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On Thursday we held the first of many Astonish sponsored webinars with NetVU, a national member organization committed to providing advocacy and world-class education to independent insurance agencies across the country. The webinar covered social media marketing tactics for the independent agency including Facebook, Twitter, and social media ROI.
As more businesses are adapting to social media, and recognizing it as a new marketplace, it is important for independent insurance agencies to follow suit and take the social leap as well. With direct writers and customers already using social media on a daily basis, it is critical for the independent agency to place itself in the forefront of the consumers mind on a consistent basis.
In the webinar Social Media Networking 101 for the Independent Insurance Agency we went through not only why social media is important in marketing to your potential customers, but how utilizing social platforms can also help you connect with current customers, inevitably leading to new policies, better customer service, and even referrals.
We covered Facebook marketing for the independent agent. Discussing ways to drive more traffic to your Facebook fan page, along with effectively interacting with your community on the platform. Making sure to not just build a community and post, but also taking the next step and engage with them on a consistent basis, will bring the best results from Facebook usage. Along with Facebook we also discussed how Twitter can be used to network through individual personnel and why building relationships with those who will promote you to others, could eventually turn into a lead. Remember, insurance is not always on the modern consumer’s mind, but everyone does need it! So positioning yourself successfully in the forefront of the consumers mind, in your target areas, is where you need to be.
Many agents know they need to be using social media but aren’t really sure where to start. Getting started with social media as an independent agent does not need to cost a ton of money or take away massive amounts of your time. As an agency principal or producer you need to be running your business and selling insurance. That is why hiring a social media engineer or intern can help you allocate the social media marketing duties to someone who can spend the time to do it the right way.
At the conclusion of the webinar we had a few questions come in based on the presentation. Here is the recap:
1. What is LinkedIn? Is this another social network? – Ann
Great question Ann. LinkedIn is another commonly used social media platform. LinkedIn is a business orientated social networking site that allows you to create a personal profile highlighting your job experiences and industry expertise. LinkedIn is a great resource to connect with other business owners in your own industry and other industries that you might have a niche product in. I highly recommend creating a LinkedIn profile along with a company page on LinkedIn to showcase your expertise as an insurance agent or agency owner, along with use the groups and the questions feature to build reputation and network with current and potential clients.
2. How often should I be posting on Facebook? What about Twitter? – Kelly
On Facebook posting every few hours is usually what I would recommend. You do not want to be posting five times in a row and flooding users’ newsfeeds but you want to have posts throughout the day to reach the maximum amount of people in your community as possible. Also people use Facebook at different times of the day and their newsfeed updates in real-time. So by posting at different times throughout the day you are most likely to have your message be seen. If you do not post weekly, users in your community may not see the relevance in liking your page because you are not providing timely updates. For Twitter you can post more often as the Twitter stream updates at a faster paste due to the amount of updates and the shortened message. Again with Twitter, not posting for a while might turn off some of your followers, so keeping a consistent presence and staying SOCIAL will allow your following and community to grow on both sites. Thanks Kelly!
3. If we have a company Facebook, and have individuals in the office responding/posting, how can we make it clear that a specific individual is answering rather than the company as a whole? – Melanie
Great question Melanie, I hear this a lot. To make it clear which individual is posting on your Facebook page you can do one of three things. You could have the person write the post then do a “ – Name Here” at the end to show who each post was written by, therefore having you fans learn the names of the agents who are posting. Another option is to not have someone be an admin of the page, but to create a personal Facebook that is just for business use. They could become the ‘face’ of social media for the agency and post on the wall as so, so people see the name and face of the agent who is updating the statuses. The third option I think is the best. Facebook now allows you to post as the page or as yourself. To make sure when you switch to yourself it still does not post to the page because you are an admin, go to edit page, settings, and uncheck the first box that is next to “posting options”. This will allow you to post on the page as either yourself or as the agency.
If you attended the webinar and still have questions feel free to email socialmedia@astonishresults.com to contact our team! If you are interested in Astonish Results and want to see a free virtual presentation on how you can bring your agency into the digital age call 1.888.899.1936 or visit AstonishResults.com and fill out the online form.
May 27, 2011 at 7:29 pm
We are a commercial insurance brokerage licensed in AZ, TX & NV. We DO NOT write personal lines – we deal only B2B. We have decided to take the plunge into a full fledged, fully managed, social media program. High risk cases are our specialty. Please contact me at 480-947-6842 – after we agree on a day and time for the call. I don’t want a surprise call.