Rest assured. You didn’t miss out on a major marketing trend. Blarketing is some made-up shit we invented at Superneat Marketing.
It was a dark and stormy Tuesday, and we simply had to figure out a more clever name than “marketers marketing marketing.” We needed something that made us feel understood—a coping mechanism that sorta rolled off the tongue (but not really).
Behold…Blarketing.
Blarketing is that haunting feeling marketing agencies experience when it comes to their own marketing efforts. It’s the curse of being incredible at your client’s marketing while being terrible at your agency’s marketing. It’s frustrating, but it comes with the territory.
I’m actually Blarketing right now. You were spared from all of the self-loathing that happened while this blog was being created, and you can just kick back and have a nice time reading.
Why Do the Blarketing Blues Manifest for So Many Agencies?
Whether you run a marketing agency or work at one, you’re driven by the same obsession: Client success.
Every ounce of creative energy is spent on achieving your client’s marketing goals. But this intense dedication often leaves you with little to no bandwidth to execute your agency’s content strategy.
You’re dealing with both of these problems:
1. You’re running on empty.
You’re dealing with an insane volume of work required to keep client projects on track. Meeting deadlines, brainstorming fresh ideas, and ensuring client satisfaction consume the majority of your time and mental energy. There’s nothing left for Blarketing your agency after that.
2. Marketing yourself sucks.
You’re also dealing with the horrific mental block that almost always comes when one must market oneself. It’s easy to promote your client’s brand objectively, but it’s sheer torture to turn that critical eye inward. Self-doubt and overthinking will paralyze you, and it’s no fun.
It’s all so tragically poetic, isn’t it?
Despite knowing exactly what it takes to create great content, you’re spinning your wheels in some marketing vortex of neglect. The creativity and energy that flow so freely for client projects vanishes without a trace as soon as it’s time to address your agency’s marketing needs.
But, you have to get over this hump. You just have to.
Agencies Need to Market Themselves Aggressively but Authentically
You speak marketing, and so do I (mwah-ha-ha, otherwise known as “the evil laugh”). So, anyway. I know the best way to scare you into getting over the Blarketing hump is with scary stats!
Scary Stat #1: Economic Uncertainty
34% of marketing agency owners expressed concern over economic instability, which sadly, impacts client budgets and spending behaviors. To attract steady business, agencies must (I repeat…must) market themselves aggressively.
Scary Stat #2: Client Acquisition
More than a third of marketing agencies identified client acquisition as their main hurdle. Agencies need strong self-marketing strategies to showcase their expertise and attract prospects. Otherwise, it’s forever a feast-or-famine situation.
Scary Stat #3: Time Management
40% of agencies cited time management as their top internal challenge. There are plenty of resource struggles while juggling multiple clients and projects. You’ve got to figure out how to efficiently create your agency’s content without sacrificing anything on the client service side.
Visibility for your marketing agency is crazy important now. Potential clients want to see proof that you know your shit and the best way to show them is through—I’m sorry to say this…
Blarketing.
You already know that you need to be sharing quality content consistently. That’s half of the equation. The other half is an overused but important word—authenticity.
I see way too many marketing agencies trying to act cool and/or slapping a “we’re the best” H1 on their homepage. That won’t work if you’re trying to differentiate your agency because everyone is exhibiting the same juvenile behavior.
Whenever we’re talking to potential clients, the sense I get from almost everybody is distrust. They’ve either been burned before with some other shady agency, or they’re assuming they’re about to get taken for a ride now that you’re here.
Your agency will have to overcome these trust issues. The best way to rapidly build trust is by being as human and real as possible (aka authentic).
Now, I will present the best Blarketing Blues remedy of all. It’s the only thing that really works for us here at Superneat. Hint…
Beat the Blarketing Blues With Video Marketing
Stop. You knew I was going to bring up video because we’re a video marketing agency.
But, hear me out.
Video should be at the heart of your agency’s content strategy, because…
It’s a Showstopper
Video content captures attention better than any other form of content. Your audience craves easy-to-digest, visually appealing content. Whether it’s a podcast, client testimonials, or thought leadership, video is the best content medium for “stopping the scroll” and hooking your audience.
It’s Zero Click
Zero-click content is a newer approach worth implementing because we live in a world where algorithms reward platform-native content. Rather than relying on your audience to take an action (i.e. clicking a link), with video content you say what you need to say right then and there. The algorithm doesn’t penalize you for including links, so you get more eyes on your content.
It’s Versatile
Video is super versatile. A single video can be sliced and diced into various formats—turned into LinkedIn posts, transcribed into blog posts, reimagined as graphics…the repurposing opportunities are insane. Treating video as your master content asset is a smarter way to handle content creation when your team is strapped for time.
It’s Human
Videos give your agency a face and a voice, so it’s one of the fastest ways to help potential clients get over the distrust they automatically feel toward your team. By being relatable and showing your personality and passion, your audience will be more receptive to what you have to say and feel more emotionally connected to your agency.
But, What About Your Hopes and Fears?
Video marketing sounds like a cool path forward, but you don’t want it to feel like Blarketing overload when you get everything going.
Let’s address your hopes and fears real quick before you run back to your inbox of doom…
Fear: You don’t have in-house expertise.
The learning curve is too steep to tackle on top of your team’s existing workload. You’re worried about producing subpar video content for your agency that would do more harm than good.
Hope: Figure out a cost-effective video marketing solution that doesn’t sacrifice quality.
You want to do video, but it needs to be a smart investment. Because your agency’s reputation is on the line, you need a video production partner who is both strategic and fluent in marketing.
Fear: You and/or your team don’t love being on camera.
Half the time you’re flying from one client project to the next, so this goes back to that “running on empty” feeling. You need to figure out an easy-win video format and you probably need on-camera coaching.
Hope: Streamline the video production process to make it less time-intensive.
From planning and scripting to shooting and editing, there’s an inescapable time investment. All you need is someone to own the process so your team can focus on delivering amazing content on camera and keep doing amazing work for your clients.
Look Out, Here Comes the Blarketing Partner Pitch
We’re all too familiar with the Blarketing Blues at Superneat, which is why we love to support our fellow marketing agencies that are ready to rock video marketing.
We’ve got a dialed-in process for helping you publish videos 1, 2, or 3 times a week…depending on how much of an overachiever you are.
Being your agency’s Blarketing partner is one major way we can help. We also act as a force multiplier for your agency so you can deliver more video services to your clients.
Are your clients begging for more video content? Do you need to strengthen your client’s marketing campaigns with videos? Hear more from Jordan about how this type of collaborative engagement works for agencies…
