SocialCPAs

2012 Social Media Predictions from Katie Tolin

Our next set of predictions comes from Katie Tolin.

Katie Tolin is the Marketing Director at Rea & Associates, Inc.  She serves as the Vice President for the Association of Accounting Marketers.  In June 2010, Katie received the Accounting Marketer of the Year award from CPA Practice Management Forum & the Association for Accounting Marketing.  Katie's firm has a very creative and active blog called Dear Drebit. 

 What is your prediction about social media in 2012?
 
Social media will continue to gain in popularity. I believe people using Twitter will increase. More businesses will use Google + and only time will tell if the individual users will increase. I also think more sales savvy people will find ways to look for opportunities on LinkedIn through new groups, and unique ways yet to be determined.
 
Facebook use in the US will remain the same or increase only slightly. I think the tool has reached the top of its lifecycle bell curve. There are security issues that discourage people from participating and as Facebook encourages people to share more, those concerned about security will stay far away. More than a few current users may get fed up and walk away from it, too.
 
I also see teens and youth looking for an alternative to Facebook. This was something unique for them. Now, not only are their parents on Facebook, so are their grandparents. I believe they are looking for an alternative, they just haven’t found it yet. 

Are there any new social media sites that will impact us in 2012? 
 
I think we’ll see FourSquare making more of an impact. People are curious about FourSquare and unsure how it works. But the coupons and specials businesses are offering may be tempting enough to get them to sign up.  I also think tools that measure your social impact will be more prevalent and will tweak their formulas. From Klout to Kred to CrowdBooster – these types of sites will fight it out to be the acceptable influence measurement tool.

Do you think any social media sites will disappear in 2012?
 
That’s hard to say when My Space is still in existence. I’m hoping it’s not Google+. My fear is that too many businesses have jumped on the bandwagon that some people may stay away as they feel over marketed to. If there aren’t people actively using Google+, others won’t be compelled to participate. People need to share unique content on Google+ to prove to others that it’s worthy of interaction. 
 
 
What are the top three social media activities that CPAs should be doing in 2012?
 
LinkedIn. Minimally, everyone should have a profile, but that’s not enough. Use it to make connections and get involved in groups where you actually answer questions. A CPA wouldn’t hesitate interacting like this at a chamber event, this is basically the same thing. You have to be seen.
 
Google+. Build your profile. I believe this does, or will, have an impact on search results. If you have a common name, this may be an easy way to get your name to the first page of google search results when someone is looking for you.
 
Blog. This is a big time commitment, but it can also have a huge return. Today, people searching online don’t realize if they are on a business website or a blog. More often than not, they just have a question and are searching for an answer. The format of blogs along with how well they rank in search engines make this a viable tool for those with the time to invest.

Do you want to attract new clients like a swarm of bees?

LinkedIn company pages offer businesses a simple way to attract attention. In my last AICPA article, I discussed how CPA firms can get noticed using opportunities that exist on Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn. These social media sites allow firms to build company pages that help promote their brand and share their message.

This article focuses on how your firm can use a LinkedIn company page.

The big picture

LinkedIn defines a company page as “a centralized location where millions of LinkedIn members can go to stay in the loop on company news, products and services, business opportunities and job openings.”

What does your firm’s LinkedIn company page look like? It’s easy to find any company’s page by selecting Search Companies from the Companies menu on LinkedIn’s top navigation bar. View the AICPA’s LinkedIn company page below.

 

 

A complete LinkedIn company page can include a logo, a description of the organization and its specialties, a link to its blog, details about its office location, and a link to its website.

Updating your company page

LinkedIn has requirements for people who want to create or edit a company page. Essentially, an employee starting or maintaining the page must list the organization—company, accounting firm, nonprofit, etc.—as their current employer, have a valid organizational email address, have a LinkedIn profile that is at least 50% complete, and have several LinkedIn connections.

While this allows any employee who has met the criteria to edit his or her organization’s LinkedIn page, the organization can designate specific employees as administrators.

Do you know which employees can update your organization’s page? You may want to check this out soon. I recommend that you assign specific employees to the role of administrator to avoid problems. This task usually is assigned to the person responsible for your website.

Adding products and services

Your page can include information about the products and services your organization offers. This is a great way to advertise your offerings, provide information to people who visit your LinkedIn page, and drive traffic to your website.

