Using Social Media To Grow Your Practice

1 | © 2015 All rights reserved.
Using Social Media
To Grow Your Practice
Rod Burkert, CPA/ABV, CVA

Brief bio
u  I am the founder of Burkert Valuation Advisors.
My assignments focus on income/gift/estate tax
matters and business transition planning – both for
small private companies.
u  I am the co-founder of Practice Builder Academy,
a 12-month mentoring program that teaches BVFLS
professionals strategies to build their practices and
re-design their lives.
u  I’ve leveraged social media to build a mobile
consulting practice, which allows me to travel full
time in an RV throughout the United States and
Canada with my wife and two dogs.
Email: rod.burkert@burkertvaluation.com
rod@practicebuilderacademy.com
Cell: 215-360-6100
Skype: rodburkert

Today, this is how we roll …

Social Media – the question you’re asking
DOES
IT
WORK?

Times, they are a changin’

Setting the stage – How I use social media
u My goal is to build an audience of clients/prospects …
u Convert them to a community (tribe) …
u And drive awareness to my website for products and
services I offer or plan to offer.
v 1 to 2+ hours per day
v Because it replaces much of my face-to-face marketing efforts

Learning objectives
Identify buyers’ selection process for experts like us1
Present the case for using social media in your firm
Apply #1 and #2 to your online marketing efforts
Best social media platforms for BVFLS professionals4
2
3
Put your best foot forward on LinkedIn5

Let’s get started …

“Bringing in new clients”
Ranked as the top practice issue in the
AICPA’s 2013 FVS Membership Top Issues Survey
u 87% of respondents thought bringing in new clients was
somewhat or extremely important
u 63% said extremely important

How is your client message playing?

HOW DO BUYERS FIND AND
SELECT EXPERTS LIKE US

This may be my best recommendation today
u A free ebook (133 pages)
u HingeMarketing.com

What buyers of professional services value
Source:
The
Visible
Expert,
p.
21,
Figure
3.1

Why buyers seek out experts
Source:
The
Visible
Expert,
p.
50,
Figure
5.1

How buyers find experts
Source:
The
Visible
Expert,
p.
51,
Figure
5.2

How buyers search online for experts
Source:
The
Visible
Expert,
p.
52,
Figure
5.3

How buyers evaluate experts
Source:
The
Visible
Expert,
p.
53,
Figure
5.4

How the screened expert is selected
Source:
The
Visible
Expert,
p.
55,
Figure
5.5

SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOUR FIRM

Social media is nothing new
Image
credit:
Huﬃngton
Post

But world of clients/prospects is changing
60 Million
Boomers
32 Million
Millennials
49 Million
Gen Xers
These cohorts are
much more likely to
find and consume
information online Source
of
ﬁgures:
Hinge
Marke3ng

In the Workforce Now

And the survey says …
77% of all firms “Actively maintain a website”
u Range by firm size: 61% to 96%
u 71% in 2012
u 66% in 2010
Source: 2014 PCPS/TSCPA National Map Survey
All firms = 1,750 firms

And the survey says …
[Only] 14% of all firms “Publish a blog”
u Range by firm size: 9% to 39%
u 8% in 2012
u 4% in 2010
Source: 2014 PCPS/TSCPA National Map Survey
All firms = 1,750 firms

The case for social media
In the big picture goal of firm profits and profitability,
people do business with people
u They know
u They like
u They trust
u They remember (and can find!)
Social media can help with all of these

Why do it?
Social media allows your messaging to feel like good old 1:1
relationship marketing
u You provide evidence of your credibility
u While sharing glimpses of your personality
u To multiple prospects
u Simultaneously
u In less time
u At less cost

Where is the value proposition?
Setting yourself apart to gain a competitive advantage requires:
u Finding new ways to showcase your skills, knowledge,
education, experience, and training
u Engaging others (who have influence with your clients/
referral sources) in meaningful interactions

And what’s that worth?
Social Media Social Network
Intellectual Capital
Value Creation
expands

SM PLATFORMS FOR BVFLS

How do you pick the right hangout?

