Today, social media is playing a bigger role in how consumers make decisions about whether to buy a product or service. Social media provides a platform for everything from their initial research to asking for a referral from a trusted source to reading reviews about your product or service. 

Social Media Links & Resources Upcoming MACPA CPE programs related to social media: - Webinar: Ethics in Social & Business Networking - Social Networking - Essentials for Business CMO’s Guide to the Social Landscape chart compares social media tools and how they perform in terms of customer communication, brand exposure, traffic, and search engine optimization. Social media author Chris Boudreaux’s extensive online database of social media policies and guidelines, which can be sorted by industry type. Social Media Matters, an overview of social media tools and tips to get started (from AICPA Social Media Toolkit) AICPA Social Media Toolkit (some resources are open while some are restricted to members of PCPS) Social Media No Longer 'The Next Shiny Object' article explores results of recent Dell study.

The reality is that these consumers are choosing the time and place to start a conversation with your firm, many times after using social media to conduct research. In light of this, you need to be communicating, sharing relevant information, educating and building a relationship with that person to increase business.

For many years, communication has been a one-way street,
with businesses pushing information onto customers and prospects without any regard for what they wanted or needed, with the customers having little to no voice in affecting the process. With social media, customers now have a voice through a
two-way dialog for businesses to communicate more directly with their customers and prospects.

By participating in social media networks, you have a better chance to connect with others and share ideas, keep up with changes in your industry, talk directly with your customers, stay informed,  and increase the number of leads you generate for your firm.

Benefits of Participating
Social media, unlike Internet marketing, is not totally turnkey. However, if you put forth the effort, the benefits to your practice can be significant. These benefits include the following:

Trust marketing. Social media helps you capitalize on the trust you have established with clients, friends and past colleagues over many years. In turn, you slowly attract more clients to your firm because your client’s network will believe in you.

Controlling your “personal brand.” Social media for professional services is about generating more awareness to you (and your practice) in your local market and making more connections with small business owners, enhancing your “personal” brand.

Lower your marketing costs. Social media, executed properly, can gradually lower your marketing costs for each new client. After starting slow, it will gradually pick up speed.

Drive traffic to your website. In social media, your sacrifices are often rewarded. Posting questions or responding to them with helpful advice helps you build trust with people. As a result, the recipient will often check out your site to find out more about you.

Improved Search Engine rankings. Google is changing the game on search engine marketing by placing a much heavier emphasis on real-time, user-generated search results. With the popularity of social media, your information is far more likely to appear if you are actively participating.

No longer can practices trying to attract small business accounts rely on search engine results as a source of lead generation and website traffic. The real-time results are getting preferred positioning – and, as a result, more search traffic.

Which Social Media Platform is Right for My Practice?
Before starting any social media strategy, you need to determine which social networks are right for your firm. A basic rule is to consider what each network offers and how you can benefit from their resources.

For most accounting firms, getting the most bang for your buck comes from three networks: LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com), Twitter (www.twitter.com) and Facebook (www.Facebook.com).

Blogs
While a blog can certainly be useful, it requires time and energy to be successful. You must make it interesting and relatable to the reader. Here are some guidelines:

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