Content marketing for accounting firms is a valuable tool. In fact, a recent study by Semrush found that 97% of businesses have seen success using content marketing.
But what exactly is content marketing?
Content marketing is a strategic approach to creating and distributing relevant, valuable, and consistent content with the intention to attract and retain a specific audience – and eventually lead to profits.
What does content marketing do for CPA firms?
There are plenty of benefits to incorporating content marketing into your marketing strategy. Some of the benefits include:
- Generating quality leads
- Improving brand reputation
- Attracting more traffic to your website
- Improving client engagement and loyalty
- Sharing a value proposition in a way your prospects want to consume
How can I incorporate content marketing into my marketing strategy?
We’ll explain below.
Understand Your Target Audience
Your target audience should be at the core of your content marketing. But to understand your target audience, you have to create an ideal client persona.
An ideal client persona is an abstract depiction of the ideal customer. When done correctly, an ideal client persona will provide you with everything you need to know about the client who is most likely to use your accounting firm.
It will help you understand their:
- Needs
- Pain points
- Buyer’s journey
With this info, you can create valuable content, which is the catalyst for successful content marketing.
For help creating your ideal client persona, download our template!
Develop a Content Strategy
Successful content marketing requires a content strategy. Your strategy should be comprised of:
- Goals and objectives
- An outline of the content you plan to create
- A content calendar
Your content goals and objectives should align with your overall business goals and objectives. For example, if you have a business goal to generate five new leads a month, a good content goal would be to get three new leads via social media by including a call to action in each post. You could ask that they click your link to schedule a meeting with you. This is a clear, time-bound goal that reflects an over-arching goal.
You also need an idea of the kind of content you plan to create. At Full Stadium Marketing, we recommend:
- Blogs and articles
- Social media
- Case studies
- Long-form guides
Here is a full list of content ideas.
Finally, a content calendar will keep you on track. It’s essentially an overview of what you need to create and when. With a content calendar, your content marketing will be consistent, which is key to success (you can learn why here).
Create Valuable Content
As we mentioned previously, creating content with value comes from understanding your target audience – they are the people who need to find it valuable.
Start by conducting keyword and social research to learn what topics are relevant. Once you’ve done that, write to your audience using these topics. Answer their questions and show them you can solve their toughest problems.
They need to know they can turn to you for support when they need it.
Promote Your Content
The only way your content will work for you is if people see it. We suggest three primary channels for content promotion:
- Social media
- Emails
- Paid advertising
However, you have to promote your content on channels that are most effective for your audience.
For example, if you are trying to reach young business owners, LinkedIn is a great place to start. If you’d rather reach an older audience, an email list may be more effective.
3 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Content Marketing for Accounting Firms (and What to Do Instead)
As you dive into content marketing, it’s important to avoid common mistakes. These mistakes can be costly and hold back your progress.
1. Copy and Pasting Content
Too many accounting firms copy and paste their content from other firms’ sites or AI. However, with the recent Helpful Content Update from Google, unoriginal content harms your SEO.
Instead, create original, valuable content!
2. Sharing General Information
While general information may seem valuable, it doesn’t show your target audience that you are speaking directly to them. It can also allude to you not having industry-specific insight.
Instead, create content that speaks directly to your target audience.
3. Unclear Call to Action
All of your content is meant to “attract and retain a specific audience – and eventually lead to profits”. If you’ve done the hard work of creating content and getting it in front of your target audience, you can’t stop there. You have to tell them what to do next, or you won’t generate profits. However, many CPA firms leave this step out.
Instead, make sure you include a clear call to action in every piece of content. Don’t let your reader guess what they have to do to claim your services.
We Specialize in Content Marketing for Accounting Firms
Content marketing can be a valuable tool for accounting firms when it’s executed correctly. You’ll need to put in time, have patience, and work hard to create content that achieves your goals.
However, we understand you have more important things to worry about. Which is why we offer outsourced content marketing for accounting firms. Our team at Full Stadium Marketing does all of the dirty work so you can sit back and wait for the positive results to start trickling in.
Reach out to us today to learn more about content marketing services for your firm!
