Should accountants outsource their social media? What to hand over and what to keep

The short answer

For most small UK practices, outsourcing all of your social media is more than you need. The set-up that tends to work is a split. The firm keeps the strategy, the voice and the final approval. Someone or something else takes on the production grind: drafting posts, making images and scheduling them.

The reason is simple. Clients and referrers follow an accountancy firm on LinkedIn or Facebook to see what the firm is like and what it knows. An outsider can write a decent post about a tax deadline. They cannot know which clients are worried about it this week, or how a partner would put it. Hand over the hours, not the judgement.

Signs you need help

You need outside help when social media keeps slipping, not when it is merely hard. These are the usual signs in a practice.

• Nothing has gone out for months. The last post on the company page is from before the January rush, and a referral who checks you out sees a page that looks closed.
• A partner is writing posts at 11pm. If the only time a post gets written is after the client work is done, it will stop the first busy week.
• The tone changes every post. One week a formal notice, the next a joke, the next a stock photo with no text. Readers cannot tell what the firm stands for.
• Posts start and stop with the calendar. Busy in summer, silent from December to February, then a burst in April.
• Comments and messages go unanswered. Enquiries often arrive as a reply or a message. If nobody owns them, the posting is wasted.

If none of these apply, you probably do not need to outsource. Keep going, and use a plan such as our monthly social media content calendar to stay ahead of the busy periods.

The three routes: DIY, a tool, or a freelancer or agency

Every firm chooses between three routes, and each one moves the cost between cash and partner time. None is right for everyone. Our guide to what social media management costs compares the price bands for each, so the figures are not repeated here.

Do it yourself

Pros: no cash cost, and the posts sound exactly like you because you wrote them. Cons: it uses the hours that are scarcest in January and at every VAT quarter end, and it depends on one person staying keen. Suits: a firm with a partner or practice manager who enjoys writing and protects two or three hours a month for it.

Use a tool that drafts for you

Pros: a small monthly fee removes most of the writing time, you approve everything before it goes out, and you keep full control of the accounts. Cons: you still spend some time reading and editing drafts, and a tool will not plan a rebrand or a campaign for you. Suits: a busy practice that wants a steady, professional presence but cannot justify a retainer.

This is the route Pillr is built for. It reads your firm's website, drafts posts in your voice, and schedules each one to LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram once you have approved it. There is a free plan with 3 posts a month, Basic at £20 a month for 8 posts, and Professional at £69 a month for 15 posts, with larger plans for firms with several people posting. All the plans are on the pricing page.

Hire a freelancer or an agency

Pros: the least partner time once it is running, and a good agency brings design skills and ideas a small firm does not have. Cons: the highest cash cost, a minimum term on many retainers, and posts that can sound generic if the writer does not understand accountancy. You still have to brief them and check their work. Suits: a firm with a clear growth target, a budget for a monthly fee, and someone with time to manage the relationship.

What to keep in-house, whoever does the work

Some things should stay with the firm whichever route you choose, because the firm carries the risk if they go wrong.

• The final approval. Someone at the firm, usually a partner, reads every post before it goes out. They are the person who would spot a wrong deadline, an out-of-date tax point or a claim the firm could not prove.
• Anything that touches a client.Client stories, photos, case studies and testimonials stay with the firm. ICAEW's marketing helpsheet reminds firms that the relationship with a client is confidential, and that a testimonial should only be used if the client has consented. An agency should never be the one deciding that a client would not mind.
• Replies about someone's own affairs.An outsider can thank people for comments. A question about a person's tax position should be moved to a private conversation by someone at the firm.
• Ownership of the accounts. The firm holds the top admin role on every page and the logins for every tool. Outside help gets a lower role you can remove.

Outsourcing the work does not outsource the responsibility. The same ICAEW helpsheet says firms are entitled to outsource marketing to agencies and specialist professionals, but that whatever the quality or reputation of the companies chosen, firms remain responsible for any marketing or publicity carried out on their behalf. It also sets the basic rule for the content: advertising material should be legal, decent, honest, truthful and clear. If you are a member of ACCA, AAT or ICB, read your own body's guidance as well. Our guide to social media marketing for accountants covers the rules on posts in more detail.

What to ask a freelancer or agency before you hire

Ask these questions before you sign anything, and get the answers in writing. They show quickly whether a supplier understands a regulated firm.

• Who owns the accounts and the content? The answer should be the firm, for both. Check that you keep the posts, images and any designs if you stop working together.
• Who will actually write the posts? A named person who has written for accountancy or other professional firms, or a junior who changes every few months?
• How does approval work? You want to see every post before it goes out, with enough time to change it. Ask how far ahead they send drafts.
• What will you report each month? Ask for enquiries, messages and profile visits as well as reach and likes, and a short note of what they will change next month.
• What is the notice period? Ask about the minimum term, the notice period, and what happens to the work in progress when you leave.
• What do you know about our rules? Ask how they check that a post is accurate, avoids claims the firm cannot prove, and says nothing against other firms. A good supplier will have a clear answer. A vague one is a warning.

Red flags

Walk away, or at least slow down, if you see any of these during the pitch or the first month.

• They want your passwords. A supplier should work through an admin role on the page, not your own login.
• They post without approval.Even once, even with a promise that it was "only a holiday message".
• They promise followers or results. Guaranteed numbers usually mean bought followers or engagement, which does nothing for enquiries.
• The sample posts could belong to any business. If the examples they show you would fit a gym or an estate agent with the name changed, yours will too.
• They suggest naming clients or comparing you with rivals.Both need care under your professional body's rules, and a supplier who suggests them casually does not know those rules.
• A long contract with no way out. A long minimum term before you have seen a month of their work is a risk you do not need to take.

How to run a 30-day trial

Test any route for a month before you commit to it for a year. Thirty days is enough to see whether the posts sound like you and whether the approval step works in a busy week. It is not enough to judge enquiries, so treat the trial as a test of fit, not results.

• Week 1: brief. Give them your website, your three main client types, the topics you want covered this month, and two or three past posts you liked. Agree the platforms and how many posts a week.
• Week 2: first drafts. Read the first batch carefully. Note every edit you make. If you are rewriting most of each post, the fit is wrong.
• Week 3: posting. Let the approved posts go out on fixed days. Check that comments and messages reach someone at the firm the same day.
• Week 4: review. Count your editing time, compare it with the time you used to spend, and decide whether to carry on, change the brief or stop.

A good test brief is a post that only your firm could write. If the supplier, or the tool, can turn your notes into something like the post below, the fit is right.

It speaks to one kind of client, names one rule and one action, and makes a modest offer. It names no client and makes no claim the firm could not back up. Check any date or threshold in a draft against GOV.UK before you approve it, whoever wrote it.

If you want to test the tool route first, paste your firm's website address on the home page and Pillr will draft some posts from it for you to judge.

This guide is general information, not advice on your own circumstances. Check your own professional body's guidance before you hand any marketing work to someone else.

Questions accountants ask about outsourcing social media