7 Ways Accountants Can Make Use Of Social Media

Accountants and accountancy firms are rapidly embracing new technologies to manage their clients and to operate their accounting software. Packages such as Prelude Accounts are completely web-based and offer an easy two-way street for clients and their accountants to assess and manage the books.

Yet, while accountants are embracing the web for their actual accounting, they seem to have not fully yet embraced the technologies for promoting their firms and services. Maybe it is because of people’s preconceptions of accountancy as a dry, traditional subject and profession, but I would still argue accountants do not use social media conversations and the social networks to their full advantage.

It doesn’t have to be like this. Here are just 7 ways accountants can use social media to improve their business, to engage with clients and to advertise their services:

Use Twitter
Twitter is a microblogging social network, in which you can broadcast statements (or ‘tweets’) of up to 140 characters. You can follow other users on the network, and they can follow and interact with you in return.Although not the most popular social network (which remains Facebook), Twitter is certainly one of the most effective for businesses and individuals to connect with others online. 140 characters does not provide a lot of space, but by using internet links within a tweet (and other techniques such as ‘retweeting’) you can highlight online content that is external to Twitter to your followers that you think may be of benefit and interest to them.
Twitter is invaluable if you use a website or a blog (see below) to promote yourself, and is a good way for accountants to be associated with their clients, many of whom no doubt will have a presence on the network. Following your clients on Twitter will keep you informed as to what they are up to and, if they reciprocate, they can see what information you are sharing or promoting. Using Hashtags can also increase the reach of your tweets beyond that of your followers too.
One of Twitter’s biggest strengths is that Twitter accounts are visible to those online who don’t happen to have a Twitter account, and a Twitter Feed can be embedded into a website, thereby acting as a de facto news feed for yourself or your firm.
Join, and participate with, LinkedIn
LinkedIn is business-to-business (‘B2B’) social networking site on which individuals, companies and organisations can connect with each other in a manner akin to Facebook, as well as participate in online forums for members (known as LinkedIn Groups).The main basis of LinkedIn is individual profiles, which highlight past professional experience, education and other qualifications, along with endorsements and recommendations from other LinkedIn members. In a way, this acts as an online CV and is used by headhunters, but people also use LinkedIn as a way to interact with colleagues, clients and competitors on a neutral ground.
Companies can also have a corporate presence as a LinkedIn Company Page, which LinkedIn members can follow, although I would argue that people prefer interacting with individuals rather than corporate entities on the network.
For an accountant, LinkedIn offers a great medium in which you can be publicly endorsed and recommended by clients and colleagues alike. It also provides you a forum in which you can debate issues or inform others through LinkedIn Groups, which will raise your profile with others in that forum and may lead to potential clients approaching you for your services.
Start Blogging
Blogging is publishing a short article online, which are normally hosted on a website or on a dedicated blogging platform. Writing a blog entry is a very effective way to establish your brand and your credentials to an outside audience, and it has the associated benefit of providing new content for your website, which you can also share elsewhere online via social media.Blogs entries can be on anything that you think is appropriate for the audience you are trying to communicate with, and can range from opinion pieces to ‘How to…’ articles. An established blogger (a person who writes a blog) can also offer articles to be published on other people’s websites and blogs, which again increases the chances of reaching a wider audience and establishing your brand.
Accountants may find blogging a useful tool to impart advice or news to existing clients, although a good blog entry should also be able to double up as a sales tool.
Google+ and Google Authorship
Google is not just a search engine; it offers a wide range of online tools and programs for users, all of which are integrated to a greater or lesser extent.One of these is Google+, Google’s very own social network that is designed to rival Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Although Google+ is a very powerful social network that has many applications and features ideal for business, it remains unloved by many and its complexity for new users is a big issue for many.
I would argue that it is worth investing time with Google+, as it has many fringe benefits involving concepts such as online video (see below) and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation – techniques intended to improve where your website would appear in search engine results).
One of the most interesting and potentially powerful facets on Google+ is Google Authorship, which enables an author to be identified with their articles within Google Search results with a byline and profile picture. If you are looking to establish yourself as an influential ‘thought leader’ in the field of accountancy (with regular blog posts and a coherent content marketing strategy), Google Authorship is essential to give your article the edge.
Online Video and Video Conferencing
Other free (at the point of use) Google products that would be of use to accountants areYouTube and Google Hangouts On Air.YouTube enables users to upload videos to a single platform on which other users can comment or share the content. If you have got a promotional video for yourself or your firm, it really should be hosted on YouTube as well as on your website, as by doing so improves the chances of it being seen and it appearing in Google Search results.
Google Hangouts On Air is a video conferencing facility on Google+ that allows you to broadcast live to the outside world via YouTube. Not only is your video conversation broadcast, it is also simultaneously recorded on YouTube, meaning that the footage can be reshared or edited for marketing purposes.
Google Hangouts On Air enable others to put ‘a face to the name’ and in a field such as accountancy where trust is held at a premium, an online video or broadcast is an easy way for people to get to know you in a way that the written word would not.
However, you do not have to broadcast your video conversations for them to be of value. You can have private Google Hangout conversations as well, or you could use a competitor product such as Skype for this purpose. Video conferencing can negate the need for your clients to travel to see you or you to them, saving both parties time and money.
Monitor your competitors
If you are not active online and your competitors are, you are missing out on a wealth of information about them, their services and their clients.By monitoring your competitors’ online behaviour, you can assess their marketing material and product offering in relation to your own, and you can also glean who may be their clients via their connections and interactions.
Of course, this works both ways; your competitors can monitor you. However, being alert to your privacy settings on LinkedIn and being aware of lesser-known Twitter functionality such as Twitter Lists can mean that you’re somewhat protected against such snooping and that you can monitor others discreetly and privately.
Find new contacts and clients
A good and thorough social media marketing campaign is based on interaction and engagement with others, and this happens without geographical boundaries or hindrances. Most people now access their social networks through mobile devices such as phones and tablets, meaning that the interactions are highly personal, immediate and portable.If you manage to build up a following online or have a constructive interaction with a new person, you would be wasting your time not reciprocating or responding in some way. You would follow up your leads from a networking meeting or conference, so why not do so on the back of your conversations online?

Summary

The above is the briefest of summaries of how social media could help promote your accountancy work, and there are hyperlinks throughout the above that will take you to more information.

You may have been surprised by my omission of Facebook but there is good reason for that; you now have to pay quite considerable sums to have any impact on the network, and I don’t believe that it is best suited to marketing accountancy services. However, you can read more about Facebook Pages and the reach of Facebook posts over on the Nick Lewis Communications website if you are determined to have a Facebook presence.

The key thing is don’t implement all of the above at once. It is better to master one or two social media channels or techniques than to flail around badly on all of them. Good social media marketing also takes time, consideration, resources, determination and consistency, so make sure that you are committed to the concept before embarking on your new online marketing campaign.