5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Leverage Your CPA Firm’s Blog

By now people are waking up to the fact that there is a new way of marketing and everything is going digital. If your company isn’t using a blog then consider your website a dinosaur. Blogs are one of the top ways to get more visitors, more leads, and create a community of thought leadership.

But this article isn’t about the importance of blogs, this article is how to leverage your blog beyond just being a platform to publish content.

Here are 5 things you can do right now to get the most leverage out of your firm’s blog:

1. Use the firm blog to showcase a thought leader/industry expert:

• Everyone wants to consider their firm the go-to company in its industry, but the truth is that the more you can do to distinguish yourself from your biggest competitors, the more effective your marketing program will be. Adding a blog into the mix is definitely a way to illustrate the knowledge and expertise of the partners in a firm. When they write on a prospect’s pain or issue they become a “go to” source for more information in the future.
• At the end of each blog it’s a great idea to create a mini bio of the author with  links to their actual bio page, phone number or even email address. This gives the partner additional credit and a way to get the reader to invest more in the person, not just the company.
• Most blog platforms allow the publisher to tag the article with specific keywords but you should also be tagging each blog post with the author’s name. By creating an author tag you automatically create a searchable term, and if a reader likes what the author has to say, they can find more blog articles written by them.
• A blog gives a partner an outlet to publish their personal reviews, points of view and expert opinions on a new regulation or industry breaking news. By adding this personal touch, you are allowing a reader to get to know you as a thought leader, and more than just a partner at the firm.

2. Use the firm’s blog to convert a prospect:

• If there is a hot pain or issue out there that’s worth writing a whitepaper about then that same topic is probably worth writing a 600-word supporting blog article. You can then offer the downloadable piece of content within the blog post itself. 
• I once read a blog article that said the best time to capture a subscriber is while they are reading one of your blog posts. Use each blog post as a way to get people to subscribe to the blog or monthly newsletter. Check out the call to action button at bottom of this article for an example.

3. Use the firm’s blog to showcase other pages on your website:

• Use internal links within a blog post to drive readers to other parts of your website. If there is a topic that you are blogging about and your firm’s website also has a specific web page on that topic, then make it easy for the reader to get to that specific page by linking a keyword to that page. So if you were an inbound marketing agency for CPA firms for example, you could links words like lead generation.

4. Use the firm’s blog to publish a series or “expert opinion” articles:

• Some of our clients have content that doesn’t quite make sense to publish as a whitepaper, but also is a bit too long to squish into one blog article. In this case, creating some type of topical series or ask-the-expert series is a perfect way to publish that content.
• Right now video is also a popular way to publish a series. By creating mini 1-3 minute videos you are giving dimension to your blogging arsenal. It’s also a fun, easy and quick way to interview industry experts without having to write.  

5. Use the firm’s blog to dominate a keyword:

• Search engines love blogs for several reasons, but the one I’m going to focus on is the fact that Google pays attention to sites that serve up relevant, helpful and optimized content. If your website is acting like an online brochure then the chances of Google ranking you on a specific keyword is not as great as the firm who is constantly publishing fresh, interesting content on that keyword. If your firm is an expert in one niche, then your partners should be writing frequently on that niche’s pain points.

Some of these things are a bit obvious but overlooked. It’s easy to get tied up and not give regular attention to a blog, but the importance of blogging should always outweigh any other excuses. If you start to execute the tips above I can promise there will be a rise in visits and more lead conversions. At the end of the day, isn’t that what we want out of the blogging anyway?