State Auto Digital Agent

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2014 issue of SA Today . TCI Insurance is an example of an agency doing the right things to build an online presence that is simply an extension of who they are as a team. TCI’s approach is to focus on quality— of the content, people, and interactions— rather than checking social media off a list. Founded in 1985, TCI Insurance is headquartered in West Fargo, N.D., with two branch locations and nearly 20 staff members. The agency has been working for over a year to activate an online presence, including an email newsletter, blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. We talked with Steve Huber , vice president and sales manager, and Stephanie Blair , marketing/sales, to learn how they’re making social media work for TCI. Blair came to the agency with a P&C and financial advisor background. Her interest in social media led to the opportunity to make that part of her role at the agency. Today, managing the agency’s online presence is

This is the third post in a series about creating your social media response plan. We've covered Step 1 - Who Will Respond? and Step 2 - When to Respond . Imagine you have completed steps 1 and 2 of your Social Media Response Plan.  You have two trusted members of your agency staff who are monitoring the web for mentions of your agency. They have some practice responding to positive comments and questions posted on your Facebook page. Now imagine a client posts a complaint about your service on your insurance agency's Facebook page. You know you need to respond quickly. What should you say?  It helps to know your goals for the interaction. Don’t fall victim to the mindset that you must prove your point.  You may never be able to satisfy the person making the complaint.  Think about the people who will read this interaction now or in the future. First, maintain your professionalism. Second, get the conversation offline as quickly as possible.   Steps to create a

This is the second post in a series about creating your social media response plan. In the first post, "How to Create a Social Media Response Plan," we covered Step 1 - Who Will Respond? Knowing when to respond is just as important as determining what you will say. If you see a negative post about your insurance agency, it can be tempting to jump to your own defense. Part of being prepared to respond is determining in advance which types of situations warrant a response. Step 2: When Will You Respond? Situations When You Should Respond Someone asks for your help. They may post this directly on your Facebook page, or this might be a call for help on a blog or website that isn't associated with you. Regardless of where they post it, if they mention your agency and ask for assistance, you will likely need to respond. Someone says something directly to you. When someone   directs a post to your agency, you must respond, and quickly. This might be a mention on Tw

Your response plan is so important; we didn't want to squeeze the details into one blog post.  This is the first post in a series that will walk you through the steps of creating your social media response plan. Social media is a megaphone.  With little time and no cost, people can voice their opinions and share their thoughts about anything.  If someone feels they have been treated unfairly, they are more likely to want to tell other people about it.  This means that anything you do or say to a customer can be shared.  If you treat someone poorly, expect to hear about it in your monitoring.  Assuming you always do the right thing and treat everyone fairly, you still may end up receiving undue negativity.  That is human nature – you can’t make everyone happy all of the time.  The first step is listening.  If you don’t know someone is talking about you, you can’t possibly respond. Creating Your Social Media Response Plan The next step is to create a plan that covers who

Ask yourself this, "when is the last time I saw client X?" Now imagine someone asking client X, "when is the last time you saw your agent?" The answer is probably the same, "I can't remember." As much as we'd like to meet face to face with every client we work with or hope to represent, it just isn't always possible. However, just because it isn't possible to meet in person, there is no reason why your clients shouldn't feel like they just saw you. In today's business world marketing options are plentiful, but none may be more effective than simply marketing your face. During one of my very first sales calls, I met with an ex-captive agent who worked for a large insurance company. We discussed one of the company's studies which compared two separate captive agencies. One of the agents used a traditional business card and the other had all the same traditional information, but included

Are your clients expecting that you will communicate with them on social media and through text messages? As digital communication methods continue to evolve, people are becoming more depending on technology to interact with service providers.  The topic of managing errors and omissions concerns while using new methods of communication was discussed at the Midwestern Region Agency Advisory Council meeting this year. To provide resources and guidance in this area, the State Auto team conducted interviews with leading technology experts in the insurance industry and researched tips for managing your E&O exposure in today’s digital environment.  The bottom line: Agents should evaluate their agency workflow and procedures and plan to evolve along with changing client needs. If implemented successfully, your process will contribute to better customer service in addition to managing your E&O and compliance needs.  Tips for Managing E&O with Digital Communication

There’s something special about waking up on a cool, Fall Sunday morning and wrapping my hands around that first cup of warm coffee, preparing for a relaxing day of watching NFL football. I settle on the couch and turn on the TV to watch my favorite team, the Kansas City Chiefs.  The thought of relaxing is replaced with panic as I flip through the channels, searching for the game. Living in Ohio as a Chiefs fan means that the games are rarely on TV, unless they’re playing the Browns or Bengals.  Feeling defeated, I quickly search online to look for alternatives. I happily discover I could listen to the game and other features online – via a live podcast – through the NFL.com or Chiefs online radio network! Crisis averted! The benefits of creating podcasts for your clients Podcasts are audio files/segments that are available for download through the Internet. Think of hosting your very own radio show where you can provide quick, archivable snippets of information to your cons

