SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THE INSURANCE AGENT

A COMMUNICATIONS OPPORTUNITY

Communication has been democratized

The Lifestream Age Consumer generated content Age of the digital camera Wifi & broadband

Facebook – Doubled since 9/08 Twitter – Doubled since 3/09

WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA?

More messages in more places Attract rather than detract Build communities not databases Communicate “with” instead of

“at” Economy of a million niche markets

WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA

Google loves social media 24/7 access Connect directly with decision

makers Build frequency more efficiently

and dynamically

BUT HOW CAN I USE IT?

Be interesting Build awareness Generate relationships Show passion Demonstrate honesty Create discussions Listen, listen, listen

MAIN CONTENT TYPES

Social networking (Facebook) Blogs (Wordpress) Microblogs (Twitter) Reference tools (Wikipedia) Peer to Peer Sharing (YouTube) Research (Google Alerts) Peer to Peer Reviews (Yelp)

WHAT DO YOU USE IT FOR?

Recruiting Branding Call to action Market research Entertainment Networking

PEOPLE

Who is your audience? What do they like and dislike? What motivates them? What do they talk about? Obsess

over? What are their demographics?

OBJECTIVE

Who are the stake holders? What is the end goal? What will your audience do if

you’re successful? Will your organization be more

valuable for having started the campaign?

HAVE A PLAN

STRATEGY

Which analytics and data will show you reached your objective?

What resources (time, labor, financial) are available?

Who will have ownership? What are competitors doing?

TECHNOLOGY

Which technologies are important? Video, picture, audio sharing Per-to-peer networks vs. Blogging When and how will content be

generated? Who is the caretaker and

observer?

ROI

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. - Albert Einstein

ROI

Measure Awareness (Web Traffic) Measure Acquisition (Conversion

rates) Measure Retention (Reputation

management) Qualities (Trust, Influence,

Coolness factor)

TIPS

Have a personality, a perspective and passion

Define your audience Listen more than you talk Have a plan and keep the end in

mind Make a schedule and budget time

TIPS

Engage in conversations by being helpful and by giving more than you take

Consumers will share their opinions whether or not you want to hear them

Concentrate on building word of mouth by delivering interesting and relevant content

Build trust and add value first. “Bring wine to the picnic”

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WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

Toe dipping Educational content

Video, links Staying top of mind Branding as the experts Developing relationships Retweeting, replying, interacting

BEST TACTICS

Focus on relationship building between people

Twitter search conversations Interject value into conversation

Use social media tools to be a catalyst for real, in person interaction

BEST TACTICS

Create an internal platform facilitate sharing of information and creativity

Comment, reply, retweet, forward information that adds real value to people

Don’t be that guy, trolling, you can get “blackballed”

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

Number of new relationships Traffic to website Increased revenue Decreased expenses Conversion rates

TIPS

Focus on consultative selling Be educational!!! Watch what you say!!! You can get

blackballed Walk before running!!! Prove communicate enhance repeat

NEXT ACTIONS

Develop content and distribute Teach three agents to be experts Evaluate, find successes, repeat

NEED HELP

KSWZ Insurance ServicesFive Rings Financial

Katherine Wichmann ZachariasI can refer you to social media

experts if needed619.208.7717

thewic@sbcglobal.net