Episode #074 The Importance of Social Media for Bookkeepers

• Blog post for this Podcast about Social Media for Bookkeeping
• Listen to Podcast #071 about using a Bookkeeper Google My Business Listing
• The accompanying Blog Post about having a Google My Business Listing
• Listen to Podcast #036 with Samuel Burmeister from Tall Books about Leveraging Social Media.
• Join The I <3 Bookkeeping FaceBook group.
• The Savvy Bookkeeper on FaceBook

The Importance of Social Media for Bookkeepers with Angie Martin

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

clients, bookkeeper, social media, bookkeepers, bookkeeping, create, business, people, social medias, increase, marketing, social media presence, understand, incredible, podcast, stats, day, support, easy, posts

00:02

Hi, everyone, this is Angie, not Amy, hope you're all having a fantastic day so far. Today I'm all alone, because I'm going to be talking about something a bit more specialized. And we really wanted to make sure we could get as much information out there as possible. So I've kind of created this podcast more like an actual webinar or a masterclass for you, which is awesome, because it's going to be for free. And I think well, hopefully you're going to get a lot out of it.

Why Bookkeepers need Social Media

00:34

So today, I want to be talking to you guys about why bookkeepers need to be on social media. I know this is the thing I have spoken about before. And I consistently get questions about the importance of social media, what you need to do. So I actually thought I would create a bit of a podcast series to help educate you guys a bit more about the world of social media and how you can use it to either maintain or grow your business, because it's such a fantastic tool and many of you know that we use this tool for both The Savvy Bookkeeper and Off The Hook, Amy's bookkeeping business. And everything we do, we do trial and testing, to make sure that works for those two businesses before we suggest to do it for you guys to make sure that we're actually creating ideas and options that are going to work for you. Because that's our end goal is really to support you guys.

01:41

So basically, today, I want to chat through a couple key points and just to spoil our fantastic write ups that we do every time. The key takeaway that you're going to get at the end of this podcast is that your business can no longer afford not to be present on social media, which is a very big statement. I know. Now, let me explain why I'm saying this. So let's admit it bookkeepers for years: Everyone knows that every night even bookkeepers, businesses in general, everyone knows that you need to have a social presence and that a digital presence is greatly improved by being on social media. Doesn't matter if you run a small individual bookkeeping business that doesn't want to grow, or agency type bookkeeping business. Social media is still an essential piece of your marketing strategy. It needs to be treated as such. Every time I always talk to bookkeepers who are wanting to grow their business or wanting to just improve customer satisfaction. They always push social media into the want to do basket, but don't really treat it as one of those things that really need to happen. And I hate to break it to you guys, but social media is part of your digital marketing. And that is something that needs to be consistently thought about and planned out to make sure that your businesses can remain relevant and grow.

03:28

So one thing that is really, really interesting that I think people don't really, you know, but you don't really take into consideration that when you don't have social media, you're actually missing out on a really incredible engaging, fast, inexpensive, main point, inexpensive, and effective marketing opportunity for your business. Again, this isn't just for businesses who actually want to grow, I know there's a lot of bookkeepers that are at capacity, which is super exciting and super amazing. Congratulations. That doesn't mean you don't need a social presence you still do.

03:28

It's something that you need to do to continue to stay relevant and to keep your current clients long term. And to make sure that if one day when you want to retire, you can then sell your business to keep things going for your clients. But something that I think a lot of bookkeepers don't really think of, is that if you own your own bookkeeping business, even if you work part time, and it's just you working, you can still sell your business or pass it on to another bookkeeper, that can continue your work. And by having a social media successful social media presence to amplify your Digital Presence, it will make your business that much more sellable and that much more investable for your clients, employees and potential buyers in the future.

05:13

So social media is not just this immediate phase that everyone it is, is in right now. This is a real marketing channel that you really do need to take into consideration and to really help that I know we are all numbers people; I have actually created some interesting stats for you, which I know most of you love stats, I love stats, I love looking at something and go oh, that's amazing. Some of these stats I actually didn't know before planning this podcast. So that's a bit exciting because I do know a lot about social media stats. So thank you for everyone who's been asking me to do this podcast and very excited to learn something new today and many you know, I've already said this stuff before.

06:03

Social media has grown to the point that as of 2019, more than 3.2 billion people around the world use it. After COVID, that number has increased. So I don't have the official numbers, but everyone is saying it's somewhere over 4 million now. That is a lot of users per month with the 3.2 billion users. That is 42% of the world's total population right now. That is crazy. When you think of the fact that now after COVID, it's probably over 4 million people. It is probably close to almost 50% half of our world population, and that includes children, elderly everything. That is an insane amount of people and that alone is more than enough incentive to make sure that you are present on these outlets.

