At Zywave, we help hundreds of insurance agencies optimize and run their social media efforts effectively. Here are nine activities we’ve witnessed that can hurt your strategy by producing less valuable results:
1. Posting too much
Are you posting more than once per day to Facebook? Unless there is a very important update, once a day is enough. Recent numbers are showing that brands posting four times or less per week are actually seeing more engagement. In today’s day and age when so many businesses are trying to stay in front of the consumer, you want to make sure you are only sharing relevant updates, and not sharing so often they want to hide what you’re posting.
2. Sharing only links
Find a great article to share? If sharing on Facebook use the image of the article as the center of the post, and then put the link below the text. Links see the least amount of engagement on Facebook.
3. Running contests without promotion
Too often I see contests insurance agencies are running that are really great, and could get some great engagement, yet there is no promotion. They just post it on Facebook and hope for the best. If no one sees the contest, how can they enter? Use word of mouth, email campaigns, promoted posts, and multiple social networks to get the word out!
4. Forgetting to engage on Twitter
Twitter is a great way to absorb information. It is also a great way to network. Twitter is not meant just for sharing, it is also to network with potential clients and local community members, or niche industry accounts. Don’t forget to retweet, mention, and use hashtags. Dedicate a few hours to sitting and building your agency’s Twitter presence, it will pay off.
5. Ignoring LinkedIn
So many agents have LinkedIn but never login. LinkedIn is a widely under-utilized network by many in the insurance industry. Not only is it an online profile and resume to build you and your employees’ online reputation, but it can be a way to connect with prospects and get leads, especially for commercial producers. Check out the Help Desk guides on LinkedIn to get your profile up to date.
6. Assume what works for other businesses will work for your agency
Everyday there are hundreds of blog posts written on social media best practices. Just because something is deemed a best practice, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for your agency. A retail store, a restaurant, an insurance agency, all need to take into account which social media networks are best for their business. Just because Pinterest sells clothes, doesn’t mean it will sell Insurance.
7. Keeping social media efforts siloed
Just because you have a blogger doesn’t mean the other agency employees should not embrace social media. Employees should be contributing to the blog and helping with social media ideas. They should also be sharing social media updates and utilizing LinkedIn to network. Make sure your social media specialist or intern has an open communication channel with the rest of the agency.
8. Promoting blog posts only once
Make sure to promote, promote, promote! Especially on Twitter you can share blog posts multiple times with different headlines. The more exposure a blog gets, the more likely people are to read and share it.
9. Letting social media overtake sales & culture
As important as social media marketing is, you cannot forget the basics. Making sure your agency staff is onboard with new processes and the culture at your agency is sales-centric, comes before diving blindly into social media. If you get leads, will you have the people to close the deal? Work on that before Facebook.
By avoiding these common pitfalls, your agency could reach more insurance consumers online!