> Whilst social media has pervaded the majority of consumerfocused industries, its use in B2B sectors is only in 2012

beginning to be considered seriously.

> Industries that have been traditionallyclosed to sharing information andcollaboration, and have acted behindclosed doors, are being challenged tooperate according to the new laws ofmarketing and customer communications.

> This poses a problem for those B2Bcompanies, particularly in industries suchas finance, law and accountancy, that arefaced with changing their internal practicesand fundamental ethos of working if theywish to use social channels to aid growthand manage brand.

> Faceless corporates are increasinglybeing encouraged to take a humanapproach and interact on consumer ledsocial channels. B2B firms need to learnthat there are valuable conversationstaking place outside LinkedIn and find newways to work that encourage a people topeople style of interaction with customersand prospects.

> In this, our second report looking intothe social media practices of specificindustries, we have taken an in-depthlook at 60 accountancy firms ranked in theAccountancy Age Top 50+50.

> A survey undertaken by CC H and YouGovhighlighted that when accountancy firmswere asked what the top methods werefor bringing in new clients, 78% said word-of-mouth, 40% personal networking andjust 9% of the 99 firms surveyed said socialmedia. 38% of these firms also said theywere not likely to make the move todigital.

> Using Flagship Consulting’s ownalgorithm, we highlight those firms’currently using social channels to thegreatest advantage and demonstrate howaccountancy firms can, and should, utilisesocial media as ways of doing businessevolve.

INTRODUCTION

> This report is based on the analysis of the social media activity of the top 60accountancy firms ranked by Accountancy Age, based on fee income.

> To evaluate activity, Flagship Consultingdeveloped an algorithm that takes intoaccount a variety of existing socialevaluation tools such as Peer Index, Kloutscore and Marketing Grader, as well asFacebook analysis.

> Our evaluation has shown that, on thewhole, those companies which performedwell on the Accountancy Age top firms listalso tended to have stronger levels ofsocial media engagements.

> The Top Five social media accountancyfirms are Ernst and Young, Tax AssistAccountants, PwC, Deloitte and Baker Tilly,respectively.

> Although these brands are ranked highlyfor their social media activity, they do soin an industry that has yet to come to gripswith social marketing. Their presence onsocial shows a willingness to embracethe medium, but accountancy firms mustmove away from broadcasting on socialmedia and proactively engage in twoway communication with individuals onsocial networks. This will have a positiveimpact not only on amplification of brandMessages, but also on recruitment andtransparency.

> On Facebook there is a lack of brandpages across organisations, with manychoosing just a page for interaction withgraduates. As this is still the largest socialmedia network, a broader link targeting allstakeholders would provide the greatestROI.

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

> To measure brand activity consistently and accurately across channels,Flagship Consulting used a number of tools that took into account:

• Strength of presenceand interaction on Twitter

METHOD

• Engagement throughtheir website and blog

• Interactions andcommunity strengthon Facebook

> To measure this information, analysis from Klout, PeerIndex and Marketing Grader was taken intoconsideration and evaluated to create a score out of 100. As few firms listed have a Facebookpresence, we evaluated engagement levels from those who did and used this to give extraweighting to their score.

> Marketing Grader assesses the onlinemarketing of an organisation throughthree levels of grading – Top of the Funnel,Middle of the Funnel and Analytics.

• Top of the Funnel assesses the salesand marketing in terms of how wellan organisation brings visitors to thewebsite.

• Middle of the Funnel looks at how well anorganisation manages to get traffic to itswebsite.

• Lastly, analytics look at measurementsto evaluate marketing activities that are/are not working and whether successesand failures have been

> Klout is measured by how often anaccount creates content that drivesengagement, and therefore influencesothers, by looking at influence online fromdata across social networks.

INTRODUCTION

> PeerIndex is the measurement ofinteractions across the Internet todetermine impact on social media.

> A score on PeerIndex is a measure ofonline authority and reflects the impact ofonline activities. It measures the extent towhich a person or company has built asocial capital and online reputation.

> Ernst & Young is the top performer onsocial media, with regular posts on Twitterwhich provide information that frequentlylinks to its website, complementing SEOefforts.

> However, there is not a great deal ofproactive engagement and Twitter couldbe better used to stir debate and engagecommunities on the platform.

> The website is well structured andcontains relevant information forconsumers, businesses and potentialemployees. There are also specific links toits social media channels.

> Its Facebook page has a high levelof engagement, with an average of 12posts, shares or likes per comment. Theinformation is timely, relevant andlinks to current affairs issues that relate toaccountancy, which creates discussion.There is also a fast response rate forquestions about career opportunities.

1. ERNST & YOUNG

> On Twitter, @TaxAssistUK has donea successful job in demonstrating its focuson small businesses. The inclusion of aperson (female) as its profile picturemakes the account much more human andtherefore more engaging. Posts areconsistent and provide links to both thewebsite and current issues. @TaxAssistUKalso provides feedback and answers to anyquestions asked by followers, although itcould be more proactive in outreachingand taking part in non-brandconversations.

> While TaxAssist Accountants has a highlyengaging Twitter Feed, its Facebook pagerequires further development to guideinteraction from fans. There is good use oflinking to images, although there is littlefeedback and content is not engaging itsaudience.

2. TAXASSIST ACCOUNTANTS

> @PwC_UK has a bright Twitter page withimages highlighting the company’s workand events. While there are close to 11,000followers, there could still be more use ofoutreach and interaction. The tone isupbeat and casual, yet still provides highlevels of information that would bevaluable for its business audience.