07:10

Some other interesting facts is that 71% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand that they have had a positive experience with on social media. This is an incredible true fact that has happened for one of my personal clients. Just the other day, they were dealing with a potential client that they hadn't actually become a client yet. But that client had loved the social media and the overall response time and experience they were receiving. They suggested the business for someone else, who's actually become a client of theirs before that first client, so this potential client told this potential client; to talk to this, this business, and this potential client is now a client.

08:06

While this one is still thinking about it, that is the power of social media. Because social media is so accessible, it is so easy for someone to easily go, Oh, you need a bookkeeper. I know this bookkeeper, I'll send you their Facebook or their Instagram or their LinkedIn so you can look them up and contact them. Just like that you could have a brand new client, and it makes it so easy for word of mouth to spread. It's amazing and the fact that 71% of consumers now actually take this into consideration. That is a massive step to really remember when you are dreading having to work on your social medias.

08:53

The next stat that I actually didn't realize is that social media users on average spend two hours and 22 minutes on their platforms. I know during the first month of COVID, that amount increased to five to six hours because everyone was at home not working. But before COVID the average person's still spent about two and a half hours a day on social media. Wouldn't it be great if while they were on social media, they would also see you and think that oh, I need to get my bookkeeping sorted or, oh, my bookkeeper actually needed that document for me and I still haven't sent it. I need to do that. Now. It's a great start to think of

Social Media is very popular

09:43

Another one that I had no idea about, but I'm really loving knowing this fact, is the actual active social media user breakdown. So 48.2% of Baby Boomers use social media. 77.5% of Gen X use social media and 90.4% of Millennials use social media. Why are these stats so important? Well, when you are considering who your ideal clients are, these steps are extremely important, depending on the fact that how large your business is. And depending on what kind of clients you're after. These three different demographics show you that every single one of those main generation sectors are all on social media. And the ones that you were going to be looking for, who have businesses I can pretty much guarantee are going to be the ones included in the stats. They are going to be the ones already on social media, because they have businesses themselves. So that's nice. Really important to remember.

11:02

And also, don't forget to that social medias aren't just about you connecting with your clients. The bigger aspect of social media is that your clients are able to connect with you. They are able to get in touch with you to get support by you learn more about you. And because of that 73% of users will follow a business because they'd like their product or their service. That is massive 73% of people follow businesses because they find the business interesting, educational, or helpful.

11:48

And when it comes to bookkeeping, you want to be part of that stat of people following because you provide a service but it's necessary. It can be educational, helps businesses like Australia, in Australia itself grow. And it's one of those

12:08

types that you can actually touch so many independence and business owners in their lives. It's something that if you put it in a way that they understand and makes them want to learn, they can become your ideal client and always want to work with you. Because of your social medias. It's fantastic. Now that's it for the stats. Sorry, guys. I do like stats. But that's it for today.

12:37

Next, I want to talk about why you should get online. Those are stats as to why you should get online but I have actually created a list as to why you should get online, just to really cement this into your mind and really understand why I'm so passionate about helping bookkeepers successfully get online and why you hear me harping about it so often on podcasts. So, as I said before, social media platforms help you connect with your customers, increased awareness about your brand and your business, while also boosting leads and ultimately closing more sales as a bookkeeper who is wanting to make to grow their business and increase their income. That option of increasing their leads and increasing your sales is a big reason to get on social media. It's amazing how people will actually go with you because of your social media presence. I can't explain why but it really does make a difference for people.

Social Media improves brand awareness

13:54

So let's take a closer look at some other points that I have created to help you really understand why you should be excited and wanting to work on your social media and get a really great social media presence for your business. Number one, increase and improve your brand and company awareness. A lot of people with when it comes to bookkeepers always tell me that people just don't know about me. People don't know what I do. People don't know that I'm available. You get angry when people you know, go with other bookkeepers because they have no clue that you're a bookkeeper. This can all be fixed by creating a social media presence to help build that awareness of who you are, what you offer and why people should care.

14:50

You're also able to improve your brand and company loyalty. The more you engage with your current clients, the more they are going to want to engage with you, and believe more in you and become more loyal to you. Right now your current clients are the best option of referrals and word of mouth options for marketing. Utilize that and get them to the point that they love working with you and are the best sound pieces for your business.

15:26

If you've had a client for over five to 10 years, they are your main marketing source. Why are they still a client with you? Why do they love working with you? Make sure that that is being communicated through your channels, make sure that you can make everyone understand how great you are to work with. By having that social media presence you will increase your loyalty so that your clients will be; writing reviews; be tagging other people on your posts to get them interested in what you do. Be taking your other Facebook page or your LinkedIn page onto other people's posts suggesting for them to look into your business. It's a great way to increase that loyalty and ultimately create new possible leads for you.

