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How Can You Rate the PICPA’s Communications Plan?
By Maureen Renzi, PICPA Vice President of Communications
How many members does it take for the PICPA to achieve its communications goals? The easy answer is “a lot,” but for our December Council Meeting I had to come up with a more quantitative answer. By my calculations, it took 2,402 member contributions to reach 311,540 consumers, based on our data from May 1 – Nov. 15, 2014. Trust me, these numbers would not meet any audit standards, but by the end of the story, I think you’ll agree that the easy answer of “a lot” is fairly accurate.
Before I get into my calculations, I need to set the stage. The PICPA’s overall communications plan is to promote CPAs as trusted financial advisors and to position CPAs as thought leaders in the community. Now, you’re ready to check my math.
The PICPA has an ongoing relationship with the local libraries through the Pennsylvania Library Association. Each quarter, we release a printed newsletter to address specific themes and our members help provide content. In the past year, we’ve explored credit cards and college loans, and the popular tax issue will be released in January. In addition to the printed piece, we’ve been building our list of consumers who want more, so we send those individuals monthly updates.
Speaking of libraries, we have published our annual financial literacy calendar. In 2015, we’ve put a financial literacy spin on books that have been banned. It’s a hit and due to popular demand all 13,600 calendars are on the street.
We regularly reach out to reporters with story ideas on either small business or personal financial planning issues. Sometimes we have success and the reporters cover the story. The CPA Image Enhancement Committee has volunteered to populate our blog, CPA Now, with consumer-oriented topics so that if traditional media doesn’t cover an issue, we can still provide this valuable information. When preparing the presentation we were at 10 bloggers. We are now at 11 bloggers and the reach has grown to more than 1,150.
CPA Voice is a rebranding of our Speakers Bureau. Our 420 members who volunteer for the Speakers Bureau not only make presentations at local community events, but they write op-eds for local papers, answer Ask a CPA questions, and participate in on-line videos. Members of the CPA Voice Contribute, Present and Author. Find out more on PICPA’s website.
Ask a CPA is a popular online consumer service. There are 172 business questions posted and 404 individual questions. The high number of page views means that consumers look up multiple things when they are in that area of the site. And the questions keep coming. Since May 1, members of the CPA Voice have fielded 31 new questions.
Another important consumer initiative is our Google AdWord campaign. Through the campaign we reach consumers when they are looking for information about CPA licensing, tax, and personal financial planning issues. Consumers are directed to our content-rich resources. The advertising campaign also directs consumers to the popular CPA Locator searchable database.
Videos continue to be a highly regarded piece of our consumer outreach. We’re growing our Money & Life University so consumers can access valuable CPA advice at their convenience. Our new career video was released with our high school Career Days scheduled this past fall, and is available for any member who is making a career presentation.
The Pennsylvania CPA Journal is one of the most visible member contributions produced to insure that members stay current on emerging professional and technical issues. In addition to the print issue, we offer both a digital version and app. The podcasts and videos embedded into the online versions enhance the experience, giving the reader additional insight into the topics. Some more numbers to consider: there have been 7,767 total issue visits to the digital magazine since May 1 and 5,473 people have downloaded the app. Our goal is to give you your magazine the way you want it.
Members value PICPA’s printed brochures, which help provide a consistent message across the state. In addition to the printed pieces, the brochures are available for download. In the spirit of full disclosure, the download number is probably low, since our site wasn’t counting downloads for a while. To get a better sense of their reach, from Jan. 1 to Nov. 15, there were 9,701 downloads! A special shout-out to the Federal Tax and State Tax Committees who work to put these together for member use.
The Communications Team is always working on something new. We are working on a new website that will be launched next summer, our CPA Poll results were just released, and you’ll be learning more about the Week of Service in the coming months. In the meantime, let us know how you spend your volunteer time by using our volunteer tracker.
Finally, the number 7 is not included in my calculation, but it is definitely an important component of the success equation. Seven refers to the seven members of the Communications Team who work with members and the rest of the PICPA team to get out the CPA story. Hope you are inspired to join our effort in the coming year. Happy holidays!
