Everywhere you look today there are discussions and information pertaining to Web 2.0 and Social Media. The experts proclaim it is a key to success, especially with the Generation X and Y consumers. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and quite a few other Web 2.0 applications have cropped up offering individuals the opportunity to join with other like minded individuals. From a business perspective social media offers businesses the opportunity to create an identity and attract consumers who may ultimately become clients.
For many agents, especially those that aren’t technophiles, social media can be very intimidating. Learning to use the various applications and understanding how they work can be a challenge. If you decide to dive in and use this new media just keep in mind the goal is to present a positive image of your business and to attract consumers. Web 2.0 applications let your business personality come through while allowing you to attract and connect with consumers.
The best way to get comfortable with whatever site you pick is to just jump in and start using it on a personal basis. All of them offer instructions on getting started and there are also numerous articles on using social media. If you have staff that uses the program you choose spend some time discussing how it works, what they like and dislike about it and what keeps them coming back. Ask them if they interact with any businesses, and if so, what attracted them to do so and what keeps them interacting with that business. Learning to use the site you choose won’t be too hard. Your biggest challenge will be attracting people to talk about insurance and keeping them interested and engaged. Some things you may discuss on your page to get their interest and start a dialogue would be:
• Debunking common insurance myths.
• Unusual or unique claims that have occurred.
• Offering interesting facts and figures about insurance.
As you gain experience in using the site you may also want to use visual media for visitors to watch. This is especially effective if it is coming from a third party. It is very easy to learn how to embed a short video onto a site like Facebook.
Currently there are several insurance publications that use Facebook and embed short videos for visitors to view. You only have to look to the popularity of You Tube to see the effectiveness and popularity of video.
Your goal is to engage visitors and get them asking questions and offering stories, especially those that relate to their own personal experiences. You can then post a reply with information and/or advice relative to the subject and others who view your page gain from the experience as well.
You also need to be prepared to handle negative conversations and feedback as it is very likely to happen. Be prepared for it and deal with it calmly offering factual information. If someone relates a negative experience that you believe was unprofessional and poorly handled it is not inappropriate to be sympathetic to their situation. Remember not every agency handles situations in the professional and timely manner you do.
I believe the 3 most popular social media are Twitter, Facebook and Linked In. Twitter is mainly personal and I don’t think it offers as good an opportunity to promote your agency because of the 140 character message limitation. Facebook can be used both on a personal and business basis. Never combine your personal and business pages on Facebook. Keep them separate. If you have both a personal and business page in Facebook be careful what is on your personal page as it can be tied back to your business. Silly or inappropriate discussions and photos on your personal page can have a negative effect on visitors to your business page if they make the connection. Linked In is the professional social media application and would be excellent for pursuing commercial insurance. It allows you to create a very professional persona and to have others attest to your skills and recommend your services. Just be sure any recommendations are sincere and preferably unsolicited. If participants feel the recommendation is contrived or promoted by you it could have a negative effect.
In closing I will just mention that there are hundreds of articles out there offering advice on how to use Web 2.0 and social media to promote your business. Before you move forward with creating a page spend some time learning how to use the application you choose. Then spend a little more time researching the various articles and determining how you want to use this new media to promote your business.
Search for insurance on the sites and see who else is using it for their business. As I said at the top of this article, Web 2.0 and social media can be intimidating and you may wonder if it is here to stay or just a passing fad. Many people feel it is a passing fad but don’t forget that’s also what they said about the internet and websites and look at where they are today
