- Vidit Agarwal
- April 03, 2022
Having an online presence is essential for any business. Your accounting firm is not an exception. According to a report, more than 60% of businesses search for an accounting service online. So, no matter how efficient you are as an accountancy professional, your potential clients will always start their search for an accountant or bookkeeper with a simple Google search too.
While having an online presence is crucial for your accounting firm’s growth, it’s more important to do it right.
Generally, a Google search returns thousands of results. If your accounting firm doesn’t appear on the first page, chances are very bleak that you will get any attention. So, what do you need to do to ensure a great digital footprint?
Having a website will not suffice: A recent report states over 38% of online users stop visiting or engaging with a website if they find the content to be unattractive or dated.
It’s important to decide what to show and how to show on the website. Having a clean and user-friendly design helps your potential clients to make an informed decision. 3 things are the most important elements here: A summary of your accounting firm and its offerings, contact information and a segment where you can engage with your audience.
Be on top of online searches: From adding meta-data to your website to SEO to business listing to keywords, there are a number of factors that can help you with an improved search ranking.
But what is more overwhelming is how search engines often come up with new algorithms that may change your SEO strategy. Many accounting firms, for this reason, outsource their SEO to agencies. If you have a similar mindset, make sure your agency has a proven track record of handling accounting businesses and practices.
Be present on social media: Most of the accounting firms that are present on social media think that it’s a light-hearted way of connecting with the audience. Wrong. Social media can be a useful tool to serve your clients better as well as to find new clients.
So, a mere presence on social media will not be adequate. You need to be active on each channel. Don’t go for each and every social media platform that are there. Instead, focus on the platforms where your potential clients are.
Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn can benefit your accounting firm when it comes to reinforcing your brand identity, generating leads, communicating with your target audience and increasing your reach. A platform like Twitter can help you stay aware of the trending topics and help you find relevant topics where you can contribute.
So, choose wisely.
While these 3 are the main components of digital marketing for an accounting firm, there are other tools that can help you grow.
Email marketing: Most of the accountants and bookkeepers communicate with their clients via emails. But it also offers a huge opportunity for gaining new clients.
Make use of features like “Subscribe to our newsletter” or LinkedIn polls to gather email ids of potential clients. Make your emails short, crisp and eye-catching. Always go for mobile-friend layouts. Remember, the idea is to redirect the users to the website.
Gated and non-gated content: Content marketing is one of the most effective tools for lead generation. Create gated content where the users need to submit their details in order to get it. Reports, eBooks, whitepapers, interviews with prominent business figures are some of the examples of gated content that your audience would happily exchange their contact information for.
Create a blog on your website and post new content regularly. Offer value to your audience by sharing tips and tricks, dos and don’ts and best practices.
Gated or non-gated, don’t forget to market them on search engines and social media.
Webinars: Webinars offer an amazing opportunity to connect with your target audience, generate leads for your firm and build credibility for your knowledge. However, there are a few things to remember for generating the highest results for your webinars.
Choose your topics carefully. Timing plays an important role here. For example, during the tax year ending, it’s always better to host webinars on taxes. Always go for a niche audience. Define exactly what to expect from the webinar. Market the webinar in your blog, website and social media.
Conclusion: A recent report suggests that the turnover of the accounting industry in the UK reached £36.6bn in 2021, which is up by 15% from the previous year. Needless to say, digitalisation played a pivotal role in the growth. So, why are you stopping yourself? Be a part of the transformation by going digital, TODAY!
