One of the fastest growing user segments of podcasts -- downloadable audio and video files you can play on a PC or iPod -- is business professionals. The average age of a text messager in the U.S. is 38, according to Nielsen/ NetRatings. And more than 12,800 blog posts have been tagged "accounting" in the Technorati Blog Directory.

Practically speaking, your firm can make use of the latest interactive communication technologies to advance your business development goals.

Conduct a Keywords Campaign

You may have heard of AdWords, Google's wildly successful pay-per-click advertising program. Each time someone clicks on your text ad, you pay from a few cents to a few dollars. With the aid of common analytics tools, like WebTrends, you can even watch where searchers go on your site once they click. Start with a few keywords (most search engines provide simple tools to give suggestions), and set aside a modest budget -- $5 or $10 per day. After three months, you'll have a bevy of metrics to help you plan your next steps and perhaps a few new prospects.

Create an Internal Podcast

The beauty of podcasts is their delivery mechanism, Really Simple Syndication (RSS). RSS automatically sends new podcasts and blogs to subscribers' desktops or portable media players, creating a constant connection between you and your clients and prospects. Ask your human resources or information technology department to record a few podcasts of some internal importance: how to access your server from home or how to distinguish between several health plans. You can record right over the phone with a site like Gabcast. Or, connect a microphone to your computer and use Audacity audio editing software. For a few dollars a month, you can post your first podcast on a hosting site like Podbean. Then, simply follow the instructions to let your staff and partners add the podcast feed to their desktops or custom pages like My Yahoo!.

Build a Social Networking Profile for Recruiting

According to comScore, more than 78 million people visit social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and others every month. Why shouldn't CPA firms get in on this action? Ernst & Young was among the first accounting firms to launch a recruiting/networking page, available exclusively to college students, on Facebook. E&Y's page contains job openings and photos of young employees at social events. There's even a message board for younger workers to share advice on joining the company. Many social networks let you build a basic company page for free. Once you're live, nominate a staff social networking expert (e.g., recent college grad) to help you maintain your page and maximize opportunities.

Befriend a Blogger or Two

What do Brian Tankersley, Dan Meyer, Business Valuation Girl and CFO magazine have in common? They are all publishing blogs aimed at financial and accounting executives with large, devoted readerships. Increasingly, blogs are gaining influence in business circles because they are written by experts in their field for experts in their field. Use a blog search engine, like Technorati or IceRocket, to find blogs of interest. Subscribe to their feeds, and post a comment from time to time. When you do have hot news, you'll already have a large, interested audience to speak to.

Digg Yourself

Nine months after social bookmarking site Digg.com made the cover of BusinessWeek, executives are still wondering how to use the site for self-promotion. With Digg, like other social bookmark sites, you can post and vote on articles and websites. The more votes people cast for a posting that features your firm, the higher its ranking. Get enough "diggs" and it could end up on one of Digg's hot lists -- where millions of people browse for news every day.
 
JEFF GREENE is the executive director of client services at Gold Group, a leading social media agency. He can be reached at jgreene@gold-group.com.