What I like most about this article (and the concept overall) is how Eric creatively blended two mediums to develop a powerful and effective strategy for his firm. It makes me wonder what other combinations CPA and accounting firms could use to either broaden their brand in select markets or attract new prospects and referral partners.

The article also provide some tips on how to approach radio advertising. I found these helpful because as someone with little experience with radio, they provide some much needed insight. These items include;

• Employ Valuable Calls to Action – Paid commercials MUST have a call to action that’s valuable to the audience. Seminars, checklists, whitepapers, survey results, consultations, diagnostic tools, etc are all good value offers. These value offerings differentiate you and engage which aligns perfectly with social media integration.
• Promote Niche Practices – Don’t be afraid to use radio that goes deeper than just “general awareness” – just be sure the station is the right format and demographic for your niche.
  Leverage Radio for Earned/Free Media Opportunities – Develop relationships with news department and people besides the account exec – they have needs (experts on short notice) that you can fulfill! On-air expert clips often get aired throughout the day. Watch the value add up!
• Stretch Your Radio Dollar – Get the MP3 of your radio spots (most stations will give this to you for no charge) and distribute them widely among your social media outposts – for guest appearances, link to the station’s audio vault (sending visitors to them is a way to thank the station).
• Know Your Lead Sources – Use unique identifiers (URLs, phone numbers, etc) to track response sources so you can see what works best and modify for greater effectiveness where needed.
• Negotiate Wisely – In radio buy negotiations, don’t disclose your budget up front. Make them work to find your limits. Negotiate rates for small flights, then add additional weeks if the rep works with you to sweeten the deal from there. They are usually willing to add extra value.

To review the entire article, click here.

What makes this article interesting is that it goes beyond the discussion on brand awareness, market positioning and client engagement and provide the actual steps for how to reach out through these tools and find new business. While social media does allow a firm to address the “soft marketing topics”, it is often more difficult to tie those benefits to a business development metric. The advice offered in this article works. I know this because I use some of these tactics myself and also because I have seen others meet with success using others.

A brief listing of the tactics include:

• Share helpful tools on social networks
• Monitor twitter for keywords
• Subsrcibe to and participate in LinkedIn’s Answers program
• Friend and follow journalists
• Give website visitors multiple points of contact
• Adopt a 24 hour response rule

This is timely advice and the source, Eric Majchrzak of Freed Maxick & Battaglia, in Buffalo, New York is a well respected expert on the matter. The good news is he was a large contributor to the piece.

To read the entire article, click here.

The popularity of social media has become so prevalent even the Internal Revenue Service is getting involved. In my travels across the web I recently noticed that the IRS has posted instructional videos on You Tube.  (Click Here to see the IRS Channel.) The bulk of these are short one to two minute clips that focus on explaining provisions of the American Recovery and Investment Act. Specific topics include the $8,000 first-time homebuyer’s credit for those who purchase a house this year, the sales or excise tax deduction on new car purchases and the expanded credits for education and energy conservation. The videos are available in English, Spanish and American Sign Language.

The channel is no surprise given the Obama Administration’s targeted use of social media in the past. However, I believe it also provides insight into a greater trend in marketing and public relations. It is no secret that the IRS is not considered by most “Joe Plumber’s” to be a friendly organization. The only time most want to have any interaction with the IRS is once a year when they file taxes. Any interaction with them at other times of the year is generally unwelcome. However, I believe the new videos help recast the IRS in a new and positive light. They demonstrate a clear desire on the part of the IRS to connect with customers and provide valuable information in a quick and easy to understand format. Rather than simply reciting the Internal Revenue Code, they have people explaining these topics in layman terms, making it easy to understand each topic and what the taxpayer should needs to do to take advantage of the benefits.

The lesson learned is that social media tools such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter offer a forum of interaction with clients, prospects and referral partners previously not available. Through social media you can invite these groups to interact with your firm, learn more about what you do and the personality of the firm. Offering helpful information such as the IRS does is only one way to engage these groups with your organization. Additional ways to create “engagement forums” include creating a group on Linked In, Fan Page on Facebook, a YouTube Channel and of course a blog.

CPA firms currently using YouTube include:

Daszkal Bolton LLP

Cerini & Associates

How is your firm using social media tools to interact with clients, prospects and referral partners?

Below is an excerpt from the article:

“When I work with tax and accounting professionals, they are constantly asking me to explain what social media is, what it can do for their practice, and most importantly, how to determine ROI. I’m not surprised. After all, accountants are logical, numbers-oriented people, so it makes perfect sense for them to want to talk about what kind of return they expect to get through their investment in time spent doing social networking.”

