CPAs should hop onto the Twitter bandwagon to maximize online visibility

A 2015 social media survey by Wolters Kluwer suggests that accountants are getting a solid grip on social media to not only market themselves but also to bring in new business. The survey respondents included CPAs under 30, and 100% of them admitted to using at least one social media platform.

Over 60% of CPAs under 60 noted that they are slowly starting to get a hang of social media. The survey also revealed that CPAs see Twitter as a way to show a more human side of their practice. 77% of CPAs even boasted about having over 100 followers – which is a feat!

Moreover, just having a Twitter profile is necessary because it allows you to showcase yourself as an authority in your concerned industry. It helps you to grow an audience and make important connections. So if you have been shying away from Twitter so far but feel ready to at least give it a try, here’s what you got to do:

1. Set up a profileAfter the easy signup process, edit your profile. Write a short bio about yourself, and preferably include the name of the accounting firm you work for. And if your firm is also on Twitter, use its Twitter handle in your bio. Upload a semi-professional photo (because Twitter is not LinkedIn) and a background photo which talks about your expertise. Add the city you currently live in and also your website or blog link.
2. Follow industry peers and influencersUse tools such as Kred and Klout to find like-minded people on Twitter. Once you have identified them, follow them and keep a close tab on the stuff they are tweeting about. RT and favorite their tweets once a while and engage them with questions or comment, but don’t go overboard with this activity. Just acknowledge their expertise in a genuine way and get on their radar!
3. Tweet at least thrice a dayAlthough there is no fixed number of tweets one should send in a day, three is a good number to start with. Strategically place the tweets for the day and see what kind of engagement you get on them. Once you get a little comfortable tweeting, find the best times to tweet. For that, you can take help from Twitter Analytics and social media tools like Hootsuite and Buffer.
4. Make use of tools to schedule and optimize hashtagsIf you want to tweet but don’t have the time, then you can use Buffer and Hootsuite to not only find the best times to tweet but also to schedule them. For that, you will have to plan your tweets well in advance. But once you have scheduled the tweets, you can take it easy. RiteTag, for instance, is an excellent tool for finding the most popular hashtags. It is actually an extension and gets activated as soon as you begin typing hashtags on Twitter or on a Twitter tool. Your tweets will never be un-optimized if you take help of such tools!
5. Participate in Twitter chatsTwitter chats offer one of the best ways to start talking with other Twitter users. TwitterReports, for instance, provides a free schedule for Twitter chats. You can easily narrow down chats you are really interested in and mark your calendar accordingly. Try to organize chats once a month to gain the attention of your industry peers and influencers.Over to youDon’t get overwhelmed with these steps; they are just to help you get started on Twitter. Go ahead – refresh and review your Twitter profiles and start tweeting!