Social media can be one of the top growth engines for accounting firms (and just about any other type of business). Yet I hear the same thing from so many firms: social media doesn’t work for us.

If you fall in to the camp of it “not working for you,” the truth is, it’s not that social media doesn’t work. It’s that you’re just not using the right strategy.

Let’s fix that. 

Today, I’m going to share a simple, 3-step framework you can use to start growing your brand and making money from social media starting right away.

No time to read? Check out my YouTube video on this topic: https://youtu.be/qQRFmVMohQI 

Here’s Why Now is the Best Time to Grow on Social Media

I’ve been in the digital marketing space for years now, and our digital marketing agency has helped so many firms grow their brands (and revenue) through social media.

Based on the trends and data I’ve seen over the years, I can confidently say that now is the best time to jump in on social media if you want to build your brand, whether that’s personal or your firm’s brand.

Why?

Because platforms are shifting from follower-based to interest-based.

Now, not all of them have gone this route, but the majority have. 

What does this mean for you? 

Before, whenever you created content, it was generally just shown to your followers. It was rare for a new account with no audience to go viral.

In othr words, you need a large following to get your content seen by a large amount of people. 

Now, someone who is just posting for the first time, has hardly any followers (maybe zero followers) can create a post that goes viral and is shown to a ton of people.

The algorithms have gotten really, really smart.

They know what your content is about. They know who is going to be interested in it. And they’re able to serve it to a massive number of people.

Real-World Examples

I want to share some real examples of how powerful social media can be for growth, especially on platforms that are now interest-based. 

Take a look at this post from Chad Thomas. 

Chad has posted a handful of times over the past couple of years on LinkedIn. He reshared a few posts, but basically, he wasn’t actively posting on the platform. 

And then this post he did blew up.

• 65,000+ impressions
• 223 likes
• 805 comments 
• 7 reposts

This is the perfect example of how LinkedIn has become interest-based versus follower-based.

Now, this post is promoting an upcoming webinar. That exposure? It led to 1500 registrations. Imagine what that could do for your business.

If you had 1500 people sign up for something you wanted them to sign up for. 

That could be life-changing.

Now, I do want to say that this is not something you should ever expect whenever you first start posting. But it goes to show you that it is possible when you bring the right message at the right time.

You don’t need to be doing this forever to see big results.

Now, on the flip side, you can do a post, get hardly any views, likes or comments and it can still be seen by the right people.

I recently posted a video about using Claude Co-work to transform your discovery calls into marketing assets.

I got a comment and then a LinkedIn message from someone who was a CPA directly in my target market asking for more information.

At the time, the video had just 11 views. 

Now, will this person ever turn into a buyer or client? Not necessarily at all. But this shows me that my video is being shown to the right people. 

It also confirms that my content is the type of content they’re interested in seeing. 

Now that platforms are becoming interest-based, you can reach a lot of people (like in Chad’s example). They’re getting so smart at delivering your content to exactly the right people that putting out one single post, regardless of where you’re starting at, can make a difference.

It doesn’t matter if you have no followers or if this is your first post. 

Now, even with this in mind, I still hear from many firm owners that they’re just not seeing results. There’s a reason why they feel this way (maybe you do, too), and it may not be what you expect.

Why it Feels Like Social Media “Doesn’t Work”

When people say, “I’ve tried social media before and it didn’t work,” I want to say, “I hear you, but when you say you’ve tried it, what does that mean? Did you have a strategy? Did you have a plan? Were you doing what’s effective?”

I recently heard Gary V say something that really struck me. 

Now, I’m paraphrasing here, but essentially, he said: If you gave the majority of us a piano, and you asked whoever you gave that piano to use it to make money, would they make money right away? Probably not.

Now, if you gave that piano to Elton John? The story would be totally different. 

Why?

Because he’s good.

Now, my question for you is this: Are you good at what you do? 

This is not to say that you need to become a professional social media user or create amazing videos. 

But ask yourself:

• Are you good at communicating your message in a way that resonates with people? 
• Are you good at doing the other things you need to do (which I’m going to talk about shortly)?
• Are you good at using the tools?

Nothing is going to work if you’re not good at it.

Going back to that piano example, one person can take a piano and make a ton of money with it. Another person who hasn’t been taught isn’t going to be able to recreate that without putting in the hours and practice.

But here’s the thing: You don’t have to dedicate your life to social media to be “good” at it.

Gary V, in that same example I shared, also said that you need 25 hours to excel at using social media.

When you think about it, 25 hours really isn’t much.

Think about how we’re already on our phones scrolling (often more than we even want to). If we dedicated just 25 hours of that scroll time to social media, we would reach our goal of being a good social media user quickly.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Okay, but where do I start?”

Let’s dive into my simple, three-step process that will help you finally succeed on social media.

The 3-Step Process to FAST Social Media Success

The process that I want you to use is SO simple. You only need to do three things.

1. Pick One Platform to Focus On

The first thing you want to do is pick one platform and apply this entire process to that one platform. Don’t worry about being active on every social network out there just yet.

I know a lot of you may be saying, “I don’t know which platform to pick.”

There are a lot out there, but we’re going to make this very easy.

I want you to ask yourself one thing: 

Where are your ideal clients hanging out?

Think about where you can easily reach them. 

Easily is the key word here. You may say, “Hey, my ideal clients are on Instagram, LinkedIn AND YouTube.”

YouTube is not the easiest to reach your ideal clients because you can’t go out and add them. So, think about that. 

Beyond that, think about the type of content you like to create. Let’s say you’ve narrowed it down to Instagram and LinkedIn, but you’re like, “Hey, I don’t like posting pictures. I don’t like posting videos.”

LinkedIn then becomes the obvious choice because it supports all content types. You can easily find people on there, especially with Sales Navigator. 

So, compare your options, pick one platform and stick to it.

2. Connect with 10 People Every Day

The next thing I want you to do is, every day, connect with 10 people who are your ideal clients. This does not mean that you’re trying to sell them. It just means that you’re connecting with them and starting conversations.

If you’re thinking, “I don’t know how to start conversations,” think about meeting someone random at a networking event. 

What would you ask them? You’d probably start by asking:

• Where they work
• How long they’ve been there
• How they started their business

Ask them about themselves so that it’s really easy for them to continue the conversation with you. 

3. Post Regularly

The third thing I want you to do is to post content regularly. This is the step that most people start with, but we want to go out and start building our network first. 

We want to start conversations, and then the content is in the background, supporting us and helping us build expertise and authority.

If you have no idea what to post, don’t overcomplicate it.

Here’s what I recommend:

• Post three times a week
• Make your content focused on an insight, observation or an experience

Think about your day. Did you have any insights, observations or experiences? Yes, you did.

We all have them daily. 

I love defaulting to telling a story. 

For example, you could share a success story. Highlight where a client was at when they first came to you, where they are now and how you helped them get there.

Remember, don’t overcomplicate this. Post something personal and insightful that will resonate with your audience.

The Takeaway

These three simple steps will help you get started today on social media. And if you stick with it, you’ll see real growth and money from your effort.

There has never been a better time to grow on social media, and the best part is that it’s 100% free.

Yes, it takes some of your time, but where else can you go and put yourself in front of your ideal prospects without paying a fee? Social media puts you in front of thousands of people. That’s a reach that’s hard to beat with other avenues, including in-person networking.