The secret behind great content marketing for accounting firms

Many accounting firms are waking up to the value of a good content marketing strategy. When executed well this can engage both current and potential clients as well as increasing traffic on your website and social media channels.

But, what constitutes good content and what is the key to creating it on a consistent basis. In this blog we look at the steps to follow in order to create produce the types of valuable content that will attract your target audience and resonate with prospective clients.

On this page:

Write a killer headline

Focus on problem solving content

Reaffirm existing ideas or thoughts​

Don't forget distribution

Write a killer headline

To help your content marketing perform well it helps to give each article a killer headline. A good headline has the potential to drive traffic to your website. This applies to different formats including blog posts, industry news and more in-depth articles that delve deeper into tax and business issues.

A striking headline will make an impact and help you rise up the search rankings. One way to do this is to include numbers and data into your headline is an effective way to make your article more enticing to readers. Research studies have shown that headlines with numbers tend to generate more social media shares and do better on search results. This will help your accountancy firm reach more potential customers.

Your headlines should also aim to give people a good reason to read your content. To achieve this, give a rationale to read the article by including a tip, idea, strategy or the promise of a valuable lesson in the headline.

Focus on problem solving content

The best content will answer a question or solve a problem for the reader.

Successful content marketing for accounting firms will help your clients to solve their problems and face the challenges that their business faces. The process of imparting useful information will help build trust between you and your clients.

Your own content can include blog posts, daily news stories, webinars, social posts, or video content. To be effective, it must maintain a consistent tone and be well-written or produced.

Your expertise, not your accountancy services, will position you as an authority in your field. And, if your content gets ahead of the problem curve, you become more than just another expert. You become a thought leader by imparting valuable information.

However, you must be transparent about any limitations in your products and services and their ability to solve the problems identified.

Content that answers a question hits two targets at the same time – it will inform the audience and improve your search engine results.

In order to identify the problems, challenges and questions that your target market need answering may take a little research. This can be done through your social platforms or by collecting feedback on your own website.

It is crucial that your content is accurate, consistent and well sourced. One inaccuracy could prove costly with the loss of paying clients. Always use trustworthy sources/sites and include links to sources where applicable.

Reaffirm existing ideas or thoughts

When creating content, it is important to wrap up with a conclusion. This helps provide clarity and insight into the topic.

An effective conclusion brings the reader back to the main point, reminding the reader of the purpose of the content. You should also reiterate the points that you have made throughout the content by summarising the ideas.

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a solution, an insight or questions for further study. Every piece of content you produce should provide a clear, actionable next step. To make your content actionable use a call to action or direct the audience to further, relevant, content or tell them directly what to do next.

However, you construct your conclusion try to end the content on a positive note.

Don't forget distribution

Content distribution should be of the utmost importance when planning a content marketing strategy for your accounting firm.

Content distribution is the process of sharing, publishing, and promoting your content. It's how you provide your content to your audience members for their consumption through various channels and media formats.

Social media posts play a huge role in content distribution. Social media content distribution is the process of sharing, publishing, and promoting content on various social media. This content may be created strictly for social media use, or it might be content that's reformatted and used on social.

Content distribution channels are the channels through which you share and promote the content you create. The channels you use to distribute your content will vary based on your audience and resources.

There are three main types of content distribution channels: owned, earned, and paid.

Owned channels are the content properties your company owns. You can control when and how content is published on your owned channels. These include your website and blog, your social media profiles, your email newsletter, or a mobile publishing app.

Earned channels are when third parties promote or share your content. These third parties could include customers, journalists, bloggers, and anyone who shares your content for free.

Paid channels refer to when your company pays to distribute your content on certain channels. This primarily includes pay-per-click (PPC), paid advertising, and paid influencer content.

One of the most important aspects of this process is assessing your content distribution results.

After you’ve published your content, take a look at Google Analytics, your social media analytics dashboards, or the performance of a blog post — depending on where and how you distributed the content. Set a routine to measure and analyse so that you can establish a baseline and know which numbers you can beat the following week or month.

Final Thoughts

Planning and creating an effective content strategy will take some time, effort and expertise. It is worthwhile though as it can help your accounting firm reach new clients and add value to your relationships with existing clients.

Following a few simple steps will make the process of creating your own strategy for digital marketing easier and the results more effective. The right types of headlines will help you place highly on search engines. The best content will solve problems and answer questions for your current clients, which in turn will generate leads for new ones.

Reinforce your message by reaffirming the vital information you are giving to readers. And finally, use multiple platforms and search engine optimisation to extend the reach of your professional content.