Each product or service entry can include a name, detailed description, image, list of key features, link to a product URL, and as many as three contacts at your organization. The people designated as contacts must have a LinkedIn profile. A product or services page also can include promotional offers and links to a YouTube video.

Posting job openings

Your organization’s page also can include links to any jobs that you have posted on LinkedIn. In addition, LinkedIn allows you to build Premium Career Pages that “deliver a custom experience.” LinkedIn’s own company page offers a great example of a career page (see below).

 

 

Attracting attention

Your LinkedIn page administrators can post status updates on your page. The updates will appear on the home page of any LinkedIn member who is following your company page. Here’s a look at some of the AICPA’s status updates:

 

 

This is one way for an organization to attract attention. At the time I wrote this article, the AICPA had more than 4,000 people following its LinkedIn company page. Each time the AICPA posts a status update, it is visible to its followers. These followers can like or comment on each status update.

One of your organization’s goals should be to increase its number of followers. Do this by promoting your LinkedIn company page on your website, in your email signatures, and on your blog. The more followers you have, the more likely it is that someone will read your status update and share it with their network.

Final thoughts

LinkedIn offers some great features to help any organization tell its story and attract attention. Take a look at your LinkedIn company page and see if it is telling the right story. You may need to add content and increase the number of followers.

The results can be more attention for your firm and more exposure for your marketing message!

 

This article was originally published in the AICPA's CPA Insider newsletter.

2012 Social Media Predictions from Becky Livingston

Let's hear what Becky Livingston has to say about social media.

Becky Livingston is the President and Founder of Royal Apple Marketing, a company specializing in social and digital marketing for small business owners, non-profit leaders, and CPAs.  Becky has more than twenty years of experience in marketing and communications, as well as a strong background in technology.

 

What is your prediction about social media in 2012?

• I think geo-gaming and locations-based marketing is going to continue to evolve in America to match that of what's happening currently in the ASPAC and EMA regions.
• Facebook will continue to grow, while continuing to have security issues. As it looks to take on China, it will be faced with some new challenges that could impact Facebook the way we know it today. Also, Timeline will begin to take off in early 2012.
• Company brands will continue to personalize with and for customers. What I mean is they will offer the customer an even more immersive and personalized experience from whatever platform they choose to enter from. Along those same lines, you will continue to see more infiltration of social into the smaller brands.
• Along that same line, businesses will need to reshape the business and infrastructure to accommodate for this huge media shift. They should also be thinking about their business objectives and if social media doesn't play a big role there, they could lose out big in 2012.
• Social ROI will no longer be in question. If you cannot demonstrate it, then you're doing something wrong. There are many ways to demonstrate Social ROI and ensuring that it makes it into your daily/weekly/monthly reporting will be key in 2012.
• Segmentation vs Social Organization will also be huge in 2012. We can no longer rely on how people are entering our social networks, and where they are coming from; we need to focus on what we do with that data and think more along the lines of what Facebook is doing with all their data. Consider how you, as a business owner, can leverage the tremendous amount of data you've been collecting into your lead generation, sales, marketing, and so much more. This will be crucial in 2012.

 
Are there any new social media sites that will impact us in 2012?

• G+ will have a much greater impact in 2012 as business see the power of the platform.
• Klout, or something like it, will have a big impact on consumer buying power. Think of the movie "Keeping up with the Jones'." This may become a reality if it hasn't already.
• Storenvy will be popular for folks looking to set up quick store fronts to sell products. It goes beyond what you can do in Facebook, or Wordpress or other more mainstream sites. It's very kitch and popularity is growing. It offers a link to Facebook, so the marketing power is pretty cool.
• FourSquare surpassed GoWalla this year in the mainstream. It will continue to grow in 2012 as more businesses recognize the power of scavenger hunts, on-site marketing at conferences, etc. With minimal effort and low cost, you can create a great FourSquare icon (the AICPA considered this for the EDGE conference) and continue to build brand awareness.
• My Yearbook might become popular among students to provide a new resource other than Facebook to communicate. When I recently spoke with some high schoolers in North Carolina, texting was their major form of communication, and few were using Facebook due to the presence of parents and grandparents. So, this might be a strong contender for this generation of people.

Do you think any social media sites will disappear in 2012?

Yes, I believe there will be a bit of house cleaning in 2012 when it comes to social media. There is an influx now, and so much chatter that some are bound to be bought and sold throughout the year.

What are the top three social media activities that CPAs should be doing in 2012?

