(The text is not a verbatim transcript but slightly edited for the written word. No content was harmed in the editing.)
Welcome to the latest edition of #3Questions about Social Media. I’m in Finchley, it’s a bit grey today, but I’m here with Stuart Harris, the Friendly Accountant.
Hi there, good morning, Max. Nice to see you again.
Wonderful of you to make the time. Thank you very much, Stuart. Before we start anything else, you are a Chartered Certified Account and Registered Auditor.
That’s it.
And you go under the name of ‘The Friendly Accountant.’ Before we go anywhere else, why ‘Friendly Accountant’?
That came about because I do a lot of networking, which I absolutely love and thoroughly recommend to everyone. And I got a chuckle with it, and I thought I’m going to continue with that. It works nicely for me, and because I am a professional accountant it just sort of lightens the tone slightly.
And there is something else to it. It’s not just a moniker chosen to stand out, you really have a very friendly and mischievous nature.
Stuart, let’s go to the social media question. Which ones are your preferred, most effective social media platforms?
I use three at the moment. I use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. And LinkedIn is actually Facebook for professionals, and I find all three of them equally effective.
And do you prefer any specific medium, text, images, video, slideshows, whatever in your posts?
I try to mix it up a little bit. So if a photo is appropriate, I’ll try and put a photo on. I’ve done that recently. And I’ve also got two videos, which I’m very proud of. So I do plug those from time to time as well.
Yes, I know that you have videos. After all, we created one together a few years ago. But you’re not using videos on a regular basis. You have two videos on your website, you plug them occasionally. Why are you not using video more regularly?
Actually, that is something that I’m probably going to do more in the future. I think it is a very effective way of communicating with existing clients and also potential new clients. Basically, I think it helps address the Frequently Asked Questions issue. A professional accountant is always asked a lot about certain topics, so I think it would be useful for that sort of function.
Absolutely, I couldn’t agree more on this one having experience with a number of accountants and having created frequently asked questions videos. And that, of course, is true for every profession, for every business. It’s not just for accountants. Use your frequently asked questions, and then people can connect with you online.
But back to social media. What are your three top tips for others who want to use social media?
I think I’ve actually got two tips.
One of them is to try a little bit of everything. So, every business, every trade is different.
Also, with the professions, I think I’m fairly careful. Although I am the Friendly Accountant, I do have a silly sense of humour, I still have to try and keep things professional. I try not to bombard people too much but I also try and not make it too dry.
I agree. Social media is very conducive to a quick joke, which could be misplaced. So I fully agree on being quite careful with what you put out as a silly, as silliness although it can be entertaining quite frequently.
Stuart, final bonus question, what’s the best way of contacting you online for people who want to get in touch with you?
Well, all the media we’ve been talking about, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter I can be contacted on. Email address. Phone number as well. I think the phone, in particular, is probably more personal. If someone phones me up I can have a quick chat with them and find out what they need.
OK, I’ll put all these underneath the video on the blog, on YouTube and everywhere. Stuart, thank you very much for having taken the time to be on the Social Media interview today. And now. Let’s go back and get some work done.
Thank you, Max. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
You can follow Stuart Harris on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/friendlyaccountant/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stuartharrisassociates
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stuart_sha
Or contact him:
Website: https://www.sha1.co.uk/
Email: hello( at )sha1.co.uk
Phone: Use the telephone number on the website
Join our Social Media discussion on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/videosforprofessionalservices/
