Did you know that your accounting firm could benefit from launching social media campaigns? Learn more about how to measure your results.
Social media isn’t only reserved for influencers, fashion bloggers, and fitness trainers.
Today, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms have become an essential way to get to your prospects and offer value. That can help you gain their trust and raise brand awareness.
Yes, accounting firms should also use social media channels whenever they can to reach wider audiences.
Using them won’t make you look any less professional. On the contrary, a good campaign can help you establish your firm as an authority in your industry.
So, make sure social media has a part in your marketing strategy.
However, market research isn’t enough.
If you want to launch a successful campaign, you also need to measure its results. Don’t assume that what you do will always work – every target audience is different.
There needs to be testing and experimenting before you really find out what’s right to attract your ideal clients. Track your success and make tweaks here and there if you’re going to maximise the results of your campaign.
So, do you need help with that?
This article’s got you covered! It will walk you through the steps for measuring social media campaigns, which will help you create an effective campaign and achieve your marketing goals.
Step #1: Create Your Goals for the Campaign
Every campaign needs to have a goal.
Do you want more clients? Do you want your existing clients to ask for more of your services?
Social media platforms can help you achieve several things. For instance, you can use one for customer service, to create a community, or to share information about the services you offer. Or, you may want to educate your audience about different accounting-related concepts.
It’s not unusual to set a couple of different goals. But one thing is for sure:
You must set them clearly.
Because without a clear goal, you won’t be sure about how to plan your campaign. And it probably won’t bring you the expected results.
Make a list of the smaller and more significant goals that you’d like to achieve with being active on social media. That’s one of the things that will help you determine which platforms you should use. Your chosen platforms should be relevant to your goals and your target audience.
It makes no sense to spend your time and energy on a channel that the people you’re targeting don’t use.
Your social media campaign goals should also align with your overall business goals. Ask what kind of content will bring value to your clients and what you want them to do with it.
Do you want them to share your videos, read your posts, engage in the comments, or something else? When you’re clear on this, you’ll be ready for step number two.
Step #2: Stop Focusing on Likes and Shares
Yes, it’s nice to have many likes, comments, and shares. But that’s not the most critical indicator of your social media campaign’s success.
There are more valuable results of your effort on social media that you should focus on.
When you show your prospects that you understand their pains and their problems, they will reach out to you for more help.
And that’s what you should do in your accounting firm. Create so much value with your content that it starts helping your prospects to become clients.
Moving your content marketing to your social media can help you move people along the customer journey. It can get them from not knowing if they need your help to knowing that you’re the accountant who’s going to help them.
Understand that the goal of content marketing on social media isn’t to get likes. It’s easy to post something that will get you lots of likes, but that’s creating escapism for people.
And it’s not what you’re after.
Step #3: Focus on the Feedback You Get from Clients
Now you know likes and comments can’t confirm your real success.
Getting more clients can. So does having happy clients.
Achieve that by creating valuable information in order for people to start respecting you. That’s because they get to see how vital you are to their business.
Every single post that you put up on social media should help someone get to know you better, like you more, and trust you more.
Your number of likes, comments, and shares may not increase with this, but do you know what will?
You’ll receive more messages from satisfied customers. People will talk about their positive experiences with your firm on their private social media accounts.
You’ll have more opportunities and your reputation will increase. The number of clients you have will grow.
Receiving positive feedback from your clients is a confirmation that you’re doing things right.
Step #4: Measure the Increase in Sales
Value is what matters. And it’s what increases your sales.
Everyone can post a meme and be funny. But no one wants to buy from a funny accountant, right? People want to buy from an accountant that helps them overcome a problem.
If you share valuable content they’ll find helpful and know how to position yourself as a VITAL accountant, you will convert more people.
And that’s one of the steps in measuring your social media success. By posting valuable content, people start trusting you and they eventually become your clients.
Count the number of sales made this month. Has it increased? If yes, your social media content is spot-on. If not, make some tweaks in your campaign, create more value, and try again.
Step #5: Account for Operational Savings
User-generated content can be an awesome way to promote your firm. Your clients can become excellent advocates for your business. And that may result in significant operational savings.
Moreover, creating and cultivating relationships with your fans on social media can be beneficial for your firm. Especially if they have a significant influence on their followers. These influencers become brand advocates and help you reach more potential clients.
People also like to reach out to firms through social media platforms. Tracking conversations that take place in your inbox can be an excellent way to find out if you’re on top of your social media game.
Step #6: Measure the Clicks Per Post
If you aim to drive more traffic to your website, pay attention to the number of Clicks Per Post.
It’s an important key performance indicator as it tells you if your content is valuable and interesting enough for your audience.
Do your posts motivate your audience to click? If not, you may have targeted the wrong people or the content you’re sharing doesn’t align with your brand values.
Whether you’re sharing your own content or third-party articles or videos, it’s a key factor to take into account. It helps you figure out:
- How much traffic does social media get you
- If you need to post with more frequency
- If you need to post different content
- What type of content brings the most results
Step #7: Report on Your Findings
If you’re not happy with the results that your social media campaign has achieved, you probably need to tweak it. Find out what your audience didn’t like. Then, eliminate the things that didn’t work and try something else.
But before you do it, you must share your insights first with the people you work with.
Try to tackle these questions:
Did you manage to reach the numbers you’d set at the beginning of the campaign?
Are the results close to what you’ve expected?
How did your competition do during the same period?
If you regularly check in on your social media success, you’ll be able to react timely and adjust it when necessary. You will also be able to track your progress and ensure you’re not wasting money or time on things that don’t help your firm.
Make the Most Out of Your Social Media Campaign
Social media platforms can enhance your marketing strategy greatly. If you use these channels the right way, they can help you achieve some of the vital goals of your business.
You can reach a wider audience, build your brand, and keep your existing clients.
And how do you do that?
By using social media for content marketing purposes and sharing high value with your prospects and clients.
There are key actions to take if you want to know how successful your social media campaign is.
Instead of focusing on likes and shares, it’s better to keep track of how much your sales increased. Measure the number of clicks, the amount of traffic driven to your website, and the positive feedback received.
Don’t skip the reporting on your results and comparing them to your expectations from the beginning.
Also, ask yourself the following:
Are you close to the numbers you wanted to see?
Did people reach out through social media?
Did they become your clients after they found value in your firm’s content?
If your answer is yes, it means you’ve found what works for your prospects. The value you offer them is what helps you build authority. They will see you as a trustworthy, VITAL accountant that actually solves their problems.
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