1. If they are not using social media, they need to begin looking at that. And seriously consider working it into the 2012 marketing and business plans.
2. Consider the social-cloud-mobile trifecta. There is a tremendous amount of power behind that combination. If you're not working in the cloud, why not? Connecting those three areas will bring a great deal more inbound marketing, lead generation, and flexibility to your business model.
3. Consider a mobile app for your clients. It doesn't need to be complex, just something they can use to make their lives easier. Maybe it's weekly tax tips reminders, or if they are a DCAA accountant, tips on how to stay in compliance and avoid or minimize the strain of a DCAA audit. You know, things like that. If you don't want to build an app, consider SMS (text messaging) opportunities with your clients to help keep them up to speed with new regulation in their industry, tips, tools, techniques they can use to stay ahead of the curve.

 

2012 Social Media Predictions from Jennifer Wilson

Our second set of 2012 social media predictions come from Jennifer Wilson. 

Jennifer Wilson is a co-founder and partner of ConvergenceCoaching, LLC.  Jennifer is a well-know consultant in the accounting profession and is very active on social media.  She is a regular contributor to her company’s blog, Inspired Ideas. 

Here’s what Jennifer has to say:

What is your prediction about social media in 2012?

My predictions are in the context of the CPA profession and its use of social media:

• LinkedIn will further its momentum in accounting as it’s the easiest for firm leaders to understand and see benefits from.
• HR recruiting and retention will emerge as a top 5 issue in firms and those already well positioned on LinkedIn and Facebook will have a real advantage in recruiting new talent.
• The steady growth of CPA firm blogs, especially niche blogs, will continue.
• Facebook will continue to push into the corporate space and firms will be faced with managing privacy and security settings and the separation of personal friends and business contact on this platform.
• Twitter will still be misunderstood, but more and more CPAs and CPA firms will join.  More CPAs will build Google+ profiles and more firms will produce fun and “serious” videos, meaning more CPA-oriented content on You Tube.
• Those who have adopted social media will begin to illustrate “real rainmaking benefits” from their use in 2012 and more and more CPA skeptics will join the social media communications revolution.
• Firms who are blocking sites like Facebook will realize how futile it is with the number of staff using mobile devices to access their social media sites and text.  The smart ones will figure out how to leverage and maximize the social media abilities of their younger team members versus control or limit their use.
• Lastly, we’ll start to edge into debates about the ownership of social media profiles, pages and accounts as CPA firm team members change positions and “take” their social media contacts, friends and followers with them.  It should be interesting!

Are there any new social media sites that will impact us in 2012?

Google+ is certainly gaining steam and the impact it has on SEO cannot be ignored.  Sites that track and report influence (like Klout) are becoming increasingly important.  There are so many other great social media applications to help support the use of the big “sites” – like Cinch or Twenty Feet – the list is endless.  The challenge for me and for others in the profession is finding the time and capacity to learn about these new apps and sites to decide if they can be of value.

Do you think any social media sites will disappear in 2012?

Smaller social media sites will continue to be challenged by the “big 4” – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and You Tube (maybe big 5 if you factor in Google+) in 2012.  Instead of smaller sites disappearing, I think more will proliferate, which will challenge the already limited time CPAs feel they have to dedicate as to where to best spend their time.

2012 Social Media Predictions from Alexandra DeFelice

Our first set of social media predictions is from Alexandra DeFelice. 

Alexandra DeFelice is Senior Manager-Communications & Program Development at Moore Stephens North America, Inc.  She is a former Senior Editor in charge of technology coverage at Journal of Accountancy  and also managed the journal’s social media presence.  Alexandra was one of the founders of the Accounting Tomorrow blog and is very active on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Here are Alexandra’s social media predictions for 2012:

LinkedIn will grow exponentially and people will increasingly use that channel instead of their outlook Inboxes.  QR codes will become mainstream by marketers but many consumers (at least those in the Boomer generation and beyond) won't know how to use them.

Facebook use will continue to grow as parents and grandparents want to stay in touch with their younger relatives. There likely will be several privacy breaches tied into this as the settings continue to change regularly.

Customers/clients will start to drive the way we do business more so than ever before, but businesses need to realize they can't put all their eggs in the social media basket. As more and more of these sites start to talk to one another, less and less will become private.

As a general rule of thumb, I would say that if you don’t want someone to know something, don’t put it on social media because there’s bound to be a hole in the system, somewhere. Work and life are no longer separate, so it will be difficult to act as though they are.