Social Media humanises Bookkeepers

16:19

And also humanizes you. I think as a lot of bookkeepers, we prefer to have a wall in between us and our clients. This is a very old fashioned way of going about being a bookkeeper. Nowadays, business owners, especially small startup business owners in Australia, really want to make sure that they feel comfortable with their bookkeeper because at the end of the day, this is basically like a child of theirs and no one else is going to know the business like you because you know, all of the financials, where everything's going. It is a very big trusting experience for a business owner to get a bookkeeper. So by being able to create a way of showing your authenticity and humanity, that you're an actual person, that goes a long way to making people feel more comfortable and dealing with you.

17:23

And this has happened amazingly in the last little while with Off The Hook bookkeeping. Just a little while ago, I changed the way that we were doing our social media, and included more images of Amy. By just having more images of Amy visible on our Google Business listing, Facebook, Instagram, she's actually gained leads who felt more comfortable working with her because they could actually see who she was. It makes a big difference in people automatically trusting you before even speaking to you. You can't underestimate the power that that has when someone is picking a bookkeeper. It's incredible.

18:08

Next, it creates a healthier customer satisfaction experience. By being able to like your clients business posts or comment on your clients business posts, it creates a supportive environment where you don't just care about their numbers. You don't just care about getting your invoices paid, but you care about their business actually succeeding. It goes a long way with the clients and it makes them much more excited to be working with you. When they go oh, did you see that post I posted the other day. Thank you so much for liking and commenting on that. It creates that relationship that every bookkeeper does actually want. Because by having a relationship you know when you call your clients or email the client; you're going to get a response that is positive and willing to help back. It creates the ideal client that we all want to work with.

19:10

Next it creates you as an authority and leader in the industry. By creating value added posts, you can not only teach your clients and prospective clients on how to be good bookkeeping clients, but also it's also a way to actually educate people on the world of bookkeeping and actually telling people what you do. No longer do you have to always be so frustrated with the fact that your clients don't know what you do every day. This gives you an outlet. Social media gives you a way of educating potential clients in just anyone who follows you what you do each day and why bookkeeping is so important to businesses, especially if you work nationally in businesses in Australia.

20:00

It also creates a way of keeping you in the top of the mind of all of your clients. I know it sounds silly, but by being able to see a post or a story from you, either every day or every week, we'll keep your clients more on track with what they need to provide you and give you at the end of month, end of week and differential year or quarter, whatever you need. It reminds them that are they need to call you to have a chat about something new that is going to be happening to business. It creates that reminder that they need to do things and that they don't forget about you for three months and then freak out when BAS is due. It's a really great way of keeping you in the front of mind.

Lead generation from Social Media

20:51

As I said before, it's a great way to optimize your lead up like lead generation tactics. Great way of creating lead generation, it's a great way of creating actual sales and increase your conversion rates. It makes it easy for people to contact you and engage with you and learn more about what you do. So you get to that 80% of already being sold before you get to your website or before someone calls you. It's a fantastic way. And I love using social media as an actual lead generation platform. You don't have to pay extreme exorbitant, exorbitant absorbing and amounts anymore to things like Google or Yellow Pages or any of the old traditional marketing. You can use highly, highly specific ways of increasing your lead generation through your social medias now it's incredible and it's a game changer for all small to medium businesses, which usually classifies all bookkeepers.

22:07

Next, it also helps with reputation management. And this is something that Will and I spoke about when I spoke about a couple episodes back where we were talking about ratings and star ratings and reviews and everything. By having your actual reviews easily accessible on your social medias; people once again can look directly at that page and immediately know that yes, you are dependable, you are trustworthy, you are helpful and you care about your clients, check, check, check and check – I want to work with you. It's fantastic.

22:45

And something that I think all of us will understand since we've just gone through a bit of a crisis these last few months with COVID. Social media is a really great way of crisis management and communication is a great way to be able to go online, do Facebook Lives, do anything to keep your clients updated and connected with you. Over these last few months, it has been such a trying time for bookkeepers trying to help and support their clients as much as humanly possible. And I think those bookkeepers who were already using social media, to their advantage, really were able to luck out. We're able to provide extra communication for their clients. There's bookkeepers out there that have specific groups available for just their clients. So they were able to go in and do Facebook Lives to educate and help clients understand what was happening, what you know, any updates. By doing that, itt decreases your call check in times, your email replies, and it allows you to have that platform to be right there and help support your clients as much as possible. It's something that you can't underestimate the power of having that in the power of clients knowing that they just have to go to your page or to your group to know what's happening because they trust that you're going to be up to date with things and be informing them.

