Accountants are also able to access industry news via social media, with the IPA using various platforms to provide information to members, stakeholders and the public.
“All our channels do different things – some entertain, some inform, others focus on networking or customer service. This keeps things fresh and we’ve had great feedback from members and industry alike,” says the IPA’s manager of digital strategy, Dr Amy Gibbs. “Not every platform is going to work every time, but the great thing about social media is there is little outlay of expenditure, so it’s not as much of a risk as traditional marketing.”
Consistency is the key to harnessing the power of social media, she says.
Social media expert Joanne Painter agrees that those wanting to gain a serious following just need to keep plugging away at it. The managing director of Icon PR says the best social media platform for an accountant will depend largely on their career or business objectives. LinkedIn is vital for everyone, while Facebook can be a great way to replace a company newsletter, she says.
If you’re not on social media, you’re basically invisible, given so many consumers make product and service purchasing decisions via the internet, says Painter. “Blogging can enable an accountant to position themselves as a thought leader within their industry, which can be a great marketing and retention tool.”
It can be tempting to walk away if results aren’t immediate, according to Dr Gibbs.
“It’s easy to get discouraged if your follower count doesn’t immediately reach for the sky, but it’s important to remember that it really isn’t the number of followers you have but the quality of the interactions you’re having,” she says. “Social media is, at the end of the day, social, so you need to be putting out engaging information and having authentic discussions.”
Like many industry sectors, though, there will be accountants who refuse to believe that social media sites can be a valuable business tool. But they will need to dive into the world of social media sooner or later, warns Dr Gibbs.
“You may believe that you don’t need a social media presence – but do your clients?” she asks.
“In the same way that you wouldn’t trust a business that didn’t have a telephone number, a business without a social media presence will become a red flag of untrustworthiness.
“Firms may be able to get away with not having social media for now, but it won’t be the case forever. Clients expect to be able to find you online, and if they can’t, it’s going to hurt your reputation.”
