5 Ways Agents Are Using Social Media

Editor's Notes

1. Thank you for joining us this morning! We’re excited about today’s webinar and the chance to share some social media tips and tricks with you. We’ve talked to A LOT of agents who are interested in using social media and believe it can be very helpful (which we agree with!), but they’re also wondering how to get started or what to post or how we recommend getting followers and generating word of mouth. So let’s get started.
2. Social media is the fasting growing marketing medium out there today. There are tons of statistics out there that you can Google (or you’ve probably heard) that talk about the popularity and ease of social media and the success companies are having generating business. Social media is also pretty much completely free. You don’t have postage or printing costs. You don’t need a web developer to help you get started. You don’t even have to pay someone to run your advertising. It’s the easiest way to be found on Google and other search engines. It’s the perfect medium for salespeople. As insurance agents, you are all self-proclaimed salespeople. Why did you get into sales? Because you like talking to people, you like networking, and you like being involved in people’s lives and helping when you can. Social media allows you to do all of this without even leaving your office. Think of it kind of like going to the high school basketball game. You talk to people you know, you network with the community members sitting next to you in the bleachers, you become part of a community. Social media is tomorrow’s high school basketball game. Last, we did a marketing survey last fall and by huge consensus, you told us you get the majority of your business from word of mouth. That is exactly what social media marketing is meant to do - generate word of mouth. Social media is just putting what you already do online.
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4. This is probably the number one rule and it might seem pretty counter-intuitive. But think back to our high school basketball game example. Would you walk up to an acquaintance and open a conversation by saying “Do you need health insurance?” Probably not. Insurance isn’t a conversation opener - and it’s kind of boring to people who don’t sell or work in it. Social media is about being social - not selling. Obviously, you will want people to at least know you sell insurance - and we will give you insurance posting ideas in a bit - but 80 to 90% of the time, you should be having a conversation with your followers and not selling.
5. HEATHER How would you talk to someone on the street? Current events Local news Talk to your audience, don’t sell to them.
6. HEATHER In insurance, we always want that word of mouth referral, well, with Facebook, you can get that word of mouth, but with a whole new audience. Example: We shared our America Needs Agents story with our 132 fans. Ramsey Weeks then shared our message and their 116 fans saw it. That’s 248 touches in a matter of minutes.
7. The fourth thing agents are doing who are using social media is making a business plan and a social media strategy. We can help you create these strategies, but for now, we’re going to touch on a few things you should consider. First, your audience. What is the best medium to reach your audience? Do you want to focus on business owners or a more professional audience? Use LinkedIn. Do you want a more informal audience and really want to try to get new, younger customers? Check out Twitter and Facebook. Facebook has a very wide reach and is probably the most popular social media method. Also consider your posting strategy. A lot of research has shown that the best times to post are NOT during business hours. Makes sense - most people are working during the day and not going to spend a lot of time on Facebook. For daytime posts, we suggest posting around lunchtime and close to the end of the day. Content - what content are you going to focus on? Do you want to focus mostly on community events? Will you link and share lots of other content? Are you going to link to your website? The best is really a mix of a lot of different content - but always use pictures and links to make your posts stand out more among the clutter. Daily commitment - This is something we hear a lot about - how social media will take a long time to make sure you see “everything” there is to see. It really shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes per day if you post twice. We recommend making a schedule at first, along with a plan of what you will post. For example, at noon tomorrow, share a picture from your agency. Then at 5 p.m., plan to go and find someone else’s content to share or comment on.
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10. HEATHER Not talking about insurance – Ross Insurance Agency They had 14 likes and three comments! Why? It was a fun and timely post!
11. AMY Here’s a fun way to talk insurance… without really selling. Trivia and quizzes are great ways to get comments and attention.
12. HEATHER Office birthdays are a great way to share a fun picture and get comments on your Facebook page.
13. HEATHER It’s easy to encourage your friends to like your business Facebook page!
14. We’ve shared lots of information with you today and hopefully helped you understand how social media can be an easy way to quickly increase your word of mouth. When we get the slides from today archived on teh Agent Portal, we’ll also provide a “how to” guide with instructions on how to get started on Facebook - very simple to follow and really starts from the beginning, explaining how to create pages, etc. And we are your resource for any questions as well. We can also provide more in-depth social media consultation and guidance if you are interested.
15. Thank you for joining us today and make sure to like GBL on Facebook and LinkedIn!