How to Win New Business with $11 and a Blog

What if I told you that there was an ad agency out there that.....

• Won eight new clients recently without a business pitch or cold calls - in fact, the clients called them!
• Increased profit by 104% in 2008
• Only spent time and $11 on all new business endeavors
• Six of her eight new clients came from the agency's social media endeavors

Pretty unbelievable, but it's all true!

The agency is called The Russo Group and I first read about the agency's success on the blog Fuel Lines. The post includes a recorded interview with Jaci Russo, a Senior Partner at the agency. During the interview, she shares the secrets of the agency's success.

The interview was sort of long, but REALLY INTERESTING (you can listen to it here). In case you don't have time to listen, I took down some notes, which I wanted to share....

But before I share, here is some background on the agency......it is located in Louisiana and has about 19 employees. Despite being a small agency in a small town, TRG has clients in London, New York, PA, DC, LA, and other faraway cities with much bigger and well-known agencies.

Okay, back to the interview. Here are the highlights:

On winning new business.....

• Russo attributes a lot of the agency's success to its involvement in social media. Her agency started out by studying the landscape to see what social media outlets potential clients were using. As the agency became more familiar with the space, they took small steps to become involved in social media themselves. They now have a blog, Twitter, YouTube group, and use Facebook to connect with new clients.
• As stated above, six of their eight new clients came from social media. Russo pays close attention to the analytics of her blog, her twitter and website. Typically, a new client will start reading the agency blog for about 40 days, and then they will start commenting before downloading a white paper. Eventually, they reach out to the agency.
• The blog is updated frequently, but Russo says she rarely writes about the agency. Instead, she writes about what's happening in the industry, why branding is so important, or about her clients (she won't mention a client directly, but will write about the client's industry for example).
• Russo believes that social media teaches agencies to approach new business as it should always be approached. Instead of going after clients with cold calls, social media allows an agency to build relationships with potential clients. For example, if you look at TRG's holiday video on YouTube, you get a good idea of what the agency is all about.

How to take advantage of social media with existing clients.....

• Russo identifies three ways agencies can profit from using (and recommending) social media: 1) You're a thought leader - Russo is asked to speak at various events, which in turn helps her win new business. 2) Even if you can't monetize Twitter, you can develop tactics that drive traffic to that Twitter or blog. Or, you can write the blog for the client. 3) Social media is just one tool in the box, but Russo believes it is the most important - not only is it cheap (or free), but it's measurable, and effective.

Bottom line.....

• Social media is too important to ignore. As an ad professional, it is vital to commit time to learning about it and getting involved (Russo spends about 2 hours each day blogging, tweeting, and Facebooking).
• Agency size or location doesn't matter as much anymore - social media breaks that barrier.
• Branding should always be top priority. Social media is just a really effective outlet to promote your brand.
• The Russo Group's approach to new business is not only relevant for agencies - it's a great case study for growing business period.