So your firm is offering digital accounting and bookkeeping services — congrats! You’ve embraced digital transformation, invested in new cloud-based technology, and set up your practice for future success. But are people aware of how much you have on offer?
Marketing and education are two important ways to communicate the benefits of your cloud-based digital accounting solutions to your clients. You know that cloud accounting frees you from manual and administrative tasks, giving you the opportunity to deliver more advanced advisory services, such as identifying financial problems, compliance reporting and developing consultative services. In turn, the cloud gives clients more control over their financial processes. And a Cloud-Powered Accounting Firm (more on that in this blog by our CEO, Bob Hollander) is a valuable partner throughout the year, rather than someone a client will mail files to during tax season.
The below ideas are easy, but effective, ways to educate current and future clients on what cloud accounting means for them, and can quickly raise your profile in your community. As with any marketing, tailor your message to your audience, whether informing existing clients or searching out the new.
10 Ways to Advertise Your Digital Accounting Services
- Direct mail: We’re talking about digital accounting services, so why consider direct mail? Direct mail is a great way to compliment your digital marketing efforts in your service area. It provides something tangible for your clients to view, hold, and leave on their desk to help keep your services top of mind. There are any number of things you can send, whether a brochure, swag, or a special gift tied into a marketing campaign with a distinct message for services they may not know you offer.
- Email campaigns: Email is time-tested and still effective. It is a great way to announce the changes that are happening at your firm and clearly share the value with your clients. You can send updates on those new advisory services mentioned earlier, the latest success stories, tips and best practices to keep aligned with one another, and more. Remember, the goal is to share authentic content that is valuable to your clients by showing how you can solve their challenges and help their business grow.
- Your website: Does your website clearly explain the new services you have to offer? If it’s been awhile since you’ve given your web pages a refresh, now is a great time! This also goes for whatever you use as your public-facing digital presence, whether a website or Facebook as a business page. By adding your digital accounting services, you’ll make them more prominent and clear and help new clients learn the full spectrum of your expertise.
- Helpful content: These days, most people like to do their own research before making a buying decision. Providing helpful, engaging content is a great way to inform clients about the benefits of digital accounting services. An easy-to-read PowerPoint presentation is one example. To broaden your reach, add blog posts to your website and share them on social media. Content is an excellent way to build trust and to build your authority on topics at the core of your accounting practice.
- Paid search: Where do people go when they need an answer to a question? Google. By setting up paid search ads, your firm can begin to show up when people search for keywords related to your business and services. This tactic will help you grow your firm and attract new clients that may not have found you otherwise. Be sure to focus your ads on just your service area to improve performance and save money.
- Google My Business account: Setting up a Google My Business account is a great way to get in front of people searching in your local area. When you set up a business profile, you are able to control what people see when your firm shows up in search results or Google Maps. You can add photos, contact information, and more and also see the number of calls, website clicks, and other metrics to measure your success. You can even post vital content — such as your blogs — to GoogleMyBusiness to help your SEO efforts garner more traction.
- Social media: Chances are your posts are not going to go viral. And rest assured, you don’t need to be on TikTok or Snapchat or post gifs on Twitter. However, your audience is on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube multiple times throughout the day (have you scrolled through any of these today?). Sharing updates on these platforms is an excellent way to let people know about your online accounting solutions and to show your personality. Here is a list of 41 post ideas for accountants! One thing to note is that social media does not have to be a huge lift. You can post curated content from news sources like Accounting Today or from partners you trust. For example, we regularly post articles on the Swizznet blog that you are more than welcome to share on your social channels. Sharing partner content takes the development of deeper content off your shoulders, so you can save time and money and still post quality information.
- Online demos: What better way to show off your digital services than to literally show clients what to expect? We can’t think of any. One great idea is to offer clients a demo walkthrough. It takes away the uncertainty around new technology (it’s really not as scary as it sounds!) and will get their wheels turning on the opportunities and potential of choosing digital accounting. It’s as simple as picking up your smartphone and pressing record.
- Training sessions: For those wanting to dig deeper, training sessions are another excellent option. Not only do they showcase your expertise and services, they also build confidence with clients that they can do this! Once they see how easy it is to collaborate in real time and put paper shuffling in the past, it likely won’t be hard to sell them on cloud accounting.
- Check-in calls: Customer-facing communications are a great time to plug the changes that are happening in your organization. You can answer any questions immediately and can keep things personal, pitching your digital accounting services based on your history and relationship with the client.
There you have it! As you choose the promotion steps that make sense for your company, also be on the lookout for ways to repurpose the same content across each step. Not only will this bring more attention to an important article you took the time to write, it also allows you to get more out of each item by delivering it where clients want to see it. For instance, one client may like social media, another your website, and another reading emails. In other words, find out where you clients and prospects are coming from, and then meet them there!
We’re an Open Book
You can have the best technology and digital process, but if people don’t know about it, you’ll miss the opportunity digital gives to your practice! The Swizznet team has been helping accountants and CPAs like you to promote their cloud accounting solutions for years. When you partner with us for QuickBooks hosting, we make sure you get on the fast track to success.
We make it simple to spread the word about your cloud-powered accounting services by giving you free customized branded marketing materials to be used in the above advertising efforts throughout your digital practice. These include custom branded login portals, online demos, desktop plug-ins, co-branded and branded marketing materials, and more.
Have questions for us? We would love to hear from you! Send us a message here.
