Since its advent over a decade ago, social media has solidly ingrained itself in the business world. What was once merely a distraction is now a legitimate marketing tool for businesses across all industries, including tax practices.
Tax professionals who want to connect with clients and grow their businesses should focus on developing a strong social media marketing strategy. Getting the most out of social media for your tax practice requires choosing the right platforms and the right message, while avoiding the pitfalls that can come with overusing social media.
Choose Your Audience
Before you dive in with social media, it’s important to think about who you are trying to reach. Social media is not just a great way to communicate with your current clients, it can also be a valuable means of expanding your message to potential new clients. In a world where everyone is on devices all the time, social media is a major channel for marketing your services to as wide an audience as possible.
Choose Your Platforms
Once you decide on your target audience, you should determine which social media platforms will be most useful for reaching that audience. Not all platforms are the right fit for all kinds of businesses – you shouldn’t think of social media as a one-size-fits-all proposition. For an industry like tax, popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn might make more sense than others that are geared toward more visual content. Instagram and TikTok are okay but not a first choice. Decide on a handful of platforms and focus your message there to start, rather than spreading yourself too thin.
Determine Your Message and Build Your Brand
After you know where you plan to post your content, you need to nail down what that content will be. Social media marketing is a strong way to build a distinct brand and establish your expertise in your field. It’s also an opportunity to create an engaging personality that will attract new business and drive clients to your services. Your content should be varied, ranging from short posts to longer thought leadership pieces, to show that you’re at the forefront of the field and capable of handling the most pressing tax issues that are arising today. Develop content pillars or subject areas and be sure to stick to these specific areas or themes so that there is a clear agenda to your posts.
Some suggested pillars include:
- Tax updates and news
- Firm updates and news
- Tax savings tips
- Important dates
- Favorite recipes/pet photos/destinations (something fun!)
Post Regularly (But Not Too Much)
To get the most out of social media, you should develop a concrete marketing strategy that includes, among other things, a plan for how often you’ll post content. While tax is largely a seasonable business, meaning you might post more often during the height of tax season, it’s important not to lose contact with your client base during the rest of the year. During those months when you might not regularly communicate with your clients, social media is a good way to stay on their radar – failing to post a certain minimal level of content during the down months would be a mistake. Conversely, when you’re posting more during tax season, be sure not to over-post – you want to be consistent, but not inundate your clients to the point where it feels like spam. A common goal is to post once a day and if you are a more avid social media aficionado, try to not post more than five times a day.
Juggling Tax Season
Every tax professional knows how busy the peak of tax season gets – you might feel like you barely have time to eat, let alone post on Twitter. For that reason, a critical part of self-care during tax season might be relying on tools or outside services to handle your social media and marketing. From online scheduling tools to full-fledged marketing firms, there are resources that can help you stay on track with your social media marketing without taking time away from your crucial tax work. Getting someone to help with social media is a win-win – you manage to stay in touch with your client base at the most critical time while focusing on the actual work that brings in revenue for your business.
It’s hard to imagine a world without social media today. Many companies, though, fail to take full advantage of it. When used correctly, social media can be the powerful tool that takes your marketing efforts to the next level and helps you grow your business.
