Sep 30, 2014
Becky Livingston, owner of Penheel Marketing, has been in marketing and technology for over twenty-five years. She has extensive experience working with clients in small business, non-profit, and financial services in social media and digital marketing. As a former programmer, she was impressed with LinkedIn and its networking capabilities, launching her into her current marketing career. Becky recently joined AMP UP Your Social Media’s host Glenn Gaudet to discuss social media marketing for CPA firms. "By having a marketing plan or at least a social media schedule…[you avoid forgetting what] caused a spike or valley in your analytics, marketing, or lead generation.” Becky offers these tips for CPA firms on social media marketing: 1. Carefully advertise. Many smaller CPA firms cannot advertise about their services, per se. Because LinkedIn is a B2B network, you have an opportunity to use a free platform based on your individual needs such as lead generation, web traffic, and niche markets. Understand your profession, and know your limits. Any regulated industry requires careful sharing of client information and the like. Create policies, become educated, and be comfortable with what you’re doing while following these regulations. 2. Align goals. The firm’s goals and social media goals can sometimes differ, so align your goals for a successful social media campaign. Generating leads, increasing traffic, and increasing exposure all require different social media marketing strategies and can change the way you utilize social media networks. Have a firm understanding of your business’ goals for social media for the best social media campaign. 3. Know your buyer persona. The buyer’s persona is your target audience, and the first step to understanding this is research. A well-made strategy aimed at the wrong market will have disappointing results. Once you’ve researched your market, review your history to see what has been successful in the past. Utilize resources appropriately to reach your goals through social media and digital marketing. 4. Create proper content. Regardless of the medium, your content is the core of your social media campaign. You’ll want content that can be used in many different ways. For instance, a single article can be utilized for slide decks, presentations, and additional articles! Inbound marketing and content development is an essential piece of the media you share, so develop your own content.