Social Studies

Last week, I regaled you with our undertakings with regard to the grinding routine of college applications and the almost daily anticipation of the mail delivery in hopes of an admission acceptance.

Just to update you, over the weekend, we packed up the Honda Pilot and headed to New York’s large metropolitan cousin to the North (hint: it’s known to serve a lobster roll or two and fields baseball, hockey  and football teams that I decidedly do not root for)  to visit one of that city’s hallowed institutions of higher learning.

But in between the requisite tour of the campus and the slight fainting spell that overcame me when I peeked at the annual tuition costs, I fully realized the power and reach of social media. I realize it’s a total non-sequitur, but bear with me.

As I checked my email; I received two separate friend requests on Facebook. In of itself, that’s not all that unusual, I’m sure most of you get several each week. But consider that the communications came from people whom I had not spoken to since 1983 and 1975, respectively. Let me repeat that, 1983 and 1975, which without going too far out on a limb might predate many reading this post.

Needless to say I was flattered that they not only remembered me, but felt the need to reach out and re-connect.

So I did some research and learned that Facebook pegs its monthly active users at 845 million and those that post at least once a day on the site at more than 480 million, or to put that in perspective, about 150 million more than the entire population of the U.S.

As you can imagine, this time of the year we hear, or more accurately “don’t” hear from CPA firm partners that they’re mired in busy season with a logjam of 1040s and don’t have time to talk or even think about succession.

But think about this.

If your firm was prescient enough to establish a Facebook page (it’s also sort of a no-brainer to have a presence on LinkedIn)  and posted once a day– considering the season, maybe a tax tip or two – or even a couple of times a week, imagine the viral outreach you would have in terms of free advertising for your firm. That undoubtedly would help set the table after tax season and help usher in potential engagements, referrals, or at the very least inquiries from potential clients.

Some time ago, a partner in a firm I know spotted a tax question on one of his Facebook friend’s postings, took it upon himself to address it and has now had that person as a tax and financial planning client for three years.

As for me, I’ll likely reconnect with those two folks from a former life and in a perfect world, one would own a CPA firm and the other would head the admissions board of that pricey college.