One of the most cost-effective ways you can build your insurance business is through social media. However, navigating your options and learning about social media accounts can be time-consuming and sometimes overwhelming. We’ve narrowed down the top things you need to know about using social media to expand your insurance business.
If you’ve been solely focused on traditional marketing methods like direct mail, radio, TV, print ads, or word of mouth—you may be missing out. These tried-and-true advertising routes are certainly reliable and effective (and you should keep using them). However, there’s still a large group of potential clients you may be missing out on.
These potential clients may not be tuning into the radio or watching TV. They may not even pay much attention to what arrives in the mailbox.
Instead, you should try reaching them using social media.
According to Pew Research, 72% of the American public now uses some type of social media. Adding this virtual route to your traditional marketing methods can help you reach more clients and may even help you get back in front of some previously lost opportunities.
Your social media communications should feature the same kind of personalized connection you typically develop with your clients. It should be similar to the face-to-face networking you’ve likely grown to depend on as an insurance agent—just virtually repackaged for the Internet. Here are some ideas for what you can do with your social media posts:
Many social media platforms can work well for insurance agencies. For example, you might consider setting up a YouTube or Twitter profile in addition to the platforms below. We’ve narrowed it down to three platforms that may work best for insurance agencies: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
With 2.7 billion users, Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. Facebook has a business resource center to help you with marketing and even a small business center for more targeted advice. There, you can learn how to engage customers and keep them informed. You’ll also find tips for building lasting client relationships and accomplishing your business goals.
Within Facebook, you can host both a personal and a business page. You can maintain your pages at no cost—but you can purchase Facebook Ads if you’d like to test their effectiveness. Through Facebook Videos, you can build video stories using only photos and texts or turn existing videos into story ads. You can also use Facebook Live to go live for your clients via video streaming. Facebook Messenger allows you to send and receive instant messages. Additionally, you can join all sorts of Facebook Groups to network in your community and learn from like-minded colleagues in the insurance industry.
LinkedIn has over 150 million users and is the perfect platform for establishing your brand, generating leads, and connecting with other professionals. You can also drive traffic to your website through LinkedIn and share informative content with your online network and clientele.
It is free to have a LinkedIn personal page and business page. However, you do have the option to pay for sponsored content, messaging, text ads, and dynamic ads.There’s also a Campaign Manager platform within LinkedIn that can help you streamline your advertising and marketing.
Turn to LinkedIn’s helpful business center to find tools for hiring, advertising, and learning online.
Each day, over 500 million users visit Instagram to scroll through photos and watch video content. Instagram is an ideal way to reach millennials in particular. It’s all about making an instant impression with photos, so prepare to roll out eye-catching posts that make an impact.
Instagram has personal and business accounts. The business accounts are especially useful for giving you metrics and insight about who is visiting your agency’s account. Instagram has a useful resource to show business owners how they can best use the platform.
As an Instagram user, you’ll build networks by following others and obtaining followers. You use hashtags to draw attention to your posts. You can also pay to promote posts so more people see them.
If you find social media overwhelming or find you’re short on time, consider outsourcing your social media marketing or using online tools that can help you manage your social media accounts.
Thanks for reading our educational resource! Any above reference to a specific company, method, or product is meant for educational purposes only and is not specifically endorsed by Pie.
