Are you looking to build your book of business and are considering ramping up your social media presence to attract customers instead of relying on cold calling all day long? In this post, we share eight social media tips to use to help you achieve your goals.
Note: When starting out, your primary goal will be to create awareness of your Agency and what you offer. People must become aware of you and familiar with you before trusting you.
- Be Consistent! Try to make it a point to post something every workday and at approximately the same time. If you feel that you are unable to post each day, create and schedule ahead. Most platforms have a scheduling feature or you can use a variety of (free) apps that make both content creation and scheduling easy.
- Be On-brand. Even as a local Agency (of any size), creating a consistent message is important. Consistency of your posting style – including both visual graphics and the tone of the post wording – is very important. Strive for the most professional image possible. This doesn’t mean you can’t interject fun and personality. It means you create a brand that is recognizable for delivering great content. (Also always be sure you are compliant with any requirements or regulations as set forth by your insuring company).
- Be interesting and informative. Posting engaging content is important and that means you need to post a variety of types of content. There are a lot of types of posts that will work for an insurance agency. Just be sure that not every post is asking to give quotes or talking about having the lowest rates. Follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of posts should be informative and 20% can be sales-oriented. Don’t forget to share relevant news stories that support your offering.
- Find a structure. Posting every day may become monotonous and you may struggle with what to post. This can become more fun and less daunting if you create a structure. Following a weekly theme is one approach. For example: Mondays could be Motivational Monday (post a motivating quote), Tuesdays could be Testimonials Day, sharing reviews and testimonials from your customers; Wednesdays could be “Did You Know?” with some insurance trivia; Thursdays try Claims Example day, sharing how you saved the day (leaving out names and specific details, of course).
- Always use photos and graphics. People love to be able to see pictures and visualize exactly what they are reading about. If you can use a video or a picture for each post, you will get more views.
- Be personable. People like to share and read content that is unique. Be as real as possible in your content. Even if it takes a little longer to create it, it will be more appreciated and most importantly it will come across to the reader as genuine.
- Persistence pays! Don’t fall into a trap of expecting immediate results. Again, awareness is your goal when starting out. Most posts won’t get any engagement (Likes, Shares, etc.). Don’t get discouraged and stop posting. No or few engagements does not mean your posts were not seen. With social media, you have to stick with it over a longer period of time. After some weeks or longer, you will begin to gain traction, but it does take persistence.
- Show Local Love. It’s important to let your community know who you are and who your staff members are. Equally important is sharing about your community involvement and the good things you’re doing to support your community where they work and play. Showcase your staff members and always post when you are out and about in the community.
People do business with those they know, like, and trust. These social media tips can help you arrive at that place sooner than later.