Archive for the ‘Online networking’ Category
Is it worth the time it takes to learn how to use social media?
A lot of people choose not to explore social media as they don’t have the time. In effect they want to know if they will be able to identify a ROI for the time spent learning about and engaging with other people through online social media?
In the same way as you might ask the question – Is it worthwhile trying to learn a foreign language?
The analogy isn’t perfect – they never are. But I think it’s fair to suggest that you wouldn’t expect a good ROI if you spent time learning Chinese but never went to China, engaged with other Chinese speakers or read any Chinese books/magazines.
If you were to ask – Is it worth me learning to speak Chinese for business purposes the answer would probably be ‘NO’ – unless you anticipated that your customers, suppliers, or business would have some involvement with China and Chinese speakers in the future.
If you were uncertain as to how much business there might be in or with China in the future you would be unable to predict the ROI for the time it might take you to study, practice and learn Chinese. BUT, after a little investigation you would be right to weigh up the time, effort and money involved and to consider whether there might be better ways to invest it. Maybe there’s another language you would be better off learning first or instead?
And in the future, when you look back at the time, effort and money expended on learning Chinese you would be able to determine if it had been worthwhile. You might also be able to identify the value of orders and the profits that you can attribute to having learned Chinese.
I doubt that there are many people who take a crash course in Chinese but spend little time learning how to pronounce Chinese words, make a hash of writing Chinese characters and don’t attempt to learn anything about Chinese culture or the differences in the way that the Chinese address each other and approach business. Such people would be unlikely to ever achieve any ROI or benefit from their half-hearted attempt to learn Chinese. And if we’d known how they were going to approach it we could have predicted that outcome. It’s the same with social media. Indeed I’ve heard it said that some people approach social media as clumsily as some people visiting a foreign country. It’s like a Brit who visits China and tries to converse in French.
Anticipating the usual drivers for accountants I wrote a piece last year on Blogging myths for accountants. And then another explaining why I thought that ‘Twitter is not for accountants‘. I’ve since shared a range of tips and advice for those who want to experiment with twitter. If you are inclined to experiment with blogging, to find out more about twitter or any other social media, online networking or business forums I would suggest that you bear in mind the analogy above.
The issue you then need to resolve is that if you want the investment of your time to be worthwhile, you will need to consider how you will ‘use’ the media. However, until you learn more about social media you won’t be able to assess how you will ‘use’ it. Catch-22?
“Social” vs anti-social networking
Whenever I am asked to speak about ’social’ networking to audiences of professional advisers I insist on the quote marks. In my experience most advisers aren’t excited by the the idea of social activities when they’re working. And if anyone wants to encourage accountants (and, I would expect, most other professional advisers) to get involved with social media it’s worth recognising that the ’social’ prefix can be a big turn-off.
During my talks I explain that it can help to think of social, simply as the converse of ANTI-social. And that’s especially important when you are considering the business potential of online social networks. You need to avoid being seen as ANTI-social.
Imagine someone you know, another accountant maybe, has moved to a new village and has popped into the local village pub to meet some of the locals. Or imagine your friend joined an exercise class or a local dance class. Or any sort of club. Would it be SOCIAL if your friend started by shouting out to everyone about their accountancy practice? If they stood there shouting requests for tax queries that they could answer? Or just stood up and told everyone that they are now the new local accountant?
If someone did behave like that would it be social or ANTI—social?
What would you say if your friend told you that it was a waste of time moving to the village as there are no new clients there, no new suppliers, no advocates, no one has referred any clients to them and everyone seems quite unfriendly. If your friend did complain after behaving like that, whose fault do you think it would be? The villagers or your friend who’d simply arrived out of the blue and shouted their mouth off, expecting to somehow win over the local inhabitants without spending any time building a relationship first?
Many online social networks are like local communities. If you want to gain any value from your involvement you first need to engage fellow ‘villagers’ in conversation. This is very different to any other form of marketing activity which generally consists of broadcasting your views, ideas and marketing messages.
So – a big tip if you intend to experiment with social media – is to avoid shouting and broadcasting. You may be online but the norms of social behaviour are equally important. Think about how you can be social, rather than anti-social.
In an earlier post on this blog – Social Networking for Accountants (part one) I noted that some ‘online communities’ have more of a social than business focus and thus appear to focus on ’social networking’. Others appear to be focused more on business related networking. Don’t be fooled though. Professional advisers are generally chosen and referred by reference to a personal relationship and these take time to build. I am coming around to the view that you can build more relationships faster online than offline and that effective online networking is worth accountants exploring.
If you’ve heard other accountants or professional advisers complain that online social networking is a waste of time, you may want to consider whether that’s simply their experience. It could well be a function of their approach. Were they actually social or anti-social?
If you’re an experienced social networker, please share your views below about what works and what doesn’t when someone new joins a forum or online network. Many thanks
Does 'social' networking force you to REDUCE your fees?
It seems there is a tricky balance to be made here. I’ve written previously about how networking, whether online or offline, can be an effective way to secure new clients of the type you want – just as long as those with whom you network know enough about you, like you, trust you and know the sort of referrals that can help you.
