Businesses that are new to digital marketing often ask, “How do I make social media work for my business?”.  Social media supports and enhances business functions that are focused on achieving specific business objectives, such as expanding brand awareness, driving leads, customer service, and more.  However, just as in any other department of your business you want it to be well planned.  Producing an effective and successful social media campaign comes down to three factors:

Having a Clear Vision

Clarity about what you want to achieve with your social media campaign is of most importance and must be discussed thoroughly before you even begin your campaign.  Get with your staff and outline what it is you will be using it for. What is the focus of your campaign:

• Cut cost on customer service?
• Expand your reach and brand reputation in your  market online?
• Encourage repeated business?
• To gain valuable information from your customers on how you can make your business better?

Regardless of what your goals might be, they must be clearly defined before you even think about registering your twitter account!

Purpose = Value

As important as what your goals are for the social real, what is equally, if not more, important is “why” they are of valuable objectives.  Don’t get caught up in the mindset of, “We have to have a twitter account because our competition has one” or “We can rank better for terms in the search engine.”  While these have some truth to them, they should not be the driving force of your campaign.  Purpose creates value, and customers can smell it a mile away.  If your market sees that you are there for a specific reason and feel you care for their needs, they will know where to go when they have issues.  Make it more about the sale, make it about the customer, for without them there is no sale.

Execution Requires Time and Patience

You may have heard the common phrase, “Social Media doesn’t happen overnight.”  Well there is a reason it is common, because it’s true.  Developing a successful engaging social presence doesn’t happen on your first try.  It requires trial and error, which implies failure.  Temporary failure.  Finding out what doesn’t work is just as important is discovering what does work, by learning not to make those mistakes again.  What can ease the sting of failure is being hones with yourself about all the things that can go wrong and create a plan of action should that situation arise.  Make small objectives and take them one at a time until you find what works.  You will see your wins increase as you patiently press forward in your social journey.

Go For It!

Combine all these elements Clear Vision, Purpose and Execution and no doubt you will begin to see astonishing results.  Olivier Blanchard from from the BrandBuilder Blog said it best,
“Understanding the objectives, clarifying the value, and demonstrating that you understand the risks, hurdles, and challenges ahead will go a long way toward deflating fear and instilling confidence in your endeavor.”
Remember you are the expert in the field and you know your customer’s better than anyone, give them what they need in a way that only you can.  Speaking with authority and confidence will build a customers trust for your brand.  A little trust goes a long way.

We would love to know how you organize your campaigns, define purpose and brainstorm for social media success!  Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

Purves and Associates, an independent insurance agency located in Davis, CA (Sacramento area) employs many people who grew up in the region and care about the community they reside in. A genuine connection compelled the agency to donate $25 to local charities for every new policy written.
What’s more, the agency created a Buy Insurance = Help a Local Charity web form that streamlines the entire process, allowing new policy shoppers to choose from a local charity or write in their own specific cause. An example of insurance marketing and technology at their best.

The agency offers a shining example of how independent agents can cement themselves as leaders in a community simply by incrementally giving back. A policy of support for local schools and charities is a major differentiator that corporate behemoths can’t compete with and one of the best ways agencies can network on a local, organic level, while creating goodwill.

And because many of Purves’ employees grew up in the Davis, CA area and now have kids in the school system, the program can actually benefit employees as much as the recipients, a true win-win. Honest service in the Auto, Home, Business and Life Insurance arenas will be what keeps Purves and Associates growing, but a little dose of altruism will ensure growth continues in the future.

Consider a similar program for your agency and reap the benefits of good will and community enrichment.

American Agent & Broker Magazine recently published a roundtable style interview with six top insurance industry consultants in the December, Review and Outlook 2009-2010 issue. The article, “It’s the economy-and more…” offers the combined knowledge of Presidents and CEO’s from Colorado to Maine, asking questions about what’s important to agents in 2010.

While the economy remains a top concern, surviving and growing in the current economic client is the matter at hand. The reoccurring points to take away from this article involve integrating streamlined technology and social media into marketing plans and overall company culture, initiatives the Insurance Marketing HQ fully endorses.

Excerpts from the roundtable are included below:

What are the top 3 concerns of your clients, and has this changed from a year ago?

Demmie Hicks (President and CEO, DBH Consulting): A primary concern of agencies and brokerages is how to achieve organic growth in the recession.

Rick Gilman (APR, CMP, Communications Consultant): The economy and the impact of M&As on growth, which has not changed from last year. Another concern is the growth of viral marketing and staying on top of the technology, which was not really on the radar a year ago.

Howard E. Candage (President, H.E. Candage Inc.): The state of the agent community is a definite concern. Customers are directly acquiring insurance products through the Internet and direct marketing.  Agencies face increasing expenses and diminishing marginal compensation and the capitalization width is thinning. Agents should change their market opportunities by using the Internet, especially with social networking.

What new technologies should today’s agents and brokers invest in?

Rob Lieblein (Managing Partner, Hales & Co.): The big trend that you are seeing in technology is that all major management system vendors have migrated their applications to the Web and are offering hosted solutions. ..We see the need for many benefit firms to upgrade their technology platforms to become more efficient during a period when their revenues and margins are being squeezed. We believe that technology is going to be one of the key.

Hicks: Because we don’t traffic in technology solutions, it’s hard to say which specific technologies we would recommend. But related to technology is social media, which portends major change for our industry. People are becoming increasingly used to receiving only the communication they want, when they want it. An agency or brokerage that isn’t using social media as a strategy by the end of 2010 will find itself running to catch up.

Chris Burand (President, Burand & Associates. LLC): Before investing in new technologies, agencies should invest in training their employees on their current technologies, some of which are extremely basic. These technologies are essential going forward and if the employees are not using them, these investments and any new investments will be wasted…Agencies going after large accounts need to invest in technology that will reduce cost and increase the profitability of their clients.

Gilman: Agents and brokers should be looking at social media to improve marketing and relationship building with clients and prospects. Agents and brokers also should invest in Real Time technologies to improve internal efficiencies and broaden CSR potential by focusing more on sales and service. 

Candage: Agents and brokers should use the Internet to provide relationship marketing, communicating with their customers in multiple ways to their preference and using your Web presence more effectively. Agents should also communicate with their companies in a more uniform and effective way

What opportunities do you expect to see in 2010?

Gilman: Technology developments offer the greatest opportunities for everyone. Your agency can become anything you can imagine. Perhaps the greatest challenge is in the limitations of the insurance products our industry offers. The technology can free up the true potential and creativity of the insurance industry so finding the right match between the market and the flexibility of technology might prove to be the ultimate opportunity.

Thank you Mr. Gilman, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.