Social media is a powerful tool when used correctly. When used as an afterthought, it can actually steer potential clients away. An inactive, or poorly executed social media strategy, is worse than not having a social media presence.
Know your niche: identify your ideal client
If you already have a niche picked out, you certainly have an idea of who your ideal client is. It’s a helpful exercise to create a profile of your ideal client. When creating this profile it’s important to consider the person, not the company.
At Prix Fixe Accounting, our target company is upscale full-service restaurants with a focus on sustainability. When looking at individuals, we are looking for people that have decision-making power: chefs, general managers, front of house managers, operations managers, and restaurateurs. When we break this down even further, we are looking for millennials and generation Xers who are not only making between $50-150k and live in densely populated areas with a good restaurant scene, but also have interests in cooking, wine, beer, and cocktails.
Look at other companies with different services, but similar clients
This sort of psychoanalysis is a little tricky the first time around. It’s often helpful to look at other companies that are looking to target the exact same person as you.
In our case, point of sale companies are a great example. If you work with photographers, it might be a camera equipment rental company or editing software. You can look for white papers or articles that they have written that explicitly talk about their strategy, or just take a gander through their social media.
Think outside of the ideal company: they’re not your only source of leads
A common misconception is that your ideal client is the only business that you are targeting. Many times, there are companies out there that want to give you business because it makes their lives easier. Other niche firms, or CPAs, are great examples.
As “niching” becomes more common, other industry professionals are going to need to refer leads that aren’t a good fit for their own firm. When these bookkeepers and accountants are thinking of where to send this restaurant lead, our goal is to make sure that Prix Fixe Accounting is the first name to come to mind.
With that in mind, there may be other social media networks in mind that are different than what your target client uses.
So, what network should I use?
You do not need to be on every social media network. In fact, you shouldn’t be. Chances are, if you are looking for retail companies, you are wasting your time being on linkedin or Twitter.
However, if you are targeting consultants, you’re right where you should be. It’s also worth saying that you should also consider what social media you are good at. Normally, one wouldn’t think that Wendy’s should waste their time with Twitter, but their profile is absolutely amazing:
