Why CPAs Twitter

Learn what CPAs are doing online: Join the survey; get the answers.

By Rick Telberg

While many CPAs are still getting used to the idea of blogs and instant messaging, many others are rushing to deploy the very newest, bleeding-edge technologies for operational productivity and client service.

CPAs and CPA firms are increasingly turning up in such venues as LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, and Plaxo. More and more firms are blogging, podcasting and even YouTube-ing for fresh recruits and for new clients. Individual professionals are expanding their career-management and client-referral networks at leaps and bounds. And now we’re seeing a rush to Twitter, the “micro-blogging” platform.

But what is social media? How do you use it? And why should CPAs care?

WHAT ARE CPAs DOING ONLINE?

Join the survey. Get the answers.

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Hood

Hood

For the answers, we went to Tom Hood, chief executive of the Maryland Association of CPAs, and a pioneer in the new connectivity technologies.

“CPAs should care about social media for two important reasons,” he says. “One, it significantly increases the ability to connect to more people, manage relationships and deal with the ever-increasing volume of information in our lives and, two, it can be a terrific tool for recruitment and retention of the millennial generation.”

Hood thinks about social media as a tool to speed up the ability to build and maintain relationships. “In all of the generational work we have done with students, young professionals, and our core membership,” Hood says, “this area is probably the largest gap between the generations. It is the digital divide you often hear about.”

In this generation gap, the young have a clear advantage and a huge potential. “The average college student has close to 1,000 relationships in their “network,’” Hood notes. “Compare that to the relationships we had as college students and it was maybe two dozen.”

Here’s Hood’s guide to the new world of social media for CPAs:

Then there are blogs, podcasts and wikis, which are “incredible communication and productivity tools,” according to Hood.

The millennial generation, often referred to as “digital natives,” have grown up with the internet and social media. “From Instant Messages, to texting, to Facebook, MySpace, and other social networks they maintain these huge social connections,” Hood says.

“They have learned to use these networks as filters for information, sources for questions, referrals, and getting things done. Talk to any of them and they will tell you that it is how they survive and deal with information overload.”

“I think,” Hood says, “that we could learn a lot from the younger generation about these tools if we took on a fresh and open perspective.”

Hundreds of thousands of accountants, tax professionals, finance executives accounting students and CPAs are already blogging and podcasting, texting and IM’ing, Twittering and Linking In. If you’re still getting around to getting on board, don’t be embarrassed; Facebook didn’t even exist until about five years ago.

But now the pace will only quicken with a tough economy driving wrenching change. What are you doing about it?

What are CPAs doing online? Join the survey; get the answers.

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Posted at February 17, 2009
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 4 Comments

Comments

4 Responses to “Why CPAs Twitter”

  1. Chad Bordeaux on February 17th, 2009 10:02 pm

    I am doing all of those except Plaxo. I have not really even looked at it. I guess I will now. I am also doing a few more localized Social Media Networks, such as Capture Carolina. It focuses mainly on North and South Carolina. I am sure there are similar networks in every state.

    My question is where do we draw the line? How many of these can we participate in effectively. At some point, we have to focus our time and efforts on a few of the networks that can get us the best result.

  2. Tom Hood on February 18th, 2009 6:27 am

    I agree it can be daunting trying to keep up with these. Recently I found http://www.Ping.fm – a tool that allows you to update your networks from one place – enter your update and it can populate twitter, linkedin, plaxe, facebook, etc. Eventually, there will become clear winners and you can then stick with the one that makes the most sense.

  3. Adrienne on February 18th, 2009 2:36 pm

    Yay for picking Tom’s brain! Ironically, without Twitter I don’t know if our company would have even connected with MACPA and formed a relationship with the organization – in the few months we’ve “known” each other through the tool, we’ve not only been able to support each other from an industry standpoint but I also feel as though we are truly a network of friends sharing in our successes together. You couldn’t have picked a better interviewee, Rick!

    I believe Tom is 100% dead-on – we’ve found in our own efforts that Facebook is a wonderful way to connect directly to the college students we are trying to reach without having to pour thousands of dollars into events that result in very little actual convertible sales and leave our staff exhausted from flying here and there every few days.

    Social networking in the industry is like broadband… always on, always available. It is SO refreshing to see CPAs embracing the trend and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it.

  4. Twitter Trackbacks for Why CPAs Twitter : CPA Trendlines [cpatrendlines.com] on Topsy.com on September 2nd, 2009 10:37 pm

    [...] Why CPAs Twitter : CPA Trendlines cpatrendlines.com/2009/02/17/why-cpas-twitter – view page – cached While many CPAs are still getting used to the idea of blogs and instant messaging, many others are rushing to deploy the very newest, bleeding-edge technologies for operational productivity and client service. — From the page [...]

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