entrepreneur

Awards Can Boost Your Reputation

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People in office releasing balloonsBe ready to nominate yourself.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

Winning an award brings free publicity and builds reputation and credibility all at the same time. You can win awards for writing articles in accounting magazines, be named to a top 100 most influential people in accounting list, earn your way onto the top 100 fastest-growing accounting firms, win the local Volunteer of the Year award, and many more.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Are You Newsworthy? | Make Newsletters Work for You | How to Schedule Social Media Content | The 5 C’s of Successful Websites | Speaking: How, Where and Getting Leads from It
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The top sources for tapping into accounting awards and contests include:
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Are You Newsworthy?

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Woman with tablet and man with newspaper reading news at homeConcrete tips on attracting the media’s attention.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

As a marketing channel, public relations is one of my personal favorites. It includes getting mentioned in news or trade media and publications, having an article you wrote published or reprinted, applying for and winning awards, or otherwise being in the public eye for one reason or another.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Make Newsletters Work for You | Technical Aspects of Video and YouTube | Social Media Basics for Accounting Firms | How to Maximize Online Profile Sites
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

When I started a photography studio several years ago, I sent sample photos of my work along with a letter explaining my business to several news outlets. It was July, and in August, the Sunday magazine supplement to the Dallas Morning News picked up the story and published my samples. They were portraits of cats and dogs, and my phone rang for days. Within a week, I was booked through Christmas, and my business broke even a year ahead of time because of that one piece of publicity.
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Step-by-Step: How to Make Newsletters Work for You

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Man using laptop at an outdoor cafeCHECKLISTS: 7 benefits and 4 ways to create content.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

One of the most overlooked marketing channels for accountants is a newsletter. The newsletter first started in print at regional firms.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Technical Aspects of Video and YouTube | Why CPAs Need Video | Make Google AdWords Work for You | Make the Most of Trade Shows | Track Your Online Reputation | Partnering: Referrals on Steroids | Measure Client Retention … Against Yourself | Take Your Client’s Pulse | How to Determine Your Ideal Client | Clients Need Advisory Services More Than They Know | 10 Tips for More Energy This Tax Season | Marketing vs. Sales and How to Plunge In
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Some CPA firms have not changed much and still cling to their printed newsletter. We suggest you send an email newsletter and optionally send a printed newsletter once or twice a year if your clients are used to it.
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All You Need to Know to Get Started in Video and YouTube

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Young woman recording video via camcorder and tripodChecklist: The essential tools – made simple.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

How you shoot your videos depends on what tools you need.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Why CPAs Need Video | How to Schedule Social Media Content | The 5 C’s of Successful Websites | Speaking: How, Where and Getting Leads from It
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The most important thing in all of this is there are two sets of skills:

  1. Shooting the video – this is closer to presentation skills than anything else
  2. Editing the video – this requires some creative experience and the right tech tools

BIG TIP:

You don’t need video-editing skills if you are doing screen capture or even talking heads. It’s much easier to keep shooting takes until you get it right than it is to do complex video editing.

We’ll break this down into two types of tools, those for screen capture and those for studio shooting.
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Why CPAs Need Video

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Smiling businesswoman talking on cameraPlus some easy alternatives to the “talking head.”

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

Marketing your accounting services eventually requires a personal connection, either face to face or via phone. Using video allows you to emulate a personal connection with your prospects while leveraging your time.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: How to Schedule Social Media Content | Social Media Basics for Accounting Firms | How to Maximize Online Profile Sites | Build Reputation through Credentials, Testimonials | Use Feedback for Service Innovation | Create Your Marketing Plan
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Imagine taking the time to meet every website or social media visitor in a private appointment. Impossible, right? A video enables you to say your spiel once and have it received by reaching out to hundreds, if not thousands, of interested prospects in a still quite personal way.
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How to Schedule Social Media Content

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Businessman looking at calendar on tabletPlus tips on creating it.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

We post four kinds of posts and tweets on social media sites:

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Social Media Basics for Accounting Firms | Make Google AdWords Work for You | Make the Most of Trade Shows | Track Your Online Reputation | Partnering: Referrals on Steroids | Measure Client Retention … Against Yourself | Take Your Client’s Pulse | How to Determine Your Ideal Client
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

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Social Media Basics for Accounting Firms

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Social media words on cubesSetting up on the 3 major platforms.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

Social media can be a great marketing channel, but the big challenge is how to keep it from draining all of your time. The key is having rock-solid systems and procedures AND time limits.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Make Google AdWords Work for You | The 5 C’s of Successful Websites | Speaking: How, Where and Getting Leads from It | 3 More Kinds of Referrals | Turn to the ABCs for Client Feedback | Use Client ‘Touch Plans’ to Stay in Touch
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

For small businesses trying out social media for the first time or with strict budgets or time limits, I recommend doing minimum activity or only being active in one of the three accounts (LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter). Once you get your procedures solidified for these minimum activities, you’ll be able to expand to more venues and more activities if you want to.
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How to Make Google AdWords Work for You

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Businessman using Internet on smartphone and laptopIt’ll cost you, so here’s how to calculate the most to pay.

By Sandi Leyva
The Complete Guide to Marketing for Tax & Accounting Firms

A lot of accountants are spending money on Google AdWords and other online advertising.

MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: The 5 C’s of Successful Websites | How to Maximize Online Profile Sites | Build Your Community Reputation | Build Reputation through Credentials, Testimonials | 5 Ways to Get More Referrals | Use Feedback for Service Innovation
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Sometimes Google AdWords can be effective; however, there are three big issues I see with it:
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