A new breed of professional service firm, from the world of law and accounting, is ready to grasp the many benefits of becoming fully involved in the social media revolution.
Long gone are the old stereotypes of solicitors and accountants, conjuring up images of bound volumes and grey suits in a stuffy environment.
In the fast-changing world of the internet and cloud-based technology, accountants and solicitors are using social media to get their message out there.
With a focus on the future, professional service firms are embracing all that Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and even TikTok have to offer, supporting their search engine optimisation (SEO), email marketing campaigns and website to build a network of effective digital communications.
Social media for accountants and solicitors is allowing many firms to focus on building an online reputation, which is winning them new work and providing them with a new medium to engage with clients at a personal level.
The current raft of social media platforms is available to billions of users, so the smarter, more engaging and concise the message, and how you link it to your products or services, the more successful you will be.
Delve into the figures and the reach of these platforms is mind-boggling and that’s why solicitors and accountants need to make sure they are keeping pace with the latest changes in social media.
According to Statusbrew, a social media engagement tool, the top 12 most popular social networks sorted based on the number of monthly active users (MAU) are:
- Facebook – 2.8 billion
- YouTube – 2.2 billion
- WhatsApp – 2 billion
- Instagram – 1.4 billion
- Facebook Messenger – 1.3 million
- WeChat (Weixin) – 1.25 billion
- TikTok – 1 billion
- Douyin – 600 million
- QQ – 591 million
- Sina Weibo – 566 million
- Telegram – 550 million
The big danger for accountants and solicitors is ignoring this demonstrable power of social media, which is a powerful tool for promoting what your firm does, how it communicates and educates.
Many sites reach different audiences. Do you want a traditional audience, or do you want to reach out to more diverse groups?
Whether we like it or not, the platforms use artificial intelligence and algorithms to push messages in certain directions, and if you’re not following their rules, your content may be lost in a sea of similar posts.
The prospect of continually sending Tweets, posts, videos, likes, shares and other updates can feel overly time-consuming and onerous, which is why it helps to bring in support from a team of professionals who can manage and grow your online following.
Adopting a step-by-step approach is a sensible move, so here are a few things to consider if you are new to digital marketing or are looking to revitalise your social media strategy:
Modest beginnings
It is important to focus on social media platforms that are likely to deliver the biggest impact. For most professional service firms, LinkedIn and Twitter are key.
Once you have these established you can branch out and try new and exciting platforms to suit your requirements.
Remember, organic growth won’t happen overnight, it takes time – of, course you can always engage some social media advertising to boost your posts and grow faster.
Plan content carefully
Plan what type of content you’ll be posting to your social media accounts. Whether you want to develop new content to post as part of your marketing plan, share existing content, or engage a new audience.
Measuring your success
As with any type of accountancy or solicitor business, tracking the success of your social media efforts gives an instant snapshot into how you are performing and what is important to site visitors.
There are various analytics tools out there, including many on the platform’s dashboards, but you must regularly review this data to see which posts garner the most engagement and impressions so that you can model future content to meet your audience.
Here to help
Our knowledge of the industry and the wider professional services market ensures we can offer social media services for solicitors and accountants, which fewer other firms can match.
In fact, we have won several awards in recognition of this – including our latest win at the Just.Marketing Awards for our innovative approach during the pandemic.
If you would like to learn how we could help you be seen and heard online, please contact us today.
