As the founder or leader of a thriving CPA or accounting firm, you might already be working hard to keep things moving in a positive direction. No matter how lengthy your current client list is, you’ll need to spend focused time and effort on generating a pipeline of current and potential clients. Marketing is the “secret sauce” for reaching new clients and delivering the kind of content that compels them to act. 

But we know how it goes—you’re already busy doing the actual work within your accounting firm. How can you really make time for all the parts and pieces of a successful marketing strategy? Is it really possible to keep all the plates spinning so that you can serve your existing clients while generating buzz for your firm?

In this post, we’ll show you why a marketing strategy that includes social media, email marketing, website content, and search engine optimization (SEO) is the right path to take when you want to see your firm continue to grow.

Why Do CPAs Need a Marketing Strategy?

Certified public accountants (CPAs) and tax professionals need digital marketing strategies to succeed. Chances are, ideal clients are already spending their time online, whether that means casually browsing or doing serious research about financial professionals or accounting services. If this is where your potential clients are, then you need to be online too. 

Digital marketing strategies are especially critical for CPA businesses that don’t limit themselves to in-person services or local clients. With the boundless possibilities of the internet, it’s possible to connect with clients around the world. As a result, you benefit from expanding the limits of your business while continually building your client base.

CPAs also need marketing strategies in order to stay competitive. With over 46,000 public accounting firms serving clients within the United States alone, standing out can be tough. The right marketing strategy can help you clarify your unique offerings, target your marketing efforts, and reach the clients who are most likely to want to do business with you. 

CPA Social Media Presence

Social media marketing for CPAs involves devoting time and attention to the biggest online social platforms out there. Consider the major players like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. While you don’t have to tackle every single platform at one time, you should start focusing on a few platforms where you know your audience is already hanging out.

The good news is—social media doesn’t have to be your area of expertise in order to use it to your firm’s advantage. You can contract with a social media content creator, outsource to a marketing firm, or use a comprehensive platform like CountingWorks PRO that includes automated social media content generation as part of the overall marketing package.

Best Practices to Apply

Creating and publishing social media content might be a new aspect of your business that you haven’t fully leveraged yet. If so, check out the best practices and tips below to make the most of your social media efforts.

• Use consistent branding across all platforms – When posting to different platforms, keep your logo, visuals, and brand voice the same. This helps clients identify you, regardless of where they might be finding your marketing content.
  
  
• Be willing to post regularly – As you commit to social media marketing, remember that many platforms award accounts that post with consistency. If you need to, develop a recurring schedule that shows where and when you’ll post. Algorithms favor active accounts that contribute new content.
  
  
• Develop ways to respond and engage – As social platforms, clients may reach out to you through comments, direct messages, and other engagement opportunities. A representative of your firm should be available to field any questions and answer people as they engage.
  
  
• Set goals and evaluate them – With any marketing initiative, you want to know that your methods are working. For social media, you might utilize in-platform dashboards and analytics to see how your content is performing. Set intervals for evaluating these metrics, and establish measurable goals that are most important to you.

CPA Email Marketing Strategy

CPA firms can (and should) use email marketing to reach new clients and serve existing ones. Keep in mind that marketing-related emails are different from the messages you typically send to clients about their business needs or when you have specific questions regarding an account. 

Instead, email marketing is used to nurture client relationships, advertise new opportunities, sell new services, or upsell existing clients with additional services. The options for how you can use email marketing to grow your brand are nearly endless!

Best Practices to Apply

When done correctly, email marketing can (and should) take up a significant portion of your digital marketing bandwidth. That’s because the results are impressive, and nurturing leads through direct contact is essential for conversion. But if you’re hoping for stellar results, keep the following tips in mind.

• Automate the process – Email marketing messages can be carefully planned in advance and scheduled using easy automations. The automation process saves time and helps the work flow smoothly.
  
  
• Test – Never send a new email marketing campaign to your leads list without proofing the content and running tests. Taking back things you send in emails (whether by mistake or not) can reduce your brand’s impact.
  
  
• Use standard templates and plans to attract new clients – With email marketing, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Put your own spin on standard flows, like welcome or nurture sequences.

Website Content for CPAs

Website content includes the text and information that site visitors can find by heading to your CPA firm website directly. No matter how they land there (through a direct link, organic search, or some other means), the content you share matters when it comes to generating website traffic. Not only is your firm’s website a “digital billboard” of sorts, but it’s also where more clients go to gather answers to important questions.

Best Practices to Apply

It’s likely that your accounting firm’s website will change and evolve as time goes on. While that’s the case, you should spend time crafting certain aspects of it to align with industry standards and best practices.

• Think about user experience – If you’ve never seen a website before, you probably want the navigation experience to be simple and straightforward. Always consider your end user as you design the site’s layout, menus, navigation, and options.
  
  
• Say it “above the fold” – The more your visitors have to scroll through website pages, the less likely you are to capture their attention up front. If you have specific information or calls to action (CTAs), make sure to place those high on the page for greater online visibility.
  
  
• Incorporate a mix of quality content – The sky's the limit when it comes to how you can use your website’s digital real estate for marketing. Work on developing your site’s blogs, content downloads, prospect-focused resources, and more.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for CPAs

For CPAs, accounting professionals, and tax gurus, search engine optimization refers to how future clients find out about you through organic online search. Optimized SEO also implies that your marketing content (such as blog posts) ranks highly on search engine results pages, like Google. The more that you target specific keywords in your marketing materials, the greater the chances are that your content will perform well.

SEO can also apply to local searches, which is when your firm ranks highly when compared to other similar firms (or competitors) within a specific geographic area. If you focus on providing service to local clients exclusively, local SEO may be helpful in finding the right clients in your area.

Best Practices to Apply

SEO can be a complex practice, with many nuances and changes, especially as search engines like Google change and modernize their algorithms and perfect new search results. It’s best to treat SEO as a long-game strategy and measure results over time.

• Invest in the right solutions – Enlisting the help of an SEO services specialist, or leveraging a platform that prioritizes SEO, can make all the difference in how your marketing content performs.
  
  
• Take time to research – SEO is all about understanding more about the digital marketing content that already exists, and exploring how you can offer something better. Conduct thorough keyword research, view content from your competitors, and know what your audience is searching for online.

How a Comprehensive Marketing Platform Can Help

It’s easy to get caught in the weeds of digital marketing for CPAs firms. If you feel like you can’t move the needle forward, it’s time to invest in solutions that make your marketing feel natural, relevant, and effective. Fortunately, the right software can remove that stress and provide innovative features that do some of the heavy lifting for you. 

The Digital Front Office feature within CountingWorks PRO has everything you need to connect with clients, grow your business, generate more revenue opportunities, and manage your branded marketing efforts. It’s a one stop shop for creating effective marketing campaigns that deliver real results, both to you and to your clients. 

Moreover, having a single source of truth for your marketing strategies means you won’t waste time or resources searching multiple outlets for an answer. Plan out your ideas, put them into motion, measure results, and connect with customers all in one place. The transparency and level of collaboration is tough to beat!

Build Your CPA Marketing Strategy

Digital marketing for CPAs boils down to knowing where your ideal clients are spending their time and then using the right strategies to meet them there. With a combined strategy that layers social media, email marketing, website content, and SEO in one cohesive plan, you’re bound to reach the clientele you want to reach while scaling your business. 

CountingWorks PRO can help you create well-rounded content marketing strategies that help you grow and scale your firm with ease. You can start creating more relevant and powerful marketing campaigns today.

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