Your Accounting Social Media Plan Cheat Sheet
By Fanny Barrientos
Most accountants know they have to be on social media, but actually finding the time to organize, create, and analyze content is easier said than done. That’s why we’ve rounded up a list of free tools to help you personalize your social media strategy without the extra work.
Google Alerts
Ideal for: social listening
Instead of manually looking for mentions of your accounting firm, you can use Google alerts to automate the search for you. For example, instead of “googling” your practice name and searching through every result to understand what people are saying about you, you can set up Google alerts to search and notify you when there’s a new mention. Google alerts are set up through your Google account and can help you monitor mentions of your practice or doctors within your firm. Simply indicate which words you would like to monitor and Google will do the rest for you. Once this feature is set up, you’ll receive an email each time your keywords are mentioned on the internet, including social media networks. This is especially helpful as way to keep track of what people are saying about you, in addition to monitoring your online reviews.
Twitter Ads
Ideal for: tweet scheduling and analytics
Did you know that Twitter has its own free platform to help you schedule and update tweets? Log–in to your Twitter account, and then type ads.twitter.com in to the URL bar in your browser. Follow these steps to sign up for an advertising account (you may need to enter a credit card number to unlock all features). Twitter will NOT charge you for having a credit card there unless you choose to set up an advertising campaign.
Once you’ve signed up on the platform, simply follow these instructions to schedule your tweets. You will not be charged unless you choose to “sponsor” your tweets. Use this functionality to supplement your CPA Site Solutions social media management plan with your own personal content at your leisure.
Then, refer back to the analytics within your Twitter ads account to see how many impressions and interactions you are receiving on your tweets.
Facebook
Ideal for: Facebook content creation and analytics
Facebook also has a proprietary platform to help you schedule and monitor how your posts, or “stories,” are performing. First, log-in to the Facebook account that manages your business page. Then, navigate to your Facebook page and look for the Publishing Tools tab and start scheduling your content. Finally, navigate to your Insights tab to see how your posts are performing.
Pro Tip: Signing up for Facebook for Business makes it easier for you to tell whether you are posting from a personal or business page because the business dashboard is gray. If you decide to sign up for Facebook for Business, you’ll need to designate a primary business page. Claim an existing business page for your firm so you don't lose any historical data. Ensure to be signed in with the Facebook account that is associated with your firm Facebook page first to make the process easier.
Canva.com
Ideal for: image creation for social media
While posting with images is best practice in the social media world, it can be hard to find the right images to help you communicate your message. Luckily, tools like Canva can help you create the perfect image without a graphic designer. Canva will allow you to overlay text, add icons, edit backgrounds, and more. However, the best part about this platform is that it comes with great templates and is absolutely free to use. Some images may require you to pay for licensing, but it is possible to work around it and only use their free features.
Death to Stock Photo
Ideal for: obtaining royalty free stock photos
Did you know that using an image without the owner’s permission can get you in trouble? Yikes! That’s why services like Death to Stock Photo, provide royalty-free, high resolution photos that you can use. Death to Stock Photo allows you to subscribe to a monthly collection of royalty-free images that arrive in your inbox. While not all of them will be completely relevant, there are a few gems here and there to help you get started.
Have any questions? Comments? Please feel free to contact the team at socialmedia@prosites.com.
Disclaimer: The companies featured in this post are in no way directly affiliated with CPA Site Solutions.
Tags: social media, facebook, twitter, image, content, help