There have been a lot of articles, blog posts, tweets and speeches of late that are all lamenting that many agencies are closing their blogs because no one reads them. Most tiptoe around the “why” suggesting that people are getting more visual (so have a Pinterest board or have your agency get active on Instagram) or we don’t read content online etc. But what no one is saying is the actual truth:
No one reads your blog because it sucks.
Agencies are out there selling social media strategies to clients and embarrassing themselves back on their own website with blogs that are:
- Updated once or twice a month
- Usually about some award or client they won
- Breaking all of the blogging rules (no visuals, too long, badly written)
- Only using your own work as examples (again…beating your own drum)
I think a lot of agencies jumped on the social media bandwagon (started a Twitter account, FB fan page, blog, etc.) just because it was expected but just like many of their clients — because the barriers to entry were so low, they didn’t bother to think it through or create a strategy. And now, their Facebook page, blog or Twitter feed is like a ghost town.
Here’s why your agency blog isn’t working:
- You have no strategy – you just write when you have time on whatever topic is top of mind
- You haven’t allotted resources (time, money, staff) to sustain it
- You haven’t built a community that will share your content
- You aren’t looking at your blog as an opportunity to position yourself as a thought leader/expert
- You don’t actually believe it can be a valuable asset to your business
The sad thing is — no one is better equipped to take advantage of social media than your agency. No other business has the writers, graphic artists, content or web team to maximize on all that social has to offer.
It could literally be a game changer for you. Isn’t it time to take advantage of it?
