The IRS launched a YouTube video site and an iTunes podcast site to help taxpayers take full advantage of the tax provisions in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The IRS YouTube channel will debut with seven videos in English and American Sign Language and eight in Spanish, featuring such topics as the $8,000 first-time homebuyer’s credit, the sales or excise tax deduction on new car purchases, and the expanded credits for education and energy conservation. Also, included will be a video on using the IRS Withholding Calculator. People can visit the audio site at iTunes to listen to IRS podcasts about Act’s tax credits, or listen to those same podcasts in English and Spanish at the Multimedia Center on www.irs.gov . News Release IR-2009-76 .

Social Media tactics are great tools for Not-for-Profits.  From Linked IN to Facebook, the opportunity to reach millions is waiting. In this presentation I made for the Salvation Army, a popular question came up about how to identify which tools to use and how can time be managed when using these tools?

Here is my simple list on how to develop a social media plan for any organization:

1.) Identify your two or three goals. (If a SM tool doesn’t compliment these goals, don’t do it)

2.) Identify your audience. Find out who they are and where they are conversing.

3.) Pick 2 or 3 tools that will help you reach your goals and your audience. Once you have successfully implemented those tools, then try new ones.

All in all SM efforts should be seen as strategic marketing/branding initiative.  If you don’t want to get caught up in the black hole that SM can be, go in with a clear goal and only do what makes sense.

More questions about eMedia, Social Media or this presentation, contact Jennifer Hertzig.

By: Kristin Gentry
Savvy Social Media Marketing

As seen on WebCPA: Featuring BCG&Co.

A Firm 2.0 is one that utilizes Web 2.0 technology to create efficiency and improve productivity in all aspects of its operations.

In my last article, Strategic Growth Planning in a New Participatory Culture, I addressed the top five principles of a Web 2.0 application and how to apply those to your firm’s growth strategy. Now let’s stretch ourselves further out of our comfort zones and discuss the new generation of accounting firm, Firm 2.0.

Day Three: Mark

Today, I met with Jenny Hertzig, the marketing coordinator for BCG & Company.  She is really the only one who works on the marketing for the accounting and HR consulting practices, so she has a lot of responsibilities.  I learned a lot about the social networking aspect of marketing a business.  This firm uses many sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is a social networking site for business professionals to meet and discuss certain issues that they may be able to help each other out with.  People can also connect with long-lost friends from school who are now out in the business world.  The most important aspect, however, is informing people about your company, finding new employers or employees, and looking for possible new clients.  I had never heard of this professional networking site, but now I have my own profile on there.  It will become much more relevant and helpful to me as I progress through college looking for internship opportunities during summer.  By the time I graduate college, many of my peers will have joined this networking site as well.

I also learned about the marketing outside of the social networking systems.  The BCG website was completely redesigned last year, and she  monitors it to see what parts of it people visit the most.  By using the data she collects from internet sources that tells her what people have been looking at on the BCG site, she can make changes to optimize potential customer satisfaction.  Although much of the advertising is done over the internet, some marketing is still done through print sources.  One major place that companies use to advertise is the yellow pages.  BCG has decided to use less print sources because they are unsure if they really attract many new customers.  Jenny found that spending large sums of money to keep their face in the phone book may be unnecessary.  Instead, they advertise on sites such as Google.  When a person browsing the internet types in a search for something such as ‘business valuation advice,’ they will probably see an advertisement for BCG & Company on the right side of the web page.  There are many new ways to advertise, so companies must stay current with technology to effectively market themselves.

Today was much more productive and active than the first day at BCG&Co.  For the majority of the day I was filing different paperwork, such as the CPE documents and invoices for various vendors and clients.  Later in the day I met with Jenny and she told me about the different marketing techniques that the company uses. I found Linked In to be very interesting because she described it as the Facebook for professionals. She suggested that I create an account while I am in college so I can get help from accounting professionals and also post my resume or credentials for potential job openings.

Jenny also informed me about the company’s Twitter and Facebook pages, which also aid the social networking process. She is also able to see how many people visit the company’s website and what the majority of them are looking at. The marketing part of BCG&Co. was very interesting and was a lot of information to take in but it helped me to gain a better understanding of everything that is going on here.

Whether for yourself or on behalf of your company, branding yourself as a subject matter expert can have exponential impact on your professional career. With all the social media tools available, it is easier than ever to promote yourself and your knowledge.

Not sure where to start?
In this  post  “10 Steps to Personal Branding Success”from Joe Pulizzi, Co-Author, Get Content Get Customers and Founder of Junta42 he emphasizes that you don’t have to do it all to be successful, “The most important part is that you pick the steps you can commit to and consistently execute those steps.”

10 Steps to Personal Branding Success
by Joe Pulizzi

1. Update Your Online Profiles Now. LinkedIn, Facebook, and your Google profileare the most important. If you don’t have it already, buy your domain name. As a standard practice, all business cards you collect should be sent invitiations via LinkedIn. Finally, hire a professional to take your picture.
2. Start a Blog/Get Involved in the Conversation. I use WordPress and TypePad for my blogs, and you can be up and running with either in a short period of time. Follow and comment on the top 10 – 20 blogs where your customers are hanging out. Answer questions on LinkedIn Answers and Yahoo! Answers. Follow your name, brands and keywords at Google Alerts. Find and get active in a Google Group that makes sense.

Make sure you read the full post  for the other eight steps.