Used well, social media can be a useful and affordable marketing tool for insurance agents. Whether you’re a social guru or just getting started, you can use it to benefit your business. We’ve put together five tips to help you make the most of your time engaging online through social media.
1. Stay Active
Having a social media presence can be a great way to reach clients that you might not otherwise interact with, but you need to stay engaged and active for your efforts to be effective. Posting regularly is the most obvious way to do that; creating a social media calendar with assigned deadlines that outline when and what you plan to post can be a great way to keep you on track.
Another equally important part of social media is to engage with others through commenting, liking, sharing, etc. Interacting with other posts builds goodwill, but also gets your name seen by new people with whom you are not yet connected. To make this more effective, you should pay attention and be intentional about your agency’s online voice.
2. Define Your Voice
An excellent way to create a brand for your agency and to avoid online missteps is to define your voice, or the style and way you engage online.
Is your agency serious and professional? Write posts with this in mind, using formal language and engaging in serious topics. Are you responsive and personable? Check your social media regularly so you’re interacting with your fans in real-time, and adopt a more casual, conversational tone in your posts and comments. Do you want to be perceived as gracious and caring? Focus on goodwill articles and posts about positivity and success! If you’re working to engage with a younger demographic on social media, consider using emojis and GIFs (sparingly and tastefully).
The timing and content of your posts, likes and shares should be intentionally supportive of the perception you are trying to create.
3. Get Creative
Part of what makes social media appealing is the fun factor. Raise your hand if you think most people consider insurance fun. No?
How can you humanize what you do? There are a lot of options. Maybe you tout one of your staff member’s recent personal accomplishments, like posting a sweaty victory photo from their recent marathon. (Bonus points if they are wearing a t-shirt with the name of your agency on it.) Or tug at your audience’s heartstrings by featuring a local nonprofit and your connection to it. Maybe you regularly post before-and-after videos of client claims to demonstrate how beautifully their coverage made their home, car or motorcycle whole again.
Brainstorm with your staff to see how creative you can be; doing it outside the office over snacks and beer can be a good way to encourage creativity and new ideas. Follow your competitors to see what they are doing and figure out how you can put your own spin on it. Do the same with related industries like real estate agents, auto dealers or construction companies.
4. Narrow Your Audience
The goal for insurance agents using social media is to engage with current and potential customers. Ask yourself where you customer is likely to be found. Are you trying to sell commercial lines? LinkedIn probably makes sense. Are you looking to reach young parents to sell life insurance or new homeowners lines? Parenting groups abound on Facebook. You don’t need to be on every social media platform, just the ones that make strategic sense for your business goals. Do a little demographic research to see where your target audiences spend most of their social media hours.
5. Bring in the Pros
If using social media for business makes you cringe, there’s no need to worry! Bringing on a freelancer or agency to manage your social media is always an option. These professionals focus on tracking trends in the industry, like influencer marketing, so they’ll be up-to-speed on the latest developments in the space. Developing content for your channels, managing engagement, and even tracking analytics are all options. If social media frustrates you, or you just don’t have the time, it could be money well spent to hire a freelancer or agency who specializes in life online.
The strategy part of social media is what often gets missed by busy insurance agents. However, spending just a few hours every quarter to think it through can quickly pay off as you create positive perceptions about your brand and reach new prospects online.
Another way to generate fresh prospects is through Hometown Quotes. If you’re not already signed up to receive our qualified leads, give us a call at 800-820-2981 or click here to learn more.
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