Social media marketing is nothing new in the larger marketing industry but may be novel for independent insurance agencies. This tool is something all agencies should include in their insurance agency marketing strategy for several reasons. Social media can help your agency show off your expertise, build trust with customers and prospects, and help you better engage your customer base. For independent agencies, social media is an excellent tool to amplify their valuable local and personal connections with their communities.
Whether your agency is on social media or not, you’re being discussed in the social media space. Join in that conversation! Get your agency started by following a few simple dos and don’ts in the social media sphere.
Social Media “Dos”
To start, here are a few “must-dos” for your insurance agency’s social media marketing.
- Get someone who knows what they’re doing or willing to learn. Don’t put your office manager on social media duty if they have no knowledge or interest in the job. Consider social media savvy in your hiring process, finding someone who has a knack for this unique role.
- Understand what your customers want to see in your social profiles. You can start by looking at other agencies or local businesses to see what content gets the most engagement. Then, ask your customers what topics interest them and go from there.
- Define your agency’s brand and tone for all your social platforms. Think about your niche offerings and highlight them in your social media branding. And, pay attention to your tone, keeping it consistent across posts and platforms.
- Prepare all your staff for social media. Regardless of whether they’re doing the posting, everyone on your team needs to understand proper social media etiquette, including what’s appropriate to post and what they should avoid.
- Create a calendar to help plan your posts ahead of time. Start by planning to have one post a week and expand to three to four times or more as your audience grows and time allows.
- Make opportunities for people to engage with your content. Ask questions, request photos, or hold contests to get people to comment, like, and share your content with others.
- Track what’s working, keeping a record of what posts are getting the most clicks and shares. You can use this data to craft better posts for the future.
Social Media “Don’ts”
There are also some common mistakes to avoid when getting your agency on social media
- Signing up for every platform without researching which works best for your needs. It’s best to start with one or two platforms and expand from there.
- Posting a lot one day and then taking a break. When you post three times in a row then don’t have anything for a few days, your audience gets confused. Set up a regular cadence for posting and avoid posting more than once a day.
- Using different account names and pictures for each platform. Strive for consistency, using the same profile icon for each platform and a similar name. It may not be possible to have the same name on each account, but you should try for similar names like “YourLocalAgency” on one and “Your_Local_Agency” on another.
- Leaving your profile bare. Add as much relevant information as possible to your account profiles, especially your agency name, website, and phone number. The more you can put in your profiles, the easier it is for people to find you and get in touch.
- Making social media a one-way street where you send out information but never reply. If someone makes a comment or sends you a message, respond! The more you engage, the more people will follow you.
- Ignoring social media data. The engagement data you collect on social media is quite valuable. It tells you what your customers are interested in, and you can use that information to engage prospects, gain referrals, and solicit reviews from happy customers.
Get the Tech You Need to Capitalize on Social Media Marketing
One of the best ways to leverage social media data is by connecting it with your agency’s CRM system. You can use social media data to understand different customer segments’ interests and adjust your prospecting to meet those needs.
Another great tool is a marketing automation tool that can schedule social media posts, track engagement, and reply to messages and comments. Plus, you can link marketing automation and your CRM for a seamless transition between social media outreach and data analysis.
A final helpful piece of tech is a reputation management tool to help manage your agency reviews. People are leaving reviews about your agency regardless of whether you know it or not, and a reputation management tool can help you stay on top of them. You can track reviews, reply to them, and solicit reviews from current customers, all within one tool. Our Partner Platform agencies use BlueJay Reviews to track their agency reviews seamlessly within their Partner Platform agency management system.
We offer all these tools and more as part of our Partner Platform suite’s Sales and Marketing capabilities. You can learn more about all our Partner Platform solutions on our website. And, get in touch with us to set up a time to talk about your agency’s needs and view a demo today.
Sarah Deak has been contributing to the SIS team since 2013, covering topics like agency perpetuation, workflow improvements, data security, and marketing. She has a background in small business, working with organizations to improve their online presence and client engagement. Sarah also writes for the SIS newsletters and website, and counts herself lucky to hear from our many passionate, hard-working clients for our client stories. Her favorite part about working for SIS are the dedicated, service-minded people.