An introduction to Social Media Marketing for Accountants (and other SMEs)

1. Social Media Marketing
for Accountants
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2. What is “Social Media”?
• Technology and methods for sharing information
• It’s “social” - generating conversations online
• It’s a two-way medium – which can be a challenge for
businesses
• Text, images, audio and video
• LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr
• Also consider instant
messaging, blogs, podcasts, forums, news aggregators and
email messaging
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3. Who Uses Social Media?
Taken from UMPF survey 06/09/2011 :
http://www.umpf.co.uk/blog/social-media/social-
media-usage-in-the-uk-the-findings/
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4. LinkedIn
• Professional tool and professional
client-base
• Made up of People, Companies
and Groups
• More than just a job-search site:
– Improves corporate transparency
– Networking tool for the individuals
and businesses
– Knowledge-base in Groups and
SearchAnswers
• http://uk.linkedin.com
Taken from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220374
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5. Twitter
• Micro-blogging tool
• Maximum of 140 characters
• # tags, DMs and @ symbols
• It depends on the focus of your business, but usually better for B2B
and engaging with “influencers” in your sector rather than directly
with individuals
• A useful networking tool
• http://twitter.com
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6. Facebook
• Younger demographic than LinkedIn
• Females use the platform more than males
• More casual in tone
• Status updates, Walls, Events and Custom Tabs
• Text, images, links and video
• Likes/fans and brand engagement
• http://www.facebook.com
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7. SMM & Accountancy
• Improve engagement with existing clients and generate new
business? Maybe..
• Other more attainable benefits are:
– For recruitment – choose the platform to match your target demographic –
Facebook for university graduates, LinkedIn for professionals
– Improve brand visibility
– Brand credibility through Social Proof (i.e. Testimonials and positive comments)
– Brand development: e.g. Position yourselves as experts in the field
– Improve traffic to your website
• For retaining existing clients or developing new ones, more useful in
certain specialist areas – business start-ups, self-employed, etc.
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8. SMM – How to do it
• Determine business and then marketing objectives
• Plan, plan, plan – content, resource-allocation, publication schedule
and tone
• Determine KPIs and reporting schedule
• Be aware – requires ACTIVE participation – time and resource
hungry
• Part of a general and digital marketing strategy
• Reputation Crisis Management – plan how to handle positive and
negative sentiment
• Contribute to discussion forums and LinkedIn Groups to establish
credibility, visibility and back-links
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9. Useful Links
• Forums:
– http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=55
– http://www.accountantforums.com/
– http://www.accountancystudents.co.uk/discussion/
• LinkedIn Questions: http://www.linkedin.com/searchAnswers
• Facebook Stats: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
• LinkedIn Stats: http://press.linkedin.com/about
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