Before the global health crisis, the advertising industry has been a staple for many businesses. For example, social media advertising has been an essential form of marketing for many companies because that is where the customers reside most of the time. This is how they reach the audience and catch their precious attention. This is the status of the advertising industry before the pandemic.
As the COVID-19 virus spread around the globe, there has been a major shift in the market. The current situation has focused on bringing people together despite staying apart due to social distancing measures and quarantine protocols.
The pandemic has also gotten people interested in starting a business. One of the businesses that people have been looking into is starting a small advertising agency or a digital marketing agency. Are you one of them?
So you want to set up your own agency?
Setting up your own advertising agency might be the easy part of starting a business during this pandemic. Before you dive into the creative aspect of your agency, figure out how you will maintain your team throughout this new venture.
The creative output is the fun part of an advertising agency. When it comes to the tedious process of finance and accounting, you might think twice about starting your business in the first place. To help you stabilize your process and create an efficient method of accounting for your employees’ payroll concerns, you may opt to outsource payroll services. Doing so will help you keep focused on the creative aspect of your advertising agency.
Remember to hire a hardworking and reliable Human Resource person to handle other administrative work for your agency. Make sure you screen candidates thoroughly to create a strong team.
These are ways you can handle the technical and “boring” aspects of setting up a new company during this pandemic. The next thing you need to consider is the creative minds of the company. After hiring a talented pool of artists, writers, and maybe even video editors, what are useful marketing tips to keep in mind during this difficult time in the industry?
Pandemic Marketing Tips
The global health crisis is a big challenge for small businesses as it is. If you want to start a new business during this time, that adds to the complexity of the challenge. For start-up advertising agency owners, what are things you can do to adapt to changing and unpredictable times?
Even before the pandemic, it has always been important for marketers to get to know their audience through and through. This concept has never been truer. Nowadays, events around the globe have been greatly unpredictable. We face many challenges every month or even every day that also significantly affect consumer behavior. Since the consumers are one of the major bases for a marketing strategy, marketers must keep up with the changes in trends and consumer perspectives.
Given that we are all expected to observe social distancing measures, meeting with clients has been more difficult than before. Online transactions lose the personal touch that face-to-face conversations provide. How can marketers address this concern? Aside from holding virtual meetings, marketers can also opt to provide added value to their services by regularly checking up and updating clients, depending on the client’s preferred frequency.
Apart from the consumers’ and the clients’ concerns, as an owner of a start-up, you should also remember to take care of your employees. Your team is the most important part of your advertising agency. Without the time, effort, and brains of your team, your agency will not be able to push forward through today’s challenges. Remind your team to always look after themselves. Help keep them healthy and safe by retaining a remote work setup while the pandemic is still ongoing. Given this setup, there are also considerations regarding work culture.
Establishing a healthy workplace culture may be difficult if your team relies only on video calls and emails to communicate with each other. Quarantine protocols prevent us from meeting up in person to bond over coffee, but you can be creative in finding ways to bridge this gap. Perhaps if your agency can afford it, you can provide occasional gift bags right at their doorstep before you engage in a video call. You can enjoy the goodie bag together as you bond over your virtual meeting.
Setting up an advertising agency during this time is a challenging but rewarding venture. Keep in mind the things you need to consider when taking care of your team, your clients, and your clients’ consumers. This way, your company will meet its business goals and its clients’ marketing success.
