State Auto Digital Agent

State Auto provides materials to help our agent partners provide thought leadership to current and prospective clients in the light metal manufacturing industry. Our Metal Industry Practice Group provides a specialized insurance solution, giving State Auto and you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. With U.S. steel shipments valued at $75 billion and more than 672,000 U.S jobs created by the production, processing and use of aluminum, there is abundant opportunity to grow your book of business in this booming industry. Metal Industry Blog Posts Six blog posts are available to publish as a series on your blog. We recommend you make some edits and customize the posts to your agency. Post one each day for six days or one each week for six weeks.  Post #1: Major Risks in the Metal Industry Post #2: Protecting Your Metal Business Post #3: The Dangers of Dust in the Metal Industry Post #4: Equipment Breakdown and Your Metal Business Post #5: The Risk of Importing Fo...

Re-posted with permission from State Auto's PaceSetter blog. The PaceSetter producer development program is available to State Auto agents.  Your Personal Brand Designing your personal brand is one of the most important things you can do as an insurance agent. People buy from people that they know, like and trust. The only way for people to know you, I mean  really  know you, is by getting your message out to others regularly and consistently. The easiest way to do this is by using social media. Think of some people we feel as though we “know” personally because of the strength of their personal brand. How about Donald Trump? Kim Kardashian? Oprah Winfrey? Athletes, politicians, musicians and prominent business people all use social media channels to influence what we think and, most importantly, what we buy. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and blogging are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You have to demonstrate your value to people th...

It’s a beautiful thing, data.  There’s data that tells us when people are most likely to read content on each social network. You don’t have to wonder when the best time is to post something – you can use the information below to get it right.  Why Does It Matter When I Post Content? People who actively check social media tend to make it part of their daily routine. They might check Twitter first thing in the morning over coffee, or scroll through Facebook at lunch or on the treadmill.   Your insurance agency can plan to share content when your target audience will be more likely to interact with it. Depending on which social media channel you’re using, the days and times when users are most active will vary.  We pulled data shared by a number of sources to come up with the general guidelines below. See what works for you.  Facebook: Thursday-Sunday The best days to post Facebook content are Thursdays, Fridays and weekends.  The ideal time of d...

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!

You haven’t been on LinkedIn in 5 months. Your profile is outdated (or just needs a lot of help). You don’t know who is connected with you.  If any of the above statements apply to you, consider making an active, useful LinkedIn presence your New Year’s resolution. LinkedIn is a great place to stay in touch with people, meet new people and read and share great content. It’s also a place to hone your social media skills.  Another reason to make LinkedIn your resolution this year? You can ramp up your presence in about 15 minutes a day.  We got the 15-minutes-a-day idea from an agent who spoke at a conference years ago about carving out time – and making it a habit – for social media. She scheduled 15 minutes a day into her calendar. That turned into 15 minutes twice a day. She went on to build a vibrant social presence that expanded her business opportunities.  This agent started with 15 minutes a day. Here’s how you can, too. To make it even ...

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.   S...