How many members does it take for the PICPA to achieve its communications goals? The easy answer is “a lot,” but for our December Council Meeting I had to come up with a more quantitative answer. By my calculations, it took 2,402 member contributions to reach 311,540 consumers, based on our data from May 1 – Nov. 15, 2014. Trust me, these numbers would not meet any audit standards, but by the end of the story, I think you’ll agree that the easy answer of “a lot” is fairly accurate.
Before I get into my calculations, I need to set the stage. The PICPA’s overall communications plan is to promote CPAs as trusted financial advisors and to position CPAs as thought leaders in the community. Now, you’re ready to check my math.
The PICPA has an ongoing relationship with the local libraries through the Pennsylvania Library Association. Each quarter, we release a printed newsletter to address specific themes and our members help provide content. In the past year, we’ve explored credit cards and college loans, and the popular tax issue will be released in January. In addition to the printed piece, we’ve been building our list of consumers who want more, so we send those individuals monthly updates.
Speaking of libraries, we have published our annual financial literacy calendar. In 2015, we’ve put a financial literacy spin on books that have been banned. It’s a hit and due to popular demand all 13,600 calendars are on the street.
We regularly reach out to reporters with story ideas on either small business or personal financial planning issues. Sometimes we have success and the reporters cover the story. The CPA Image Enhancement Committee has volunteered to populate our blog, CPA Now, with consumer-oriented topics so that if traditional media doesn’t cover an issue, we can still provide this valuable information. When preparing the presentation we were at 10 bloggers. We are now at 11 bloggers and the reach has grown to more than 1,150.
CPA Voice is a rebranding of our Speakers Bureau. Our 420 members who volunteer for the Speakers Bureau not only make presentations at local community events, but they write op-eds for local papers, answer Ask a CPA questions, and participate in on-line videos. Members of the CPA Voice Contribute, Present and Author. Find out more on PICPA’s website.
Ask a CPA is a popular online consumer service. There are 172 business questions posted and 404 individual questions. The high number of page views means that consumers look up multiple things when they are in that area of the site. And the questions keep coming. Since May 1, members of the CPA Voice have fielded 31 new questions.
Another important consumer initiative is our Google AdWord campaign. Through the campaign we reach consumers when they are looking for information about CPA licensing, tax, and personal financial planning issues. Consumers are directed to our content-rich resources. The advertising campaign also directs consumers to the popular CPA Locator searchable database.
Videos continue to be a highly regarded piece of our consumer outreach. We’re growing our Money & Life University so consumers can access valuable CPA advice at their convenience. Our new career video was released with our high school Career Days scheduled this past fall, and is available for any member who is making a career presentation.
The Pennsylvania CPA Journal is one of the most visible member contributions produced to insure that members stay current on emerging professional and technical issues. In addition to the print issue, we offer both a digital version and app. The podcasts and videos embedded into the online versions enhance the experience, giving the reader additional insight into the topics. Some more numbers to consider: there have been 7,767 total issue visits to the digital magazine since May 1 and 5,473 people have downloaded the app. Our goal is to give you your magazine the way you want it.
Members value PICPA’s printed brochures, which help provide a consistent message across the state. In addition to the printed pieces, the brochures are available for download. In the spirit of full disclosure, the download number is probably low, since our site wasn’t counting downloads for a while. To get a better sense of their reach, from Jan. 1 to Nov. 15, there were 9,701 downloads! A special shout-out to the Federal Tax and State Tax Committees who work to put these together for member use.
The Communications Team is always working on something new. We are working on a new website that will be launched next summer, our CPA Poll results were just released, and you’ll be learning more about the Week of Service in the coming months. In the meantime, let us know how you spend your volunteer time by using our volunteer tracker.
Finally, the number 7 is not included in my calculation, but it is definitely an important component of the success equation. Seven refers to the seven members of the Communications Team who work with members and the rest of the PICPA team to get out the CPA story. Hope you are inspired to join our effort in the coming year. Happy holidays!
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