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Social media can help support your marketing efforts by creating connections and relationships with potential insurance customers who want the services you provide. As an insurance agent, it's crucial to get your offerings in front of the masses, but traditional marketing efforts designed to create name recognition can take years to pay off. With a well-designed social media marketing plan, you can start generating warm leads sooner than other types of marketing.
Your potential clients want to be able to find you on the internet. They want evidence that you are a trustworthy professional and they can count on you to help them make the right choices about their insurance.
Fortunately, with a social media marketing plan in place, you can control what your customers see. With social media, it's easy to track users. Facebook has 2.8 billion users worldwide and is one of the most widely utilized social media platforms. Additionally, more than 80% of adults use YouTube worldwide, and about 28% of adults use LinkedIn.
Insurance agents who decide not to participate in social media miss out on a free lead generation tool that could grow to provide life-long support for their business. After all, purchasing warm leads (while important) is a cost that many insurance agents build into their budget. You can choose to partner with a trusted lead-generating company and get high-quality leads, but they aren't free. Warm leads that come from your social media marketing plan cost only your time and a bit of dedication.
You may have already established a robust (and possibly expensive) traditional marketing plan. Television ads, billboards, mailers, radio advertising, and paid internet ads can be real workhorses when it comes to building your brand and name recognition in your community.
Social media can support your marketing efforts by presenting a more personal and accessible image when a potential client looks you up online. They can reach you in a low-pressure way and ask a question or connect with you and follow your posts to learn more about how you serve your current insurance clients.
While it may not be possible for you to devote the time and attention required to establish a presence across numerous social media outlets, it's smart to start with these four established platforms:
As the world's largest social media platform, Facebook provides a venue for long-form posts. You may not get far with organic reach, but if you are considering purchasing paid Facebook ads, you'll be pleased with how easy it is to reach certain demographics.
Three-quarters of people who use social media and have an income of more than $75,000 use Facebook. The number of people using Facebook increased each year between 2010 and 2021. And, there are now more than 2.9 billion Facebook users worldwide.
Insurance agents may see Twitter as a social media platform with the smallest learning curve for new users. Each tweet has a limit of 280 characters, so it's conducive to frequent and brief posting. In the United States, more than 77 million people use Twitter.
If you are interested in social media advertising, Twitter may be a top choice. Its cost per mile (CPM), which is the amount of money advertisers pay for 1,000 ad impressions, is the lowest among major social media platforms at just $6.46.
Video content produces more engagement than other content types. For insurance agents who can produce short, relevant, and interesting videos, YouTube is the ideal platform. Building a channel is time-consuming, but you can promote your videos using your other social media platforms to increase your reach and boost your return on investment (ROI).
Between 91% and 95% of people in the United States between the ages of 18 and 49 used YouTube in 2021. One in three baby boomers uses YouTube as a source of information, so it's not just a platform for younger audiences.
If you have been selling insurance for any amount of time, you probably already have a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is an often-overlooked social media channel that could help you get leads. As the world's largest networking site for professionals, LinkedIn allows you to connect with people in your community who may need your services.
When you include a clear headshot and complete your professional profile on LinkedIn, you have a better chance of appearing in searches. Use keywords in your profile the way you would on your website to optimize the content. Send connection requests to your current clients with a personal message inviting them to reach out with any insurance-related questions or concerns.
If you have a professional Twitter and Facebook profile, integrate your feeds with LinkedIn to stay in front of your audience there without putting in a lot of extra effort. You can set up your social media accounts to automatically cross-post, so you can provide the same information and updates across all three platforms at once.
While you are considering various social media platforms to help you build your audience, remember that there are more choices than the platforms listed above. SnapChat, Reddit, Quora, TikTok, and Instagram may also help you reach potential insurance clients.
Building your social media strategy doesn't have to be complicated or intimidating. Choose one or two platforms and get familiar with the basics of creating and publishing a post. A few strategies can help you get set for success.
Start by making a list of short videos or posts that you'd like to provide to your followers and connections for educational purposes. You can create the content all at once if that's easier, but use a content calendar to schedule your posts so you don't have to spend much time or energy providing regular content.
Keep the "social" in social media by finding more meaningful ways to connect with your audience. Your potential clients want to get to know you a bit, so it's OK to present a relaxed (yet professional) image when participating in social media.
Connect with your audience's concerns. For example, when major news outlets report that home insurance prices are rising, you have the opportunity to provide information about how you help your clients keep their insurance costs down.
LinkedIn provides the ideal platform where you can grow your audience by publishing short articles about timely insurance topics. You have the opportunity to build an audience by providing free (and trustworthy) expert advice across all social media platforms.
Tools like Buffer and Hootsuite offer free plans that allow you to schedule your posts in advance, which can help you post when people are most likely to be online without having to stay glued to your phone or computer during weekends, evenings, and holidays.
You can target certain demographics in your area when you purchase social media ads. Plus, social media advertising lets you track the performance of individual campaigns, providing immediate feedback about which efforts produce the best results.
Insurance topics can be dry and boring, but it's an essential part of protecting the homes, businesses, and lives we've worked so hard to build. Your social media content should help people see its importance and relevance to their lives.
Your personal take on a situation or development that may affect your clients is valuable. When there's a major news development that affects the insurance industry or your customers directly, provide a link and give your feedback on the situation.
You have knowledge about important financial topics that the average person can't access with a Google search. Talk to your audience about timely and relevant subjects. For example, if there's a major storm in your area, create a series of posts about how to file an insurance claim. Talk about how you help your clients through the process so they can get their homes and property restored as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Unless you are selling insurance across state lines, your audience is made up of members of your community. Address issues in your area. Share good news and be generous with compliments. Social media is a great place to connect one on one with potential clients, and one way to open a conversation is to offer congratulations when it's due.
It may take time for you to reap the fruits of your labor where your professional social media presence is concerned, but a few months from now you'll be glad you spent time setting up your social media channels. By providing valuable and timely information, you can position yourself as the go-to source for insurance information in your community.
While it might make sense to purchase social media advertising, it's not necessary if you are willing to wait for your audience to grow organically. Remember, many people use social media as a way to unwind or become more knowledgeable about what's going on in the world. Post regularly and keep your content fresh and relevant, and your social media efforts will start to pay off.
Until your social media marketing efforts start to produce high-quality warm leads for your agency, you can give your lead funnel a boost by partnering with Nectar. We provide real-time, qualified, warm leads for insurance agents who want to grow their business. Contact us today to learn more about how Nectar can help you get the leads you need while you ramp up your social media marketing efforts.
This article reflects the features of Nectar as of the date of publication. Features are subject to change at any time. This article is meant for informational purposes only, it is not a guarantee that using Nectar will help you achieve specific business or financial results and is not intended to serve as the sole recommendation for any business financial decisions.
