Creating an Accounting Firm Content Strategy

Organizations in the accounting industry must find ways to stand out from other local and national CPA firms. Competition can be fierce for paid advertising space, and referrals are too reliant on others to generate leads.

Content marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to distance your business from the competition. By generating quality content on your website, you create opportunities for new clients to discover your firm independently.

One of the biggest benefits of content marketing is its ability to generate leads without active selling. However, you need the appropriate content strategy for your copy to be effective.

The following guide will provide an overview of accounting firm content marketing and a step-by-step plan for creating a content strategy.

What is Content Marketing for Accounting Firms?

Content marketing is one of the most versatile and effective methods for engaging your customers and drawing prospective clients to your firm. It involves creating optimized, unique content to build greater trust and stronger relationships between your accounting firm and client base. 

Your firm's content marketing strategy will depend on several factors, including

• Service offerings

• Audience demographics

• Market trends

• Geographical demographics

• Target market

An effective content marketing strategy also aligns your team with goals and objectives, optimizes your resources, and establishes your firm as a knowledgeable authority in the accounting industry.

What are the Key Elements of a Content Marketing Plan for an Accounting Firm?

Almost every accounting firm will likely have a content marketing plan based on their specific needs. If you're interested in developing marketing content, seeing what other firms are doing is a good place to start.

Initially, you should focus on a few elements, then slowly expand once you get into a steady rhythm.

In general, the key elements of an accounting firm's content marketing plan can include:

• Email marketing

• Blogging

• Infographics

• Social media posts

• Promotional videos

• Paid advertising

• In-depth guides

• Podcasts

• Whitepapers

• E-books

• Webinars

• Case studies

• Testimonials

While you'll want to consider your current team's strengths and weaknesses, completing a competitor analysis is important to see what types of content other firms are producing.

With this information, you can start to lay the foundation for your content marketing strategy.

What Role Does SEO Play in Content Marketing for Accounting Firms?

Without SEO (search engine optimization), it'll be much harder for smaller CPA firms to be successful with their content marketing strategy. Using online SEO keyword tools can guide you in including the correct language and key terms in your marketing content so that your blogs, social media posts, and other media reach as many people as possible.

For instance, if thousands of clients search for accounting services like bookkeeping or tax season support, you'll want to include it throughout your marketing content.

Along with having the appropriate tools, SEO research is paramount for crafting audience-specific content to reach larger audiences, intrigue potential clients, and improve brand authority on specific accounting topics.

How can Accounting Firms Effectively Measure the ROI of their Content Marketing Efforts?

Tracking the success of your content marketing efforts is crucial for maintaining a relevant and successful online presence. By measuring ROI (return on investment), you can see what's working and what could be improved to optimize your processes and make intelligent, data-driven decisions.

Successful content marketing campaigns can take your organization to the next level. In fact, the average yearly ROI for a successful content marketing strategy is $984,000.

One of the best ways to track content marketing success is through KPIs or key performance indicators.

Below are some of the most helpful content marketing KPIs to monitor for your firm:

• Clicks

• Page views

• Bounce rate

• Time spent on a page

• Social shares and mentions

• Comments 

• Conversions

• Demo requests

Knowing what metrics to monitor will make it much easier for you and your team to see who's engaging with your accounting content and how many people are becoming interested in your firm's services.

What are the 7 Steps in Developing a Content Strategy?

Once you're ready to develop your first content marketing strategy, you'll want to sit with your team and craft a content creation plan.

Make sure that all firm members have input and are on the same page. Producing marketing content that generates leads and helps your firm grow requires a team effort and a step-by-step approach.

Establishing the ideal content marketing strategy may seem intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. Here are seven steps to help your team develop a successful content marketing plan that drives high-quality leads.

Define your goals.

You'll want to set a list of goals to maximize your accounting firm's odds of running a successful content marketing campaign. Clear goals and objectives will keep your team aligned and your messaging consistent and engaging.

