One of our clients once said to us “I’m not using Instagram for my accounting firm! I’m not a girl.”
While we and our client had a good-hearted laugh about this, we also realized there are some massive misconceptions about Instagram in the accounting world. Contrary to “popular” belief, Instagram isn’t just for girls and it certainly isn’t just for those in the creative industry.
Instagram indicated that around 200 million Instagrammers actively visit business profiles every day. Additionally around one third of the most viewed stories are posted by businesses. If that’s not a swift kick in the pants to start using Insta, I’m not sure what is.
Use Instagram so your very best prospects can find you.
If you’re niche is fitness studios and you’re hanging out on Linkedin but not seeing a lot of owners finding their way to your profile, there’s a good chance it’s because they aren’t there. However, you might surprise yourself by looking on Insta and finding all sorts of fitness studios.
If you are still uncertain if your niche market is on the platform, you can easily ask your clients. Send them a short email and simply tell them you are doing some research for your marketing and are wondering what social platforms they use most for their business.
Explore some of the relevant hashtags and accounts as well as your own clients’ profiles.
Search for your clients’ profiles first. And while you’re at it, make sure to follow them and like some of their images. If something is truly inspiring, give it a reshare.
You can then look at some of the profiles your clients are following. There will most likely opportunities for other connections there.
After that, research popular tags and accountants to see what might be of interest to you and your target market. If you search and use the hashtag #fitness that’s fine and well, but the chances of someone in your exact market seeing it are fairly low. If you search and use the hashtag #fitnessbusiness or #fitnessbusinessowner, you’ll have better results when finding people with whom you truly want to connect.
Post content that appeals to your clients and prospects.
You’ll have a fairly good idea after scrolling through all those tags and hashtags as to what people like and engage with on the platform. Steal like an artist and create your own content based on what you see.
Use a combination of both original and stock images.
If you are an avid photo taker, you’ll do well to use more original photographs than stock images, but we recognize that may not be your preference. Use images that will reflect your brand as well as the individual personality that each member brings to the firm. Your audience wants to know about your firm, but even more so about you.
Use the 80/20 rule when you are posting content.
There are all sort of things you can talk about on your Instagram-feed, well outside the realm of accounting.
80% of your content needs to be about your client- what they are interested in, helpful tips and advice, inspiring quotes, things of that nature. 20% of your content needs to be about you and your firm. This includes promoting, blogs and guides you’ve written, web pages, or images you might think of as falling more into the “advertising” realm of marketing.
It’s all about building relationships and connections.
Don’t pressure people to sign up for monthly services with you based on one Instagram post. That’s not how it works. Instagram is only one small piece of the marketing puzzle. You are using this small piece to start conversations, meet new people, and engage with them on things that matter- whether business or personal.
Building trust in the relationship and showing people that you genuinely care about them and their industry will go far further than any advert you could create.
Post 1-2 times per day when your audience is most active.
Doing a search into your Insta Insights shows you when your audience is most active. Put your content out there during these times so they engage better with it.
Always use the appropriate hashtags with your audience to encourage further engagement. Go back to your search on the industry and look at what hashtags others are using. You can use some of those and even create your own unique hashtags as well. For example, if you work in the small business niche you could use #smallbusinesscpa, #accountingforsmallbusiness, or #smallbusinessaccounting.
Tracking the numbers will help you know what’s working.
Like any good marketing strategy, tracking the numbers for your Instagram account shows you how people are engaging with your content. Using the Insights feature is helpful for this.
- Click on “View Insights”
- Swipe up to view your detailed insights.
Have a look at these numbers:
Profile Visits: How many people looked at your profile details after seeing your post.
Website Clicks: How many people clicked on the link in your bio.
Followers: How many people follow your account
Reach: The total number of unique accounts that saw your post
Impressions: How many times your post was seen in total
Paying attention to these numbers on each post will give a good indicator as to whether or not what you are posting is connecting with your target audience. Make sure to create a spreadsheet to track so you can see month over month how things are progressing. If you notice that things aren’t performing well, try posting different types of images and adjust the message.
Remember that it’s not just about Instagram on it’s own. You need to be looking at all your marketing numbers, from social platforms to your website and everything in between. Understanding how all the numbers fit together will allow you to make plans and pivot your marketing plan to get the best results.
Instagram is a great way to enhance the brand and message of your accounting firm. With the proper posting and messaging, you’ll connect more with the people you hope to and build real relationships with them. What’s your biggest Insta-challenge? Drop me a line, I’d love to help you learn more about how Instagram can work for your firm.