Cherp is a Twitter-Flavored Agency

Social networking should never be outsourced. I work for an agency and if they ever suggest something like this I will be happy to tell them it is a bad idea to offer this type of service.

Yeah, this will last about 30 seconds.... we've seen a number of these types of efforts over the years, whether focused on Second Life or blogging.

But this is a significant step into the niche beyond those efforts. Makes me wonder what a traditional agency would be like if they only focused on print ads that measure a quarter page or less.

Well, I think it could be a niche... but that said, not too sure I'd trust a company that when you click on the link that says "Call Us!" and supposedly leads to an "About Us" page goes to the wrong domain.
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I had to manually slog about to find http://cherp.us/twitter_branding.html

But while I think there's power in "microblogging" platforms, it's kind of like *only* selling cupcakes rather than having a bakery.

Still, will keep my eye on it.

Oh good, now I'll have an agency I can forward my complaints to when 10 people who joined yesterday and are already following 10,000 people but have only twittered twice decide to follow me. :P

Seriously though, looks like these people have put all their effort into branding instead of providing a valuable service, because I don't see a real need for Cherp out there.

I agree with Randall, social efforts should not be outsources. However when i got on twitter, it did take a minute to get going and some experimentation to get into a rhythm.

A look at the membership at WOMMA shows that the largest of corporate interests are taking the new media seriously enough. In as much as larger companies will want to play in this platform, marketing budgets will be looking to outsource this task. I would argue that Cherp, or any firm wanting to work this media, need to tread carefully. The many unwritten rules of the platform are rules none the less. WOMMA's ethical standards, while appropriate, cannot assure that the beautiful immediacy and emotional quality of the platform will not undo the most carefully planned campaign. It's like Goliath walking onto a field full of capable Davids'.

Chris- thanks for the mention. I imagine I will get plenty of WTF responses, and I'm comfortable with that. I might be totally wrong, but I really enjoy Twitter and think it's future is based on how companies and consumers use it to interact. Twitter will either be a fantastic new communication platform, or one of those stories about technology that never learns how to monetize it's traffic and eventually fades away. I'm hoping it's the former.

byteful-traveller- this movement of "social media experts" and seo linkfarms on Twitter was actually the impetus for doing this. They could ruin the platform, and so many "experts" think tweeting 100 times a day is marketing. What happens when companies want to try to use Twitter for positive interactions with consumers? Where do they turn? More importantly, are there some really cool things brands can start doing to interest consumers in joining them on Twitter? I think there are, and I don't want to leave it up to the snake-oil salesman.

geekmommy- sorry you caught the bad link, that was a pretty pathetic oversight (I actually thought I had updated it.)

Randall- here is the thing, you work for an agency whose job is to come up with ideas. I was asked by a couple companies to help them put together a plan for Twitter. They aren't outsourcing the interactions, they (thoughtfully) wanted to do more than tweet a few times a day and think that would matter or create ROI for them or consumers.

We're listening, and this is all new - so we're quite sure it will improve every day. The goal is not to get rich quick, but help more people enjoy a really cool tool.

I have no problem with the concept - there's lots of room for niche services and specific focuses.

Matt, I hope you'll expand past Twitter and support a more general microblogging focus. Basing your business platform entirely on another company is perhaps not the best financial strategy.

@Matt - classy responses!
I'll definitely keep my eye on what you are doing...

You may just have found a niche that no one else had the foresight to see. In which case we can all look back and say "remember when Brogan posted about it and we all were skeptical? Kudos to Matt!!"

I certainly hope so. I think there's a great deal of utility for companies on Twitter and similar platforms, but not everyone can step up and figure it out well.

Good Luck!

Yeah, be interesting to see how this one pans out.

From a design point of view, the site is way too close to NetTuts "Building a website, step by step" for me.

http://nettuts.s3.amazonaws.com/017_Creatif/Sit...

http://psdtuts.com/interface-tutorials/from-psd...

@Matt: Kudos! Kudos for starting something we all wouldn't have tried. Kudos for believing in that niche.

I hope you would success and prove me I'm wrong thinking Twitter won't run mainstream for marketing.

I'm still skeptical, but not in the negative way. I'm just eager to be educated as to how this would work with all the other things an organization's marketing team would intend to do in social media. Mind you, there ARE blogging agencies and we don't poop on them as much. Is this the same thing, only smaller? Can you prove lead gen from it?

There's room to be educated here.

I'm struggling with understanding the business model. While I can see the value of twitter for companies, eg Jet Blue, I'm not sure if I understand an ad agency getting into it. What's their business model?

If their model is to help businesses "get" twitter, how do they bill and more importantly, how do they determine ROI?

As an old fashioned print guy, this 'new media' stuff has an interesting ring to it.

@randall Please share why you would would tell them "it is a bad idea."

"Twitter has inspired us since day 1, but it wasn't until working on a broader social media marketing project that it became clear how strong our passions for Twitter were."

