How to use social media for accountants and accounting firms. Detailed advice on etiquette, automation tools, pitfalls, metrics and using RSS feeds.

1. Utilising Social Media
in your Firm

2. The Big Picture
We have to be seen in the markets
with our clients and prospects
If they are on social; we must be too

3. Achieving your firm’s goals
Social is not a sales tool
Use social media to build brand
awareness, establish credibility and
demonstrate expertise.
• Linked In
• Twitter
• Facebook

4. Social goal alignment with firm’s goals
Social is good for
• Building profile for the partners & staff
• Growing firm name recognition
• Showcasing expertise & skills
• Finding prospects talking about finance/accounting
Social is neutral for
• Launching new products and services
• Building a list of new prospects
• Starting a sales dialogue
Social is not good for
• Building sales pipeline
• Deep relationship building
• Signing up new clients

5. How to gather followers & connect
First agree what is your niche(s)?
Run searches
Set up alerts
Find RSS feeds
Look for firms, clients, individuals, groups, discussions
Align your profile with your niche

6. Alerts

7. Search

8. Add followers
Follow first
Keep ratio followers:following balanced
Maintain a list
Grow followers using your network
• Newsletter
• Staff
• Clients
Promote social everywhere

9. What to say
When you first start
Ratio of 70:20:10
• re-share / retweet 70%
• comments 20%
• your posts 10%
When you’re more confident / established
Ratio of 5:3:2
• Content from others
• Content from yourself (not sales messages)
• Personal messages (humanise the brand)

10. Etiquette
Social media is like going to the pub
Don’t be pushy
Don’t talk about yourself all the time
Be generous and listen first
Always reply and thank others for liking/commenting
Re-use on other sites
http://www.problogger.net/archives/2014/10/24/a-social-media-etiquette-guide-you-
might-find-useful/

11. RSS
The key that delivers content
RSS to email
• Blog posts
• Newsletters
• Autoresponders (newsletter subscriber welcomes,
archive, offers)
Tools
• Aweber
• MailChimp
• FeedBlitz
Setting up multiple RSS feeds for CCH websites – ask us.

12. Social Media Automation Tools
• Buffer – Queueing + Connect across social (G+, Twitter, Facebook,
Linked In)
• Social Oomph – Queuing content / multiple variations
• Dlvr.it – specify where blog content goes (app.net, Delicious)
• IFTTT - recipes
• Zapier – set events & automate actions
• Tweetdeck – Multiple Twitter account management
• Hootsuite – Twitter, G+, LinkedIn, Facebook & RSS feeds
• Postplanner – for Facebook
• Azuqua – Process integration (CRM, sentiment, customer service
support)
• Mention – alerts you when your brand is mentioned
• TrustRadius – compare different applications

13. Tools for timings
Consider timezones
Log when your posts get their likes/shares
When are you monitoring social media?
• SocialBro – research your community, timings,
DM campaigns
• Followerwonk –search bios, compare with
competitors
• Tweriod – when are your followers online

14. When & What to Automate
Holidays
RSS feeds
What not to automate
• Automatic DMs and thank you for following
• Vary automation based on network
• Dialogue with followers
• Troubleshooting / customer support

15. Automation tips
Don’t schedule too far in advance
Customise messages to suit networks
Brand tone of voice
Pause if necessary – current news
Always read articles before re-posting

16. Monitoring & regulation
• Decide who will monitor – Partner plus 1-2 staff
• Agree email address for all sites
• What information to share
• Whose job is social media?
• Crisis management – have a plan
• Linked In weekly check
• The perils of automation

17. Ways to get your content shared
Just posting messages is like screaming in the middle of a forest
Share others’ content first
Have an inner circle of collaborators
- Partners, staff, key clients
- Alert them to important articles in advance of posting
Different times of day
- Who works 9-5?
- When do you read your private mail/social media?
Repeat yourself
- On publication
- One day later
- Three days later
- One week
- One Month

18. Firms using Twitter well
• Go Fi8ure, Lisa Martin – book keepers @gofi8ure
• Great hashtag use
• Personality of the firm
• Terry Baucher – tax advisor @bcltax
• Content & article sharing
• Rob Nixon – consultant to accountants
@therobnixon
• Justin Keen @Cloudaccountant

19. Lists of accountants to follow/copy
Linked In users
• EY – company page is awesome
• Monteck Carter – blog connected
Includes Klout score
http://www.mastersinaccounting.info/top-accountants-
twitter/
Top UK accounting firms on Twitter
http://coldlime.com/uk-accounting-firms-twitter-rankings/

20. Don’t forget other social platforms
• Slideshare
• YouTube
• G+
• Quora
• Business2Community
• Vimeo
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Tumblr
• Referralkey
• BNI Connect

21. Measurement and analysis
Nearly everything digital can be measured

22. Creative Agency Secrets metrics

23. Things to do TODAY
Set up regular task to grow followers
Agree tone of voice
Automate blog / news sharing
Set up metrics
Invite Rebecca Caroe to coach & answer questions

24. Creative Agency Secrets Offer for You
http://creativeagencysecrets.com/accountant-resources/
• Get these slides
• Download RSS Feeds e book
• Download metrics spreadsheet
http://creativeagencysecrets.com/marketing-accountants/
• Phone consultation $150 + GST
• Get questions answered, coaching, top 3
recommendations

25. Connect with me
@rebeccacaroe
rebecca@creativeagencysecrets.com
Linked In
+64 22 647 3993