Your social media strategy
u What audience am I trying to reach and why?
u Where is that audience in the social world?
u Where is the audience that influences my audience?
u How can I be interesting, relevant, and useful enough so that those groups –
my audience and their influencers – will want to help me spread my messages?
u What content do I need to create and how do I need to share it to fulfill
those requirements of interest, relevance, and value?
u What level and type of interaction is required to do that?
What kinds of people
are buying my services
and how do I reach
them?

Major social media platforms for BVFLS

Why I like Twitter
I use Twitter primarily to
find relevant content that I
can share elsewhere …

And sometimes I get this …

Why I like Google+
Google uses data gathered in Google+ to improve search
rankings and findability of information
u  You (or your website) are likely to get better search rankings if you use Google+
But the most important feature of Google+ is a much better
way of organizing contacts – called Circles
u  You can group people by whether they are an estate/gift attorney, a litigation
attorney, a CFO, or a personal connection … and interact accordingly.

Why I like YouTube

You need a killer profile
u Your prospects are using search engines to find you …
u LinkedIn is one of the top ranked sites in Google, so your
profile will be one of the top search results.
u This one point alone essentially makes your LinkedIn profile
almost/just as important as your website!

Headshot
Who are you more likely to connect/do business with?
This? Or this?
A profile page with a picture is 7x more likely to be viewed than a
page without one!

Your name
This line should only have your name
Avoid adding any additional titles or credentials
A trick if you want to rise to the top of search results

Headline … what not to do

Headline … what to do
Your headline should be catchy … in 120 characters
Use keywords you want to be found for !
Include information about how you can help potential
connections, rather than simply stating your position

Contact information
Provide all of your contact information
u Email
u Address
u Phone
u Social media
u Websites

Summary
Make sure your summary speaks to your ideal prospect!
u Your summary shouldn’t be about you …
it should be about how you can help your prospects
u Your prospects should be able to read your profile and feel
the mesh between what you offer and what they need to
solve their problems
u The more you can speak with words that appeal and relate
to your prospects, the better your results will be

Where do keywords show up?

Experience
Not your average resume

Where do key words show up?

Include CTAs
Your profile needs a Call To Action to help move prospects
closer to that all-important step of contacting you.
What actions might you ask people to make?
u  Download a document
u  Watch a video
u  Go to your website
u  Listen to a podcast
u  Request a fee quote
u  Read your blog

Example CTAs
Like here
And here

Endorsements
Controversial … but keep in mind that endorsements are:
u Important to LinkedIn
u Affect your search ranking on LinkedIn
u Akin to “Yelping” of people
u Social proof of how good someone is at something
u Could be the reason a prospect picks you over someone else who
has fewer endorsements for the skill they are looking for
Get endorsed for the skills you have and want to showcase
(skills should relate to keywords)

Getting recommendations
Aim for 5-10
Do whatever you need to get them (you know, like asking!)
u And don’t be shy about asking how/what you want to be
recommended for
Recommendations are key for building credibility
u They distinguish you from your competition on LinkedIn

Giving recommendations
Only recommend people you’ve personally worked with
u  Unsolicited recommendations are always an unexpected pleasure
When writing a recommendation
u  What problem were you trying to solve?
u  Describe the positive experience you had
u  Describe the results you got
u  I recommend [name] for anyone looking for _____

Types of connections
u 1st Degree – People you are connected with
u 2nd Degree – Contacts of your 1st Degree connections
(friends of friends)
u 3rd Degree – Contacts of your 2nd Degree connections
(friends of friends’ friends)
u Group Connections – People who join and share at least
one group with you

Who to connect with
Only connect with people you know/have met
No matter how much you want to be business acquaintances
with someone, and no matter how much it would benefit you if you
knew them, the fact is you don’t – so act accordingly
u  How to connect with people you don’t know – groups you
have in common
u  Can also run a group, which gives you a reason to connect
with every new member that requests to join

Change how you connect … from this

Change how you connect … to this
Hi xxx. I just saw you pop up on LinkedIn, and I'd like to add you to my network of
professional contacts. Hope you'll accept.
Hi xxx. I am the owner of the EBA LinkedIn group. I noticed that we are not connected,
and I'd like to add you to my network of professional contacts. Hope you'll accept.
Hi xxx. Just noticed that you were viewing my LinkedIn profile. Hope you'll accept this
invitation to connect. And let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you.

