OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

88% of Accountants Are on Facebook

How to Get a Job: 73% Use LinkedIn.

Nearly three-quarters, or 72%, of finance and accounting professionals have a social media account and use it primarily to connect with friends and family via Facebook, according to the a new Mergis Group survey. Despite this, when it comes to using social media in the job search, LinkedIn was the definitive favorite.

Key findings:    

  • 72% of finance professionals have a social media account, with the most popular sites being Facebook at 88% and LinkedIn at 58%.
  • 26% belong to MySpace, 24% Twitter, 20% YouTube and 20% Classmates.com.
  • 74% list Facebook as their primary social site.
  • 45% percent do most of their networking in written communications, such as emails, letters, etc.
  • 28% primarily network face-to-face.
  • 15% primarily network via social media.
  • 46% use social sites to network with both personal contacts, such as friends and relatives, and with business contacts (such as co-workers, colleagues and managers/bosses).
  • 47% might or would modify and/or delete content if they knew a prospective employer was going to review their page as part of the interview process.

Mergis job hunting social sites

  • 37% of financial professionals have used social media in their job search.
  • Of those, 73% used LinkedIn, making it the predominant social media site used to look for jobs.
  • 32% used Facebook, making it a distant second for job hunting.
  • 43% said their company did not have had a formal policy regarding the usage of social media sites for work.
  • 34% said their company does have a formal policy.
  • 23% percent did not know.

“The Mergis Group Social Status Survey has certainly offered some unique insight into the mindsets of financial professionals,” stated Brendan Courtney, president of The Mergis Group. “Many professionals have adapted social media into not only their personal lives, but their daily business interactions as well. However, one common thread remains — social media is clearly making a migration into the job search and the workplace. It is important for job seekers to be aware of what information they are sharing with prospective employers and colleagues within these networks and to understand just how far-reaching one’s digital footprint can be.”

14 Responses to “88% of Accountants Are on Facebook”

  1. Simon

    This story is ridiculous. Maybe what they did was ask 100 accountants who are on Facebook if they used Facebook.

  2. Hilda Ramirez

    It’s great to see a high adoption rate by a professional industry, especially one that is so critical to the financial welfare of our Nation. I appreciate the report and will share it with my sphere of influence. I specialize in Social Media for professionals. Now if I could get the Legal field to move in the same direction. They will, its simply a matter of time.

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    While these numbers are high they’re definitely believable. Social media is exploding and reaching audiences that would have never considered interacting online in the past.

    I think the main reason is many of the sites are so easy to use it attracts a larger audience.

  5. Roger Bailey

    These stats are so ridiculous to be laughable. 88%?? Putting aside the absurd math that totals well over 100% for the pie chart, there isn’t close to 88% of the entire population on the Internet, much less Facebook. Accountants are a conservative group by nature and to suggest that even 10% of them are using Social Media would be met with skepticism.

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  7. Nate Hagerty

    Yes, but are they using it WELL? If accountants want to use a Facebook Page for getting new clients, I suggest they check out the video on the linked site.

    Rick, I appreciate your work and writing–even if your charts aren’t properly formulated :) (Though I gather they weren’t your doing.)

  8. Drew

    Same kind of question – headline – 88% of accountants use Facebook – but only 72% of finance and accounting have social media? – accountants a sub set that use Facebook more – or 88% of that 72% (63%) or what?

  9. Anonymous

    Interesting to see a pie chart that represents 274% of the population…

    • Rick

      The numbers add up to more than 100% due to multiple responses. And you’re right, that kind of data is best presented in a bar or column chart.

  10. Sandra Baptist | Successful Accounting Women

    This is great analysis. Thanks Rick!

    Social Media is a fabulous tool for reaching out and connecting with people you never thought you could ever reach.

    It’s a great tool for accountants in business to locate and connect with their target market.

    @SandraBaptist (on Twitter)

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  12. Krysta

    Great Article! I will be sharing on twitter as well as with my CPA clients.

    Thank you.

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