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Using Social Media to Grow your Insurance Agency

When was the last time you had a conversation with your prospective customers? Just a few years ago, it was quite common for an insurance agent to know each customer by name and by face. The landscape has changed, though. While a few people still walk into the agency to do business, more and more of them are going online. Engaging those customers can be difficult.
That is why you need to leverage social media marketing to grow your agency.

Why Does Social Media Work?

Social media has matured over the past few years. Gone are the days where the only thing people were looking at were videos of silly cats and their owners. While the kittens are still there (and equally entertaining), businesses have been claiming their part of the social media world.

Smart businesses use social media to engage with their target audience. They share content that is informative and full of authenticity and personality. It gives businesses the chance to market to their audience at the right time and place.

There are literally dozens of social media channels. Some of the more familiar to you might be Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. However, there are plenty of others like Youtube, Instagram, and Snapchat. All of these channels offer unique opportunities to engage with your target audience in different ways.

Facebook

Take Facebook, for example. Facebook invites sharing amongst individuals while building a sense of community.

Does your agency do volunteer work? Facebook offers a platform where you can highlight those types of activities. You can highlight local events your agents will be attending, inviting customers to come over and talk. You ask for business referrals in exchange for donations.

Facebook is also a great place to engage one-on-one with a customer. If a customer has a complaint, you can reach out publicly or privately to address those concerns. You can answer questions customers have. You can use it as a central communication point for customers during a local disaster. Remember, regardless if you are engaged in social media, your company is still being talked about and reviewed. Better for you to be a part of that conversation than not.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is slightly different from Facebook. It focuses on business engagement and professional networking. If your agency has any business lines, you need to have a LinkedIn presence.

This social media channel encourages the sharing of professional-level information. Share insurance information targeted at businesses. Provide research papers or other detailed reports that would help you engage with a potential customer.

Share information pertinent to your business lines. For example, if your business focuses on any of the trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical), share information that would be useful to their needs, even if it is not directly insurance-related.
 

Twitter

Twitter allows you to build brand awareness and drive web traffic, all in 140 characters or less.
Twitter makes it tempting to just pump out tweet after a tweet promoting your business. But, that is actually the wrong thing to do. You want to make your agency a preferred expert in your niche. It is important to share links to relevant content from multiple sources, and also to retweet from other sources. Then, maybe every fifth or sixth tweet, promote something from your own site.

In natural disasters, Twitter is actually a powerful tool. Sending out toll-free numbers for people to call in claims is just one thing. Sharing where to get resources in the community is another.

Social media marketing definitely needs to be part of your agency’s future. You can engage with your audience one-on-one. You can engage in different ways via different social media channels, like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

How can your agency use social media?

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