Advice you hear from every marketer: “Choose the best marketing channels.”
They aren’t wrong, but it leaves you asking…how?
We’ll answer that question below, but it’s important to remember the best marketing channels for your accounting firm may not be the best marketing channels for the accounting firm down the street.
Why? Because your accounting firm and your ideal clients are at the root of the decision. Every firm is different and their approach to marketing should be too.
For help selecting the best marketing channels for your accounting firm, answer the questions below.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing a Marketing Channel
Be as thorough as possible when answering these questions. The more detailed you get, the easier it will be to choose the best marketing channels for your business.
What are Your Marketing Goals?
Different marketing channels produce different results.
For example, if you want to build brand awareness in your community, a billboard may be the best route because it attracts a lot of eyes. But if you want to get people to sign up for your newsletter, social media would be a better option because you can include a direct link and preview some of the content they’ll receive.
So, before you go any further, get clear on your marketing goals.
- Do you want to increase sales?
- Build brand awareness?
- Get people to sign up for your newsletter?
This will help you decide what direction you should take.
Who Are You Trying to Reach?
Now you need to narrow in on your target audience. Who are you trying to reach?
The best marketing channels for your firm should directly reflect your target audience.
For example, The Social Shepard reported that 84% of millennials are active Facebook users. If your target audience falls into that age range, Facebook may present the best opportunities.
The key is to learn as much as you can about your target audience so you can meet them where they are, speak to their pain points, and ultimately get them to understand and take action to claim your proposition.
Where Does Your Target Audience Go For Answers?
Google isn’t the only place where people go to find their answers. YouTube and TikTok (among others) have become popular search engines as well. This is why it’s important to understand where your target audience is searching for answers.
When you know where they are looking, you can create content that fits their inquiries, share it to those platforms, and position yourself as a thought leader in the industry – it’s content marketing 101.
What is The Buyer’s Journey for Your Clients?
A buyer’s journey typically includes three stages:
- Awareness (the client becomes aware of the problem and begins searching for solutions)
- Consideration (the client begins comparing and evaluating potential solutions)
- Decision-making (The client makes a final choice and completes a purchase)
Before you can select the best marketing channels, you need to know where your clients are in their buyer’s journey. This allows you to target your message to reach them at the right time.
There is no need to pitch your services as a solution to someone who doesn’t know they have a problem.
What is Your Competition Doing?
This is not a green light to copy your competitor’s marketing strategies. However, it is an encouragement to research what is working for them and what channels they use to reach their audience.
If you have a hunch that a certain marketing channel may be effective and a big industry competitor is already using it, it’s a good indicator that the channel is worth your time and effort.
Need Help Choosing the Best Marketing Channels for Your Accounting Firm?
It goes without saying that there are a lot of different directions your accounting firm can take to effectively reach its ideal clients.
However, if you want your marketing efforts to be efficient and effective, you have to select the best marketing channels. You’ll do this by:
- Getting clear on your marketing goals
- Defining your target audience
- Learning where your target audience goes for answers
- Understanding your target audience’s buyer’s journey
- Researching the competition
If you’ve answered the questions above and are still struggling to select the best marketing channels for your accounting firm, reach out to our team at Full Stadium Marketing. We help accounting firms win the crowd by bringing the right message, to the right audience, at the right time and would love to discuss how we can help your firm!
