In this episode of our Learn Better Podcast, host and Head of Learning at Kaplan, Stuart Pedley-Smith, talks all about using social media to advance your business.
Our guest is Samantha Mitcham, who built her accountancy practice from nothing, with a very intentional social media strategy. She now has around 19,000 LinkedIn connections - significantly more than the average.
Key topics discussed
Balancing humanity and technology
The conversation starts with a discussion surrounding Samantha’s company slogan: “balancing technology with humanity.” Explaining the meaning behind this, Samantha talks about the ever-increasing role of technology in business, as well as the role humans play alongside technical advancements - suggesting that both are always going to remain essential.
Expanding on this, Samantha talks about how she has used the unity of technology and humanity as a USP for her business, which allows clients to get the best of both.
The power of social media
The conversation shifts to the topic of social media. Samantha explains her journey, through creating social media content for her business over the years and how it has allowed her to advertise her business for free.
She dives deeper into the power of social media, and how different platforms can access different audiences, leading to higher growth in the business and increased clientele. Samantha explains how having a purpose, finding her ideal audience, and showing up consistently has allowed her to make the most out of social media.
“Social media is there, and the power within it is worth a lot of money.”
Stuart raises the question that some employers may view social media content as a waste of time compared to working on client accounts. Samantha recognises that time is money, but notes that when she started her business, she had a lot of time and no money. She follows this by talking about what led to her creating video content, detailing how one series she made in 2020 still gets her leads today.
Using LinkedIn as an example, Samantha talks about how she’s used this as a platform to share her journey as a small business owner, as well as how she gets leads from content like this.
“What did I have when I started this business? Well, I didn't have any money, but I did have some time.”
Scaling a brand around an identity
The conversation moves on to the topic of identity, and how it can be difficult to build a brand. Samantha explains the complications she’s had with having herself as the face of her brand, and how clients would expect to meet her. She states that this is manageable at first, but impossible when scaling a business further and taking on more and more clients.
Samantha discusses how she has overcome obstacles by hiring team members who fit the ethos of her firm, and she is sure to include their names whenever she talks to a client. But she does also acknowledge the stumbling blocks that can appear when she’s aiming to hire the correct people.
”What I set out to do was make a difference to small businesses and make a difference to my own life.”
Long-term plans
Stuart asks Samantha what her plans are for the future in terms of her practice and how large she wants it to grow. She mentions her plan to grow the business, but that her main priority when starting up was to spend time with her daughter and work around her life. She concludes the topic by highlighting the importance of balancing the quality of your life versus your financial situation, and how important it is to take care of your well-being.
Tell the story
Stuart rounds the episode off by asking Samantha where she gets her inspiration from. Samantha’s answer is interesting as she states that telling stories inspires her, and how we all have stories from our daily lives that can be used on social media to push our personal or business brand.
She finishes with her words of wisdom, which are to take a lot from the fact that the accounting industry has grown to be an extremely open and friendly community and that no one should feel alone in this profession.
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