And when people connect with you
THANK THEM!
And ask them why they connected
Or if there’s any thing you can do to help them
Hi xxx. Thanks for reaching out and connecting … much appreciated!
Is there a specific reason you connected? Is there any thing I can do to help you?
Rod Burkert, Burkert Valuation Advisors

How many connections?
Strive to reach 501
LI stops counting after that
People like to connect with
people who are connected
Source:
Wayne
Breitbarth
(see
Suggested
Reading)

Active page = Effective page
u Rule of thumb is to post at least 1x per day, but post as
many status updates as your content supports
u Share information that’s helpful, educational, and sometimes
entertaining (kind of obvious)
u Keep your updates generally upbeat and relevant to your
field of expertise (also obvious)

Most in-demand content is industry insights

Research shows …
u Status updates with links result in 45% higher engagement
than updates without links
u LinkedIn sends nearly 4x more people to your website than
Twitter and Facebook
u Avoid posting on late afternoons, evenings, and weekends
(think time zones and work hours)

Groups, in general
u LinkedIn groups are informal communities formed around
industries, professions, themes, niche topics, etc.
u Because any LinkedIn member can create one, there are now
well over a million groups
u You can join up to 50 groups
u You don't need to participate every day, but you should be
fairly regular – otherwise, why are you joining?

Finding groups to join
LinkedIn is full of groups for every
profession and skill set
Change the search tab at the top of
LinkedIn to "Groups" and enter
your search term
Refine results using the check
boxes in the left column
Join groups your connections have
joined

Keys to building your own group
1.  Pick a narrow niche
2.  Write a group description that includes the name of your target
market and your specialty category
3.  Make it a closed group … require member pre-approval
4.  Create rules and closely manage/monitor discussions
5.  Promote group to build membership
6.  Position yourself as the leader

Benefits of a premium account
u Who’s viewed your profile
u Get introduced to inside sources at companies through your
connections
u Lets anyone on LinkedIn message you for free
u Advanced search capabilities/filters
u See more profiles when you search
u Save searches and get notified when new profiles fit your
criteria
u Get a list of people in your network who can provide a
reference for someone you are interested in

SOCIAL MEDIA ETIQUETTE

You will get all you want in life if you help enough people
get what they want.
- Zig Ziglar
Golden rule of selling

The online community
Embraces:

-‐  Usefulness

-‐  AuthenPcity

-‐  Altruism

-‐  Social
proof

Dislikes:

-‐  AdverPsing

-‐  PR
Spin

-‐  Self-‐PromoPon

(You
don’t
get
it)

Best summaries I’ve seen

TAKEAWAYS FOR YOUR PRACTICE

9 To Do’s if I were starting SM today …
1  Maintain a database of your contacts
2  Start a blog (or newsletter)
3  Set up an email list

4  Build outposts on 1-2 social networks – tops
5  Create an integrated content strategy
6  Build a community (tribe) of people in your niche

7  Make engagement and betterment the goals of that tribe
8  Track 3-5 simple metrics to measure your results
9  Set numeric goals and monitor

In summary
u Traditional networking through trade shows, conferences,
and other events is still important.
u But the rise of SM has created new ways to connect with
clients/prospects/referral sources in our industry.
u Networking via SM can achieve many of the same business
goals as networking in person – but without schedule,
geography, or travel restrictions.

RESOURCES

Books

Best book I’ve found for LinkedIn
u Profile tips
u How to make money
u Now in 2nd edition
u Kindle version < $8

Blogs
www.socialmediaexaminer.com/
top-10-social-media-blogs-2014-
winners/

Best blogs I’ve found for LinkedIn
u LinkedIn Official Blog
u Wayne Breitbarth’s Blog

Thank you!
Rod Burkert, CPA/ABV, CVA
215.360.6100
rod@practicebuilderacademy.com
www.practicebuilderacademy.com
rod.burkert@burkertvaluation.com
www.burkertvaluation.com

Using Social Media To Grow Your Practice

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