Ask Bam

Episode 7

Show notes

We dedicated this entire episode to answering some of the questions we have received.

Episode highlights:

• 00:52 How do I present a winning argument to internal stakeholders or the senior leadership team to begin transitioning from offline advertising to digital marketing or digital advertising?
• 07:42 What are the key questions to ask an agency when considering their key products?
• 14:12 How do I effectively manage a digital agency?
• 18:54 How do I present my own content marketing product to an audience that has been burned by rogue practitioners?
• 25:16 SEO vs SEO - what is the difference between service offerings and how do I choose an agency?

You can listen to or watch the episode or you can check out the extended full post below.

Thank you to everyone who submitted their questions. Keep them coming, we’d love to do another episode where we answer your questions.  

Got questions? 

We want to hear from you! If you have any questions about this episode, email us: podcast@bam.com.au or tweet us @bamcreative.

Ask Bam

Question 1: How do I present a winning argument to internal stakeholders or the senior leadership team to begin transitioning from offline advertising to digital marketing or digital advertising?

Before you even begin your case for digital marketing, it’s worth understanding who your audience is. We always say to deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.

You may be familiar with the following:

1. The “I don’t know anything about digital marketing and I’m scared of looking bad in case it fails”stakeholder
2. The “I’m scared my position will be threatened” stakeholder
3. The “It costs too much money/too much time/too much everything” stakeholder

These folks may be a little difficult to win over with stats alone. While it might be easy to approach the situation with statistics and the bottom line in comparison to offline advertising, it’s always worth knowing who exactly is going to receive that approach and receive it well. It’s more likely that stakeholders who are already open to digital marketing will understand the need to move forward with it and be receptive to stats.

Remember, a presentation over complimentary lunch and coffee never hurt anyone (or did it?).

If you find yourself in the position to bring that winning argument, make sure you know your stuff. Be on top of latest trends and run your own small tests if you can so that you can deliver actual data to your stakeholder. At least this way, they’ll understand that they have control over the length and cost of a campaign more than they realised and may help be the catalyst to a full campaign.

But our old favourite is showing your boss what your competitors are doing, and possibly, what kind of results they are achieving. This can certainly put you on the fast track to getting a stakeholder buy in!

Question 2: What are the key questions to ask an agency when considering their key products?

Before asking any questions about an agency and their products, make sure that they have testimonials, case studies and referrals ready to go. Usually, they’re on their website but they may have some that are more relevant to your industry which will help you understand what kind of agency they are, and what kind of results you could be looking at.

However, it’s worth noting that an agency should never immediately assess your situation based on your industry and give you a standard solution. You should receive a tailored solution that is geared towards your business goals, industry and objectives and know that there is flexibility in what they are proposing to you.

In addition to this, there are three things that you should be noting when engaging with an agency:

1. The agency should have great communication and should be reaching out through the good times and the bad times (it happens).
2. Make sure there is a body of work that you can refer to - check out their activity on relevant products. This is a clear indicator of their quality of work.
3. They should have clear results as this builds trust. You’re investing a fair chunk and to be able to build trust, it’s ok to ask for case studies with results to understand their capabilities.

Question 3: How do I effectively manage a digital agency?

This question is a slight overlap with question 2, but worth asking!

When engaging with a digital agency, the waters are a little murky. A relationship is forming, and you’re yet to find out how you both work together.

In addition to the three points above, there are a few things that you can do:

1. Communication is a big one. Making sure that your requirements are clearly expressed and also receiving confirmation from the agency that they understand you is incredibly important. This can mitigate any wire-crossing later down the track.
2. Clearly identifying the roles and expectations that both of you will play in the project or product.
3. An agency should be upfront about scope and hours on a task, and they should also be able to produce those timesheets willingly if you request them. They should also clearly and appropriately communicate potential scope creep and any additional cost.
4. If you are unclear at any point, it’s ok to ask questions! Email is great to have everything in writing, but sometimes a phone call can just cut through the noise. A follow up email to put everything in writing for confirmation is a nice touch.

Question 4: How do I present my own content marketing product to an audience that has already been burned by rogue practitioners?

This was a tough one - there were a few disagreements in the room during this episode!

Our Digital Strategist, Jess, recommends that rather than trying to work hard to undo the bad rep that another business has given to the industry, work on building up your brand by focusing on your target audience’s pain points and creating content to connect with them.

Our Digital Producer, Richard, suggested that your business shouldn’t avoid the issue and address it head on.

Both Richard and our Business Development Manager, Josh, agreed that to have the best interests of the client at heart, it is our responsibility to inform a prospect of possible questionable practices of a competitor if it’s warranted.

But we still couldn’t agree on whether naming and shaming is the best tactic.

One thing we could all agree on is obtaining testimonials, referrals and results and letting the work speak for itself as it can help your prospect make a decision in their purchasing stage, regardless of your industry reputation. Let your reputation speak for you.

Question 5: SEO vs SEO - what is the difference between service offerings and how do I choose an agency?

There are many SEO companies in Perth (and the world) that offer a lot of different services and some of them promise things that they can’t deliver.

Engage with an agency and have them create a proposal with scope and pricing for you. You will be able to make a more informed decision rather than going off their promotional material alone.

When deciding on a SEO company, it’s worth going back to those three things you should be aware of:

1. The agency should clearly communicate and empower you through education on their recommendations and the benefits for you.
2. The agency should also have case studies that you can refer to.
3. They should outline what kind of results you can expect and what they have achieved for others.

In collaboration with you, the agency should be setting expectations and be clear about what  it is they will achieve for you. If at any time anything is unclear, it’s more than acceptable to ask questions.

And when you finally select The One and the SEO project is underway, they should also be clear about what they are doing with your time, what they are achieving for you and what their recommendations are. A SEO strategy should always be evolving based on data and your goals.