However, in 2009 she expanded the operation by bringing in Associates working under licence to use the name of CheapAccounting.co.uk. In just one year CheapAccounting.co.uk has grown to ten Associates and this number is increasing as the client base grows. I was interested to know more and to ask whether she had any tips or insights to pass on.
How much of the success of CheapAccounting.co.uk would you put down to social media?
I would say that about 80% of our business is generated through social media. Growth has been far quicker than for a traditional accountancy practice start-up and our client numbers have more than doubled in one year.
We use social media not just for new client acquisition, but also for associate recruitment, customer services and as a way of developing PR opportunities.
What's your Twitter strategy?
There are several aspects to this. I set myself targets to grow my list of followers and those that I follow.
My tweets tend to be focused around useful tips on accounts and tax for small businesses which are updated daily on my blog.
However I do think it is important to show a personal side as the accounts and tax subject matter can be quite a challenge sometimes. So I mix these informative tweets with a little banter amongst my regular followers and some re-tweets of useful information from others.
I do not have a target number of tweets, nor do I aim for any particular percentage of 'promotional to informative', as it can depend on the circumstances and what's been going on in the world. For example if the budget speech is taking place, I may be rather more vocal in my comments than at other times!
Do you track visits from Twitter or your blog?
Yes - I check my web stats each day. This shows the number of click throughs to the CheapAccounting.co.uk site and to the blog. I need to make sure that the efforts that I am putting in are useful, relevant and an effective use of my time.
Do you have any 'hints and tips' to share about how you convert visitors into clients?
Like anything it comes down to using the right technique for the job. Social media works to attract prospects to CheapAccounting.co.uk but then we employ the aged old marketing and sales methods.
Most importantly we talk to the visitor, find out their need and then sell them the services based upon that need. No great surprises there really.
I see you maintain a blog - do you set yourself goals as to how often to post, and do you ever struggle for content ideas?
My target is to write a new post at least 3 times a week. Inspiration comes from a number of sources - I may have noticed a trend in topics on the Business Forums, something may have happened in the news, some new tax advantage may be introduced, deadlines approaching, that kind of thing.
I try to make it topical, relevant and interesting - which can be a challenge! For example, when I heard this quote from Hilary Devey (the straight-talking Business Inspector on Channel Five) - "Take that envelope of crap & turn it into an accounting record" - I just thought it was really funny and spot-on. So I turned it into a blog post and it attracted attention, pulling in a lot of new visitors.
How much time do you spend managing your online/social media presence?
Well, there is a question. I would say that currently 50% of my time is spent on managing the CheapAccounting.co.uk online and social media presence. This is my main role within the business now. In fact over the next year or so this will increase even further.
Are there any other aspects of online marketing that have really worked for you, that you would recommend?
For me, in the business that I'm in, writing articles is a great marketing tool. It serves as a great way to prove your credentials, and I’ve had content featured on numerous sites which has resulted in click throughs and visitors to CheapAccounting.co.uk.
I took this a stage further and developed a portal site FranklyAccounts.co.uk - a free resource, addressing a lot of tax and accounts issues experienced by start-up and small businesses. From this alone we've developed a huge marketing database and converted dozens of new clients.
I'm also a prolific poster on UK business forums - nearly 7,000 posts with well over 1,000 thanks received - as well as being a regular contributor to a number of other online business forums such as Start Up Donut, Woman's Work and WiRE.
Is there anything you would have done differently if you 'knew then what you know now'?
I would have started to use Twitter much earlier. The benefits are huge.
What's the number one thing you have learned about using social media for business?
You are on display to a far wider audience that you can ever realise. Off days are not allowed. Keep it focused, useful, polite but have some fun along the way!
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