24:20

Another thing that is really, really handy, a bit sneaky about social media is that you can also check in to see what's happening with your competition. This is a great way I am a big believer in checking in on what your competition is. Not to be sneaky, but more to learn from them to see what you don't like and what you do like from what they are doing. When it comes to digital marketing. There's so many different options that you can do in so many different things you can do. You may as well check to see other people's profiles to help narrow down what you want to do so you can create a strategy that works for you, your clients. Your business. It's also a really great way to stay up to date in your industry, which again, I think we all learned in COVID. Everyone was able to go on different ICB, different channels, different ways of getting involved. You know, we had our COVID or Coronavirus support groups, that was all through social media that you were able to sign in through that; there was so much being shared on social media that you were able to stay up to date as much as you possibly can because it was tricky, but you're able to stay up to date with any trending news within your industry. And that is a really fantastic way of making sure that you are staying relevant and again, helping your clients.

25:52

Most importantly, and this is also why I really love social media marketing, is that it's a really cost effective way of marketing, you're able to create a marketplace awareness of brand and business awareness, pretty much for free. And as long as you have a really strong strategy and take the time to learn the ins and outs of posting, you're able to do an amazing amount of marketing for free. And it's something that once you learn how to do it, it's really quite easy.

26:30

Also, if you choose to do paid marketing, it's also very inexpensive. In relation to more traditional marketing, you don't have to pay as much and it's so much more specialized because of social media insights, and analytics that can be created from pretty much every single platform available right now. If you're on something like Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, even Pinterest, have extremely high amounts of reporting and analytics that can help you more correctly direct your advertisements to the right people. You're also able to do retargeting campaigns, which means that you can retarget people who have gone to your website, to make sure to remind them about you and to contact you. It is incredible. It works. Most importantly, it works.

27:29

Another thing that I kind of just brushed on is how important it is for your website. By having your social media presence and having your call to actions being go to your website, you can increase your overall traffic to your website and increase the vitality of a possible lead turning into a closed deal. It's incredible.

Social Media improves SEO – you show up in Google Searches

27:55

Another thing that's incredible, is the enhanced SEO rankings. Your social media is going to create by posting your blogs on social media outlets increase the level of links that you're getting out to the worldwide web. It's also increasing the amount that your business is being spoke of, interacted with and really showing search engines exactly who you are and that you help your clients. It's amazing for search engine optimization and for a lot of bookkeeping clients, I do know ones that when you Google something, a key word that you should classify your social media is above your website because it's such a hub for information. If you post every day or every week, you are getting so much extra SEO for your business than just having a standard stock website. That doesn't change It's really something that can be game changing and being making sure that you're able to be found online.

29:08

So I think it's pretty clear that I am passionate about social media after this little event that I've had for you guys. But I hope you understand that it's a really easy way of furthering your business, whether you're wanting to grow your client database or not. It's somewhere where you can grow your overall client loyalty, approval and overall engagement in relationship is such a great way to create a community within your business. And it's actually so easy to get started. And if done right, it can be a tool that you can use to just have the ultimate goal as a bookkeeper, which is to show that you're an authority; to show that you're trustworthy; to show that you supply support with client communication. What else does a bookkeeper really want in marketing? It's mainly those three things. And by having those three things visible on your social medias, you're that much closer to gaining a new client, or improving the relationship of a current client, which is great!

Bookkeepers need a Social Media presence

30:34

So, once again, main takeaway for today's episode, is that as most of us already know, you can no longer afford to not have a social media presence, you are missing out on increased profits from new clients and existing clients. And again, it's easy to get started with this right now, all you need to do is start and remember to enjoy yourself. Because as soon as you remember that social media is about being social and having fun, it makes it much easier to have a successful presence online. I hope this has helped you guys a lot. And I am going to be doing another, at least, three parts of a podcast for you. Also this in the other three parts. I'm going to be doing a whole podcast on how to utilize Facebook, for your bookkeeping business to make it successful and optimized. And I'm also going to do the same for Instagram and LinkedIn.

31:47

As of right now, I wasn't planning on doing Twitter or any other social media platforms because there's actually so many but I thought doing a round series with four, you know, overall episodes will really help you understand how to successfully create that digital marketing and social media presence, which I know you guys are always asking me about. So please feel free to comment and let me know what other kinds of social media platforms you would like me to include in the series if I'm not covering them. Once again, I am covering Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn over the next couple episodes of this. The Bookkeepers' Voice. Thank you so much for you guys, for your guys attention today. I know it's a bit of a rant sometimes when I'm by myself because I just keep pushing out more and more information as quickly as possible. But I hope you learned a lot today and I hope you understand a little bit more about the importance of having social media in your marketing strategy. And how it can really help your business no matter what your overall goals are for.

So thank you so much for your time and as always, stay safe. stay sane and stay savvy. Thank you so much, guys.