Journal

Drop The Retainer If You Want to Retain

The day of the large retainer fee is over. Upfront and ongoing fees charged by PR, advertising and marketing agencies used to be the normal way to conduct business, but this is no longer the case. Truth be told, it hasn’t been the case for a while and more agencies need to realize this.

The massive stock crash and financial mire the economy finds itself in has affected everyone, from huge corporations to micro-businesses and everyone in-between. This has resulted in many companies either reigning in their agency spend or cutting ties altogether. The main reason for this has been the exorbitant retainer fees charged by many.

Smart agencies stopped this practice a long time ago, and changed over to value-based pricing. Instead of expensive monthly retainers and high hourly rates, value-based pricing charges on delivered results. This could be number of new customers, amount of new revenue, amount of press received, etc.

The benefit to the client is obvious – they aren’t shelling out for a monthly cost that may return very little. They also know that their agency is working properly for them – no results, no huge project fee regardless of success.

Many agencies decry value-based pricing, saying that it isn’t manageable and there are too many variants to take into account. I disagree – this is where getting to know your client comes in. You know, the role you’re being paid for?

As more businesses realize that high-cost retainers are becoming a thing of the past, the more they’ll look for agencies offering value-based alternatives. Will your agency be one?

Social Media Goes Gonzo

In what’s going to be a first for me, I’m going to be hosting a social media blog carnival here on Tuesday 13th January 2009. The carnival will be in association with my good friend Kilroy_60, who runs an excellent read at Fear and Loathing – The Gonzo Papers.

For anyone who either hasn’t heard of blog carnivals, or taken part in one before, they’re pretty straightforward. The host (me) takes readers on a journey throughout the blogosphere, linking to blogs on a specific topic submitted by the carnival participants (you).

This is where the Social Media Goes Gonzo blog carnival comes in.

Entries are being accepted now. To enter, email me with a Subject Line of Gonzo Carnival Entry.

Entries should include…

Your name as you want it to appear in the post
The name of your blog
The blog URL
The title of the post
The post URL

Posts that qualify for entry include…

Your perspective on or experience with social media including blogging
Posts that deal with any social media site where you are or have been active
How you use social media for business or pleasure
Social media interactions you’ve had; the good, the bad and the ugly are acceptable

That should provide plenty of flexibility to select a post.

The rules for this carnival are…

Entries accepted from blogs only.
Only English language posts will be accepted.
No more than one post per blog.
No posts with titles that include profanity or pictures of a sexual nature.

We, of course, want the social media carnival to be sociable so we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for you to play along.

To help make the social media blog carnival as big a success as possible, feel free to promote it by mentioning it yourself on your own blog – your participation in it, what it’s about, who can join in, discussing on Twitter, etc. Let me know if you do this by leaving a comment with a link to the post and I’ll make sure it’s highlighted.

If you have any questions about the carnival itself, just ask them in the comments section and I’ll answer them there, so that anyone can see if it answers a question they may have had.

Deadline for entries is 9 January at 11:59 pm. In addition to the social media carnival, the Gonzo Gratitude Carnival and the Gonzo Business Carnival are also on 13 January. Check them out and enter all three!

The Gonzo Blog Carnival Series is sponsored, as always, by For Your Success.

Look forward to seeing you here.

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Discussing Social Media with… Mary Higgins

A little while back, I sent out a request via Twitter asking if anyone would be interested in being interviewed for a discussion on social media. With the medium meaning so many different things to so many people, as well as how it can be used, I was interested to hear the views of the people I connect with.

My original plan was to run a ?round table? style of blog post – raise the questions and then have a mix of views as the responses. However, the answers I received back were all excellent, and showed why social media is the mix of interesting people and views that it is. So, I decided individual posts would be far more effective in an on-going series of interviews.

