From social media management to podcast production, the agency industry is changing as quickly as any. Companies need to be able to adapt to these changes as quickly as possible to remain competitive in the marketplace.
Agency leaders are tasked with making sure that not only they, but their teams, are up-to-date with what’s new in the industry. Below, 10 members of Forbes Agency Council share their favorite methods for keeping their team on track with agency trends.
Members of Forbes Agency Council share ideas for keeping your agency’s team on top of the latest industry news and trends.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Make It A Team Effort
Charge your teams with keeping tabs on key industry news sources to capture timely information, and consider dedicating time each week to internally discussing news and other relevant updates. By leveraging a diverse tool kit composed of cutting-edge industry research, data sources and internal communication, you (and your clients) will be equipped to stay up-to-date and proficient in trends. – Donna Robinson, Nina Hale – Digital Marketing Agency
2. Ensure Perpetual Communication
In addition to agencywide Zoom meetings held every three weeks and the usual frequent department meetings, Slack is an immensely powerful tool to provide insights. We’ve created several topic-centric channels in which we all share and comment on digital trends, client news and other trends in our focus industry (healthcare). The team’s personal insights drive much of the innovation within the agency. – Bill Gadless, emagine
3. Make Learning Part Of Company Culture
When you make learning part of your corporate culture, you also need to account for the time dedicated to exploration, research and discovery that’s not related to specific client deliverables. When you model that behavior, your team will follow. Add knowledge-share meetings and budgets for professional development, and make learning a part of your goal-setting during individual reviews. – Carey Kirkpatrick, CKP
4. Go To It Via Content Strategy
Blogs, whitepapers and other marketing content requires research. Devising a content strategy and themes requires research into industry trends. Outlining and writing content requires even deeper research. My staff owns the content marketing for the agency. It is an efficient way for them to learn while producing valuable content to attract clients and establish thought leadership at the same time. – Keri Witman, Cleriti
5. Share Expertise Within The Team
Have experts in various fields train and teach each other. We get together on a weekly basis, and part of that time we spend on discussing trends. Someone who is an expert in the area—whether it’s social media, paid search or conversion optimization—shares knowledge with the rest of the team. This has worked really well for keeping everyone up-to-date with what’s going on in the industry. – Solomon Thimothy, OneIMS
6. Develop, Watch And Listen
There are many ways to gather the latest intel to always remain “in the know.” From industry events to internal knowledge shares and intranet communication, teams can dedicate time to “development,” ensuring everyone has the opportunity to watch, listen and learn from industry leaders and peers. Then, regularly share key learnings with colleagues. – Fiona Bruder, George P. Johnson (GPJ) Experience Marketing
7. Focus On Tech Developments
One of the most critical parts of the equation is ensuring that there is a continual process of improvement that is happening from all aspects of the business. There needs to be continued research on the latest trends and improvements that are happening in the tech industry. All of the agencies need to be leading the way in ensuring that they are at the forefront of the tech path for clients. – Jon James, Ignited Results
8. Hold Learning Lunches
Once a month our staff meets for something we call a “learning lunch.” We order food and sit around the conference table to discuss trends, participate in webinars, watch TED talks or complete relevant certificates together. Learning lunch is a great agency tool that ensures accountability and allows us to grow together as a cohesive team. – Timothy Nichols, ExactDrive, Inc.
9. Create Modular Update Templates
Creating modular update templates makes information easy to share with different constituents in your communications cascades—from an executive summary to an action plan to an in-depth briefing, people can take what they need from one document. – Kieley Taylor, GroupM
10. Utilize Google Alerts
Keeping up-to-date on the latest trends can be difficult without the right tools. Google Alerts allows you to be notified via prompt and/or email whenever keywords are posted on the Web in near-real time. Adding the tag “Forbes Agency Council” will alert you of anything posted/trending with that text. This makes monitoring trending news and social feeds substantially easier when used correctly. – Michael Smith, iTribe Social Inc.
