This is a function of marketing. Marketing is not just making and placing advertisements. Good marketing is not random messaging launched out into the world. Marketing efforts are based on several different concerns. Maybe the most important consideration in any marketing effort is making sure that it derives from the firm’s strategic plan. How is the firm planning to grow? Where does it plan to be in five years? What does the firm want to become? This planning should guide any marketing program. With the strategic plan as a guide, much marketing effort is directed toward defining and finding one’s target market—that is, what sort of person or company the firm wants as a client or who needs the services the accounting firm offers. Accountants who have existing clients can describe them along dimensions such as the size of their businesses, personal worth, industry, and the geographic area in which they live or operate their businesses. This information can inform where a firm looks for more clients, where it should place marketing communications, and what should be communicated.
A substantial amount of marketing today is carried out digitally. While billboards, paper ads, and television and radio ads still exist, people are increasingly likely to view marketing content via the internet, where the average user spends over six hours per day (https://tinyurl.com/4r7x3j27). Digital marketing has some important advantages over traditional media. One is the possibility of direct response. All of the forms of digital media discussed below have the option of linking directly back to the firm’s website from the message. In addition, digital marketing efforts can be targeted towards specific viewers, making content more cost-effective than traditional distribution and broadcast outlets. Moreover, digital marketing content is flexible, and CPA firms can easily test the effectiveness of a message by experimenting with different versions tailored towards different customer groups. Another significant advantage of digital marketing is the ability to directly measure ROI. Detailed analytics, available through all platforms discussed in this article, provide valuable insights into how well marketed content is performing.
The marketing of professional services differs from the marketing of physical goods. It is much easier to demonstrate what a physical good can do for a customer. This is not the case with services. An ad depicting a balance sheet is not going to help sell accounting services. With professional services, a firm must communicate that it has expertise, is honest and approachable, and can help the client. With this in mind, the remainder of this article will cover forms of digital marketing and how they might be applied in an accounting services context.
Digital Marketing Methods
Digital marketing has dramatically transformed the business landscape, elevating the role of marketers to the forefront of every successful business narrative. The internet remains the cornerstone of digital marketing. Digital channels, such as search engines, social media, email, and websites allow marketers to connect directly with clients. Effective web design, analytics, search engine optimization both on-site and off-site, paid search marketing, display advertising, email marketing, social media marketing, and mobile marketing are digital marketing methods that enable businesses to reach clients online where they spend much of their time.
Email was a major leap forward in digital communication, enabling users to exchange digital content almost instantaneously, even if not in “real-time” like later innovations. Email marketing evolved from simple promotional messages to personalized, targeted campaigns driven by data analytics and marketing automation. Email marketing platforms like Mailchimp make it easier for businesses to manage their email lists, design campaigns, and measure performance. Despite the growth of social media and other marketing channels, email marketing continues to be an essential tool for businesses to promote products or services, build customer relationships, nurture leads, and connect with clients by sending newsletters, promotional offers, updates, or personalized messages. Email marketing is highly customizable, allowing businesses to target specific segments of their audience with relevant content, growing their customer base. A significant advantage of email is the ability to communicate important and sometimes technical information to specifically chosen recipients. Accountants can send messages to promote services to groups of clients or send deadline reminders or technical documents by attachment to specific clients. Messages can contain links back to the firm’s website or newsletters.
Email management programs can integrate and automate marketing, scheduling, and even payment systems for accounting firms. Creating and maintaining an excellent email list is facilitated by the use of email management programs. Building an email collection of all client interactions is the basis of a clean and accurate list. Asking for current email addresses should be a part of all contact forms on a firm’s website; there is no substitute for a current and accurate email list.
The Evolution of Digital Marketing
While email offers one-to-one communication, social media platforms offer one-to-many distribution. Most platforms offer visual communications in the form of video or still art, sound, and clickable links. Internet marketing companies can help make a firm’s website easier to locate by using search engine optimization (SEO). The effect of SEO technology is that when a client or potential client searches online for accounting services, the firm will appear higher in the listed search results, making it more likely that the searcher clicks through to the website. In addition, firms can advertise through any of the major search engines so that their firm shows up at the top of searches for certain keywords and in a delimited geographic area as sponsored content.
