october2021 - 23

BRIDGING THE GAP
Marketing for the Modern
Accounting Firm
JIM BOOMER, CPA.CITP
CEO, Boomer Consulting, Inc.
Director, Boomer Technology Circle™
jim.boomer@cpapracticeadvisor.com
WE LIVE IN a digital world. And yet, the marketing plans of many accounting firms are still
analog. They spend thousands of dollars on printed brochures and rely on referrals and
word of mouth to scale and grow. Those methods have certainly been effective in the past.
But what got you to where you are now won't necessarily get you to where you want to
go in the future.
According to Thomson Reuters,
85% of consumers conduct online
research before making a purchase
- 60% when looking at accounting
services alone. If your firm's marketing
plan doesn't adapt to the
digital world, you're missing out on
major growth opportunities.
Here are a few ideas to help you
get started.
CREATE A CLIENTCENTRIC
WEBSITE
CPA firm websites tend to fall into
one of two extremes: bare-bones
sites with little more than contact
information, or overloaded sites
with more information than any
prospective client needs, wants or
can navigate with ease.
Work with a web designer,
developer and your marketing team
to create a website with an
attractive layout and mobilefriendly
design. Make sure
current and prospective
clients can
easily find the
i n fo r ma t i on
they're looking
for
and
schedule an
a p p o i nt -
ment.
BECOME
A TRUSTED
GUIDE
Search engine optimization
(SEO) is a powerful marketing
tool. Before potential clients decide
to engage your firm, they research
your business online. This research
helps validate their decision to work
with you, so create valuable content
and share it across your website
and social media channels. This
improves SEO and establishes your
people as trusted guides who help
their clients reach their goals.
Unfortunately, few busy professionals
have the time to create
valuable content regularly. The good
news is you don't have to do it alone.
Hire a writer, work with a freelancer
or partner with a company that
can help you create fresh, original
content each month.
Avoid using a newsletter service
that provides the same stale articles
to every firm. Sharing the same
content as everyone else actually
harms your SEO efforts and doesn't
do anything to help establish your
expertise.
LEVERAGE SOCIAL
MEDIA
According to Hootsuite, 44.8% of
the world's 4.2 billion social media
users use social media to search for
brand information.
Investing in social media marketing
and managing your social
media accounts effectively allows
you to engage with clients and
prospects and build social proof.
In a marketing context, social
proof is evidence that other people
know and trust your brand and
have purchased and found value
in the services you offer. You build
social proof when you engage with
social media followers and share
client testimonials and other valuable
content on your social media
channels.
CREATE AUTOMATED
EMAIL MARKETING
CAMPAIGNS
Email marketing is an effective way
to make existing clients aware of
other services you offer and generate
leads from your website.
Integrate lead magnets and
drip campaigns into your digital
marketing strategy. Lead magnets
encourage website visitors to subscribe
to your email list in exchange
for a valuable piece of content, like
white papers or checklists. Drip
campaigns are a triggered sequence
of automated emails sent on a
predetermined schedule to target
email subscribers. And according
to Martech Zone, an effective drip
campaign can generate 80% more
sales than a single marketing email.
An email marketing platform
can automate your email campaigns
and analyze results to help you
track the success of your efforts.
Digital marketing isn't a differentiator
- it's a foundational
pillar for any successful firm in
today's increasingly digital world.
Incorporate these digital marketing
tactics in your firm to become a
trusted authority in the profession.
As with any initiative, it takes time.
But stay the course, and you will
find many more opportunities with
clients in need of accounting, tax
and advisory services. ■
OCTOBER 2021 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
23

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october2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of october2021