Sharing her views today is Mary Higgins, a writer originally from the UK but now living in Canada. Mary is a self-confessed social media and tech geek who is currently writing her first novel. My sincere thanks to Mary for taking the time to reply and share her views. To connect with Mary, or find out more about her, please visit her blog The Last Geek Bus Home.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

Social Media is using technology to connect with and share ‘stuff’ with other people. I would say there are 3 main elements to Social Media:

a) The Technology: At it’s heart, Social Media is about new ways of using technology so that allows you to connect and share (files, comments, information) with other people (users). There seems to be new applications arriving every day and that adds to the general noise about Social Media and also the confusion. Not all applications do the same things and finding the right one to fit your needs (especially when you are not sure what your needs are or will be) is difficult.

b) The Connection: The applications are available but are meaningless without the people using them. Why do people start to use Twitter, for example? Early adopters used it to connect to each other but more and more people are using it now because they have friends already on Twitter and want to join in. Or a favourite celebrity is on Twitter and they want to follow them.

It’s about connecting with people and building communities and it is a two-way communication. Anyone can follow on Twitter but the real value comes when you start responding, asking and answering questions, building relationships in a real way.

c) The ‘Stuff’ you share: Communities are developed around the technology and/or around a group of people using the technology. You can choose to share as little or much as you want. Some people will unfailingly tell you what they had for breakfast while others will share that they have developed a new application or have published a new blog post. One of the advantages is that you choose what you share and you choose what to listen to from other people.

What is your reason for using social media?

Initially I started blogging because I had something I wanted to? talk about. And when I say ‘talk’, that is what I mean. I didn’t? want to be splurging words onto the Internet for their own sake -? the intention was to engage with other like-minded people and have? discussions, make connections and take part. I was lucky enough to? meet people who took the time to talk to me and show me new things. Tabz (Tabitha Grace Smith) introduced me to Twitter but more than? that she showed me that it’s value was in the interactions with? people, not just following.

Another person who influenced my use of Social Media has been Felicia Day, the creator, writer and star of the webseries The Guild. She uses Twitter, her blog and other applications to connect with fans in a direct way. It has just been announced that the second season of The Guild has sponsorship from Microsoft. I enjoy the social aspects enormously.? I’m a writer and being connected to other people when you work from? home is very important. I’ve been following Felicia for a long time and I’m actually doing a video interview with her this week on my blog.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

No, but that needs some serious qualification! It is a difficult question to answer because of the 3 elements that go into Social Media. In terms of the technology available at this moment I would say that only a fraction of the potential use of products is being utilised. The ‘Connection’ part is getting better but I think a lot more can be done to integrate applications.

Unfortunately when problems such as the Twitterrank incident happen it highlights the fact that while people want to try new things out they don’t always understand the implications of what they are doing.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

Twitter, Plurk, Friendfeed and MyBlogLog are the main ‘tools’ I use for communication, research and connecting with people. I am part of the? MicroMagnate community because I wanted to connect with other small business owners in Canada. I’m also part of community at Watchtheguild.com because it’s a webseries I love and the people there are fantastic. I am also on Twittermoms and Geeks. I have my own blog and I write for Whedonage.com, and I enjoy replying to the comments people make. There are many other websites and blogs I visit and comment on, also.

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

I think the whole area will expand in the short term but then I’m expecting that many of the applications around today will not continue. This is a new area and no-one is sure where it will lead or even where they want it to go. Although Social Media is a big topic in some quarters most people have never even heard the phrase. But humans naturally want to interact with other, are naturally social, so I think this will expand and cross over to the mainstream in the near future.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

I don’t follow businesses on Twitter or anything else, but I do follow individuals who represent businesses. I prefer to read opinions of people that I respect personally.? Organisations that understand that it is the personal touch that many people value will probably do better and I know that some larger businesses are using it well. It does take a big commitment, though, and I think the worst thing a company can do is to launch a Social Media campaign and then not put the resources in to maintaining it. Posts, comments, and all feedback needs to be treated seriously and promptly.

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

There was some recent research to show that women bloggers are more likely to be addicted to Social Media than other women. That is no surprise to me! I think it can be very addictive because the feedback you get can be instant. When I am writing I have to take myself out of the loop so I can concentrate otherwise the temptation to keep refreshing the screens to see who has said what and where everyone is up to is very great!

I also think that important issues can be caught up in a storm of argument and counter-argument. Just as in other areas of life, enabling people to have a voice means that some of the things they say are going to annoy, irritate, upset and offend others. There is not always an obvious arbitrator for matters when issues are taken up across blogs, message boards etc. People need to respect the beliefs and opinions of others.

