Social media is more than the coming thing. It's been the thing for a while now, and if your agency hasn't explored its potential, you could be missing opportunities to better coordinate in-house communications, promote your agency, and strengthen client relationships.

Thus, it only makes sense that many top agencies have been involved in social media since long before the term began cropping up. From the ubiquitous YouTube to the emerging Yammer, agencies have harnessed social media to their advantage.

We asked leaders from several member agencies about how they use social media. Their insights and advice can help you fine-tune your approach.

Put it to work

Charlie Kondek Director of New Media Relations MS&L Digital

Scott Chaikin Chairman and CEO Dix & Eaton

Brett Weiner Partner LaunchSquad

David Erickson Director of e-Strategy Tunheim Partners

He's not alone.

Scott Chaikin, chairman and CEO of Dix & Eaton, cites some recent examples of how his firm has deployed social media to benefit not only its clients, but the agency:

"A LinkedIn survey asked colleagues to share best practices based on the recent economic downturn. The responses allowed Dix & Eaton to provide real-time feedback to clients. The agency used Twitter and Facebook to promote the grand opening of a new DSW store," he says.

It posted videos from its "Stop Recycling Ideas" marketing campaign on YouTube. "We can track hits and push people back to our own Web site."

Following an executive roundtable on communications during economic crises, D&E created a Wiki forum to continue the conversation.

Sometimes, your clients will help drive which approaches you take. For example, many of LaunchSquad's clients provide the social-media-related technologies. So logically, the firm tries to make use of its clients' products, says Brett Weiner, partner. "It gets everyone involved…and it helps us in terms of client services."

Among the client applications LaunchSquad deploys:

• TimeBridge. In addition to traditional scheduling functions, TimeBridge Personal Scheduling Assistant allows the users to show your free/busy data on their Web site and/or social networks.
• Yammer. Essentially a closed version of Twitter, Yammer is a microblogging service launched in September.

LaunchSquad needs to keep current. "We're inside the bubble," says Weiner. "Our clients test us every day." It also comes down to knowing what you sell. "If you're selling social networking marketing services, you should probably be using social networking for marketing your own services," says David Erickson, director of e-strategy, Tunheim Partners.

Be specific and clear: "Don't pack 100 things into one application; make the application specific to a concentrated audience," says Chaikin. "Develop a clear, consistent message for each application."

Collaborate and communicate: "Social media is an organizational tool that enables team members to communicate with each other — as well as with others outside the company walls — in real time," Chaikin explains. Internally, it promotes collaboration. And, "as a firm marketing tool, we are able to reach out to current clients, as well as prospects. We are also able to do research on their background."

Kondek agrees. It facilitates contact, allowing people to conveniently and quickly share ideas, spot trends, and keep abreast of conditions. "It's easy to spot a useful article, for example, and post it to a colleague's Facebook profile."

Consider a blog: "For large and mid-sized agencies, blogging and social media can be an incredibly efficient way of keeping everyone in the agency abreast of all that's going on. Keeping everyone in the loop helps every employee think about how their projects or clients may contribute to or benefit from other clients," says Ericson.

An internal blog can serve that purpose — and it can be a collaborative tool for working on specific projects or with specific clients, he adds. Secured blogs can also be a way for clients to stay up to the minute on the status of their projects while also collaborating with their agency team. (For more on how to make your blog — be it internal or public — see the Sept. 17, 2008 article in The Firm Voice, "Seven Rules for Better Blogs: How to Create an Agency Blog that Drives Buzz and Business."

Don't expect miracles, but …

John Mallen President JMC Marketing Communications & PR

He did try — and, because he recognizes the potential, he hasn't given up on it. "For a while I had a remote, virtual assistant through Daybreak Office Solutions. My goal was to get the agony of keeping time slips off my plate, so I set up a Twitter account. When doing this, I'd tweet. Doing that, another tweet. My assigned assistant, whom I met only once, is half my age. You'd think Twitter would be second nature [to the assistant]. Not so. We reverted to the former manner of communications."

Moreover, several agency execs we consulted — including Mallen — haven't found that social media can directly reduce costs.

Developing a campaign, regardless of the media type, takes time. "And time equals money," says Chaikin. Nevertheless, when compared to traditional media buying, social media can save money and allow you to reach a broad audience for free, he acknowledges. But there's a caveat: "Depending on the audience you're trying to reach, broad might not be better."/p>

While many agencies have success stories, their experience is still anecdotal. "I think we'll need to wait and see studies that outline the impact and the real 'reach' of social media," says Chaikin. But given the low cost of entry, don't wait until the all the research is in, he says. "Get in and try it."

Just try it

"Keep an open mind and start small," says Kondek. "Before you say something like, ‘Twitter? I don't get it,' try it for a couple of weeks, see if there are situations where it does fit, see how other people are using it — especially if you're in a position of leadership. Don't just shoot things down on reflex."

Mallen, despite some disappointments, agrees. He's continuing to learn — even in the process of preparing his responses to The Firm Voice. "Discussing this with our Public Relations Global Network sparks far more dialogue than I ever imagined."

An agency ignores the power of social media it its own risk. "The 21st century is bringing forth a major change in the estates" — politics, administration, judiciary and media — and how they connect with the public at large, says Mallen. Social networking will be the means of maintaining the connections and steering individuals and clusters of individuals to a message — and to action.

So keep plugging, counsels Mallen. "My advice is to keep at it. I believe that this highly symmetrical, real-time, interactive technology will reshape what we're about."

Roxanna Guilford-Blake