How Do You Get Started in Social Media? Listen First!

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 community and the insurance industry.

Listening Tools

• Google Alerts. Google Alerts is a free tool (www.google.com/alerts). You can put in any keyword, such as your agency’s name, and you will receive an email anytime Google finds a mention of these words on the web. Facebook and Twitter are not included, but Google Alerts is the most comprehensive way to track the rest of the web for free. You need a Gmail account for this service, which is also free.
• SocialMention. SocialMention is also free, and tracks some social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter. Some agents have told me that they use SocialMention, but I personally haven’t used it. If you try it, let me know what you think. 
• Hootsuite. Hootsuite is a tool that allows you to manage multiple social networking accounts from one place. It is free for one user, and you can pay to allow multiple people to use it to manage the same accounts. It allows you to listen to what is being said on your social networks. There are similar tools, such as Tweetdeck. 
• SproutSocial. SproutSocial, Sendible and other vendors provide social monitoring and publishing. These are similar to Hootsuite because you can publish and monitor. The monitoring can be more comprehensive than Hootsuite in my experience, but check them all out to find the one that works for you.

Please note that these are just suggestions I’ve provided to help State Auto agents – I’m not able to officially endorse any one service!

What to Listen For

• Your agency’s name. This may seem obvious, but think about variations of your name that people may use to talk about you. If your name is very common, like “Smith Insurance”, you may want to include other words, such as the name of your hometown, to narrow results.
• Key principals, owners or producers. Anyone whose name is known in the community and anyone whose name you want to be known. This way, you are alerted if someone discusses your important people, and if buzz starts to build around a particular member of your team. 
• Related terms. Perhaps a type of insurance you are marketing more aggressively, or a market you want to learn more about. Be specific; keywords such as “car insurance” will return an overwhelming number of results. 
• Competitors. Wondering what your competitors are doing in your community? Want to know if their promotions are building any momentum? Set up a Google Alert with their name too! 
• Partners/Affiliates. Are you partnering with another business? See what people are saying about them. You can also watch for mentions of your top carriers. 

What if You Hear Something?

Don’t panic – a mention of your agency’s name could be a good thing! If you are becoming more involved with your community, you will be happy to see it acknowledged. Of course there is a possibility that someone will say something negative. Complaints and bad reviews are given freely by people on the web. It is a risk all businesses face. 

There are three ways to prepare for bad mentions on the web:

1. You’ve already taken the first step by listening. You have to be aware of something in order to deal with it.  
2. Create a plan for how you will respond. Brainstorm the “worst case scenarios” with your team, and determine when you would respond (it’s not always necessary or helpful), what you would say, and where you would say it.
3. Take a deep breath. If negativity happens, your best response is honesty and professionalism. 

Insurance agents: Are you listening? What keywords are you monitoring? What have you heard?