State Auto Digital Agent

You post something on your agency’s Facebook page. Does it show up in your followers’ news feed? It’s hard to say, thanks to Facebook’s complicated and ever-changing method for determining who sees what and when.  For an insurance agency running a Facebook page, this means you need to be very clear about what your followers (people who liked your page) want to see, and provide that content in the right ways. Marketing Land published a review of Facebook’s news feed changes over the past few years, and we’ve summed it up for you. Tips for Facebook News Feed Visibility  Make it meaningful. The more someone is interested in your content and interacts with it with a click, like, share or comment, the more they will see your future content. Things you’ve posted in the past could impact how visible your content is in the future.  Don’t post overly promotional content. If you’re directly selling something, your post will be less likely to show up. Facebook wants you to ...

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 ...

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, res...

The Watkins Insurance Group team has always held a high regard for being involved in the community. The team has embraced the agency’s tagline, “We’re here to help,” both when providing service to insurance customers and in the local areas surrounding their seven branch locations. This service-oriented culture naturally led Watkins to use social media to expand its engagement in the community, beginning with a Facebook page in 2011.  “We use social for promoting our agency’s volunteer efforts, but we also promote other organizations in our community helping people,” according to Hanna Ogle, personal lines manager and director of agency automation. “Even if we’re not involved in it, we’re sharing it to help. We’re living up to our tagline.” An IIABA Best Practices Agency in 2013, the Watkins team is a leading example of putting social media to use in an agency. Their success is partly due to their unique approach that they call “ShareWatkins” - a modern take on a long trad...