Question

Topic: Social Media

Looking For Sm Ideas For An Accounting Company

Posted by jimmy.moscoso on 8/9/2013 at 9:55 AM ET 250 Points
We are looking into building a big fan base for our customer in Facebook and Twitter. They are a brand new company, start-up that provides accounting services via Web in Colombia. Their main advantage is that accountants and consultants are always available via Skype. They were developing their own web app, that was going to gather all the accounting documentation for their customers, however their app is still on development therefore they started offering their services as a regular accounting company, with all the services via email, phone and skype.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Moriarty on 8/9/2013 at 10:30 AM Accepted
    Hi again.

    There is one rule for Social Media: it must be engaging.

    Whatever else you do, it needs to connect with those who it's aimed at. As it's accounting, that covers a lot of people and businesses - only there's a problem ... accounting's boring.

    But then, so's pet food or breakfast cereals - so don't give up just yet!

    One thing you need to reflect on is what makes this company special, and that usually means the human element - especially in a boring niche like bean-counting (that's what accountants are called in Britain anyway). Never mind that, pet food is personalized by putting pretty dogs on the front to appeal to owners - the dogs just eat the stuff. The something-special will be human in some respect - and that is also something you can leverage via Social Media.

    So: since I'm fresh out of ideas about accountants (apart from them being a good remedy for insomnia) I need a little extra info. I hope I've provoked some ideas in this direction. Once I know more - then I can help more.

  • Posted by jimmy.moscoso on 8/9/2013 at 10:45 AM Author
    Thank you for your answer. We have been doing lots of activities, providing financial tips for small businesses, asking questions, providing tools for entrepreneurs etc. However the difficult part is to make the topic more viral and get more fans. So far we have not done any Ads on fb, what else would you suggest could be a good go to action?
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 8/9/2013 at 11:05 AM Accepted
    If your customer is a group of accountants, then people who visit their FB page, website, etc would expect accountants talking about accounting. That's not remarkable enough to go viral. They need to do something different. Can you have a group of them rap, sing, dance, juggle, etc. while doing their talk about accounting? That'll be different. If it's high-stakes (dancing on the edge of a cliff, walking a tightrope, etc.) then that'll be more engaging. But you need to keep the message on-target of professional accountancy, otherwise they'll come across as less-than-professional. Ideally, if they have proof that their suggestions have saved their clients millions of dollars (collectively), share that (perhaps with a counter that's jumps up for each client who's benefited tangibly).
  • Posted by Moriarty on 8/9/2013 at 11:13 AM Accepted
    Now, I wonder how many accountants go home and talk about ... accounting. Football, pop songs, golf and restaurants I could believe; accounting ... no :-(

    My point was not to feature accounting as such - but the way the guys do their accounting. That's the hook, the reason for using them instead of anybody else. That will be some human activity or other. Usually professionalism gets in the way here, as all accountants usually look (and act) the same and produce the same results - money saving.

    Would a juggling accountant be professional?

    Okay: let's take this in another direction, albeit slightly. These accountants have saved a company several thousand in bills - what did they do with that? That's where the interest is - not in the accounting, not in the savings - but what they did with that saving. Or at least could do with that money - you could have "company party" with more and more luxurious (and absurd?) things that the company could buy using those savings.

    Does this strike a chord?

  • Posted by Moriarty on 8/9/2013 at 11:20 AM Member
    Apols I read Jay's answer as yours. I need new specs.
  • Posted by jimmy.moscoso on 8/9/2013 at 11:38 AM Author
    Thanks Jay and Moriarty. We have actually done that, share interesting stuff about finance and accounting without getting to worry or too serious, in the end, Facebook is a place to share more fun stuff. For that we have associated situations for Small businesses and possible solutions. The approach of sharing how the company has helped to save some $ has not been explored yet just because we dont want to oversell. One reference we used a lot for the type of conversation is the fan page for Mint.com, but off course applied to Colombia's laws, regulations and the common talk within the society. But still we are researching for better and more engaging ways of doing this.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 8/9/2013 at 9:30 PM Member
    The notion that social media is all about engagement is nonsense and always has been. Engagement does not happen in a vaccum: it is part of a complex process but it is not the ONLY process, nor is it the only goal, point, object, or trigger behind social media.
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 8/10/2013 at 4:03 PM Accepted
    I agree with Gary Bloomer. To paraphrase the famous quote, the media (FB) is not your message. Your overall branding strategy should drive your content and messaging. And "viral just for viral sake" could be counter productive to your specific marketing objectives.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 8/10/2013 at 5:19 PM Accepted
    Who is your primary target audience? What makes you think Facebook is the right medium to reach them with this kind of message?
  • Posted by jimmy.moscoso on 8/13/2013 at 2:46 PM Author
    Thanks Steve for your response.

    @Mgoodman, our primary target audience are Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs. They are on Facebook managing their on FB Fan pages and thinking on new ways to make their business grow.

    Something that is helping us is to discuss topics related with the city the company is from, mainly all current fans are from the same city.

    Our next step is to follow the process with FB Ads, and a landing page with an offer. This is being discussed with the customer to determine what they are able to offer at the moment.

    More ideas welcome. Thanks to all for the interaction.
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