The best parts are when real communities are built up. People are connected to each other and there is a flow of ideas, help and advice. In some cases ‘Tribes’ have helped out members in very practical ways. When podcaster Doug lost his house in the recent fires his Tribe came to his assistance to cover the costs while the insurance ran out and the money was sent to him within days.

You can find more ?Discussing Social Media with?? interviews here.

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The Client Isn’t Always Right

Years ago, I used to work in retail and one of the first things I was taught is that ?the customer?s always right.? I never completely went along with this view – probably why I didn?t last in retail long! Jump forward 10+ years to where I?m running my own business, and nothing?s changed, with the exception of ?client? taking over from ?customer?.

That?s not to say that I don?t hold my clients in high regard – I most certainly do, and will always go over and above the normal ?agreement? on a project and help maximize any promotional needs.

However, there also comes a time when you have to draw the line and make a stand – whether it?s client requests, client invoicing or similar. I?ll give you a couple of examples.

Clients often want something done yesterday. In this business, that?s understandable – after all, in PR the early bird truly does get the worm. Unfortunately, it can be easier said than done – sometimes you have to hold back and let others jump in first, and then come out with a kick-ass strategy that blows everyone else away.

The point is, if you?re not working on a project immediately for a client, there can often be ?complaints? that you?re not giving that client?s needs priority. Turn that around a second, though, to when you invoice your client and it can be a different kettle of fish. All of a sudden, the urgency has gone and your invoice isn?t high up on their priorities.

Now I?ll admit that so far, I?ve been pretty lucky with my clients. Most of mine either pay on time or before an invoice due date – yet I?ve still had a couple of instances where I?ve had to chase up an invoice and resort to the threat of legal action. It?s not something I want to do and I?m sure the client doesn?t really want to go down that route either.

Tip: Clients should show their provider the same courtesy and importance as the provider shows the client?s project.

Another example is when the client wants too much say in a project. Now before I go on, I just want to make it clear that I?m not saying a client should have little or no say in their own project – after all, it?s their product or service you?re promoting so their input is most definitely beneficial overall.

However, there?s a reason that a client has come to you in the first place – your expertise. You?ve obviously stood out amongst your contemporaries for a reason – so your advice and recommendations should count, right?

If you offer 5 media outlets that a client should go with, then you?ve recommended them for a reason – results. You haven?t recommended them for cost-effectiveness or amount of possible traffic your client may get – you?ve recommended them because they?re the best outlets for the particular piece of news your client wants to get out.

This works in other mediums as well – any recommendation you make for a client is based on your expertise in that field. Heck, any recommendation you make to business partners or your boss is based on your expertise in a given field – so why should that expertise and knowledge not be taken advantage of?

Tip: Your expertise and knowledge has been requested for a reason. Advise your client/boss/partner of this (politely) and let them know that if they want the best results, to trust your opinion.

As I said in my intro, I respect my clients and their needs and this post is by no means going against that. Most clients realize that while they may feel they know what?s best for their project, in reality their expertise is in the product or service itself.

When it comes to your part in it – whether it?s promotion, reviewing, selling, whatever – then that?s the time for the client to step back, offer their valuable input where it?s most effective, and leave the rest up to you. Trust me, it?s the way to get results.

Nominated in the Best Canadian Blog Awards

“Woot!” is all I can say. I’ve just found out that this blog is up for two awards in the Canadian Blog Awards.

The Canadian Blog Awards is an annual event on the Canadian Blogosphere in which Canadian Bloggers and Blog Readers vote to decide which blog is the best – either overall or within a category.

To be nominated for two awards is a huge honour, especially with the blog still being relatively new. Looking at the blogs that have been nominated, there are some wonderful reads there which makes it even more humbling to be a part of it.

The categories I’m nominated in are Best Blog for the blog itself, and Best Blog Post Series for my “Discussing Social Media with…” interviews. Round one voting starts today and runs until November 29, with just one vote per category allowed.

If you wish to vote for me in any of the categories, you can do so at the following links (with the title of the nomination in brackets):

Best Blog (Danny Brown: Social Media PR)
Best Blog Post Series (Danny Brown: Discussing Social Media with)