The New Business Dingo

Resistance to change is nothing new. Resistance to an investment in social media by agencies for new business therefore shouldn't be a surprise when we think back to the challenges of simply getting over the hurdle of the introduction of computers, the adoption of the web and even email.

Stephanie Holland, President - Holland + Holland Advertising presented "Getting Ad Agency Buy-In for Social Media Success" at the social media workshop run by Catapult. Stephanie's real life experience as an agency principle with a track-record of new business success from social media demonstrated that getting buy-in from everyone in the agency is essential.

I’ve listed below a summary of Stephanie’s key insights.

Principal Buy-In:

Before you convince your people, you have to convince yourself
Full commitment is key
Your staff will commit as much as you do.
There should not be a 1/2 way commitment.

Reasons for resistance: 
It’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks

Staff Buy-In:
Before your staff joins in, you should have:
Voice & strategy defined
Content prepared
A plan to execute

Advice:
Commit to using Social Media.
Jump in, feet first.
Participate in the conversation.
Evangelize your staff.
Lead their efforts.
Maintain your presence, both online and with your employees.

Stephanie's parting advice was clear to all in attendance - "Most of all…Start and don’t look back, where you begin will definitely not be where you end up."

Download a copy of Stephanie's presentation here.