Integrate Young Professionals into Your Marketing Strategy

By: Jen Lemanski – Senior Manager, Practice Growth, PKF Texas

How is your firm integrating your young professionals into the firm’s marketing and business development efforts?

As the Baby Boomer partners continue to exit their firms at an increased pace, it is incumbent upon CPA and Advisory firms to get younger team members involved in marketing and business development activities earlier in their careers as part of a broader succession plan and marketing strategy.

Young professionals (YPs) are hungry to contribute and often all they need is a little direction. A natural place to begin, is to use your YPs as a part of your social media strategy. What platforms do they use and will they share from the firm’s accounts to their centers of influence?

YPs have a unique viewpoint on your business. Tap into that perspective for blogs and articles. Pair them with a more senior team member to write a technical piece which can be used in your various content channels.

With the proliferation of Instagram Stories, Snapchat and other short video media, YPs are often more comfortable on camera. How can you use this comfort level with video to your advantage? Consider capturing their perspectives of what it’s like to work for your firm, then use these videos as a recruiting tool.

Getting your YPs into the “relationship building” game early will help with your firm’s business development efforts down the road. Include your YPs in networking training you may be doing with the Manager level in your firm. Encourage your partners to take junior team members with them to lunch with their banker or attorney referral sources. Include a YP or two at a table your firm is sponsoring. The YPs get to learn while observing how your seasoned team members start conversations, work a room, discuss business, etc.

We all have a budget item for a local chamber of commerce or industry specific organization. Do they have a YP group? If so, positioning your YPs on a committee or a board is a great way to give you brand awareness while helping them to develop their leadership skills.

Not every YP is going to be able to immediately contribute to every aspect of your marketing strategy, but when they join the firm, interview them to find out what their interests are so you can plug them in where they will be able to engage and succeed.