I’ve recently seen the results of some research from the respected Kellogg school of management in the USA. The Price of a Billable Hour – Social networks affect transaction costs. The summary is dated July 2009 but the research itself seems to date back to 2004 and thus pretty much predates the rise of online ’social’ networking.
Nevertheless, this research highlights what may be a key disadvantage of networking – especially online where we are encouraged to include social and personal material rather than to have a solely business focus. (Although I would always advise caution and remind you that anything posted online will be there for all time. It could come back to haunt you if it is too personal, unprofessional or otherwise indiscreet).
To paraphrase one key finding, the research suggests that you will charge lower fees to your friends than to clients with whom you share no social interactions. And put like that it’s almost obvious isn’t it?
In the UK, Barristers are often perceived to be more expensive than solicitors and, in general, they are perceived as less approachable. Is there a correlation?
One conclusion that could be drawn is that you will end up charging lower fees to clients ‘won’ as a result of relationships developed through ’social’ networking. I wonder whether, for example, regular attenders at weekly BNI breakfast meetings charge their fellow group members the same fee levels as would be charged to new clients who are total strangers? Maybe any reduction in normal fees is justified if the client in question is a regular and reliable introducer of new clients.
I’m curious as to whether real life supports the conclusion drawn from the above research. And how you feel about it.
I’d appreciate your views as comments below or by email to the usual address.
* Relevant previous posts include:
What does Networking have in common with inheritance tax planning?
This is a first. It’s the first time I’ve had something to blog where I can see how it could fit on any or even all 3 of my blogs!
- It sounds like a riddle or joke – so would fit well on: Accountant jokes and fun
- It includes reference to tax planning – so would seem well suited to the TaxBuzz blog
- On reflection though, the rationale for the post is related to my advice and tips for ambitious accountants.
Earlier this week I was chatting with a nice guy who has been on a sabbatical since taking early retirement from a public sector role. He is now thinking about what he’s going to do next and is quite happy to accept that he may need to start networking once he secures a position.
I suggested this was to confuse networking* with selling. He would be much better off to start networking asap. Networking to build relationships. Networking to identify ways in which he can help other people. And Networking to build a deep and wide network of people who know him, like him and trust him. This cannot be done overnight.
It’s the same with inheritance tax planning. Ideally one would do this at least seven years before dying. I’m not suggesting that you need to start networking seven years before you hope to reap the benefits. Of course not. It’s just that seven years pre-death is the optimum time to start inheritance tax planning. Of course it’s not possible as you rarely know when that seven year period begins. Still, if you leave it too late your inheritance tax planning may be ineffective.
So, returning to Networking: If you want to achieve promotion and advancement within your firm you will generally increase your chances if you are well known and liked before your name is first mentioned as a potential partner. If you are thinking of setting up your own practice, how much easier would it be if you were already well known in the local community – by people who could become clients, recommend clients or help you source trusted suppliers? You get the picture.
If you leave it too late to start networking you could come across as desperate, needy and ill-prepared. In effect if you leave it too late your networking efforts will be ineffective – for a while at least.
* Relevant previous posts include:
The BIGGEST misconception about Twitter
A recent study suggests that 40% of tweets are “pointless babble“. Regular readers might expect me to agree, especially if you recall an earlier post here: Twitter is not for accountants.
And whilst I appreciate the scientific nature of the study I fear it misses the point. It also panders to those in the media who know no better than to report such a statistic as evidence of twitter being an over-hyped waste of time.
So, given my own enthusiasm for twitter I think the time has come to clarify some misconceptions – especially the one that is reinforced by that study. If I stimulate your interest then in future posts I will share some more positive tips, ideas and insights. Indeed I’m planning a short series on the subject and will list all such posts on the twitter page of this blog.
But there’s no point in explaining how to get started if you have no interest in it due to misleading media reports. So we have to start by addressing some of the misconceptions surrounding twitter. And the biggest one is down to those in the media who still think that twitter is a ‘micro blogging website where users post inane messages telling each other the answer to a standard question: “What are you doing right now?” Indeed plenty of people think this such that 40% of tweets are “pointless babble”. BUT I use twitter without ever seeing that babble. And you can too.
Let me offer you an analogy. It involves thinking about another medium that is less controversial and more established – satellite TV. You’re probably aware that these days we can choose from hundreds of satellite tv stations.
Let’s imagine however that when satellite tv started you simply had a choice of numerous pop music and shopping channels. Assume again that neither subject was of interest to you. So you didn’t get a satellite tv. Moving forwards a few years and now of course the choice of channels is much wider although there are still plenty of music and shopping channels. If someone told you today not to get a satellite tv because it’s full of music and shopping channels you’d question their sanity. Simply stated satellite tv allows you to choose which channels to watch. You only watch those of interest.
It’s EXACTLY the same with twitter. You need only follow people you find of interest. If someone you are following posts stuff you think is ‘rubbish’, uninteresting or “pointless babble” you simply stop following them. This is even better than changing channels as if you stop following someone you need never see any of their rubbish ever again.
So, with that out of the way I hope I’ve resolved any concern you might have had about the content you can find on twitter. Yes, there are plenty of shopping and music channels. However I never watch them and you don’t need to do so either.
