Getting Started or Re-Focused With Social Media

One thing we can all agree upon is the insurance industry is getting more and more competitive. In the past the formula for success was being a great salesman, knowing the products and offering great customer service. This led to referrals and a growing insurance agency. In 2012 you still have to do all of the above at a high level, but you also have to become more of an entrepreneur than ever before. This means creating a marketing game plan, making your agency more efficient and being responsible for more facets then just one on one selling.

This is where Social Media comes into play. It will allow you to create an instant brand for your agency. Allowing the consumer to understand quickly why you’re unique and different then your competition.

Cleaning Up Social Media Mistakes

I talk to many insurance agencies about social media daily. Many tell me how they created a facebook fan page or LinkedIn page months ago. Now they’ve forgotten about them and barely know how to access them. Problem is these pages are easily found on Google when a consumer checks out your “brand”. The consumer views these pages as the level of professionalism your agency can provide. When the social media page looks unfinished or inactive then your agency suffers, regardless of how you view their value.

Getting Started or Re-Energized With Social Media

Regardless if you’ve already tried Social Media or are creating a new presence today for your agency, follow my advice below and you will start moving in the right direction.

Step 1- Create or tune up a Facebook Fanpage, LinkedIn Page & Twitter Page.

-      Tune up means each page is setup esthetically in a professional manner, including a summary about your agency and has your logo and contact information.

Step 2- Synchronize your Facebook page with your Twitter page and your Twitter page with your LinkedIn page. This will allow you to save a lot of time and increase your agencies virtual sphere influence and SEO. The end result will be you posting once and that content being displayed on all three platforms instantly.

Instructions on Synchronizing The Three Pages

Step 1 – Go to your Facebook fan page

-      Click Edit Page in the top right

-      Click Update Info

-      On the left side of this new page click “Resources”

-      Select “Link Your Page To Twitter”

-      Enter your Twitter login info

Step 2 – Go to LinkedIn and click edit profile

-      Under the “Website” field you will see “Twitter”

-      Click edit and enter your Twitter login info.

Now when you post on Facebook it will auto post on Twitter and then to LinkedIn automatically, saving you time and increasing your sphere of influence.

With Social Media there are really only three things you have to worry about. Making sure your pages look professional, that you are constantly growing your connections and fans and that you’re constantly posting new content to influence your connections and keeping your agency “Brand” on people’s minds. Check back next month as we discuss the best ways to consistently increase your connections and fans!