Grow Your Accounting Firm with Content Marketing

Podcast

Summary

• What is Full Stadium and Who Do They Serve?
• Standing Out as a Firm
• How to Get Started in Content Marketing
• Why Content Marketing Works for Accounting Firms
• What Makes for Good Content?
• The Biggest Obstacles to Firms Creating Great Content
• Must Have Tools for Content Marketing in 2022

Additional Resources

• Full Stadium
• Full Stadium’s LinkedIn
• Micky’s LinkedIn
• Micky’s Email—micky@fullstadium.co 
• Full Stadium’s Complete Guide to Accounting Firm Marketing
• Surfer SEO
• Ahrefs

Meet Micky Deming

Micky spent six years handling marketing at an accounting firm, before founding Full Stadium in 2018. 

As a dad to four kids under the age of six, clarity and simplicity are two words that are often hard to find. Though clarity and simplicity are at the core of content marketing and what Full Stadium is all about. Micky loves to bring clarity and simplicity to marketing, helping businesses take their message to their audience. 

What is Full Stadium and Who Do They Serve?

Full Stadium specializes in accounting firm content marketing. Micky notes that content marketing is essential for accountants and accounting firms because business owners need to learn and know how to understand their numbers and their finances. Full Stadium helps businesses in the accounting industry do just that through content marketing, blog posts, social media, and other similar content strategies.

Full disclosure, Full Stadium has worked with Jetpack Workflow for about two years writing the blog posts and helping with the newsletter.

Standing Out as a Firm

Marketing is difficult enough as is, but there are unique challenges for accounting firms when it comes to marketing. One of the primary obstacles is a fear/trust issue. Ask most any accounting firm owner where their leads come from and chances are their answer will be word of mouth. The reason word of mouth is the go-to strategy for lead generation is there is an inherent trust between the two people communicating.

“Content marketing builds a bridge, trust, and allows you, as a firm owner, to show a bit of personality and stand out,” shared Micky.

The second major obstacle that accounting firms face is differentiation. How are you and your firm different from others in the industry? When people think about the accounting industry, they often believe that it’s homogenous—that everyone is the same. So, how do you stand out as a business?

• Be yourself.
• Have a voice.

Micky used David as a prime example. 

“You may not be an accounting firm owner, but you’ve been producing this podcast for years and years and years. So many people know you and know your voice, and that builds trust.”

The key is to start producing content. Micky says that you don’t need to feel embarrassed or like no one wants to learn about accounting. People value your expertise as an accounting firm/accounting professional. People want to get to know who you are and what your firm stands for.

Content can be a real game-changer. However before you start producing content, you should determine who you are for.

“Who is your audience? It’s extremely hard to differentiate yourself, if you’re just speaking to the masses.” 

Narrow your focus and determine your audience. Once you’ve identified your audience, you can start producing content based on what they care about, the questions they’re asking, and the problems they’re facing. Everyone wants their business problems solved, so produce content about the problems and pains your ideal clients are facing.

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Micky notes that there is no formula for perfect content marketing strategy creation. It’s largely based on what your clients need, what your strengths are, and where those two things overlap.

David agreed and brought up one example that came to mind: LWS Tax & Accounting out of Springfield, Ohio.

“I can’t remember a single, specific piece of content that they’ve put up,” says David, “but they’ve got a great following because they’re the ‘Springfield, OH Heros.’”

LWS goes around doing good deeds in Springfield and highlighting different community members. They let their content strategy form organically based around community involvement.

Content doesn’t always have to be how-to guides, it can also be local interest content.

“There are so many ways to do it,” Micky says. “The important thing is to not be static, not be stagnant.”

However, you don’t need to try and replicate what someone else is doing. Micky also recommends just leaning into your own style, because people can tell when you’re not being authentic. 

The Status of Content Marketing in 2022

Competition has become more fierce. The need for differentiation has gotten higher. The need for specificity has increased.

So, trying to write an article or a blog post along the lines of “Accounting to Grow Your Business,” really isn’t going to gain much traction because it’s so broad of a topic.

That’s why it’s so important to know who your audience is. If you have a specific niche or industry that you’re solving problems for, you can create very specific articles tailored to that industry. Produce enough quality content and, eventually, you’ll become the go-to person in that niche.

One of the other major changes that we’re seeing is the importance of up-to-date, accurate information. These days, the buyer is empowered to shop around and be choosy about their purchases. This is why it is vital to have up-to-date information on your website.

