Meet a Member: Irma Zaldivar

Name:  Irma Zaldivar

Title:  Digital Marketing, Senior Manager

Years of Experience:  19

College:  University of California, Irvine

Firm Name:  BDO USA, LLP

Firm City & State:  Los Angeles, CA (Chicago headquarters)

Firm Size:  11,270

Email Address:  [email protected]

Professional Memberships:  AAM (AAM Major Firm Circle)

Community Involvement:  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County

LinkedIn Profile:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/irmazaldivar/

• What would you say is the most impactful element of your firm’s digital marketing strategy and why? We are now able to quantify our investment from our digital efforts, which is a game changer. Our Influence Marketing Attribution PowerBI Dashboard allows our stakeholders to stay informed about our digital efforts that are leading to opportunities, which hopefully are then leading to revenue wins. Primarily from our paid search strategy, as well as our LinkedIn lead gen campaigns.
• Which digital tools do you find the most critical to your firm’s digital strategy?  The interface of Marketo and Microsoft Dynamics is key to the success of our digital strategy. To be able to see where these new users are coming from and what marketing programs, they are interacting with helps our digital team to make informed decisions about digital tactics. Google Analytics and Google Ads are two other platforms that are key to our success. It’s important to be hyper aware of the performance of your campaigns, refine when needed, and pivot to something else if you’re not getting the results you would like. Make sure your goals and objectives align with your digital strategy.
• Digital marketing mistakes to avoid? A few come to mind: 1. Don’t forget to address mobile and desktop users. Make sure your web content is accessible to both. 2. Don’t forget to drill down on your targeting efforts. Narrowing your focus and hitting the ideal client will likely lead to more conversions. 3. Don’t forget to nurture your audience. Once the end user fills out a gated page, what happens to that person, for example? Have a plan in place, such as nurturing them via email on a consistent basis, with content that is of high interest.
• Do you see any new/emerging digital trends/tools you’re excited about? I am excited about AI functionality. At our firm our technology team created ChatBDO and I’m looking forward to leveraging this tool to create compelling ad copy and better verbiage for presentations. Depending on its success, I can see our team leveraging ChatBDO for other digital focused projects.
• Any thoughts for accounting marketers who don’t have a digital strategy and don’t know where to start? I’d recommend that you start by getting well versed with the paid media channels that are available (i.e. LinkedIn, GDN, Discovery Ads, Paid Search, Programmatic, etc.). Perhaps also pursue certifications for Google Analytics in GA4 and familiarize yourself with Google Ads to maximize campaign results.
• What’s your take on ChatGPT and other similar tools, and how does it fit into your digital strategy? Our firm doesn’t allow ChatGPT so we found our own solutions which I believe will be a great boost to our digital strategy.

On a personal note, what’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not working?   Whenever possible I take advantage of the beautiful weather in sunny CA like hiking, bike riding and hanging out at the beach!