Choosing the "Right" Digital Advertising Agency

Social media presence is the means of presenting yourself as a brand both online and in the digital world. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to develop such a presence. When such a problem arises, they immediately turn to an advertising agency for help. When it comes to choosing a digital advertising agency there are many factors, which can dictate how you decide which one is best for you. The appropriate research on an agency will ensure you don’t run into a digital PR catastrophe, or waste advertising dollars.

Some ad agencies have a way of marketing their services in such a way as to trick you into buying fans for their pages, to give the illusion of a “social presence”. Being unknowledgeable about such strategies could easily influence you to pick an agency that isn’t appropriate or experienced for the services you need. If you pay close enough attention to these agencies and their strategies, you will notice they only have 300-600 followers with no interaction. An agency with successful digital strategies has well over 1000 Twitter or Facebook followers. Below are characteristics of an agency you want to avoid in your digital agency of record selection.

• Tweets about themselves, and what THEY are doing constantly

• Does not re-tweet others tweets and never involved in conversations on Twitter

• Uses automated following programs to gain their audience and followers

• Has a Facebook page containing posts with no link

• Can’t provide success stories or share any case studies of their work

• Has a very small following on Twitter and very few likes on Facebook

• Social media pages have little to no subscriber activity

• Many of these firms will claim to be social media or digital experts and give seminars for free or at very little cost.

(When is the last time you heard of a real expert giving away free advice?) It is important that the agency you choose understands your business. That is why one of the most important criteria when choosing an advertising agency is ensuring that they know as much about your brand as possible, and that they appear to take an interest in what you do. If they do not then this should be ample enough reason to continue your search for an agency to represent you.

Digital social media and the online world lives, breathes, evolves and constantly changes. Digital advertising agencies have to be able to grow and adapt to a fast paced evolving digital and social media landscape. The whole globe is going digital, and online is the new high street. With a little homework, you can make the right call and will be well on your way of working with an agency that has a confirmed record of success and has the credentials to prove so.

If your company or organization needs help with creating a digital online presence, give us a call for a free consultation. If you are already working with a digital agency or currently interviewing with a digital advertising agency, take a moment in your discovery phase to answer the following questions about the agency.

1. Is the company willing to show you case studies from their client’s digital campaigns?

2. Do they have a digital portfolio?

3. What social media services do they offer?

4. How big is their team’s personal social media presence and audience?

5. Does the company have testimonials from their clients?

6. How many followers do they have on Twitter?

7. How many likes do they have on Facebook?

8. Is there business on Google Maps and do they have ads placed on Google Maps?

9. How is their company using Foursquare?

10. Is there CEO or Creative Director actively using Yelp or Foursquare?

If you answered "No" more than one of these questions, it is definitely time to start looking for a more digitally savvy advertising firm.

Digital notes from our CEO, Michael Hendrix

Declivity of “Print Era” Clears Throne for Digital Advertising

Is the demise of the book, magazine, and newspaper creeping upon us? In the age of digital advertising it’s only appropriate to question whether print advertising is in jeopardy as digital ad spending surpasses that ofits predecessor. As social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace continue to grow at a monumental rate; the demand for online marketing and digital ads has outgrown that of the demand for print advertising. Marketing firms are seeing more clientele using social networking resources as a way to project their promotion and sales, as well as a way to appeal to several different audiences all at once. According to research firm eMarketer, investments in ad spending on social networks worldwide is expected to rise 14% this year to $2.5 billion. Social media is the fastest growing segment in the $55 billion world of online-ad marketing.

In December 2009, Outsell (a company that helps publishers and commercial information providers grow their business) conducted a study which examined the spending habits of 1,008 advertisers. Results conclude that online-ad spending will increase 9.6 percent while other forms of marketing and advertising will only increase a mere 1.2 percent. At this point it is not a question of “if” digital advertising will surpass other forms of marketing, but more-so “when”. Digital advertising not only comes in the form of online publications but video, email, and search engine keywords as well (i.e. Google). The Outsell study was conducted a month prior to co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs announcing the Apple Ipad. The release of the device could have only accelerated the demand for digital marketing, as a key element of the device is to integrate online news in such a way that is just as customary and familiar to an individual as opening a newspaper or magazine. Although the statistics state that 32.5% of the $368 billion that marketers will spend this year are going to digital (and 30.3% to print), what does this mean for our withering economy? Yes, we have the statistics that confirm who will reign supreme in the marketing world this year but will the excessive spending by both consumer and company put additional barriers in the way of piecing back together our economy?

Lastly, what will this mean for your business? Will you be focusing more on promoting your business via internet vs. doing so by way of print media?

- CEO of The Precise Agency Group

Michael Hendrix

Get Help with Yelp

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Get to know Yelp, and learn how it can help or hurt your business!
Please RSVP to info@thepreciseagencygroup.com for login info.


What can Yelp do for you?
Communicate with your customers
Track how many people view your business page
Add photos, a business description, news and specialties
Announce special offers and upcoming events


Yelp Facts:

• Yelp has 29 million unique visitors per month
• Over 7 million user reviews per month
• The majority of Yelp users are between 24-36 years of age with anaverage yearly income of $100K