Today, nearly all companies have an X (formerly Twitter) handle (user-name), and use the platform to push out announcements of new products and services, as well as promotions. It is often used to connect with customers via humor and to provide customer service. The AICPA has an X handle, as do many CPA firms. Posts that contain hashtags with keywords for which clients might search, as well as posts that are re-posted by other users, typically garner more attention. A firm can pay to promote its posts, as well as to have ads promoted to targeted users. By consistently posting valuable content, engaging with others, and staying active, accounting professionals can build meaningful relationships and establish a credible brand presence.
LinkedIn is a professional networking platform used by individuals and businesses to connect, share content, and explore career opportunities. It allows users to showcase their professional achievements, skills, and experience, making it a valuable tool for building and maintaining professional relationships. Companies use LinkedIn to recruit talent, promote their brand, and engage with their target audience through posts, articles, and job listings. Accounting professionals can use LinkedIn to expand their network, showcase expertise, and attract potential clients. They have the opportunity to optimize their profiles by highlighting key skills, certifications, and accomplishments, which helps establish credibility. By connecting with business owners, decision-makers, and other industry professionals, accountants can build relationships that may lead to client referrals or direct engagements. In addition, when they publish articles, share insights on financial topics, and participate in industry groups they are better positioned to establish themselves as thought leaders, further improving their visibility and trust among potential clients. LinkedIn’s search filters also allow accountants to target specific industries or job titles, enhancing their chances of finding ideal clients.
Facebook is the largest social media platform. Facebook’s value stems from several key factors, including its vast user base and high levels of user engagement. It’s primary driver, however, is its advanced advertising platform, considered the most sophisticated among social networks. This platform allows advertisers to target specific, niche segments of potential customers, and the prominent placement of ads ensures high visibility, often resulting in strong returns on advertising investment. Accountants can use Facebook as a strategic tool to enhance their professional visibility and connect with potential clients. By creating business pages, they can share valuable content related to tax tips, financial advice, and updates on accounting regulations, which helps build trust and demonstrate expertise. In addition to sharing educational posts, accountants can leverage Facebook’s advertising platform to target specific demographics or industries, making it easier to attract the right clients. Through targeted ads and boosted posts, they can expand their client base. Accountants can also participate in Facebook groups, networking with other professionals, and responding to questions, and offering advice, which can organically lead to new client opportunities. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, launched a new social media microblogging service similar to X in 2023 called Threads.
YouTube is a platform for longer-form video content. You Tube content is very broad in topic and format, from videos to help study for the CPA exam to full-length movies. While it takes time and money to create high quality videos, accounting firms could create short instructional videos about common or emerging accounting issues for small businesses and post them on their own YouTube channel. Posting is free, but targeting specific audiences or clients will costs money. The value of these videos to the firm is that useful, informational content that is regularly posted for clients can help build confidence in the firm and make clients aware of the services it offers.
Instagram is a visual-centric social media platform. It has very wide applicability for both personal and business use to share photos, videos, and stories. Instagram users can leverage features such as posts, reels, and live videos to showcase their work, personal life, or brand. With its focus on visual storytelling, Instagram can be used as a marketing tool for CPAs to build their personal brand, increase visibility, and connect with potential clients. By sharing educational content such as financial tips, tax advice, and updates on accounting regulations through visually appealing posts, infographics, and short video tutorials, accounting professionals can not only establish their authority in the field but also engage a broader audience. By using relevant hashtags and engaging with other professionals and potential clients, accountants can increase their reach and foster meaningful connections that may lead to business opportunities.
Instagram allows users to create videos of varying lengths depending on the format; from 15 seconds per segment for Instagram Stories, up to 10 minutes for regular feed posts, up to 60 minutes for larger accounts using a desktop, and 90 seconds for Reels, designed for short, engaging content. In addition, Instagram Live, where users can broadcast in real-time, supports videos up to 4 hours per session. These varied video options give accountants flexibility to share different types of content based on their goals and audience engagement. On Instagram, paid ads include a “Learn More” link to direct users to a specific webpage, while organic posts are not provided with such direct linking options. Organic posts can only include links in the user’s bio or through Instagram Stories if the account is verified or has more than 10,000 followers. The paid advertising option enhances engagement and increases direct traffic for businesses while organic content fosters brand-building and community engagement.
