Social media: it's a rising tide that has the possibility of being greater than all of the other ways that you promote your business. When you're marketing insurance, there are few marketing tools more powerful than the world of the web. It's a tide that's seemingly driven by waves of Gen Y and Millennials, those digital natives who grew up in the age of the internet. But is your social media-based insurance marketing destined to reach only those audiences? More and more, different demographics are becoming a strong presence on social media. You need to be aware of these trends.
The New Presence on Social Media
What demographic has grown more than 70 percent on social media since 2012? Hint: it's not the Millennials. Surprisingly, according to Fast Company, "the 45-54 year age bracket is the fastest growing demographic on both Facebook and Google+," while the 55-64 year-old age group is the fastest-growing group on Twitter. If you think that you can avoid social media because it's for a younger demographic than your target audience or you think that you need to focus on Millennials and young families when you're marketing insurance on social media, you may have been accurate a few years ago, but you're wrong today. Today, you must know how to market insurance on social media to those in the 45-64 year-old age groups.
Marketing Insurance Online to Older Demographics
Like younger demographics, those 45+ have a lot of diversity within their groups. They range from parents of elementary-school-aged children to those who are moving into their retirement years.
Be conscious of the slant within the content that you post. Make sure that your content appeals to the range of insurance needs of older adults. For example, the younger part of this demographic may be making a purchase of a new home or vehicle for their family, and they will need auto or home insurance. The older part of this demographic could be thinking about downsizing as their children leave the nest, or they may decide to become more mobile renters in their retirement years: They need to know about apartment and tenant insurance. When you create content for your business, understand the personal life cycle needs of older adults and how they connect to your insurance marketing.
Understand that, while older demographics are using social media more often, they need this social media to be linked to their favorite communication channels. They're not heavy into the use of text and instant messaging. Instead, they prefer email connection. Make sure that your social media profiles and updates are closely connected to your email contact forms and newsletters.
Know that while older adults are getting more active on social media, they still retain different customer service and marketing expectations than the generations that follow. While Millennials are not fond of direct marketing messages and prefer to talk about their personal experience with a brand, older adults are more familiar with direct marketing messages. They are also looking for a higher level of direct customer service. Providing them with the opportunity to connect with an agent on the phone and developing websites with straightforward sales funnels that allow these leads to move from social media to the website to a personal interaction with an insurance agent.
Expand your network: Connect with the American Agents Alliance today. We'll help you develop your presence within the insurance industry through our many membership benefits.