I’ll explain a simple way in which you can start up on twitter very shortly.
Plenty of other misconceptions surround twitter so I’ll also be posting more on this subject. In the meantime please add your own comments below re twitter misconceptions of which you’re aware.
A twitter case study and intro for professional advisers
Twitter seems a bizarre concept. In theory you post brief messages (up to 140 characters at a time) about what you’re doing and these are seen by your ‘followers’. Equally you can read what other people who you’re following say they’re doing.
In practice ‘tweets’ are far more varied than some of the media would have you believe.
Through twitter I have secured attendees at my seminars, traffic to my websites and to my blogs. I have also benefitted from having my messages ReTweeted to wider audiences than the people who ‘follow’ me. And following links from other people’s tweets has led to useful material for my blogs. I’ve also started to build online relationships and have experienced strangers acting as my advocate.
Each time I add new posts to my Ambitious Accountants blog, my TaxBuzz blog or my Accountant jokes blogs an automatic Tweet goes out with a link back to the new blog post. And it’s not only my ‘followers’ who get to see them. Many people search twitter for real time commentary and then tell others.
So, for me twitter is shaping up as a fun business tool. But, do I think many UK accountants will become active on twitter? No. It’s too time consuming as compared with other ways in which they can achieve their business objectives. In this connection I refer back to a blog post I wrote last December in which I explained why ‘Twitter is not for accountants’. My views are unchanged despite knowing a handful of accountants who are now active on twitter – some are even enthusiastic about it. Maybe more will try it out, but I doubt many will stay the course (for business).
Twitter is the latest phenomenon in the area of ‘online business networking’. Business or social? It depends how you choose to use twitter, what you tweet about and who you follow. If you follow all the internet marketing enthusiasts, the celebrity twitterers and the novices who don’t really ‘get it’ you’ll certainly consider twitter a waste of time.
You may know some of your ‘followers’ personally. Others will find you through friends, through real time searches re accountancy and tax subjects or subjects o mutual interest. There are loads of would be twitter spammers – but if you don’t follow them they can’t spam you! And you choose who you follow. If you don’t like the way that someone tweets, ‘unfollow’ them.
I doubt many of my followers read all of my tweets. I certainly don’t have time to read all those of all the people I follow. Many of them in fact only tweet occasionally. As well as friends and business associates I follow other commentators, some journalists, some firms, some publications and some organisations. Many are still experimenting with their twitter strategy – as am I.
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If you decide to join in, by all means follow me at www.twitter.com/BookMarkLee. I’ve explained my approach in more details on the twitter page of this blog.
Through the Tax Advice Network I also write the The Tax Buzz blog and twitter feed which you can follow at www.twitter.com/TheTaxBuzz
UK accountants are listed on the UK tax and accountancy twitter listing/league here: www.TaxAdviceNetwork.co.uk/twitter At the time of writing this has about 50 names on it – not all are accountants in practice. [edit: June 2009. Now c80 names]
There are also twitter twibes for those interested in UKaccountants, UKtax and TaxBuzz. If you are on twitter you can join these too if you like.
And if you have a contrary view, whether you are an accountant or not, please add your comments to this post.
Video interview – is twitter worth the effort?
In this recent video interview Dennis Howlett asked me about my use of Twitter and my views on accountants’ networking strategy. It lasts around 4 minutes.
I’d appreciate feedback – whether you agree or disagree with my views.
Social Networking for Accountants (part one)
This is the inevitable follow up to my recent posts: Twitter is not for accountants, If you’re not on Facebook you need to be on LinkedIn and Blogging myths for accountants.
I am probably one of the most active UK accountants on what are commonly referred to as ’social networks’. I prefer the term ‘online communities’. Some have more of a social than business focus. Others are evidently only for business related networking. And some of these miss the fact that professional services (such as accountancy services and tax advice) are provided by INDIVIDUALS, not by businesses. And People buy People. The brand message, especially of the bigger firms, MAY provide a degree of comfort and reassurance but in the main the ’sale’, the engagement and the services will be attributed to individual advisers. RELATIONSHIPS are not built up overnight – whether in a business or a social context.
That’s one of the reasons why I am so excited by the developments in online communities. It’s also one of the reasons why I started my own in 2007 (The Tax Advice Network) although it’s not as sophisticated as the more mainstream communities. That’s deliberate as I’d like to think that I know and understand my main target audience (accountants in practice in the UK). I speak to thousands of them at conferences and seminars around the UK each year. I don’t sense very much real interest (yet) in online networking and online communities. When it happens I’ll be ready for it – or maybe I will inspire it?!
For the moment there are a few sites that facilitate and encourage accountants to post blogs (but see my expose of Blogging myths for accountants), to comment on current news threads and to ask and answer technical questions.
I’ll write about these in a subsequent blog. I’ll also discuss and highlight some of the non-accountant specific business and social online networks and how accountants could benefit from becoming more involved with these – and how to do so without wasting loads of time. But there’s no rush. None will become mainstream for accountants in practice in the UK in 2009 (for much the same reason as to why Twitter is not for accountants.
What else would you suggest that I address on this subject?
