Ask ten accountants how they secure most of their new clients and at least eight will say referrals and recommendations. Sometimes this is because they have a good flow of new clients and/or have actively cultivated and encouraged such mentions among clients and contacts. Mostly though it is because they don't actually secure many
Seven years is a long time, isn't it? Back in March 2016, a research student was asking accountants how much of their business comes from social media. She asked me too as I was already known for being more active than most, I was already highly ranked online for accountants but also cynical about
Have you ever thought you 'should' be doing more on social media and on Linkedin, but are not sure how or what to do? Or maybe you are very active online but are not getting the business benefits you really want? Are you envious or skeptical about the the results others appear to be
Accountants may not always be who they say they are online. If ever accountants needed proof that different social media platforms attract different people I think we now have it. A recent report in The Times revealed something quite shocking about the hashtag accountants. On reading this I then referenced the report on Linkedin
A popular approach to getting your attention (and often your money) is to tell you that there is ‘one thing’ you must do to achieve your ambitions and succeed. I see this all over the place, in blogs, articles, videos and social media posts. Those who suggest there is just 'one thing'
Before setting out those marketing distractions that I believe accountants should avoid I need to offer some context. Over 20 years ago, the start of the century(!) was when I began presenting talks to accountants about practice related matters. I quickly learned to avoid any mention of the M-word as, back then,
I have never ‘swiped’ someone’s profile picture, as online dating didn’t exist when I met my wife in the 1980s. The whole concept of swiping is quite alien to me. I was curious though, so a while back, I asked a single friend to show me how the ‘swipe left’ and ‘swipe
This is my fourth* annual report(!) intended to help others benefit from what I have learned about getting value from the time I spend on Linkedin. Why this could be useful to you In 2021 my SSI moved marginally up to 86/100, having been consistently 85/100 during 2020. This means I continue to
Regular readers will know that I am both very active on social media and highly ranked for my online influence (such as it is!) Equally you will also know that I do not routinely encourage accountants to use social media for promotional and marketing purposes. And I challenge the apparent evidence and arguments
These days it typically takes a lot to get me cross. But one thing that really winds me up is the continuing wave of advice to accountants generally, telling them to do stuff that doesn't work for everyone and is especially inappropriate for most sole practitioners. This is quite different from the advice that
Having written 237 posts for Linkedin during 2020 (in addition to the hundreds written in previous years) I have summarised and updated what I have learned so as to help you maximise the engagement and reach of your posts on Linkedin in 2021. I can also offer you a key piece of
In this penultimate post of the year, I offer you a reminder of five of my most popular blog posts (out of the 50 posted, one each Tuesday) in 2020. I’ve included the links in case you missed them originally or want to take another look: Ten common tax mistakes that business
There are two types of accountants who use social media and Linkedin. Those who understand what works and those who have bought into the hype and hope that what they do will work. The vast majority of accountants who use social media and Linkedin seem to be in that second category. Often
This was the headline to a question I was asked recently. I have summarised the question below and expanded on my reply and advice as this may help other accountants too. Question How can accountants use LinkedIn for marketing purpose? I have a company page, I have a profile, I am in
What's more important to you? To spend time on promotional activities that don't seem to cost anything or to get cost-effective results from promoting your services to people who you know are looking for someone like you? Many accountants, bookkeepers and tax advisers spend time on various social media platforms, on Linkedin
I was shocked to realise that it's over two years since I last wrote about Linkedin on this blog. Given its value to accountants I thought I'd offer a quick update. What follows is taken from the start of my talks about using Linkedin to stand out and win more business. I
With all the annual fuss about new year's resolutions, why does no one suggest checking backwards? It's all very well making promises about what you want to do differently, but how strong is your resolve? I've never been one for doing the same as everyone else, so I've rarely made new year
I forget how long ago I added the word 'debunker' to the list of my roles/activities. It's on my business card, my marketing materials, my online profiles and on the title slide for many of my presentations. I was first asked what I mean by 'debunker' when I was facilitating a workshop for an international
I was asked two related questions during a recent interview. This post is drawn from the notes I made before giving my answers on air. 1. With so many businesses competing with each other online, has it become more important to put more personality into your practice? The smaller your practice the more important
It’s all too easy to get caught up in the game of chasing followers, likes, connections and social media klout. It may be fun to keep track of these metrics and to keep increasing them. But, in real life, they are not important by themselves. There is little point in simply pursuing these metrics.
Too many people play at social networking and don't really 'get it'. Then they assert that 'social networking' doesn't work - although the fault is not so much with the medium as with the way they used it. There are many posts on this blog that can help social media novices - and also
I'm a big fan of Linkedin as it can be a very effective online business networking tool. I always wince when I hear it being spoken of as a social networking site in the same breath as facebook, twitter and pinterest. It's quite distinct and, in my experience, is generally used in a very
If you are on Linkedin you will get connection requests from people you don't know. And you will also get plenty of bland connection requests from people you're not sure whether or not you know. It's very tempting to treat such connection requests in the same way as other unsolicited messages. But that would be
Has anyone told you that social media is all about collecting as many connections, friends and followers as possible? That 'bigger is best'? It's an issue that seems to divide the social media advocates. I can tell you now that I believe in Value over Volume. Most online networks make announcements when they reach milestone numbers
There are thousands of Groups on Linkedin and some are of more value to accountants than others. If you scroll down someone's profile on Linkedin you can see the Groups to which they belong. 'Belong' - the list doesn't reveal whether they are active in those groups, or indeed whether anyone is active there. It
