Loading ...Social Networking’s Value to Insurance Agents and Brokers – Making the Case
“Soon, being the loudest and broadest messenger in a medium consumers don’t trust simply won’t count as much as being the most authentic, available, and accessible brand in the media consumers do.” – Experince: The Blog by Augie Ray
The business of being insurance agent or broker relies on building trusted relationships. The era of mass marketing was a threatening and scary time for insurance agents. The impersonal era of “big” everything, mass mailings, cold calling and blast email all had the effect of disenfranchising the independent agent and broker. They got lost in the “clutter”.
There has been a transformation and societal shift. Consumers have had it with the impersonal “push” marketing of yesterday. Spam filters, do-not-call lists, DVRs, and the like give the public the power to say, “I have had enough”.
Social networking is fostering fundamental changes to the way people communicate, gather information, form opinions, and build relationships. Social networking is all about listening, building community, engaging in a conversation, sharing an experience, being transparent, engaging, being interesting, and adding value. In short, Social networking is about building and strengthening relationships. This is encouraging news for independent agents and brokers. The meteoric rise of tools like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter are all telling us that customers want to do business with people who they “feel” like they know and trust. Independent agents can use these tools to their advantage over the impersonal national “logos” by creating a human “face” with a local presence. This should be reason enough for agents and brokers to get in the game and implement a social networking strategy.
Tuesday, 24 November, 2009 at 10:50
Rick, great post. I wish more agents understood the relationship building aspects of social media instead of just being worried about E&O.
Monday, 30 November, 2009 at 13:43
Great post Rick – Like Pat, I wish more agents would see the value. Perhaps the ones that do will be the survivors!
C
Monday, 7 December, 2009 at 0:25
Good post Rick…some good overview on Social Media there…and as noted from
your status updates on Facebook, you’re doing a great job
As you might have noticed, I’ve just finished my Social Media book targeted specifically for this industry…the book is appropriately titled Social Media For Insurance Brokers
In fact the book/website was just launched 4 days back and we’ve got overwhelming response (16 sales in less than 4 days)
You may wish to check out the website here: http://SocialMediaForInsuranceBrokers.com
Have a fabulous day ahead!
Ash
Wednesday, 16 December, 2009 at 6:49
Insurance professionals using social media and technology absolutely need a plan (those in other industries do to). I often hear people say, ‘why do I want to share what I had for breakfast?’ It is obvious to me that those coming at this thing with that philosophy never took time to draw out a plan, yet alone give thought to how beneficial Social Media can be for marketing, networking, service, and it is the ultimate word of mouth tool. Any agency that seriously dives into this space with a good plan will not only find success, but also find tremendous savings in their marketing budget. I’d also argue that connecting with clients through these tools will help increase retention rates in the long term. Great post, Rick!
Thursday, 21 January, 2010 at 16:01
Great post. It is true, no one like to do business with strangers.
I like how you put it:
“that customers want to do business with people who they “feel” like they know and trust.”
The question is then how do you use these in the best way possible to get the maximum leverage of your time and energy?
I am sure there are many agents that spend countless hours and find this addicting.
Thursday, 21 January, 2010 at 16:55
I am not sure about “many” but for some, yes it can be addicting. One of the keys is to have a good plan and overall strategy. Then work on some metrics to evaluate and measure your success.