These days, everyone has at least one social media account. Whether it’s Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook, tech-savvy businesses know that a social media presence is key to connecting with customers.
Small insurance agencies and independent insurance agents also need to meet their existing and potential customers where they are. Today, they’re on social media. Although conventional lead generation methods, like community networking and local advertising, remain effective, social media gives you the power to reach more individuals for less money.
This article will outline ten ways independent insurance agents can use social media to grow their business.
Before you embark on your journey, you will need to define your goals.
Like anything else, setting goals for your social media strategy will be imperative to your success. Be specific in defining goals to help you determine the steps needed for your own success. Use data-driven approaches to gauge what moves the needle on website traffic, engagement, and overall lead generation.
Consider the following specific social media goals as an independent insurance agent:
- Drive 250 new website visitors from your social channels.
- Boost social media engagement by 25%.
- Grow your follower base by 50%.
- Increase your social media page and social post impressions by 50%.
- Generate 50 new leads from across your channels.
You can replace those numbers with whatever figures work best for you and your specific needs.
Now that you have your goals in place, consider these ten ways to use social media to make those goals a reality:
1. Import Existing Contacts
Since most people have a social media profile on at least one platform, you should check your existing contacts list. You’ll likely find dozens, possibly hundreds, of contacts that you haven’t connected with through social media.
Most platforms, including Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, make it easy to import contacts from Outlook, Gmail, or your smartphone into your existing social media account. You’ll be surprised to discover that you may be missing out on valuable social media connections.
2. Don’t Overextend Yourself
Choose several key social media platforms to be active on. While it is important to connect with your target audience on the social media platforms where they are active, you will only be successful when you are yourself active on these platforms. In other words, don’t overextend yourself.
Start with two or three platforms that your audience uses. LinkedIn and Facebook are the best platforms for independent insurance agents. Where applicable, create a business account to leverage the platform’s business-specific features.
Your profile should be accurate, complete, and professional across all social media platforms.
3. Share and Repost Content From Other Sources
Some people shy away from social media because they think they will have to develop original content to share. While original content is helpful, your overall goal must be sharing beneficial information. When industry leaders share something useful or when you find a relevant article, be sure to share it on social media. It takes just seconds to share and keeps your audiences interested.
4. Develop Your Own Content
You will need to develop your own content as a way to establish yourself as an industry authority. When you create engaging posts related to your niche market, you can showcase your unique knowledge and industry awareness.
Even though you are using social media to market your insurance services, you want to avoid being overly salesy. The idea is to try and sell your services without the sales pitch. Remember that everything you share should provide value and educate your followers. Of course, sharing your professional and personal achievements can help personalize your relationship with your followers.
The key is to find the right balance. Sharing personal information is fine, but try to avoid oversharing on your social media business pages.
5. Develop Video Content
Video content continues to become increasingly popular across social media platforms.
Consider some of these facts about video content:
- Video posts on Facebook are 59% more engaging than other content type.
- Tweets featuring videos receive 10X more engagement than Tweets without.
- Instagram videos are the most engaging form of content on that social media platform.
- On Instagram, videos get more engagement than any other type of content.
- LinkedIn users are 20X more likely to share videos than any other content type.
Whether you create a professional video or use live streaming, you’ll get more engagement from video posts. Remember that your videos should be informational rather than salesy. Like any other content you share, the video should be relevant to your niche and topical.
6. Don’t Forget to Include Calls to Action
Your posts should encourage, whenever possible, followers to take steps through a call to action (CTA). A CTA can help guide them to take those steps using specific detailed instructions, helping grow your business with social media in an active way.
Consider using CTA phrases like:
“Get a personalized insurance quote today.”
“Contact me today to find out if you qualify.”
“Check out my blog for the complete article.”
“Sign up for my weekly newsletter.”
“Click here to see how much you’ll save compared to your existing policy.”
Your CTA should instill urgency in your target audience. Use targeted language that gives them an impression that there is limited time for them to act.
7. Stay Positive
Your presence across social media should reflect a positive professional personality and attitude. Avoid political, religious, or other divisive topics. Remember that your business’s social media page should only be used for business purposes.
8. Share regularly
It’s important to find a balance when sharing on social media. You can share too much, or you can share too little. Finding your sweet spot may take some time, and it will vary by platform.
Here are some suggestions for frequency targets:
- LinkedIn: 1x-5x daily
- Twitter: 1-5 daily Tweets
- Facebook: 1-2 posts daily
- Instagram: 3-7 posts weekly
These are not set in stone. Feel free to try various schedules in order to find your audience’s rhythm. Track your results and make adjustments as needed.
9. Join Social Media Groups
Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook have countless groups focusing on specific topics, industries, communities, and locations. Join relevant groups whenever possible but remember to interact with other group members. Jump into conversations and share your insights whenever possible. After all, social media is all about engagement.
10. Engage with Others
Social media is all about relationships, conversation, and engagement. You’ll connect more deeply when you engage your followers in ongoing discussions. When posting, ask questions that will encourage responses. Follow up when users respond to posts.
When you use social media to maintain an open dialog with followers, you’ll strengthen your connections and increase your sales opportunities.
Final Thoughts: Stick with It!
Building your brand and increasing social media engagement may not be easy, but it’s worth it. Just remember that your social media presence should be aimed at helping people and bringing value. That’s what you should strive for with every piece of social media content that you share.
Remember, consistency and growth take time. Don’t become discouraged and, most of all, never lose sight of the big picture. Use these ten ways to grow your business with social media as a starting point, and continue to grow from here!