Any other grammar police see anything wrong with this sentence?

Sorry, Matt. It's hard to take a business seriously when they can't construct a grammatically correct sentence, especially when speaking about their own business.

Hey, i'm all about controversy, so I will take the other side of this argument based on the comments I have read.

1) A close look at the Cherp website states;

"Twitter integration is a key for any blog, but with the Twitter API it can be integrated anywhere. Bring Twitter to your static blog, create a page on your website with your cherps or tweets and those of your followers. Whether your site is Wordpress, Movabletype, HTML or cave drawings - we'll help you find a way to integrate Twitter. "

Though I do not know the Cherp people or service it appears they might be just offering simple ways (most of us can do this for ourselves)to show people how to integrate Twitter with their blogs. Though I do not see any value in that, I think that there is a place for agencies to help business with Twitter. Just do not think about the agency as "micro-blogging" on behalf of a client. Think more outside the box... Perhaps the agency will help design a strategy on how the business can use Twitter. A few examples (I blogged about this recently)...

How about Shopzilla (shopping comparison engine)...It might be nice to design a SPAQRL call integrated between their price/store database with Twitter API's. So now, when I am in a store looking to purchase a Nipon camera, I can simply send a Tweet to Shopzilla, and it will return prices that I can then use in comparison.

STOP thinking of Twitter as a micro blogging tool, and open your eyes...it is much bigger then that.

I don't have a problem with companies/brands having genuine conversations on Twitter with their customers or potential users but do they really need an agency to do this?

Not sure what all the fuss is about, as this is inevitable. RIght now it looks like one guy (not an agency) and a business opportunity. Is this any different than anyone that hangs a shingle out as an expert on some facet of social media?

They said creative agency, right? Then why the bogus blog-template website?

"Shouldn't be outsourced?" I know plenty of companies that simply do not have the bandwidth to manage/monitor/engage in microblogging. Just like your agency or consultant jobs are forms of client outsourcing. Aren't you asked to speak for the client?

Matt, more power to you. You may need to occasionally remind people that no matter what our role is, we're all taking the same Social Media Bus to get to work.

I'm not sure that this could be a solo function offered by an outsourcing firm, but rather it could (maybe should) be part of an over all strategy.

Isn't that why they call it "Marketing" :)

Matt

Great response, thanks for differentiating what you do from firms that just do the posts for clients. As much as I dislike the company on moral grounds, Comcast has been doing a good job on Twitter. Also of mention, the Popeyes chicken Twitterer is obviously a rotating person, but some of them are really amusing.

As a strategic consultant on new media, eg. Twitter, if you can get the people at the company your working for to do the posting this will be a great service for a lot of B2B or consumer based businesses.

Creativity isn't about grammar and it's a lot more than a website design. I think what Matt is offering is an understanding of the human connection that twitter provides. As mentioned above, there are a few companies that get it right but most get it wrong.

I believe Matt built this business out of respect for the space - kudos to him for caring.

Brian, yes, of course this should be part of an overall marketing strategy. Most clients get this. However, typically my clients hire a PR agency, a direct marketing agency, an ad agency....why not a Twitter agency? Or a social media agency?

I'll be looking forward to seeing how Matt does with this. I think there's a market opp here that he saw first (kudos on that!) and I'm hoping he can make it work.

I think Matt's onto something rather brilliant. Then again, I'm severely biased in this case :-) ((Zips lips back shut.))

A co-worker brought this to my attention when I sent this information out to our company:

Hahah you know what’s even funnier than that? They ripped that entire site directly from a tutorial on the Web site NETTUTS.

Tutorial: http://nettuts.com/site-builds/from-psd-to-html...
Working demo of the tutorial site: http://nettuts.s3.amazonaws.com/017_Creatif/Sit...
Cherp site: http://www.cherp.us/twitter_branding.html

They didn’t even bother to mix it up on the interior pages, either!
Cherp’s template pages: http://www.cherp.us/twitter_branding.html
Tutorial’s template pages: http://psdtuts.s3.amazonaws.com/99_Creatif/4_la...

Interesting.

Due to the interesting discussion about Cherp, we've posted a response that should help clear up our intentions and plans for Cherp. I hope this helps explain more about our plans: http://cherp.us/blog/2008/08/28/cherp-responds/

I also mention we're not a web design agency. Not specifically saying that before created some confusion.

Matt-

Are you actually an agency or a consultancy? There is a difference. On your about page you list you, and your dog (mascot) as the primary people behind cherp.

I've done consulting, and I have worked at a full fledged advertising agency and well, they are totally different - from capabilities, expectation of service and cost, etc.

I just want to understand if this is indeed a real agency or if you are just running loose on the terminology ;)

Social media can "teach" ad agencies to develop new business the way they should have been doing all along. Leading with benefits rather than agency capabilities. Social media is like networking on steroids but it's relationships first. People want to work with people they know, trust and like.