Modern Currency

Category: Digital Marketing

  • INTRODUCING OUR SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTENT TEAM

    From professional photography and videography to strategy-led social media and branding, we’re serving up creative that’s not just on-brand, but on point. Content truly is king (or in our case, queen) and lucky for you, we’ve got it all under one roof.

    Leilani

    Recently stepping into the role of Creative Director, Lani brings over seven years of experience as a professional photographer, alongside a strong background in graphic design, videography and social media. With a deep understanding of the creative process from concept to execution, she’s passionate about creating meaningful, effective content—bringing it all together through organic and paid strategies that deliver real results. Specialising in event and F+B photography, Lani’s expertise is a perfect fit for our hospitality, travel, and tourism clients. Outside of work, Lani enjoys exploring Melbourne’s ever-growing wine bar scene and can often be found DJing at local bars and clubs.

    Maria 

    With over four years of experience in the social media and content space, Maria brings a dynamic and creative perspective to the team in her role as Social Media & Content Executive. From developing strategic content plans to producing engaging photo and video content, she helps brands connect meaningfully with their audiences. As a freelance content creator with over 100 brand collaborations under her belt, Maria knows how to capture and reflect each brand’s unique voice. Outside of work, she’s passionate about fashion content creation and travelling, with over 20 countries already ticked off her travel list.

    Maddie

    Maddie is our Senior Social Media and Content Specialist with over six years of experience transforming ideas into impactful content. She specialises in video production, from brand promos and interview features to documentaries and TV commercials, and brings both a creative eye and a strategic mindset to every project. Maddie is passionate about the power of storytelling — its ability to inspire, inform, and most importantly, connect people. When she’s not behind the camera or strategising brand visions, you’ll find her out for a run or spending time with family and friends.

    Marina 

    Marina has over 6 years of experience across content, social media and events – while recently stepping into a Communications Manager role. With a background as a health professional, Marina offers a unique combination of strategic thinking, creativity and analytical skills to deliver impactful campaigns. Marina is passionate about building purpose-driven strategies that connect with audiences and drive results. Outside of work, Marina stays inspired through movement such as reformer pilates and beach walks, finding new dining spots and attending industry events.

  • 5 THINGS TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE STARTING AN AGENCY

    Join our leading lady Michelle Palmer as she shares her insights into the little, (and not so little), things you need to think about before starting an agency.

    It took me a couple of years to decide to go out on my own. The reasons why? Apart from being ambitious and a desire to be my own boss, I was driven by my creativity – I found that ideas I had for branching out and changing how we approached things were sometimes met with ‘no’ and this was frustrating to me. I also wanted to create a different kind of culture. A lot of my friends and colleagues kept encouraging me, telling me I ‘have what it takes’ to be a business owner, a leader and a manager. So here are my tips on things to consider…

    1) Are you ready to deal with people in a different way?

    All of a sudden you’re responsible for the lives of your team while at work and beyond. Yes, there’s the obvious responsibilities like what work are they doing, when, is it being done correctly and on time, project management, communication – but then there is HR – sick leave, pay, Work Cover, mental and physical health concerns, individual views on so many varying situations (there is absolutely no one way anymore!) People management is a huge part of my job and probably way bigger than I ever expected it to be; as with time, people’s needs change. So it’s not just, “here’s your job, here’s your clients, off you go” – it’s much, much more!

    2) Where is your business coming from?

    How will you make sure you have a steady flow of clients? How do you ensure you charge the right amount? Do you understand how consulting works to allow you to not only make enough to pay your team and your bills/overheads, but to have a little extra for a rainy day? How will you keep work coming in the door and what happens if there is a lull? Can you troubleshoot? Do you know how to deal with it when someone doesn’t pay their bill?

    3) Have you thought through the hidden costs?

    There are many things I was totally naïve about at the start, I won’t lie… like payroll tax! Once you have wages over a certain level, the ATO likes to tax you – just because you pay people. Yep, go figure.
    There are many other hidden or surprise costs – insurances, legal costs for contracts (because you really should have proper legally binding contracts and agreements for your employees, your partners, your contractors etc). Unless of course, you’re fortunate enough to be a lawyer in another lifetime as well as an agency consultant.

    4) Do you have a strategy of how you’ll market yourself and what your longer term goal is?

    It may seem so simple at the start because you’ve got friends saying “hey I’ll send work your way” – but the world changes, every year. Pandemics, economic downturn, inflation, people’s behaviours and their expectations of their employer. So you need a strategy of how you will market your business, what and how you want to be seen and known for, and to give yourself a goal – what will I do in a year, where will I be in two years and ideally where will we be in five – and how can I get there? And who can help me get there? What do I need?

    5) Bad debt and mistakes and who wears these?

