Friday, December 17, 2021

IT'S A WRAP!!! WEEK 17

 So, what have I learned? Social media requires a lot of time and dedication. But, if you want your business to succeed, you have to do the work. It is also important to keep up on the changing platforms and analytics. Persistence is key. 

Since I do not have my own business yet, I have not posted much on social media beyond my homework assignments. I do occasionally peruse Instagram and Facebook. I definitely need to develop my marketing post ideas a lot more. I like seeing what other accounting firms post because it gives me ideas of what they deem interesting in the field.

 I struggle with accepting social media, I feel like it is a younger persons "game". Yet I realize how important it is for any business in getting their service or product out and into peoples minds. I need to keep myself educated on the changing platforms and what works because eventually I will need to utilize all that I have learned in this class for my own business.

 This class has made me really think about what platforms would work well for my accounting firm. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn will be my main platforms to reach my audience, along with a blog on my website. It will require a lot of trial and error in the beginning to see what amount of time I will need to dedicate to my social media advertising and for me, that will be A LOT  until I truly comfortable with the content I want to share. I look at this as my learning curve.

On a final note, I am very impressed with the work of my fellow students on their blogs and social media pages. I love seeing the creativity and messages that they have. I envy them, because I am a very "cut and dry" writer who lacks many of the skills that they seem to possess. I have an extremely goofy and silly side that does not come through, although, I am working on social media for an accounting firm. Go figure! Also, I really want those pajamas with my pet on them! 

Thank you, and have a wonderful Christmas with your family!



Monday, December 13, 2021

Building Out Your Strategy - Week 16 Part B

 Social Media is my business's way to communicate with my audience and keep the business name in their minds. It shows expertise, knowledge, and a human side. I have approximated times that I feel would be successful but I would analyze my analytics to see when my audience is most engaged and adjust from there. So without further ado..

Monday: I will write my weekly blog and also share it on LinkedIn. I will post this early in the morning to try and catch potential clients. I will probably spend around one hour to accomplish this.

Tuesday: Post on LinkedIn about any accounting news or updates and share the same post on Facebook and Instagram. I will post between 1 PM and 3 PM. This will probably take one to two hours to put together.

Wednesday: I will send out a bi-weekly email to clients and potential clients. I will send this email out at 7 AM to try and catch clients before they start their day. This email will probably take one to two hours to write and get sent.

Thursday: Post QuickBook tips, tricks, or tutorials on all platforms between 1 PM and 3 PM. I will allot one hour to this.

Friday: This will be "Fun Friday" where I will post a funny joke or meme between 1 PM and 3 PM. This will be quick and only take maybe 30 minutes.

Saturday: Inspiring quote between 10 AM and Noon. Finding and posting this will take 30 minutes.

I will repeat this pattern for the month.

Blog ideas: Current government news regarding taxes, differences between accounting procedures, tax reduction tips for businesses and individuals, news on the economy and business, and QuickBook tips and tricks.

Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn ideas: Company accomplishments, celebrations, and announcements, accounting-related humor and inspiring quotes to show a human side, fun facts about accounting, celebrity news about people being busted for tax evasion, and frequently asked questions.

Thursday, December 9, 2021

DEVELPING A MARKETING STRATEGY -- Week 16 Part A

 Exploring social media for business has been a fascinating experience. Trying out the different social media platforms has been educational for someone who is an amateur. How does one decide what works for a small accounting firm? Research and trial and error.

The social media platforms that I surmise would be the most beneficial would be a blog, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and email marketing. Each of these platforms is a way to educate clients and potential clients on ways to help their small businesses. Helpful content will help to establish the firm's expertise in the field. Plus, it is a way to find out what clients are talking about or looking for. It is also a way to address complaints or respond to positive comments. LinkedIn is also a great way to network and connect with other businesses.

Starting out as a small, brand new firm there will be plenty of time to focus on social media marketing. The budget will not be very large to spend on paid advertising, so it will be important to do everything possible to draw new clients in. I am unsure of how much time would be needed to invest in social media marketing. I will start out with Buffer to help manage the platforms since it is an affordable option and spend as much time as needed to start growing a client base. To start I would blog once a week and send emails every two weeks. The other social media platforms will be more of an "off-the-cuff" situation. Any breaking news updates could be shared as well as tips and tricks for small businesses. Of course, the upcoming tax season is a great time to offer tips, but not too much information. I would plan on a minimum of two posts a week. As the business grows I think that I would hand the task to someone else, maybe an intern to someone that I would pay to do it professionally.

The platforms that were most interesting to me were Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. These seem the easiest to use and the most used by other accounting firms. Twitter is an option that will require more work for me. I am not great at being succinct. I would make sure to analyze all of my social media data to see what works and what I need to work on.

Monday, December 6, 2021

FACEBOOK ANALYTICS -- WEEK 15 PART B

 Facebook algorithms are constantly changing. That is why it is crucial to analyze your business page information and efforts on a regular basis to determine what is working and what is not. It offers you the opportunity to see who your audience is and what they find engaging. Identifying key trends helps you to determine whether your business is expanding its audience.

I do not have enough likes to assess my own business page, so I used the data provided by Aztec Brewery.

