State Auto Digital Agent

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 ...

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 ...

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 p...

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...

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, ...