The most common goals include:

• Building client engagement

• Increasing brand awareness

• Creating new leads

• Improving web visitor experience

These strong goals will ultimately guide your team to achieving your firm's overall lead generation and user engagement goals.

Build an ideal audience persona.

Once you've identified your goals, the next step is to develop an ideal audience persona for content targeting.

An audience persona (or buyer persona) is a semi-accurate representation of your ideal customer base. Knowing your ideal audience persona will help you create valuable content that is more relatable, engaging, and helpful for potential clients. 

Through surveys, interviews, and online research, you'll learn your customer base's interests, pain points, demographics, contact preferences, and other vital information.

With these details, your content will embody the mindsets of these individuals and resonate more with them, allowing your content marketing plan to gain traction in the appropriate channels.

Run a content audit.

A content audit is a surefire way to enhance your content marketing plan. It allows you and your team to view a detailed report of all your existing content and see what copy needs to be optimized. You'll also be able to pinpoint any content gaps or opportunities for your accounting firm to gain an advantage over competitors.

Using SEO keyword research to fill in these gaps and optimize your old and new content can be a huge step in the right direction for your strategy.

Choose content types and channels.

After conducting a full content audit, it's time to choose which types of content you and your team will produce and the channels you'll publish on.

Depending on your audience's preferences, it will be crucial to decide whether to focus first on blog posts, emails, or video content.

Focusing on video content could produce better results if your target client is more active on social media channels like LinkedIn or Facebook. Likewise, long-form blogs will better target audience profiles that prefer to be informed buyers.

Don't be afraid to try different social media platforms or content types initially. However, you'll want to invest heavily in that vertical once you gain traction.

Create your content.

With a content type and channel in mind, it's time to start creating relevant content. If you need help setting a schedule for ideation, drafting, reviewing, and publishing, try using a content calendar, collaboration tools, or a template to simplify the process. 

This way, you can plan and schedule content in advance and keep your marketing team (or any freelancers) connected and on the same page.

Establish several KPIs.

As stated earlier, the best way to track the progress of your content marketing plan's progress is through KPIs. Having indicators in place so you can monitor the performance of your content and ensure that it meets a high level of quality is a must to achieve your strategic objectives.

Remember, you can monitor key statistics to see how well a piece of content is doing, including clicks, bounce rates, page visits, and user engagement (likes, comments, shares, etc.).

Review and optimize your content. 

Once your content marketing plan is up and running, it's always a good idea to have a structure for reviewing and optimizing old content, primarily website landing pages and blogs.

Over time, specific topics will become less relevant, or new information about a subject will emerge, so you'll want to update older content with trending SEO keywords and fresh data to include valuable information.

How Can Accounting Firms Use Blogging to Attract More Clients?

Blogging is a powerful tool for accounting firms and small businesses seeking new clients. Well-crafted blogs are critical for an accounting firm to gain visibility on search engines like Google and Bing.

Generally, you'll want to research your top digital competitors to see what topics they're writing about. If you notice a trend among multiple organizations, try to take the topic and put your spin on it.

Often, the best approach to generating blog ideas is to write about one of the following:

• Frequent customer questions

• Solutions for pain points

• Trending topics

• Recurring issues

• Industry news

As your firm produces more content, the intended target market will view the brand as a thought leader and you’ll begin to move up the rankings for search results.

Should You Work with a Digital Marketing Agency to Develop a Content Strategy for Your Accounting Firm?

An experienced marketing agency can be a significant advantage for your accounting firm. The right agency will understand your client's pain points and build a custom strategy to drive new leads.

Since most digital marketing agencies have a team of content writers and designers, they can help you quickly build an effective lead-generation strategy based on content.

However, if you want to keep content marketing in-house, the above information should give your team a good starting point.

Should you need help along the way, our team is always ready to help you with the planning and execution of your content marketing strategy.