CHAPTER 10

The Future Is Now: There’s No Looking Back

So here we are. We’ve discussed SEO and social media, blogging and content, your website, and your reputation as a thought leader. You’ve seen the evolution of accounting marketing from its very first forays into the vibrant, dynamic world of online opportunity that exists today. What more is there?

The answer is that we don’t know. No one does, but we do know that change will be constant and rapid. Part of what’s different today from the early post-Bates years is the sheer speed with which the marketing climate shifts and blossoms. New social media platforms are a certainty, and it’s more than likely that brand new ways of communicating will burst upon the scene in the years to come. When you began your career, would you have imagined tweeting—on your smartphone, no less—as a way of sharing your professional insights and communicating with clients? If so, you should become a soothsayer because nobody else saw it coming, just like so many of the channels available to us today.

The trendlines point to future opportunities for communicating directly with a more and more precisely targeted audience. It will almost certainly become even easier to gather granular data about individuals and businesses that would be an ideal match for your services. Social media platforms will rise and fall, and various apps, formats, and other online meeting spaces will come to dominate the public consciousness in their own rhythms. These elements change quickly, so it is critical that you keep abreast of the ebb and flow of online venues.

Because of the rapid pace of change, it’s not wise to consider any particular balance of tactics as a permanent solution. LinkedIn and Twitter may be the perfect complements to your website and blog this year, but they may not be the best way to spend your resources and time two years from now. It’s simply impossible to make concrete plans involving online marketing for the long term!

What remains stable is the need to plan your approach, measure your effect, and communicate clearly the messages that will resonate with your target audience. Where you aim those messages and the precise way you target them must be a function of your firm’s differentiators matched to the online channels of the moment. The planning, measuring, and communicating will remain at the crux of any marketing success you hope to find for your firm.

Learning about the various analytical tools available to you and becoming adept in their use will continue to be a valuable investment of time. Firms that expect to tailor their message and delivery for maximum efficiency must be able to interpret the vast information gathered by such tools. And, again, expect new tools that allow even more precise data gathering and analysis to appear on the horizon with regularity because they are most certainly in the development pipeline.

As you plan your online marketing strategies and campaigns, keep in mind that it’s not just about your firm and your clients, although those are the stars of the relationship. The dynamic relationship between your firm and clients will also be influenced by the broader conversation and mood that permeates society at any point. And that, conveniently enough, is something you can easily monitor and participate in through the ever louder, more powerful, and more connected online world.

The other certainty is that online marketing is here to stay. It is not a flash in the pan or a fad that’s reached its heyday and likely to fade into oblivion, only brought out at “retro” parties and clung to by the sadly out of touch. No, the power of the interconnectivity of people and brands all over the world is here to stay, pulsing and flashing through the Internet.

Today’s young people, who will inevitably grow to fill the ranks at your accounting firm, don’t remember a time when they couldn’t Google the answers, text a friend, and monitor the meme of the day. You can shout at them to, “Get off of my lawn!” as much as you like, but they can’t hear you over the buzz from their headphones. The Internet is the hive, and the hive hums with a vibration that reaches into the deepest crevices and recesses of society. You must raise your voice within the hive and become a part of the buzz. It is, truly, the only way to be fully heard in the 21st century.

Firms that haven’t gotten on board with digital marketing will do so, or else they will lose relevance as they lose clients. When online searches are as powerful as word of mouth referrals, it’s time to admit the die is cast. You need an online presence. It’s no longer a matter of if; it is absolutely a matter of when.

Having accepted the new reality, you might as well have some fun with it, right? And that’s where I hope this book will be useful. Whether you picked it up because you were excited about the prospect of learning more to enhance your ongoing digital marketing efforts, or whether you grudgingly read on, suspecting and dreading the truth, I want you to see the wonderful opportunities that exist and recognize that there’s a lot of scope for self-expression and growth even as you work hard to promote your firm. It isn’t always simple, but it is always interesting. There’s plenty to learn. No matter what your preferred style, there is a place for you to do what you do best and love most somewhere under the big tent that makes up digital marketing. Your firm has everything to gain by entering this exciting new world. Welcome!