We now see regular examples of people turning to social media during times of disaster and other emergencies. Why is social media being used in this way, and what does this mean for the insurance industry? The Red Cross surveyed people who said they used social media in an emergency situation. Here’s what they found: 76% contacted friends and family who were affected by the disaster 24% let their family and friends know they were okay 37% used information on social media to buy supplies or find shelter 44% asked their friends on social media to contact responders for help 80% Expect emergency response agencies to monitor and respond to social media These responses indicate that people tend to use the easiest, most accessible means possible when they need to communicate with loved ones and take basics steps for survival. When a disaster happens, first responders, and aid organizations need to get important messages to the people impacted, and so do insurance agents and c

If you feel like you haven’t heard much about YouTube anymore, it may be because the original video-sharing network is so pervasive that it now needs no introduction. YouTube reaches more U.S. adults ages 18-34 than any cable network. The good news is that your agency can take advantage of YouTube in a number of ways, and not all of them require an extensive video budget.  8 Ways to Use YouTube Create a “Company Channel” on YouTube for your agency. Upload your logo to brand as your agency. On this channel, you can: Post videos you create (both professionally created and short video messages you create with your smartphone). Collect lists of videos you think will be valuable to your clients. These are called Playlists, and they can include videos posted to YouTube that you didn’t create but you want your clients to see. You can create a Playlist for a topic, such as Identity Theft or Workplace Safety. Respond to comments people post on your videos, even just to say “thank yo

Be honest. What do you do when you receive an advertisement flier in the mail? If you’re like me, you put it in the recycling pile right away without  reading it. Do you ever wonder if your potential customers are doing that to your material? Hate to tell you this, but most likely they are. While traditional marketing efforts have their place, content marketing is proving to be the key player in today’s business world. What is content marketing? Consumer behavior has changed, thanks in part to our on-the-go lifestyles and mobile devices. Buyers want reputable, relevant and electronically shareable information – not a sales pitch – that provides real insight into a product or service before they purchase it. Not only do they want information about the product itself, they want additional resources that give them more bang for their buck.  Want to sell your customer auto insurance? Post a graphic like the one at right or an article from a reputable source on your Facebook page, or

Do you know enough about Instagram to know if your insurance agency should be using it? With 150 million people around the world (40% of them in the U.S.) and 25% of the Fortune 500 using Instagram, it’s worth your time to make an educated decision about how your agency can benefit. Instagram is an app on your smartphone that lets you take pictures with your phone, add interesting effects to the photo, and share it with people.  You can take any photo and make it look like you took it in 1976 or that you used a professional camera.  The ease of sharing the photo lets people give their friends – and often people around the world – small glimpses into their experiences. Why would you want a glimpse into someone’s life? It may be for entertainment – you can follow LeBron James ( @KingJames ) and see things from his perspective.  It may be for inspiration – from your favorite author, business leader or motivational speaker. It might simply be to follow your daughter’s pictures of you

A State Auto agent asked us this question on LinkedIn: “How can I expand my agency’s Twitter presence?” The following suggestions can also help you promote your agency’s Twitter feed and add value for your clients who follow you. Ways to Expand Your Insurance Agency Twitter Presence:  Tell your customers, business partners, friends, family members, and strangers you meet on the street (half joking) about your Twitter account and what you're sharing there. Include the link in client emails and in your email signature. Put your Twitter handle on your business card. Ask people to follow you and share your Tweets.  Once people follow you, you want them to keep following along. Keep them interested with a mix of helpful information and personable stories, humor and observations. Keep it professional, but be yourself. Let Twitter complement the relationships you’re building.  Visuals are much more engaging on social media – people are more likely to look at, click on, respond to an

Many of the State Auto agency partners I meet ask, “How do I get started in social media?”   Insurance agents are busy people who do not want to waste time on the wrong actions. You may be relieved to hear that the first thing you should do in social media is simply to listen.   Social media is a conversation.   The technology and tools that make up what we call “social media” allow people to talk with other people all over the world quickly and easily.   People are sharing information, pictures, video, opinions, questions and more.   These interactions are usually open to the public, so anyone can join in.   That also means that anyone can listen. This is your opportunity to get to know your customer better, and it is relatively easy and cheap.   To get started in social media, start by listening to what people are saying on social networks.   You can put monitoring in place to tell you what is said online about your brand, your people, your carriers, your competitors, your c

Pinterest is a social media site for sharing images you find around the web. It describes itself as “a tool for collecting and organizing things you love.” People (80% are women) spend an average of 16 minutes each time they visit Pinterest, posting pictures they’ve found of things they like, from classroom, home décor and wedding ideas, to recipes, work out routines and inspirational quotes. What does Pinterest mean for businesses? Retail is finding a sweet spot on the site, which now accounts for more than 25% of social shopping sessions ( source ). Web referrals to a retailer from an image “pinned” on the site spend 70% more money than visitors referred from other, non-social websites ( source ). Pinterest for Insurance Agents Pictures of insurance policies are not likely to show up in the list of most popular Pins at http://pinterest.com/popular/ . But – insurance agencies are made up of people, with unique talents, interests and community activities. Pinterest could b