6 content marketing strategies for accountants and bookkeepers

Here are a few ways you can invest time into creating good content, and turn those leads into paying clients.

Cover the latest news 

Keep your finger on the pulse of the latest accountancy news and be the one to deliver key developments to your audience. Perhaps you can include your own commentary and opinion, or advise how this may affect your clients.

Due to the nature of the accountancy industry, this means there’s going to be busy periods of the year with a huge number of tax updates and information you need to share (and quieter periods with almost nothing to report).

As you might have already guessed, the problem is that when you need to share the most information is also usually when you’re the busiest—leaving little time for writing content. There’s no denying that this all sounds like a lot of work (and you can consider outsourcing your content writing to take some of the load off), but it’s worth it in the end.

By educating your audience, you will build a reputation for being a source of clear, trustworthy information, placing your firm at the forefront of the industry. In addition to giving them relevant news, you can strategically link your landing page from within the content. This will get more people to register for your email list and give you the opportunity to nurture them over time.

Host a webinar

A webinar is a web-based seminar that you can use to educate your current clients and prospective leads on specific accountancy/tax subjects.

Pick a relevant topic to deep-dive into, invite your clients, and widely market the event. This is not just an opportunity to share your own knowledge and insights through a sharply delivered presentation, but it’s also a great way to engage through attracting a new audience and interacting through live Q&A sessions.

Another great thing about webinars is that you can record the event and share it afterward — post the full version on your website, Facebook or YouTube; or edit soundbites to share on other social media channels. 

Once you’ve hosted one a few times, you can follow the same formula for a whole host of other topics.

Create useful templates

Providing free downloadable resources that your clients will find useful, even if they are not accounting related. Templates for a business plan, proposal or pitch can be an attractive way to draw in new clients and build valuable backlinks.

Everyone loves to save time—time is money after all—and by creating a highly functional and valuable template, with your branding, you can expect more and more visibility for your firm the more and more it is used and shared.

E-books

Another example of how time and hard work invested in the short term can reap long term benefits. The format of an e-book lends itself to subjects that need to be covered in-depth to provide any value—which is perfect for accountancy topics. Delve deeper into a specific topic of value to your clients and capture your audience’s undivided attention with a highly detailed, intelligent read.

You can also take this opportunity to build a database of potential client email addresses by asking users for this information in exchange for downloads.

Use eye-catching imagery

Design and aesthetics are key to creating highly shareable content. While some platforms are more obviously image-based (Pinterest and Instagram, for example), eye-catching pictures also help to increase engagement on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Ensure your branding is present and visible where appropriate. Consider humanizing the firm by using behind-the-scenes photos or photography from staff events. This method can also help to attract potential employees.

Know when to post

Sometimes it all just boils down to a numbers game, and in the world of social media knowing when to post is key to playing the game.

When do your social channels get the most engagement? For LinkedIn, it’s the working week. For Instagram, increased engagement comes later in the day, from 11 am. Emails are most frequently scanned during the working week in the mornings. However, it can vary for different people and industries, so experiment to see what performs best amongst your potential client base.

It can be difficult to know where to start with content marketing. It's imperative to make a start if you haven't already. Rest assured, your content will continuously evolve. Once you have a solid foundation, put in place a strategy and review it every now and then.

Take stock of what has worked and what has not and build upon that. Over time this content will grow and it may just turn leads into paying customers for your firm.