    This is another one I went into naively, even though in my role as a Senior Principal (GM) at a former global PR & Communications firm I came across dodgy business owners and operators, I just didn’t think it could or would happen to me. But it does. People won’t pay. People sell their company to a friend for $1 so your contract with them is null and void. People do not even respond to debt collectors. And what if one of your team doesn’t do their job properly because they are meant to check something frequently and they don’t and then you overspend on something, or do not check an order properly and order 5000 of something instead of 500? Who covers it? These are things that you have to be ready for when you go into your business.

    Starting your own agency is a lot of fun, incredibly rewarding and provides an amazing sense of freedom but there is also a lot of really hard stuff to face and cope with. So you need a thick skin, a great support team, and to be prepared for surprises (if you don’t like surprises, this is not for you!).

  • DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS FOR SHORT ATTENTION SPANS

    DIGITAL MARKETING TACTICS FOR SHORT ATTENTION SPANS

    [vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][nectar_single_testimonial testimonial_style=”small_modern” image=”8203″ color=”Extra-Color-2″ quote=”A positive relationship, underpinned by trust and credibility, is vital for mutual growth, valuable results and long-term success for both the agency and the client.” name=”MADDISON BIJELIC” subtitle=”PR ACCOUNT COORDINATOR”][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]A good and strong client-agency relationship is vital for the success of any agency. After all, without any clients, there would be no agency! A positive relationship, underpinned by trust and credibility, is vital for mutual growth, valuable results and long-term success for both the agency and the client.

    Here are some practical ways that agencies can establish and foster positive relationships with their clients:

     

    KNOW YOUR CLIENT’S BUSINESS WELL

    Arguably, one of the most important factors in establishing a good client-agency relationship is ensuring you understand your client’s business well. More often than not, your client would have invested time researching and assessing your agency, so you should be doing the same with them!

    Ensure a thorough understanding of your client’s business, their target audience, and importantly, what your client is trying to achieve. Equally, it is important to ensure a thorough understanding of your client’s external environment, such as their competitors, their industry, customer segments and the trends impacting their success. With this knowledge, you can then determine your client’s competitive advantage, and identify opportunities to harness and challenges to manage.

    This should involve a lot of research, not just at the start of the relationship, but ongoing. The external environment for any business is dynamic, so continuously look for trends in your client’s relevant industry, changes in customer preferences and monitor their competitors closely. This is especially important in PR!

    The more you know about your client’s business and their industry, the better you can provide valuable insights, solutions and results to your client.

     

    COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY AND REGULARLY

    Any successful relationship in life relies on effective communication. It’s no different for an agency and their client.

    Bringing an external provider to the client sometimes means ready-to-access information and updates can be harder to obtain. Therefore, taking a proactive, out-reach approach to client engagement will help support effective communication and should be a focus for any agency. 

    Ensure that effective channels of communication have been agreed upon and established, whether that be in-person or through preferred online channels such as Teams or Slack.

    Communication should be clear, open, prompt and succinct. And make sure that you communicate often! This helps to foster trust and transparency, whilst also ensuring that information and responsibilities are not misunderstood and that both parties are on the same page.

     

    SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS

    From the very beginning of the relationship, there should be clear and defined expectations of both the client and the agency.

    Timelines, budgets, project scopes and KPI’s should be agreed upon and defined – in writing – so that both parties clearly understand the responsibilities and expectations of each other. 

    Having clear-cut expectations in writing not only helps to track the status of deliverables, but also helps to avoid possible misunderstandings and conflicts. No one wants to be in that awkward situation!

     

    TRACK AND REPORT YOUR RESULTS

    At the end of the day, a client wants outcomes. That’s what an agency is tasked to deliver, and that delivery, on a consistent and reliable basis, forms the essential foundation of trust.

    That’s why tracking and reporting performance is so important. A client needs to see evidence of the work, and that it is delivering the outcomes that matter to them. Track and report on metrics that are agreed with your client against agreed objectives, and ensure that those objectives directly align to supporting their business goals.

    Use credible and accurate data, insights and analytics to showcase the measurable impact and results that your work is delivering. In PR, this often comes in the form of activity-based measures such as; Media placements, audience reach and increased social media followers. Work to then determine how those activity-based measures can then be directly attributable to changes in outcome-based measures that the client ultimately cares about, which may be awareness, interest or sales.

    Even if initial results do not meet your client’s expectations, you should always be transparent with how things are tracking. This will help to foster trust and credibility, while also providing an opportunity to discuss and alter strategies to improve results.

    Of course, the other way to assess how an agency is performing is to simply ask the client. Actively seeking feedback on a regular basis should always be part of an agency’s client engagement plan to allow proactive measures to then be taken to address any areas of improvement.  No agency wants to find themselves in a position of losing a client because they weren’t aware of some feedback that they could have very simply addressed.

     

    In summary, a focus on building and maintaining strong agency-client relationships is important in delivering mutual benefits for both agencies and clients. Specifically, look to thoroughly research your client’s business environment, communicate regularly and effectively, set clear expectations for both parties and regularly track your results and progress.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]