Most accounting practices in London now have a LinkedIn page, and plenty have an Instagram account too. A partner shares a reminder about the Self Assessment deadline, someone posts a team photo from the Christmas lunch, there is the occasional thought piece on Making Tax Digital. A handful of likes, mostly from other accountants and former colleagues, and the feed goes quiet again. Meanwhile, a founder in Shoreditch who has just incorporated, a landlord in Croydon worried about a letter from HMRC, a restaurant group in Camden unhappy with its current firm are typing their problem into Google or asking an AI assistant. They are not scrolling. They need an accountant, now.
Social media and being found at the moment of search run on two different logics. Mixing them up is one of the most common ways firms spend effort in the wrong place.
Two logics, two moments in the buyer's mind
Social media: being seen by people who are not looking
On LinkedIn or Instagram, you appear in the feed of people doing something else: catching up on news, checking on their network, killing time on the Tube. At that moment, they do not need an accountant. Social channels help you stay in the minds of people who already know you, show that the firm is active and occasionally prompt a referral. That has value, but it works slowly and mostly within your existing circle.
Being found: present when the need exists
When a business owner searches for an accountant for a limited company in Islington, or asks an AI assistant which firms handle R&D tax credits for small tech companies, they have a specific and often pressing need. They compare two or three names and get in touch. That is the most valuable moment there is for a practice: the person is ready to sign an engagement letter. If you are absent then, no LinkedIn post will win that client back.
What each channel really brings an accounting firm
Accountancy is a trust business with recurring revenue. A client won this year often stays for many years: annual accounts, corporation tax, VAT, payroll, advisory work. The value of a single client is high, and that changes how you judge each channel.
- Social media reinforces your reputation with people who already know you and can trigger a referral. It rarely produces enquiries from complete strangers.
- Being found online brings enquiries from people who had never heard of you: new limited companies, businesses moving into London, overseas founders setting up a UK entity, owners who want to switch firms after a bad year-end.
The first maintains, the second brings in. For a London firm that wants to grow beyond its referral network, the second matters most. Our guide on how new clients actually choose an accounting firm goes through that journey in detail.
The trap of scattered effort
Accountants have little spare time, especially from December to the end of January and around corporation tax deadlines. The partner who tries to run three social channels personally usually gives up within a few weeks, then concludes that digital marketing does not work for the firm.
The real problem is not digital, it is muddled objectives. Running a page for awareness and being found at the moment of search need different effort, different follow-up and different budgets. We compare paid social with lasting visibility in our guide on paid social ads or lasting visibility, and for accounting specifically in paid ads or lasting visibility for accounting firms.
How to split your time and budget
- First, be found. This is the foundation: your firm should appear when someone searches for an accountant in your part of London, on Google and in the answers of AI assistants. That is where enquiries from new clients come from.
- Second, a light but steady social presence. An up-to-date LinkedIn page, a useful update when tax news justifies it, quick replies when someone messages. You do not need to go viral. You only need a client who discovers you to see a firm that is clearly active.
- Third, paid campaigns, occasionally. If you launch a new service line or want extra reach before the January deadline, a short campaign can complement the rest.
To see what one more client is worth, start from your average annual fees per client, from your own records. In many practices, a few extra engagements a year more than cover a visibility plan. The calculator on the Traffic Engine page runs that sum with your figures.
What Traffic Engine does
Traffic Engine is Kolonell's service for the being-found side: your firm appears when someone searches for your service in London, on Google and in the answers of AI assistants. There is nothing for you to run yourself. You receive a dated report every week, follow results in your own Search Console and get a measured progress review at 3 months.
The entry point is the Visibility Audit at £590, delivered within 48 working hours and fully deducted from the £1,300 setup if you start within 30 days. Monthly plans on a 12-month commitment: Presence at £940, Momentum at £1,600, Flood at £3,000. Each sector is capped at 3 seats per area, which matters in a city where practices compete street by street. See the offer and availability for accounting firms in London.
Your next step
Run a simple test: search for your service and your area as a stranger would, then compare that with what your social channels actually produce. Measure your starting point with the free score at the top of the offer page. It takes seconds.