Having a social media presence in 2020 is just as important as having a website. In fact, often your clients and potential clients will search for you on Facebook before they search for you on Google. While setting up social media accounts for your office is a start, if you don’t regularly post, you’re doing yourself and your business a disservice.

When a current or potential client visits your social media page(s), they want to see fun, engaging, interesting content that will also be of service to them. One of the tricks to doing this is to set up a realistic goal for yourself. Since overly promotional content (think posts asking people to make appointments) doesn’t perform well organically, you want to be sure you can fill your channels with quality content your customers will enjoy.

Make a running list of social media ideas you can pull from when you’re stuck for an idea, or if you’re really organized, you can make a calendar! The key is to remember to post regularly, though. If that means you must limit yourself to only having a Facebook page, that’s just fine! Pick one platform and do it well before expanding to any others.

Sometimes the trickiest part of running a social media account for a business is coming up with posts. We’ve compiled a list of 7 social media ideas for your tax firm to get you started.

1. Go live!

   • Only if you’re comfortable, consider doing a live video! Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn all have the ability to broadcast a live video. The important thing to remember is that it is LIVE, which means you really need to be careful what you’re broadcasting. Watch the backgrounds for anything in appropriate, make sure whoever is on the video uses appropriate language, etc. You CAN take down a live video, but these are the types of videos that get seen by the most people so by the time you do that, often times the damage is already done.

   • Some ideas for a live video include interviews with staff, explaining a tax term or recent legislation decision, showing off your office, Q&A sessions with viewers, etc.

2. Videos

   • If you’re not comfortable with the idea of going live, you can always record a video then post it. The difference here is that you can do a re-take if needed! Videos are the most popular type of content on social media at the moment, so if you have an idea that you think lends itself to a video and would be entertaining for your fans to watch, try it out!

3. Blog articles from other reputable sources

   • This one you want to do only occasionally because typically social media channels don’t like any external links that will take the fan OFF the social media platform. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with posting a blog article here and there from another reputable source. (NATP’s blog is updated regularly!)

4. Tax tips

   • While it doesn’t necessarily need to be tax tips for your clients, think of some sort of content you can post regularly. Maybe it’s a “Tax Tips Tuesday” where you post a common question your clients come to you with and the answer you typically provide. Maybe it’s “Motivation Monday” where you post a quote or something that inspires you. Whatever it is, posting something like that consistently will train your fans to expect to see something from you on that day and look forward to the surprise.

5. Memes, jokes

   • Use caution when posting anything that borders on the line of comical, because there’s always the potential that someone could be seriously offended. Humor doesn’t always translate well, as what’s funny to you isn’t always funny to me. That being said, if you DO find something like a meme or joke that seems to be performing well elsewhere or is inoffensive, post it! People love a good laugh – it will likely get a lot of engagement. Especially if it features a pet!

6. Ask questions/use polling features

   • The point of social media is to build a community and then interact and engage with that community. Asking questions of them is one easy way to do this. Whether it’s posting a simple poll (Facebook and Twitter both have these features built in) about their favorite sports team or asking a more involved question about their favorite hobbies, posting a question of some sort is a great way to get your community talking.

7. Staff profiles

   • If you have an office with other staff members, consider doing brief profiles on each! Include a photo, some of their favorites and any (work-appropriate) nicknames they may have. This gives your fans some insight into who they may encounter when they call or visit.