This is a great read for those seeking to understand how social media can bring additional marketing value to their firm and overall SEO efforts.

Click here to read the entire article.

The article is centered around a question and answer session between Mr. Tom Hood, MACPA CEO and the magazine. Topics such as the value of such activiity, how to measure return and what type of strategy the Association is using are all discussed and addressed.

An excerpt from the article is listed below:

JofA: What are some of the risks CPAs might face using social networking for business purposes, and what strategies can be used to mitigate the risks?

So the strategy should be: How can I engage that criticism and respond to it in a respectful way that says that I’m listening? If you can actually do that, the research says that you’re going to win customer loyalty.

I recommend reviewing this article if you are just starting out or thinking about how/why your firm CPA firm should invest the resources in this type of marketing. It provides good ideas and simple start up strategies to get your firm thinking and moving in the right direction.

Click here for a copy of the full article.

In the August 2009 edition of Accounting Today there is an interesting article on this topic entitled, CPAs Embrace Twitter. The article focuses on various CPA and accounting firms, CPA Societies and other organizations that are using Twitter. What makes this article worth the read is each organization discusses the value of the micro blogging tool and how it is helping grow their practice.

How is your firm using/contemplating Twitter to enhance your marketing efforts?

Click here to read the article.

It is a straightforward strategy that seems easy enough, but is it? How are you going to manage all the responsibilites of your position while finding additional time to spend on network development? In the past, network development focueed on being active in community organizations, associations and other groups. This required time outside of the office meeting people, establishing and nurturing relationships and building trust. Only once trsut was established would the contact share the details about professional issues, challenges and opportunities. This was a very time intensive process that had to be repeated over and over again with every contact. The task of building and maintaining a professional network took a lot of energy and required a high level of hands on care.

The emergence of social media has transformed the way the network development process occurs. While you will always have to spend time going out and meeting new people at events and other programs, there has been a change in the way relationships are developed. Social media programs have created a process where interactions occur in real time and the entire process of relationship development can be quickly increased. These changes are good news for young accountants as these tools will allow them to develop relationships and create connections in ways their predeccessory could not have imagined just ten years ago.

Click here for the rest of the article which can be found at the Accounting Tomorrow website. Please note this article was written by Brian Swanson of Flashpoint Marketing.

CPA and accounting firms are beginning to understand that social media marketing is truly a tool that can help drive practice growth. While there are some firms that understand the benefits of social media there are still many that are struggling to see how tools such as blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn and other such sites can have a meaningful impact on marketing efforts. It is difficult to blame them because the amount of information available on how firms are successfully leveraging these tools is scare and not widely available.

While updating our YouTube Channel this afternoon I came across a video case study of how one firm in Tennessee was able to leverage specific social media tools to increase business. Below I have provided a link to the case study which is very detailed about the steps the firm took to integrate social media into their marketing efforts, the time invested on a weekly and monthly basis and finally the return both in marketing and actual sales made from these strategies.

If you firm is contemplating entering the world of social media this video should provide compelling evidence that such an endeavor will produce meaningful results.

The emergence of social media marketing has left many accounting and CPA firm Partners scratching their heads trying to figure out if/how they should leverage these new technologies to drive business development and lead generation efforts. I believe many are sitting on the sidelines to assess whether this new medium will become a legitimate alternative to current marketing methodologies or if the bubble will burst like it did with the dotcoms. After all it is much easier to rely on what has worked in the past than to venture out into new waters.

I am a supporter of planned and disciplined social media marketing. Given this I am always on the lookout for information that documents and discusses how such marketing can benefit accounting and CPA firms. Fortunately, I came across an article on Fox Business News, The Cost (and Payoff) of Investing In Social Media, that discusses how social media marketing has impacted marketing efforts at companies in a variety of industries.

To give you a flavor of the piece,

“Twitter grew 3,000 percent in April. Facebook hosted 61.2 million visitors in March. LinkedIn counts 20 million users worldwide.

But is social media right for your business? Could it be a free substitute for a traditional (read: expensive) advertising plan? How much time should be spent in the care and feeding of all those profiles? The answers may surprise you.”

If you are considering launching a social media marketing program for your firm or are in the rollout stages I urge you to review this piece. Pay careful attention to the last two paragraphs as it outlines the value proposition of such marketing and provides an explanation of how best to court prospects and referral partners.

Click here to read the full article.