a specific form that’s appealing to the consumer. And for the most part, ad agencies produce really great things for their clients. But do agencies ever take a moment to look in the mirror? For the most part, they don’t. But that’s not because they don’t want to or don’t understand the importance of it — it comes down to a time issue.

As an agency, you’ve got a very specific set of skills, and you’re really good at those skills. It shows in the work you produce for your clients. But it’s also important to understand how prospective clients and the industry views you. You need to show off those skills. And that’s where most agencies fail. They lack the time to focus.

That’s when you need to start looking for a partner who understands your mission, your agency’s voice, and culture. This person or company can help portray your expertise to the outside world.

We’ve heard a lot of mentions of the term “thought leadership,” but how can an agency truly become a credible, trusted thought leader in its industry? It’s crucial to know what thought leadership is and where it can get you. It’s not a pitch about your company or service offerings — it’s about sharing expert content with a specific audience and providing value for the reader.

So what do I need to know to be successful in the realm of content marketing and thought leadership? Understand what questions your customers are asking, answer them in your content, and make sure it’s relatable to the reader. Understand that you’re leading and influencing a conversation. You’re starting a dialogue with your customers in a natural, organic format. As an agency, sharing your expertise will allow you to identify a problem and showcase a solution.

Look for outside resources that understand the mission, vision, and voice of your agency to help you create that content. Let your internal team focus on what they do best, but partner with a resource that focuses on this for you — one that has an outside perspective. It won’t be biased, and it will serve as an editorial checkpoint, ensuring that you’re sharing true expert content that isn’t promotional. Because let’s be honest: Neither your readers nor the publications are going to find that content interesting.

Experts In Ad Agency Thought Leadership

leaders in thought leadership

Natalie Stezovsky
Vice President at Influence & Co.

Thought leadership is just part of public relations, and it shouldn’t be your entire strategy. For agencies, this is a perfect avenue to continuously showcase the company in a positive light and influence a conversation.

Understanding the value of sharing your expertise — and the values of your agency — is going to pay off. It’s going to bring credibility to your agency and work.

Every business aspires to have a constant flow of new business and steady growth. So, take a step back and look in the mirror.

Natalie Stezovsky is a Vice President at Influence & Co., a company that helps experts build their businesses through thought leadership and content marketing. She’s directly involved in developing agency partnerships; when she’s not doing that, she’s usually at the barn with her horses. Connect with her on Twitter @nstezovsky or LinkedIn.

 

Top Photo by AutumnEves