The pace of technology adoption and adaptation by accounting firm clients and progressive accounting firms will continue in 2022—is your firm keeping up? With so many new platforms and tools available to support digital marketing for accountants, bookkeepers, and QuickBooks users, it can be overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to keep focused on the key digital marketing trends that will have the most impact on your firm’s growth.
Use the overview of these top digital marketing trends for 2022 to make an action plan that will support the online presence and lead generation capabilities of your accounting practice now and in the future:
1. Website speed optimization.
If your firm’s website hasn’t been redesigned in the past year or at the very least updated to align with the latest Google core web vitals changes, it’s likely that the page loading speed and overall site speed is much slower than what is recommended.
How can this hinder your firm’s growth? When Google made the major change to its online search algorithm in 2021, one of the key factors in its overall website ranking was the page loading speed of each site that it indexed. If your firm’s site is slow loading because of the design, image sizes, and other factors, you will not rank as highly in search results. This can really hamper your online lead generation efforts and reduce the effectiveness of your current clients’ online experience with your firm.
2. Mobile site optimization.
Statistics show the significant shift consumers of products in virtually every industry have made to mobile devices when it comes to search, purchasing, and digital interaction.
However, there has been a serious lag for accounting firms, when it comes to keeping up with this trend when it comes to their online presence. If your website is not optimized for mobile users, not only will this have a negative impact on your overall search engine optimization (SEO), but it will again, impact your current clients’ ability to interact with your firm online.
The fix is low cost and easy to implement. E engage a web developer to help you update the existing design of your site to make it mobile-ready. This change alone could have s significant impact for your firm’s marketing efforts.
3. Voice search
Next to the mobile shift, the growth of voice search is a major trend that should be influencing how your firm creates content and markets online. According to Google, 27% of the online global population is using voice search, so it stands to reason that a significant number of your current and future clients are, too. Consider how smart speakers such as Google’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri have impacted the way you search for information, and keep this in mind as you craft content for your firm’s website and social media.
4. Video marketing
Hand in hand with responding to the verbal advances in online marketing, your firm should also consider how to leverage the visual shift in content to improve its digital marketing efforts. It is estimated by online marketing experts that video will account for 82% of all internet traffic by 2022.
This means that if your firm is not already producing video, you could lose online visibility to your competitors . You don’t need to have a fancy production crew to create compelling and useful content for your accounting firm. Use Zoom with a branded background and some solid lighting to make a professional, approachable series of videos that you can use on social media, your website and in email campaigns.
Need ideas for content? Try these ideas:
- Create an onboarding series.
- Create a course in accounting for small businesses.
- Share your expertise in video related to a niche you serve.
Keep the videos short, useful, and actionable then promote them using the platforms mentioned above. This will boost your firm’s SEO and increase client engagement as well as position your firm as progressive and professional to prospects.
Take action on the key online marketing trends for 2022 to grow your firm.
Digital marketing is a key strategy driving accounting firm growth. Having the right strategies and tactics in place will support the growth of your existing client and prospective client relationships.
To learn more about the trends above and others that your firm can use to maximize online marketing efforts in 2022 and beyond, register for the February 3, 2022 webinar: Digital Marketing for Accountants: How To Win New Clients Online.
Sarah is a Content Writer on Method's Marketing team. Her goal is to share strategies that inspire, strengthen, and help small businesses succeed. When she isn’t researching the latest business topics and trends, you can find her reading in the park or working on her short stories.