Social Media Marketing for Accountants and other SMEs

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Social Media Marketing for Accountants

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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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Taken from UMPF survey 06/09/2011 : http://www.umpf.co.uk/blog/social-media/social-media-usage-in-the-uk-the-findings/

Who Uses Social Media?

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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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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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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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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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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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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