Ever since blogs and social media platforms became a wide-spread phenomenon, companies have found new ways to approach the ever-expanding internet audience. Whether you provide accounting services as a solo entrepreneur or work full-time hours in an accounting agency, the inclusion of business storytelling in your marketing materials can transform the way you engage clients.
According to Forbes however, only 10% of organizations and brands worldwide use business storytelling to share their values, goals, and worldviews with their clientele. The more human and approachable your accounting business looks, the better your odds will be at engaging and retaining clients of all calibers. With that said, let’s take a look at several business storytelling techniques worth including in your marketing efforts going forward.
Benefits of Accountant Storytelling
Before we get into the “how” of implementing business storytelling into your accounting advertisement, let’s step back and consider the “why” for a moment. After all, accounting services are needed far and wide which means that you shouldn’t have to market your business too heavily to engage clients.
However, your business is only one of many on the market, which means that others will do their best to attract more clients to their services. However, with smart business storytelling integration, the advantages your agency will have over others include but are not limited to:
- Humanization of your brand and business
- Better market visibility and industry authority
- Higher client engagement and conversion rates
- Ability to engage other businesses and agencies in collaborative projects
- High return on marketing investment
Business Storytelling for Accountants
1. Speak in Your Own Voice
One of the best ways to engage new clients through business storytelling is to simply speak in your own voice. Marketing terminology will allow you to appear professional but it will also make your accounting agency cold and distant.
Write marketing messages, slogans and service offers in a conversational tone, as if you were talking to a close acquaintance. Individuals who come across your ads or blog articles will read them by themselves, not as a group of people. Talk to the person on the other end and your business storytelling efforts will start off on the right foot.
2. Include Personal Anecdotes
Most clients won’t know a lot about accounting and what goes into the process of – well, accounting. This can open a lot of marketing and storytelling possibilities for your agency to take advantage of. Simple anecdotes, real-life examples and (fictionalized) projects you’ve worked on in the past can do wonders for your business storytelling.
Don’t be afraid or ashamed to share personal insight and thoughts on the accounting industry through your blog and marketing content. It will ensure that your business looks approachable, casual, but most importantly – experienced enough to provide professional services.
3. Collaborate with Peers
Even if you work as a solo accountant with your own agency, you should still have industry contacts and colleagues to reach out to. These contacts can easily be shaped into business storytelling material for your mutual benefit.
Accounting agencies which collaborate with other companies (in the same industry) are typically seen as more approachable and trustworthy. Everyone likes a team player, so make sure to talk to your peers in the B2B network about potential interviews, discussions and other forms of marketing content you can create together.
4. Share Useful Content
Given the nature of online marketing and the viral nature of social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn, you can share useful links and content with your followers. Articles, tutorials, tools, and other interesting media you find interesting can be used to your business storytelling advantage. Sharing TED talks is another great way to inspire and engage clients to get in touch with you with their accounting needs.
For example, advising your readers to check out a professional paper writing services review website when they need it, will make your agency seem helpful, professional and reliable by potential clients. You can also use tools such as Evernote and Hemingway to shape your own content into a more cohesive and approachable format. Adopt a mindset of a Good Samaritan and it will help you engage clients in new and interesting ways.
5. Engage with Calls to Action
Lastly, one of the best ways to urge readers into taking an action is through – calls to action. This tried and tested marketing strategy can help you animate readers into different actions such as to share or comment on your content. It can even help you attract and engage clients into reaching out to you with accounting inquiries or problems they might face.
Calls to action can be placed into your blog posts or social media updates as a means to conclude personal stories or tips you might have shared with the public. Sometimes a simple “Reach out to me today” can illustrate a very humane and forthcoming image of you as an accounting professional. Use the opportunity given to you by business storytelling to activate your followers into action which will lead to a dramatic increase in your engagement and conversion rates.
In Conclusion
When it comes to business storytelling in accounting, it’s important to meet your clientele halfway. Many won’t realize what accounting can do for them when they sit and explain what their problems are. Adopt a storytelling approach to marketing your agency and you will undoubtedly see a spike in public interest in regards to your services.
Author Bio: James Daily is an expert in digital marketing and specializes in niche industries such as accounting, legalities and medicine. He runs Brainished as his personal blog and works as a Content Creator at FlashEssay. James loves to write, hear other people’s stories and monitor marketing trends on a global scale.