The page summary from the last 28 days provided a snapshot of the month's activity. It included total action, total page views, page likes, post reach, post engagement, videos, and page followers. This data is relevant data that gives you an idea of how the page is doing.

Aztec Brewery has 12,175 total page followers and 11.5k total page likes. There was no change in followers from April 5th to May 5th according to the graph. The dates for page followers were difficult to determine. The highest number of unfollows was around April 12th. There were 3 unfollows. The largest increase of 2 follows was also on the same day. The unfollow graph was confusing from 4/26 to 5/2. I think there were 6 in the #1 block, however, the point looks like it is on the 28th of April. The number of the audience is pretty consistent but no growth. Hopefully as things return to pre pandemic the numbers will increse.

There were 17 times where page follows happened. There were no searches that occured. Users on a  desktop had 9 times where the page was followed. Users that visited the page directly and clicked the like button in the header were 7 times.

The important figures are the numbers in the post reach, reactions,comments, and shares. These numbers are an indication of how well your page and reach are doing. The number of times people saw the post at least once peaked on 4/21 with a paid reach. The organic peak was 4/28. This dates correlate with the "Live music by classic rockers" post. There were 19 post clicks and 34 reactions. Paid reach of 800+ occured on 4/12 - 4/24 and 4/26 - 4/30. These dates correlate with posts for  "1st live show since shutdown" on 4/16, "Music: Hailey Wild"  on 4/18, "Announcement" on 4/20, "Ticket sales" on 4/21. "Video game musical festival" on 4/26, "Calling every musician" on 4/27, and "Live music by classic rockers" on 4/28. The Facebook page followers were interested in the entertainment.

The top sources for views were on Facebook. The majority of fans were viewing on Tuesday and Friday, and the fewest were Saturday and Monday. The best time for marketing to the audience is between 8 AM and 9 PM. The worst times are from 2 AM and 3 AM - which is understandable because most people are asleep or have already been out having a good time.

The top demographic is men aged 35 to 44 at 64%. Women come in at 35% in the same age category. Men were the top demographic in all age ranges. The numbers are pretty much the same for fans, followers, and people reached. The only deviation was people engaged. The people that engaged were 55 to 64 in age range.The majority of the audience was from the U.S. who spoke English. The largest audience was from San Diego, Vista, and Oceanside. 

These metrics tell me that your audience is mainly male, between 35 and 44, live in San Diego County, and love music and beer. This data is helpful for targeting advertising to this market and growing the business.



Thursday, December 2, 2021

Google Analytics -- Week 15 Part A

 Google Analytics is a valuable free tool to determine how effective your business' online marketing is doing. It can be used to target your market and demographic and evaluate how well your marketing is doing. Your business can utilize this information to improve its social media and the company website. An important key is to install a JavaScript tracking code to each page on the business website. This will collect anonymous data that shows how visitors interact with the pages on the website.

As an accounting firm, the goal is to convert website traffic into leads. The data retention default is 26 months but it can be customized and is helpful for year-to-year comparisons. I would opt for "do not automatically expire" so I could track changes from week to week or year to year.

In order to measure and monitor performance, I would visit the audience overview.

  •  The number of sessions will tell me the number of times that people visit the site.
  •  The total number of users will show how many unique visitors the website is attracting.
  •  The total number of page views is just what it says.
  •  Sessions will provide the average number of pages viewed in a session.
  •  Average session duration lets you know how long visitors spend on the website.
  •  Bounce rate informs you of the percent of single-page sessions where there was no interaction.
  •  Percent of new sessions lets you know the estimate of first-time visits.
This data will help to determine what visitors are drawn to and what needs to be changed or updated. 

Acquisition is another important element to examine. It will determine where the visitors originated from. This helps you focus on the areas that have the most impact.

  • Organic search lets you know how many people found the website using keywords.
  • Direct tells you how many visitors typed in the website's URL.
  • Social will let you know how many visitors clicked on a social media link to the business website.
  • Referral is when a visitor clicks on a link from another website, like the Chamber of Commerce.
I really like the Custom Segments feature. This is helpful to narrow down specific information. It can be used to determine what client base the website is attracting, the locale region that is relevant to the firm, and to narrow down the customer segment. It makes it easier to segment small local businesses that are in a particular age range or gender. Since a CPA is licensed in only one state, it can be narrowed down to state and region.

I think that all of these metrics would be helpful for fine-tuning social media feeds and the website. The bounce rate is the most useful to make the website more appealing and keep visitors engaged. It is also helpful to know where traffic is coming from and how many visitors are converted into inquiries.




Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Week 14 - Blogs I Commented on

 There were many interesting takes on social media management tools. I find it interesting that some students with smaller businesses did not see a benefit. They were able to manage their social media on their own. I think that it is especially important as a small business that is just starting out to utilize these tools to help focus on the growth and success of the venture.

James Anear

Drew Estelle

Laura Dominguez

Kate Strong

Nancy Williams














do


 

IT'S A WRAP!!! WEEK 17

 So, what have I learned? Social media requires a lot of time and dedication. But, if you want your business to succeed, you have to do the ...