A recent OnPay survey found that over one out of four accounting professionals have made it a top priority to improve their social media presence and increase brand awareness this year. It’s no surprise that professionals in the accounting space have this on their minds, as the marketing landscape continues to evolve and create new opportunities for visibility and client acquisition.
In this article, we’ll look at why branding is becoming a priority for accounting firms, where to begin, and what some CPAs who’ve done it successfully have to say.
Why is branding important?
First things first, branding isn’t just for consumer products or large corporations. For accounting professionals, a strong brand establishes credibility, differentiates you from competitors, and helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace. Your brand encompasses your expertise, values, service, and quality. It can even highlight the unique perspective you bring to financial matters.
Before potential clients even contact you, a well-thought-out brand helps them understand what makes your practice unique and whether you’re the right fit for their needs. It provides a foundation for all marketing efforts from your website to digital advertising and creates consistency across client touchpoints. That said, some firms may think that checking a few boxes is all it takes.
To learn more, we spoke with Katie Thomas, a 40 Under 40 CPA Practice Advisor honoree and the founder and owner of Leaders Online LLC, a digital marketing agency for accountants and CPAs.
“Many accountants think branding means you hired someone on Fiverr to make a logo, you have a website, and your company puts out social media posts,” she says. “That’s a good start, but truthfully, that’s just ‘brand decoration’. Real branding is how people feel about working with you and for you.”
— Katie Thomas, CPA and owner of Leaders Online LLC
So, what’s at stake if you let others control the narrative? “The biggest risk isn’t just what is being said about you — it’s also what’s not being said. Your competitors are out there, actively showing up, shaping perceptions, and creating connections,” explains Katie. “They’re influencing your ideal clients, top talent, and even referral partners, prior to ever speaking to you.”
Business owners don’t rely on one resource
Brand consistency is important because today’s business owners and decision-makers have a lot of information at their fingertips when researching service providers, whether it’s invoicing software or the accounting practice they choose. From search engines to Instagram to niche email newsletters, businesses rely on numerous resources to choose vendors.
These include:
- Online reviews and testimonials
- Social platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn
- Industry publications
- Community message boards such as Reddit and Quora
- Search engines
- Referrals from colleagues
- Educational content like blogs, eBooks, guides, and videos
- AI and LLMs such as ChatGPT and Claude
The takeaway is without your input by staying on the sidelines, prospective clients will still get a sense of who you are and whether they want to work with you. Once more, we asked Katie for her take.
“Perceptions are being formed regardless of an in-person conversation, a Google search, a Reddit thread, or something else,” she says. “If you’re not actively driving the narrative, someone else is. That means others might be influencing your ideal client to go elsewhere or painting a picture of your firm that isn’t aligned with who you really are.”
Having a consistent and well-thought-out brand presence across these channels ensures that potential clients receive a cohesive message about your value proposition, no matter where they encounter your brand. This may all sound good, but if you are looking for a place to plant your flag, it can be hard to know where to direct your energy.
Where’s a good place to start?
We established that there is no shortage of platforms to consider and why it’s a good idea to think about how branding can help you stand out. With so many options out there, where do you begin?
Logan Graf, a CPA, content creator, and founder of Counter, a community for accounting professionals, emphasizes the importance of getting started rather than getting stuck in analysis paralysis.
“Start now! There’s no amount of planning you can do that will determine whether you get attention or not,” he says. “As you start posting and developing your brand, what works best for you and your desired audience will evolve.”
— Logan Graf, CPA
For those who prefer a more platform-focused approach, Kelly Rohrs, CPA, and a 2024 Top 40 Under 40 CPA per CPA Practice Advisor, recommends beginning with LinkedIn.
“For those who are just taking the leap into building a brand or presence on social media, I would highly recommend starting on LinkedIn,” says Kelly. “It is the platform that has produced over 75% of my business. LinkedIn solidifies a presence in the business world.”
— Kelly Rohrs, CPA
Putting LinkedIn at the top of the list aligns with data showing that 40% of marketers in the B2B space find this platform to be a valuable source for high-quality prospects. We should also note that in our same accounting survey, about 36% of firms have made it a top priority to bring on new clients, so LinkedIn may be a good place to start.
“In accounting, the most fruitful source of clients and revenue comes from referral sources. Whether from other CPAs, financial advisors, attorneys, or other business owners, you can find them on LinkedIn. There are not enough CPAs in the space. Others are searching (sometimes desperately) for a good connection and referral for their own clients,” Kelly explains.
Kelly provides these starting points for LinkedIn content:
- Share your organic thoughts or client interactions (without naming names of course).
- Share the most common things you come across in practice.
- Connect with others on a regular basis and interact with other posters.
- Build organic LinkedIn relationships.
- Do not DM people with a sales message — that is cold! People are looking for a real connection. With consistency and authenticity, you can find this on LinkedIn.
“CPAs can establish credibility by consistently showing up. There is an abundance of tax misinformation on social media. I think it is great to address the ‘TikTok’ advice head-on. Explain why it may be inappropriate or taken out of context. Some things may have an ounce of truth to them, but it is important not to generalize strategies,” says Kelly.
— Kelly Rohrs, CPA
Logan Graf offers a different approach: “You have to match the vibe of misinformation. Posters are great at getting attention — you have to do the same. Don’t be afraid to do something crazy in the beginning. a video or post to get a hook on the viewer.”
Measuring success
Brand building doesn’t happen overnight — this is a long-term game. Kelly suggests tracking “the increase in followers, the number of messages you receive, the comments, the likes, and the ‘impressions.’ It is not always about volume, but the ratio of your following to the interactions received on the post. You could have 1,000 followers and 15 people consistently engaging in commentary — that is fantastic!”
Kelly also emphasizes the importance of impressions: “Many people watch from afar and don’t even like or comment. Having faith that you are speaking your truth and values on social media will lead to conversions. I have people who reach out to me that have followed me for years and never even interacted (in terms of likes or comments), and then send me business!”
Logan takes a more direct approach to measuring success.
“It’s probably going to take time if you’re starting from zero. If you are getting leads to your website or intake form, that’s all you should care about.”
— Logan Graf, CPA
For closing thoughts on how to approach what’s paying off, we asked Katie for what to consider over the long run. She emphasizes that measuring brand success requires looking beyond simple metrics: “It’s really hard to tie a number to a ‘brand.’ A strong brand supports overall firm success,” she explains, describing how brand-building creates a layered effect where over time opportunities build on each other.
“You might get asked to speak at a conference because the host found you on LinkedIn, but they only followed you because they first heard you on a podcast. That speaking engagement leads to three new clients — all traceable back to building a strong brand online. But you can’t say what single post was the tipping point,” says Katie.
“You might get asked to speak at a conference because the host found you on LinkedIn, but they only followed you because they first heard you on a podcast. That speaking engagement leads to three new clients — all traceable back to building a strong brand online. But you can’t say what single post was the tipping point,” says Katie.
— Katie Thomas, CPA and owner of Leaders Online LLC
Instead of solely focusing on vanity metrics, Katie suggests considering broader indicators: “Revenue growth: is your brand helping you close more deals? Client retention: Are people staying longer? Pipeline quality: Are better-fit clients reaching out? The real question is, are you growing and building a firm that aligns with what you actually want to create?”
Brand building for the bottom line
Though approaching brand-building and social media may not reap results overnight, having a game plan is likely to lead to benefits over the long run. For those in the accounting space, with all the different ways potential clients can find information, being consistently present and sharing expertise can help you stand out in a crowded field. It also allows you to connect with potential clients you otherwise would not have the opportunity to work with.
