This article originally appeared on Accounting Web
Internet marketer Nikki Pilkington looks at the ways in which accountants can use blogging to engage with the online community.
With the recent explosion of social media, building an online presence has never been so important. Across the western world, decision makers are increasingly adding online channels to their list of vital resources.
One way to create a competitive presence on the web is to add a blog to your existing company website, but is it possible to keep an accountancy blog interesting enough to keep readers coming back?
In my opinion, it is, so here are ten blogging tips accountants can use today to begin promoting their brand and reaching new audiences.
1. Answer frequently asked questions
If you’re concerned that you’re going to be stuck for things to write about, simply tap into the seemingly endless stream of questions your clients ask every day. For example, “I realise I need accounts for the taxman, but do they help me?” could turn into the topic of a blog post that you can be confident addresses a need current and potential clients have, while simultaneously showcasing your knowledge and the value of your services.
2. Avoid jargon to engage your audience
Just because accountancy can be complex, doesn’t mean your posts have to be. Aim to pick out only the key points relevant to your audience and avoid jargon wherever possible. Where specialist terminology is used, it’s wise to explain any terms as if your imagined reader has absolutely no prior knowledge of the subject. Readers will appreciate a post that puts an otherwise impenetrable topic in layman’s terms.
3. Blog along with the HMRC calendar
Your blog is a great place to remind your readers of important upcoming dates in the financial calendar, and to provide advice on how it might affect them or what they will need to do. You also can provide links to any related articles you may have written, to begin to build a network of linked resources for your readers.
4. Keep it fresh
Update your blog regularly. This might sound obvious, but there are a huge number of stagnant blogs out there, and they can reflect poorly on the organisation. Conversely, a regularly updated blog suggests reliability and is more likely to attract repeat visitors as they will be more confident that new material will be up when they return.
5. Showcase your specialisms
If your firm boasts experience of providing accountancy services to particular sectors such as engineering or agriculture, it pays to highlight this through your blog. Specifically addressing the challenges faced by those sectors can help you stand out against competitors and win further clients in that field.
6. Put a face (or faces) to your name
Blogs simply written by ‘the firm’ are considerably less engaging than those written by a ‘real person’. This is a simple concept of trust and quality of service, comparable to assigning a named contact to a client, but one that many businesses overlook. If you want readers to absorb and comment on your opinions, assign one or more members of your organisation to contribute to the blog by name.
7. Offer freebies
Creating a ‘how to’ post, accompanied by downloadable content, such as checklists for tax return completion is another way of turning your blog into a valuable resource. This is likely to incur little or no cost to your firm and can help spread the word about your firm as good quality material is likely to be shared.
8. Live events coverage
Covering significant events of relevance to your clients, such as the Budget is a great way to demonstrate your firm’s ability to react immediately to developments its field. Live blogging software, such as Cover It Live can be embedded in your site and allows multiple authors to post live updates, as well as accommodating live comments from readers, if you wish.
9. Engage tomorrow’s accountants
You might consider publishing a series of articles offering careers advice on how to get into the industry, or you might invite local accounting students to contribute guest posts to the site. This allows you to build relationships with the best and most proactive among potential applicants, and increases your visibility ready for when it comes time to recruit.
10. Branch out beyond your own blog
A great way to bring attention to your own writing is to take part in the discussions happening on other business blogs. Aim to comment wherever you feel you have something of value to add, but try not comment just for the sake of getting your name seen. Your ultimate aim is to engage with other businesses in order to stand out as a specialist who keeps abreast of current issues and is able to offer an opinion.
So there you have it, ten top tips to make a success of your accountancy blog. Far from running out of things to write about, you should now be spoilt for choice.
Nikki Pilkington is the owner/founder of NikkiPilkington.com, an internet marketing company based in the UK and France.
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