Utilising Social Media in your Firm

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

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

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

How to gather followers & connect

First agree what is your niche(s)?Run searchesSet up alertsFind RSS feeds

Look for firms, clients, individuals, groups, discussions

Align your profile with your niche

Alerts

Search

Add followers

Follow firstKeep ratio followers:following balancedMaintain a list Grow followers using your network• Newsletter• Staff• ClientsPromote social everywhere

What to say

When you first startRatio of 70:20:10• re-share / retweet 70%• comments 20%• your posts 10%

When you’re more confident / establishedRatio of 5:3:2• Content from others• Content from yourself (not sales messages)• Personal messages (humanise the brand)

Etiquette

Social media is like going to the pubDon’t be pushyDon’t talk about yourself all the timeBe generous and listen firstAlways reply and thank others for liking/commentingRe-use on other siteshttp://www.problogger.net/archives/2014/10/24/a-social-media-etiquette-guide-you-might-find-useful/

RSS

The key that delivers contentRSS to email • Blog posts• Newsletters • Autoresponders (newsletter subscriber welcomes,

archive, offers)Tools• Aweber• MailChimp• FeedBlitzSetting up multiple RSS feeds for CCH websites – ask us.

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

Tools for timings

Consider timezonesLog when your posts get their likes/sharesWhen are you monitoring social media?

• SocialBro – research your community, timings, DM campaigns

• Followerwonk –search bios, compare with competitors

• Tweriod – when are your followers online

When & What to Automate

HolidaysRSS feeds

What not to automate• Automatic DMs and thank you for following• Vary automation based on network• Dialogue with followers• Troubleshooting / customer support

Automation tips

Don’t schedule too far in advanceCustomise messages to suit networksBrand tone of voicePause if necessary – current newsAlways read articles before re-posting

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

Ways to get your content shared

Just posting messages is like screaming in the middle of a forestShare others’ content firstHave an inner circle of collaborators- Partners, staff, key clients- Alert them to important articles in advance of postingDifferent 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

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

Lists of accountants to follow/copy

Linked In users• EY – company page is awesome• Monteck Carter – blog connectedIncludes Klout score http://www.mastersinaccounting.info/top-accountants-twitter/ Top UK accounting firms on Twitterhttp://coldlime.com/uk-accounting-firms-twitter-rankings/

Don’t forget other social platforms

• Slideshare• YouTube• G+• Quora• Business2Community• Vimeo• Pinterest• Instagram• Tumblr• Referralkey• BNI Connect

Measurement and analysis

Nearly everything digital can be measured

Creative Agency Secrets metrics

Things to do TODAY

Set up regular task to grow followersAgree tone of voiceAutomate blog / news sharingSet up metrics

Invite Rebecca Caroe to coach & answer questions

Creative Agency Secrets Offer for You

http://creativeagencysecrets.com/accountant-resources/ • Get these slides• Download RSS Feeds e book• Download metrics spreadsheethttp://creativeagencysecrets.com/marketing-accountants/ • Phone consultation $150 + GST • Get questions answered, coaching, top 3

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Connect with me

@rebeccacaroerebecca@creativeagencysecrets.comLinked In +64 22 647 3993