Case Studies: Social Media Accountants Share Their Success with Facebook, Twitter and More
And so firms of all sizes are engaging in some form of social media efforts, which can range anywhere from gaining basic knowledge of all the available tools and sites, to hiring specific personnel or even having everyone in the firm contribute to social media initiatives.
The reality is that most firms are still feeling their way around with social media and don’t have a clear plan yet. The few that are making some strides are seeing notable results from their efforts. Below are several case studies on how firms are utilizing social media for specific purposes and their experiences in doing so.
Going all in
Firm: Kaufman Rossin / Miami
Size: 300 staff
Product/service(s): Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
Commencement date: Summer/Fall 2010
On record: Social media coordinator Aubrey Swanson
Challenge/objective: Branding the firm as active in social media with a larger goal of recruiting and gaining interest among students and those looking for a career in public accounting.
Amount spent: $100 for gift card, “a few hundred dollars” on giveaways for recruiting events.
Process: Until fairly recently, the firm had not been active in social media. In early February 2010, Swanson – then still a student – joined the staff as an intern with the purpose of researching social media possibilities for the firm. She was hired full time in June of that year to devote her efforts completely to establishing an appropriate and useful social media presence for the firm and coordinating any activities on social media sites.
That summer, Swanson helped design a contest utilizing Facebook as well as Twitter and YouTube. Titled the “Are You Social?” Sweepstakes, the effort launched in late August and lasted until mid-October 2010. As part of the contest, the firm asked Facebook site visitors to describe potentially fun or unique ways in which they were social or utilized social media. The winner received a $100 gift card from TicketMaster to the social event of their choosing.
The firm also utilized a YouTube video, which could be featured on their Facebook page, that featured a 13-minute documentary of individuals around Miami and the South Florida area answering questions regarding what they thought about accountants and if they themselves utilized social media. The end of the video attempted to showcase how accountants at the firm did not fit the professional stereotype.
In addition, the firm utilized Twitter to keep followers informed of the contest and its progress. Efforts to promote the contest and the firm’s social media presence were also made offline at career fairs throughout South Florida, whereby firm representatives gave out talking bottle openers with the Kaufman Rossin Facebook URL, as well as note pads with the Twitter logo and the URLs of all of the firm’s social media sites.
Results: The firm received contest entries from all area colleges and universities, a 13 percent increase in its Facebook fan base, and approximately 300-400 resumes from the campaign. The majority of applicants indicated that they heard about the firm via Facebook and Twitter.
“Another great thing we accomplished from this effort was we attracted students that we may not have before, and also formed better relationships with the career centers at the universities,” said Swanson.
Next steps: The firm added more content to all of its social media sites, which include three different landing pages within Facebook. The Facebook page also contains a career section, complete with photos of firm employees and fresh quotes about their experience and opinions on opportunities at the firm.
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