“People won’t pull the trigger on contacting you if your website isn’t up-to-date. I know I’m that way. If I go to a website and it’s just stagnant, I wonder whether or not that business is even open anymore or doing anything. That’s just shooting yourself in the foot,” said Micky.

It may be important that people can find you in a search, but it’s even more crucial that you have something that’s engaging—showing potential clients that you are keeping up with the industry and our current economy.

What Makes for Good Content?

David pitched in saying that client FAQs make for great blog posts.

“Worst case scenario, you write it and save your team time because they can reference the article when clients call with questions or you can use it as a prompt for advisory,” said David.

Micky agreed, saying that his team thinks about those questions that crop up consistently and then write about those questions in order to add value to the community, whether locally or globally. Additionally, Micky spends time browsing accounting firms’ websites. One blog post he sees fairly consistently is something along the lines of “Newest Tax Law.”

“I’m just thinking, ‘They trust you to take care of that.’ Clients don’t really want to read about or learn about that themselves on your website,” stated Micky.

On top of the basic changes, there has also been a major shift in focus onto cash flow, forecasting, funding, filing loan paperwork, etc. People want to know how to increase their profits, earn more money, and know how to make distributions within their team. Accounting isn’t boring. Sure, it can be a bit niche, but people are genuinely curious about topics that fall squarely within your realm of expertise.

“In personal finance, you see blogs all the time. People eat that content up. Why would a business owner be any different?” asked Micky.

David provided a few examples of some great content. First, he suggested that firm owners could take a blank loan application from the bank, shoot a YouTube video of how to fill it out (using placeholder data), and then publish it. Not only will that video be indexed by YouTube, but it also serves as a great resource for clients to use. The same could be done with generic tax returns (David said he saw this being done probably 5–6 years ago).

Micky says that you don’t need to worry about overeducating people, because, more often than not, people just want expert help. Putting out information, whether that’s a blog post or a video, that your clients find helpful can only be a good thing. It impacts your referrals and organic leads. That kind of content increases the chance that other people will see it and recognize your firm as being helpful and educational.

The Biggest Obstacles to Firms Creating Great Content

Many firms don’t see the ROI on their content marketing due to several reasons. These reasons are things that require daily discipline.

Just get started. Oftentimes, we create these robust content marketing campaigns that cover a large portion of time. These plans are often so large that we never get started on them. Just start producing content. Producing something that’s even half-decent is better than nothing at all. Even if it’s just once a month, you’re still ensuring that your website isn’t stagnant. Don’t think that you have to completely overhaul your website before creating content, either. What’s important is whether the content you produce is valuable to your clients.

Use your email lists. Wait. Isn’t email dead? Nope. Email marketing is still extremely effective. People often don’t mind receiving emails from your firm whenever they’re downloading resources off of your website. People know that they are exchanging their email for a resource that they find valuable. If the person is in the window shopping phase, they’re looking to see what you send to them next. That follow-up content needs to be valuable, informative, and well-polished. Lastly, don’t abuse it. Send emails out with purpose.

Video. So many firm owners think of content only as blog posts, newsletters, social media posts, whitepapers, etc. In the age we’re in, video is a huge part of content marketing. Video content can help put a face to a name, help your clients see your personality, and give you the opportunity to really engage with your audience.

Remarketing. Marketing doesn’t stop when a prospect becomes a client. You can and need to continue marketing to your clients once they’ve come on as a customer. Clients can forget the range of services you offer, so it’s helpful to remind them. Again, the most common method of lead generation is word of mouth. If your clients don’t know that you offer advisory services, how will they be able to tell their friends that own businesses that you can help grow their business?

Must Have Tools for Content Marketing in 2022

Here are a few suggestions that Micky gave concerning what tools to have at your disposal as you create content for your firm in 2022.

• Surfer SEO— This is a more recent tool for the Full Stadium team, but it’s one that they see themselves using well into the future. It’s a tool that helps you research keywords, plan content, audit your webpages, and compare your site’s performance to your competitors.
• Ahrefs—This tool is used for tracking and keyword development.
• The G-Suite/Google Workspace
• Canva—A design tool that turns anyone into an (almost) design pro.

Conclusion

We covered a ton of great topics in the podcast, so if you’re after more detailed information, be sure to check out the full episode! If you want to learn more about Micky, Full Stadium, and about how content marketing can take your firm to the next level, you can connect with him via email or on LinkedIn!

And feel free to check out Full Stadium’s Free Guide to Accounting Firm Marketing.