Social media has huge potential when it comes to marketing for accountants.
Millions of users use the social platform every day in England. They comprise successful business owners, men and women, young and old, and diverse income backgrounds.
In other words, your target market is almost certainly active on there. If you can connect with these users on Twitter, then you can introduce them to your brand and forge relationships with potential, new future clients.
Achieving this goal, however, takes time. It also requires being active on the platform every day for at least 20 mins, speaking and connecting with your target market.
You also need to grow your number of followers. Humans are unfortunately quite shallow. They tend to pay attention to people when others pay attention to them. If your potential clients on Twitter see that you’ve got thousands of followers, then they’re more likely to see you as a credible brand and connect with you.
People will follow you if you’re active on Twitter. That means “tweeting” daily. 5 times spread throughout the day is ideal. 9 times a day is even better.
However, if you can’t give it that much time, start smaller. Marketing for accountants is s marathon, not a sprint. Training for a marathon, and doing Twitter marketing, both typically involve starting small.
But what do I tweet about? This is where most accountants on Twitter get it wrong. They think it’s all about promotional tweets. They constantly publish about “them” and “their company”, or their “latest offer.”
This isn’t the way to go. Twitter is a social platform. That means people are there to socialise; to interact with each other by sharing news, stories and ideas.
By engaging in this dynamic and sporadically sharing promotional posts, you can grow your followers – connecting with more potential clients.
When marketing for accountants, here are 5 different tweet types we generally use – and recommend you emulate:
1. Share the love
People love to be flattered, and this is especially true on social media. If you see a client you’d like to develop a relationship with, then mention them in a positive tweet. Something like this:
“Hi @twitterclient, we loved your post on [insert subject] today. What do you think about [related topic]?”
This kind of tweet ticks a number of boxes. First of all, it’s short and sweet. That’s what you want to aim for on Twitter. Keep it under 100 characters.
Second, it compliments your target client and invited them into a dialogue. This could later develop further into a discussion about doing business together.
Thirdly, it flatters the client since you’ve broadcasted them positively to your network. Humans are reciprocal creatures, so they might return the favour by posting to their followers, giving your brand even more exposure.
It also makes your brand look good to your current followers since you are showing that you value your clients and target market.
2. Provide a Top Tip
This is a great one. After all, you’re an expert in your industry, and many people are out of their depth when it comes to the financial topics you’re familiar with.
By sharing a quick tip about, say, how to manage your accounts properly, you provide value to your followers which they will really appreciate.
Think about it. How many times in your life have you met people who give great advice? You want to hand around these people. You are also probably more likely to buy from them because you perceive them to have your best interests at heart.
Obviously, you need to be careful. Don’t go giving all your advice away, and don’t share advice that might be taken the wrong way or which will come back to bite you.
Otherwise, provide value to your Twitter followers and your target market will increasingly listen. Follow the thought leader!
3. Pose a Question
Marketing for accountants shouldn’t ever be a one-way conversation with your target audience. There should be a dialogue.
One of the best ways to promote dialogue with your potential clients on Twitter is to simply post a question. It’s important that the question is open-ended, but it doesn’t always have to be related to accounting. Show some brand personality.
Remember, Twitter is a social network, not a billboard. Here are some ideas:
“What qualities do you look for in an accountant? #accountant #accounting”
“Our colleague Barry believes Genghis Khan would have been a top #accoutant. What do you think?”
“What could #accountants do to make it easier to handle your finances? #asktheclient”
Remember, you should always include popular, relevant hashtags in your posts. This helps your post to reach more people.
However, never exceed more than three, otherwise, your post will look spammy.
