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Profession wakes up to social media

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9th Oct 2015
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Social media is now a vital part of the marketing mix for many commercial organisations and this is increasingly the case for accountancy practices.

Wolters Kluwer is in the process of taking the social media pulse of the profession, so we decided to look back at previous years’ findings to see how much progress had been made.

The social media landscape has changed considerably since the first CCH social media survey back in 2011.

From 2011 to 2013 the split between ‘listeners’ and ‘contributors’ remained fairly constant at 80:20, but in 2014 the ratio shifted to 76:24, suggesting that more accountants are using social media as a promotional and marketing tool rather than intelligence gathering.

Last year’s annual social media survey revealed that 83% of accountants used social media sites, which was up almost 8% on the previous year. This modest upward trend has accelerated compared to past surveys results of 77% in 2013, 75% in 2012 and just 69% in the first year of the survey.

The 2014 results found that 94% of accountants under the age of 40 were now engaging in social media for either personal or professional use, while 100% of under-30s were fully signed up, almost double the amount of the over-60s (55%).

The latest survey also found that women were far keener to embrace the medium (89%) than their male counterparts (80%).

Many in the profession, including AccountingWEB, have trumpeted the benefits of embracing social media to benefit your firm, and several of the successful entrants into the Practice Excellence Awards this year made specific references to their social media activity and how that had helped boost growth.

In terms of growth innovations to win new clients, double award winner Tayabali Tomlin said: “Successful use of social media/cloud communication such as Twitter/GoToMeeting/Zoom/Own app.”

The firm also used social media training and workshops for its clients.

Another entrant in the medium award category stated that clients came from referrals from existing clients, recruitment agencies as well as the website and social media traffic.

Last month at the Practice Excellence Conference, Sharon Pocock, Rachel Carr and Karen Reyburn revealed their own lessons in branding, including building a better internet presence and maximising as many social media routes as possible.

Pocock’s simple advice to thriving on Twitter was to “talk to people and post a lot”. 

When it comes to brand cohesion Carr recommended accountants should “make sure the look, feel and culture of your brand is consistent, and looks the same”.

Reyburn reassured those feeling lost: “You do all of the things (social media) until you find that works for you and your clients. This way you get the clients you want.”

 Wolters Kluwer’s fifth annual social media survey went live at the start of the month and runs through to the end of October. What’s your experience of social media in practice? Complete the survey and you’ll be entered into a draw to win £250 worth of Red Letter Days vouchers.

Replies (8)

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By carnmores
10th Oct 2015 21:48

Don't mix up social media
With technological progress eg Gotomeeting etc, this is primarily a tool for connecting with clients. Also branding has always been the game to grow a firm. I hold that Twitter is a platform that gives people with nothing to say the chance to do it. Professional people simply do not have enough time to follow and absorb information like this.

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By johnjenkins
12th Oct 2015 09:57

erm Robert,

Communication has always been at the forefront our profession. So it doesn't matter what type you use. You could do an article on why the profession don't write many letters (apart from HMRC). As our communication devices increase then people will choose what is more suitable to them.

 

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By Robert Lovell
12th Oct 2015 14:24

Hi John

Agree it doesn’t really matter what type of communication device you use, but I do find it interesting how there’s been a shift in recent years when it comes to social media use in the profession.

Just a few years ago the social media backlash was pretty fierce on the site.

As highlighted in the survey results, and from my own observations in the five years I’ve been at AccountingWEB, it seems more and more firms are getting results when it comes to marketing and branding via social media.

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By johnjenkins
12th Oct 2015 16:16

@Robert

How many people use horses instead of cars? lol.

The internet has made a vast difference and as it moves on with advanced technology we will move on with it.

Results are achieved on a long term basis by professionalism. If you are good at what you do you don't need marketing gimmicks and branding (products yes). Having said that the big boys who go for the more lucrative clients will always showoff but how many times do we hear of audits going wrong etc.

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By Shelley_CCH
13th Oct 2015 11:29

Thank you for your comments

The results from our survey certainly back up Robert's comments - when we first ran the survey in 2011, a common response was "Why do I need social media?".  Now, accountants are much more likely to ask "What's the best way of using social media?”. 

Of course, social media doesn't suit everyone and plenty of practices don't ever use it but an increasing number are exploiting it (LinkedIn and Twitter especially) to engage with existing clients and find new ones.

Whatever your views, we'd be really interested in hearing from you.  As well as being in with a chance to win the vouchers mentioned above, you'll also get a copy of our in-depth analysis of the results and commentary on how the profession is using social media.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CCHsocialmediasurvey2015

 

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By johnjenkins
13th Oct 2015 11:45

What

 No canteen of cutlery! Of course that was before 2011.

Now what is this called, yes "social media" hmm social as in "hey dude how's it hanging" or social as in "We guarentee you will pay less tax with us and we will give you a free spa as long as you have a meeting with us before Christmas"?

I don't think Accountants are more likely to ask "what's the best way of using social media" Only one way to find out.

Hey Accountants out there what do you think?

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By DaisyEMB
14th Oct 2015 12:28

Old fashioned?

I'm under 40, don't have a facebook page (or a twitter account, linkedin profile etc. etc.), use my phone as a, erm, phone and don't want to spend any more time than I have to starring at a screen messaging people.  Emails, telephone calls and meeting people in person work fine for me (and my clients). I'd go for quality of communication over amount of communication any day.

PS:  @johnjenkins.. my husband still uses horses instead of the car sometimes!!

 

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By johnjenkins
14th Oct 2015 13:28

@Daisy

So you do have time for messaging on Aweb then?

My only encounter with a horse was as a young boy on a relations farm. No saddle etc. and off he went. Luckily he went back to his stable o no damage and no I didn't fall off.

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