Social media is a platform for your business, right? Yes, in some ways social media is a platform. However, it’s not just a place where your insurance business is center stage, shouting out to your social media contacts. In order to get attention in today’s world of social media marketing, your insurance marketing strategies must focus more on having a conversation than on talking to your contacts.
Don’t Just Talk to People
What gives you a greater feeling of caring?
- Option A: You walk into a store and the salesperson doesn’t let you get a word in edgewise and focuses on telling you about the benefits of the product.
- Option B: The salesperson may not even tell you about the product at first but focuses on getting to know what you’re looking for before providing resources that can lead you to the right decision.
If you walk in ready to buy, Option A could be beneficial. If you’re not quite sure what you need or whether you need the product at all, Option B would be the better option.
The same goes for your insurance marketing on social media. If you only use social media as a platform to talk about your products, you’re missing out on dialogue and relationship-building. This is the social part of social media, and you don’t want to miss it.
Facebook is Changing
If you use Facebook as your main social media platform, it’s especially important to seek engagement rather than simply making announcements. According to VentureBeat, “Facebook users can expect to see more posts from friends and family in their News Feeds in the coming months…. Posts that generate high levels of engagement will also be featured more prominently in the News Feed.”
If you want to get noticed and stay noticed by your Facebook audience, one of your roles is to develop posts with the idea of generating dialogue.
How to Start a Conversation Online
If you’re feeling like the awkward one at the social media party, you don’t have to be. Here are a few ways to get a dialogue started online:
- Track your customers’ interests and demographics and post information and start conversations that are relevant to these interests, even if they are slightly outside your field of work. For instance, according to Impact BND, Zappos “Invites people to ask them a “stupid” question — not just about shoes or their business, but absolutely anything!” This opens a successful and engaging dialogue.
- Be friendly and show good online listening when customers respond to your posts. Reply quickly, and rephrase and respond to what they’ve said.
- Ask open-ended questions. Instead of just asking people whether they like something, ask them what they enjoy. For instance, if you insure many vintage cars, you could ask people what they love the most about their vintage car.
- Encourage photos, sharing, and hashtags. All of these increase engagement and make it more likely that others will see your post as well. For instance, if you ask people to share a photo of their car with the hashtag #vintagecar and a statement about what they love most about owning a vintage car, this is even more powerful engagement than just asking them to write something.
Are you curious to see how you can improve your insurance marketing, hiring, and business practices? Talk with the American Agents Alliance. We’ll help you access many different membership benefits that will help you build your insurance business.