> On Facebook, there are posts thathighlight the latest work within PwC, withlinks to its website. However, the page failsto respond to career enquiries efficiently.There is a minimal amount of engagementon the page and there is noacknowledgement by the brand whenusers share information on the page.

3. PwC

> The @DeloitteUK Twitter feed averagesapproximately 3-4 posts per day, withinformation that links to its website. Thereis also a good use of retweeting to increaseEngagement, but no conversations orquestions which could be used to provokeinteractions from its community.

> Deloitte (global)’s Facebook pageprovides a continuous stream of relevantposts that are highly engaged with, andprovide excellent insight into, the brandand its personality. There is a great deal ofproactive engagement and endorsementsfrom fans which reinforce the brandpositioning. The brand’s custom tab linksthrough to a branded section providingstrong video content and links to othersocial channels. Of all the brands reviewed,Deloitte’s Facebook page is the mostsuccessful.

4. DELOITTE

> @BakerTilly has more than 2,600followers on Twitter, with an average of 3-4posts per day. The information posted isinformative and generally links back to itswebsite. However, there is no outreach orconversation with followers.

> The Baker Tilly International Facebookpage is global, and provides informationabout charities supported, awards received,graduate information and interactivevideos. It receives an average of 2 piecesof engagement per post (in the form ofa like, comment or share) and providesinformation that is more personalised thanits Twitter page.

> Baker Tilly’s branding is clearly alignedacross its website, Twitter feed andFacebook with thorough and relevant useof linking and content sharing.

5. BAKER TILLY

> @BishopFlemingUK’s Twitter is veryEngaging, with retweets and informationlinking to other people to follow. Tweetsare varied and include questions andinformation about the industry and BishopFleming. The page proactively outreachesto others and is very conversational.

> Bishop Fleming’s Facebook page iscurrently operating solely as an additionalplatform to share information, via pressreleases. There is no interaction orengagement with its community.

> Bishop Fleming has established greatbranding of a ‘lifestyle’ organisation withits ‘Aspire to success’ slogan, and has acomprehensive website that is easily readand navigated.

6. BISHOP FLEMING

> @GrantThorntonUK’s post rate is high,with approximately 5 posts per day. Theseinclude retweets, information about newstaff, its organisation and the industry.There are lots of tweets about speakerswithin the organisation and events theyare attending. However, there is a lack ofinteraction and response when peoplereach out with questions.

> While Grant Thornton is currently lackingan all-encompassing Facebook page, itdoes have a Recruitment UK page thatallows interaction to occur with potentialnew graduates. This tone of interaction islighter; posts include information aboutpop culture, including references to the TVshow ‘The Apprentice’, as well ascompetitions that allow students to furthertheir skills.

> While this is successful, it could increaseits social media influence with theinclusion of a brand page.

7. GRANT THORNTON UK

> KPMG in the UK averages approximately4 posts per day across a wide range ofinformation - including video content andinformative industry information. Itcurrently has over 5,000 followers.

> While KPMG does not have an all-encompassing UK Facebook page, it doeshave a page that focuses specifically onGraduate Recruitment. This page providesinformation about upcoming vacancyopportunities, as well as more of a‘lighthearted’ tone with jokes (whilestudents are revising for exams), newsupdates and links to KPMG achievements.This page has more than 6,000 ‘likes’ andallows for an interactive platform betweenKPMG and graduates.

> KPMG is currently lacking outreach andinteraction with its online communityacross all channels. At present there isgood communication with graduates,however this could be strengthened bycommunication with all stakeholders.

8. KPMG

> @bdoaccountant is a strong feed withregular updates and good levels ofinteraction. The feed is engaged with reallife events taking place in the company,such as awards, and uses Twitter as anextra arm for its marketing efforts. Thefeed has a positive and fun personalitythat is engaging and relevant for followers.

> BDO LLP UK does not have an activeFacebook page.

> BDO appears high on this list due to itsengaging Twitter account and excellentwebsite, which offers interactive servicessuch as the section entitled ‘Talk Shop’ –where business leaders offer theirpersonal thoughts and views on currentbusiness issues. The website presents abold layout and easy navigation to sourcecontent.

9. BDO LLP

> @SJDA ccountancy has a well brandedTwitter feed with an average of 1-2 postsper day. These posts include informationabout the industry and its organisation,however there is little outreach to andfrom followers. The branding aligns withthe website, which provides links to thevarious areas of information.

> The Facebook page currently looks like abasic RSS feed, with notes that showcaselatest press releases. The community hasnot yet been established and there is noengagement at present.

> SJD’s strength lies in its website, which hasgood levels of content, syndicated blogsand interactive elements.

10. SJD ACCOUNTANCY

> Those companies performing best on social media include a blendof the big four as well as more nimble firms, able to alter their practices

to be more in line with current marketing styles.

> For the larger firms operating in thisspace, their sheer size and resource – bothfinancial and human – means that they cansuccessfully implement a social strategythat will position them as thought leaders.Smaller firms may not have the samefinancial clout but, as we have seen, cantake a more human approach to onlinecommunications that deliver greaterdividends – allowing them to compete inthe same space as multinationalfirms.

> Predictably, proactive engagement andoutreach remain low. Instead, accountancyfirms tend to use social media as a meansto distribute content rather than createconversations around it. Few firms can beseen to produce content specifically forsocial media purposes, meaning manyfeeds on social channels appear to simplybe an off-shoot as an aid to a greaterSEO/content marketing campaign.

> The content being shared on socialchannels by the majority of firms is notopinion led and fails to take into accountconversations taking place online.Accountants should focus on monitoringthese conversations to provide relevantbranded context to offer value to theirsocial audience, nurture leads and engagecustomers.

CONCLUSION