Why social media ‘failures’ can be big wins for small firms

For a month each summer, sole practitioner Erica Goode, CPA, goes on a “social media detox” for her mental health.

“Will it hurt my engagement numbers? Absolutely. Will it stifle my follower count? Totally,” she wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the start of her most recent sabbatical.

“Will it be good for my mental health? 1,000%.”

Goode doesn’t consider any damage done to her social media scorecard a concern because those aren’t the types of numbers she seeks from social media. During a recent session at ENGAGE with content specialist Enya Spicer titled “You Can’t Pay to Be Popular,” the duo described the types of social media metrics that small firms should value and offered advice on achieving firm goals related to social media without wasting money.

‘Vanity’ metrics vs. real traction

“Marketing companies will tell you, ‘I can increase your impressions. I can increase your follower count,’” Goode said. “I really hope we’re not chasing those because I don’t think that is what’s driving business at the end of the day.

“Sometimes comments can just be on what your favorite ice cream flavor is, and that’s not a comment that’s going to get you a new client.”

Goode offered the example of creating a LinkedIn post that asks connections whether they keep missing their quarterly estimated tax payments. While most aren’t likely to admit publicly that they routinely miss payments, they may send a private message to the firm about the issue and ask for assistance.

“That post might look like a flop every time, but you got a prospective client off of it,” Goode said. “And you have to be OK with bad vanity metrics because you know that the post actually worked for you.”

Are marketing agencies missing the mark?

Spicer, owner and founder of creative services company Enya Business, said that a big reason she teamed with Goode for the ENGAGE session was to combat her frustration over seeing people she cares about squander money by selecting marketing agencies that don’t fit their needs.

“It really hurts me to see people paying thousands of dollars for a product that’s cookie cutter and copy/paste,” Spicer said. “You’re starting to see the same posts, the same cadence, the same everything, and that’s because some of these agencies don’t know you and don’t know the accounting industry.”

While many marketers have the know-how to boost a firm’s social media audience, they also need to be able to boost interest in converting to clients.

“They should be asking you, ‘Who are you? Who is your firm? When did your firm start? Who is your firm’s audience? Who are your clients?’” Spicer said. “If they’re not asking you these questions, then that is a little bit of a red flag.

“If you are spending that much money, that person should know you. You should be able to trust them with your voice to say something you would say, your firm would say, and to know what your firm absolutely would not say.”

Real > Viral

Those questions and others were a part of a document, which Spicer and Goode shared with session attendees, designed to help them find direction in their search for success on social media.

Participants’ answers help them to know their why, know their audience, find their voice, and pick their platform before they take the next step — with a marketing agency or on their own.

Doing it yourself is a viable approach because no one knows you better, and Spicer believes that authenticity on social media is as important as anything.

“You’re being fed, ‘Do it like this or it’s not going to work. You have to do this to be viral,” Spicer said, referencing a push among some agencies to feature well-polished, time-prohibitive posts over simple, genuine ones. “You know what else does really well? Me just being myself. Me speaking my truth, me speaking my story, me telling other accountants, other bookkeepers what I’m dealing with right now.”

In an era when many aspects of social media are shaped by marketing agencies, AI bots, or both, Spicer and Goode long for a return to a time when authenticity ruled the day.

“You don’t have to find your voice; you already have one,” Goode said. “We just want you to come across as you.”

Editor’s note: If you didn’t attend ENGAGE, you still can access this session. Those who purchased an all-access pass to ENGAGE can view this and other archived sessions.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Bryan Strickland at Bryan.Strickland@aicpa-cima.com.