TikTok is a video-centric platform that allows for content up to 10 minutes if recording in the app, and up to 60 minutes for videos uploaded to the app. One advantage of Tik-Tok is that it includes user-friendly video creation tools. There are also tools businesses can pay for to push content to users who fit a desired demographic profile. TikTok caters to a younger audience and is mostly used for entertainment (e.g., dance videos, make-up tutorials, and comedy). At this point, TikTok platform is appropriate for personal clients looking for retail-level accounting services such as personal tax preparation. The popularity of TikTok makes it an attractive platform for accounting professionals to provide engaging informational content that not only promote their services but also bolsters their trust and increases confidence in their expertise amongst their potential.
As clients increasingly use social media apps in their daily lives, it is essential for accounting professionals to create targeted content that resonates with their current and potential clients and effectively build relationships, foster brand loyalty, and improve client experiences across various digital platforms. In today’s digital-first world, digital marketing offers a novel way by which accounting professionals can create value at every stage of the client journey, from initial discovery to long-term loyalty. Strategies for accomplishing this include web design, content creation, search engine optimization (SEO), social media engagement, email outreach, paid advertising, analytics, and customer feedback management.
All in all, the authors suggest that the best outlets for CPA firms to use for digital marketing are those that allow for presentation of in-depth information. Accounting services are complex, and most clients operate businesses. A purely small business and individual tax practice might find value in promoting on some of the smaller format platforms such as Instagram or TikTok. Facebook ads might work well for individual accounting services, especially if targeted towards local users. For larger customers with ongoing accounting needs, using an email service, may be a better strategy.
Finding the Right Medium for the Message
The best content for CPA firms providing complex services is going to be fairly in depth. It also works best when it is less promotional and more informational, perhaps packaged as free help for clients or published in a longer format like white-papers or ebooks. It could introduce members of the firm and give their educational backgrounds and maybe even some personal information to help clients connect and build relationships. This type of content can make the firm more approachable.
Promoting a CPA firm via social media can be hit or miss. Using the paid targeting services that all of the platforms offer increases the firm’s likelihood of reaching quality potential customers. The authors stress that all methods of digital marketing should redirect customers to the company website or to some other means of engagement (e.g., enter email to be contacted by a representative; enter email for a chance to win a prize; respond to a polling question; “like” and “follow”).
Whether it is going to be worth the money and effort depends on the intended customers and messaging. For new firms, using social media such as Instagram and Facebook to send out messages aimed at building community awareness and engagement is probably a good choice. For a new partner or associate, announcing the promotion or hire on LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Instagram, also makes sense. Employing basic strategies such as these is not likely to cost more than a few hundred dollars per month. For an established firm that is already well-known in the community, social media is probably less important. It makes more sense to build a good email list of existing and potential clients that can be used to send out reminders of deadlines or links to newsletters with informational articles. The newsletters could be downloadable but should drive clients to the firm’s website for more information. Encouraging potential clients to click through a website is a valuable interaction.
For all forms of social media, a stale account—one with few recent posts—might do more harm than good, as a potential client may view inactivity as a bad signal. Another risk with all social media accounts is that they are susceptible to hacking. An attacker can do significant damage to a firm’s reputation in a very short amount of time if they gain account access by posting distasteful, controversial, or even illegal content. If a firm does have social media accounts, take care to ensure that content is posted regularly, the website link and contact information are up to date and accurate, and access to the account (login information) is kept secure.
In the end, good digital marketing takes time and money. Most CPA firms will want to retain a digital marketing company or hire a digital marketing specialist to help structure a marketing program. For public accounting firms in particular, old-fashioned, face-to-face personal interaction is always going to be an important part of the client-solicitation and retention formula. The personal touch and extent of trust between a firm’s partners/staff and its clients matters the most in high dollar sales situations. To the extent that digital marketing can foster the initiation of such relationships, even small investments in such strategies will likely pay dividends.
