State Auto Digital Agent

We love this infographic from Sales for Life (no endorsement). They've compiled tons of great numbers that help make the case for using social media and content marketing to generate and nurture leads.

By David O'Bryan , Field Sales Representative at State Auto Do me a favor. Open up Google and search “insurance” and the name of your city/town. I’ll wait… Hopefully your agency showed up on the first page of both the local search (the box immediately below the yellow ad links) and the organic search. If not, well, that’s a whole other blog post. For now, let’s assume your agency does feature prominently on page 1. Now, take a look inside the local search box – does your agency have any Google reviews? Do any agencies in your area have Google reviews? Google reviews have gained importance for small businesses since the company rolled out the feature in late 2013. If you click on a result inside the local search box, a new box appears which provides more information on the business and allows users to write reviews directly on the business’s Google listing. With more than a trillion searches per year, Google is by far the search engine of choice for most people on Earth, espe...

Looking for some guidance on digital marketing? Trusted Choice is offering member agents a free one-on-one consultation for your website and social media.  This “digital review” includes a 15-30 minute phone call or Skype conversation, content services referrals and a follow-up conversation. It’s all complimentary.  For a free social media checkup, send your social media links to Patrice Nickols at patrice.nickols@iiaba.net .  For a website review, send your website address to Kiescha Cherry at kiescha.cherry@iiaba.net .  And, you can always contact the State Auto team at social@stateauto.com with questions and ideas.  Best wishes for a successful year in digital marketing!

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 ...

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 insuranc...

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 “than...

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...

LinkedIn is the largest professional social network, meaning it is focused on professionals. To some, this means it is only for job-seekers – that having an active profile on LinkedIn means you are looking for a new job. In reality, LinkedIn has grown to be an active social network for people to make connections, discuss business problems, share knowledge and stay in touch. It’s classic networking, happening every day, accessible at any time. 6 reasons to get active on LinkedIn: You need a professional and credible online profile. If someone Googles your name, what shows up? Hopefully a professional profile that looks polished, modern and familiar to people looking for information about you. LinkedIn provides this with the public profile option. It is very likely to appear high in search results for your name, if not at the very top. Your business cards don’t update themselves. LinkedIn is the modern day Rolodex, with some improvements on the old system. If you man...