Contents of CPA Practice Advisor - MAR 2012

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

Page 25 of 38

GOLDEN RULES OF SOCIAL MEDIA W Michelle Golden
Michelle is a growth and profi tability strategist. With her deep knowledge of fi rm operations and sharp observation skills to quickly grasp a fi rm's nuances, she guides practitioners toward improved profi tability and stronger, healthier cultures. She focuses on strategic consulting and facilitation around long- and short-term planning, positioning and pricing, messaging, and communications (both online and off).
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How to Make Social Media Work for Your Firm
Media
hether you already use social media for business or you're still thinking about it, the concept to start with is, "why." You can most certainly jump in and start experimenting—that's how many people
begin. But sometimes I see frustration mount as these folks evaluate if their efforts are worth it. T e typical metrics (e.g., followers
or connections, comments, or retweets) are nice for the ego but don't oſt en correlate with dollars. It's at this point that some people abandon their at empts. Others realize that some goals might be helpful.
T e most important aspect in using
social media eff ectively is to be clear about your business-related purpose for using these tools. Why are you there? There are several possible reasons that fall into these three cat- egories: Business Development. By
building and strengthening relation- ships with current and future clients and referral sources through sharing and interacting, you can enhance your credibility, seem more personable and interesting, and show that you're highly accessible. Relationships for recruiting and community involvement are also enriched through social media activities.
THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT IN USING SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECTIVELY IS TO BE CLEAR ABOUT YOUR BUSI- NESS-RELATED PURPOSE FOR USING THESE TOOLS.
Customer Service and Reputation
Management. Monitoring online mentions of yourself and your business provides opportunities to help others, manage imperfect situations, and stand
March 2012 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com APractice
out from other fi rms. You develop a proactive fan base to off set any nega- tive sentiments with a higher ratio of praise to criticism (think Amazon reviews). Your presence online permits you to increase loyalty and make problems right. Just Plain Learning. T ere's never been an easier way to isolate (through time-saving fi lters) high-quality, timely information to expand your knowledge. You can set-up content to be fed to you or manually skim for good articles within your chosen communities of peers, thought leaders, industry experts, and clients. Select your primary purpose; this
drives your considerations and next steps. It also drives who does what. Generally, educational and relationship- based activities must occur at the individual practitioner level. Others can perform monitoring, with your direction.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Start by identifying exactly who you are trying to reach. Where do they already congregate both online and off ? What will it take to be a participant and maybe an influencer in those communities?
Think about one niche area at a
time. Niches can be by industry, market segment (e.g., family-owned business, public companies), demographic (e.g., retirees, recent immigrants), or situ- ational (e.g., divorcees, people caring for aging parents). T en, within a niche, who are the
decision infl uencers in terms of their roles? For each role, consider the person's mindset, business concerns, interests, and technological sophisti- cation. What organizations and resources do they trust? Are they involved in discussion or LinkedIn groups? What blogs and Twit er feeds do they follow? Ask some clients these questions if you're not sure. Your end goal is sales through warm
inquiries and qualifi ed referrals. To get them, you need to be visible to and (ideally) have conversations with infl uential people on topics they are interested in. T ey should see that you're credible and capable. T is is how trust begins.
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
Monitoring online mentions can be delegated, but the subsequent interac- tions for reputation management are