ASCnet Soc Med Nov09

Social Media & NetworkingCT ASCnet

Jason Hoeppner, CIC

B. H. Burke & Co., Inc.

Agenda

• What is Social Media?

• Why should I as an insurance agent/agency be using it?

• What is available?

• Things to Think About

• What the Experts Think

Agenda

• How do I get started?– LinkedIn

– Facebook

– Twitter

• Online presence and image

• What to watch out for

• Case Studies

• Now what?– Service

– Leads

– Carriers

• Resources

• Agency policy on Social Media– HR Concerns

– Use

– Personal vs. Agency

– Consequences

Agenda

What Is Social Media?

• Social media is, quite simply, a way to interact, communicate, and share with others, and the only requirement is that you both be on the same platform … and have a shared “interest”.

• For insurance agencies, this means that in addition to walk‐ins, phone calls, and emails, you now have an additional way to establish and build relationships with your clients.

What Is Social Media?

• The next big thing?– Unprecedented levels of profitability

– 100% retention

• Only need to do it because everyone else is …

– May not be appropriate for some

• We’ll talk about all this.

Why Should We Use It?

• You shouldn’t — stay away from it!

• Before you make a decision to spend time on any of these platforms, you do need to take the time to think about it strategically.

– What is our agency image?

– Who are our target customers?

• Are they on these platforms?

• Would it be a value‐add for them?

– Who will be “in charge” of these efforts?

• Marketing?

• Individuals?

• Managers?

• Tech‐savvy agent?

– How will it affect our other efforts?

What’s Out There• MySpace

• Flickr

• Facebook

• YouTube

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Blogs

• Website

We Will Take a Look at How Your Agency Can Use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We Will Also Briefly Discuss the Use of Blogs and Your Website.

More Social

More Business

How Do I Get Started?

• Before you do get started:

1. Define your strategic plan.

• Where do you want to drive folks? What is your “base”?

• Are you looking to get new leads or build on the relationships that you already have established?

• How will these channels integrate with each other?

• Who will be responsible for developing this effort – and following through.

• What is the 6‐month, 12‐month, 18‐month, and 24‐month vision?

• At what point, or with what “results”, will we make adjustments?

Agency Strategy – side note

• Do you have a current marketing plan or strategy?

• What are your goals?– Make sales, acquire leads– Expand your market – Provide service, follow up– Test the water

• Where can you afford to fail?

• Client/Prospect demographics – are they on these platforms?

• Can you support the engagement on social media?

• Additional concerns (management, mergers, new systems, etc. …)


2. Define the image or result you want to portray through the channel.

• Who are your target clientele and to what do they respond?

• Is your image already defined?

• Does it work the way it is?

• Do you want to take a different path or expand your base?

• Are you consistent across each channel? (Branding…!)



3. Decide what platforms you will use, and who will lead this effort.

• What do you currently have in place (website, blog, personal Facebook accounts)?

• What capacity do you have to expand into other platforms?

• Where are your potential customers?

• How will current clients connect and refer?



4. Based on all the above — set up an agency policy that outlines this strategy & ensure that everyone understands it!

• Trust, responsibility.

• Everyone on the same page, self‐“regulation”.

• Training, new employee orientation.

• Follow up, refine, hold people accountable.

• Learn!


By the way, if you are not already using social media as an HR tool,you definitely should start!

Things To Think About

• Let’s take a step back…

– Has anyone lost a client over the past year?

– Is anyone competing with direct writers?

– Do you have a huge marketing budget?

Things to Think About –Why Do We Lose Customers?

• Price

• Bad Service

• Someone else …

• Trust

• Direct Writers?

Things to Think About –Why Do We Keep Customers?

• Price

• Good Service

• Trust

• Relationships

• Laziness

• Bad experience

somewhere else

Now, From the Experts

… to the bigger question: Do we need the resulting innovation taking place in social media? Did we really need the printing press, the automobile, the television, the airplane?

If you really think about it, we could have gotten by without these innovations. We didn’t really need product. But, what we do need is the process of innovation, the habit of creating new things and turning them into a practical application…

Chris Brogan & Julien Smith, “Trust Agents”, p. 142


The Idea of Agent Zero… and Trust Agents

Agent Zero is the center of his/her network, he/she has a tendency to connect good and useful people with one another.

Trust Agents do this naturally. They find the value in all of these connections, and as a result, they cement their role as the Agent Zero in their networks.

Chris Brogan & Julien Smith, “Trust Agents”, p. 142‐3


According to the theory of Trust Agents:

• Build the relationships and sales will follow…

For Independent Agencies, this translates to:

• Make the sale and then continue to build the relationships to create lifetime clients.

Now, From the ExpertsHere are five sets of questions to ask yourself:

1) Realistically, how many hours do I have to spend in social media each day? Do I have resources/people other than me? What can I expect of them?

(Note: If you’re serious about doing social, you need to find an hour a day to start with, at least.)

2) Which 2 or 3 tools and social networks make sense based on my listening efforts? What is my goal for participation on those sites? What is the culture of those communities, and how will my participation line up with that?

http://altitudebranding.com/category/social‐media‐time‐management/

http://altitudebranding.com/category/social-media-time-management/


3) Have we evaluated our current online and offline communication efforts to determine what’s working and what we might supplement or replace with social media? Am I going to need to add this on to my existing responsibilities in order to prove its value before making tradeoffs?

4) Has our leadership bought into this idea already, or am I establishing a presence so I can build a stronger case? Is time I spend on social media going to be viewed as an investment or a time sink? How do I make the case for the former?




5) What does success look like? How about failure? How can I measure both, even simplistically?

(Hint: Objectives you can’t measure against are going to be really hard to celebrate or adjust, since you won’t know how you did either way).

Amber Naslund,

altitude …brand elevation through social media:



How Do I Get Started? — Facebook

Enter your first & last name.

Enter your email address& a password.

Fill in your sex & b-day.

Click the Sign Up button.

http://www.facebook.com

http://www.facebook.com/


You will have to enter the security check words.

Then click the Sign Up button.

http://www.facebook.com

http://www.facebook.com/


Step 1 Find Friends

Finally, you should upload a profile picture.

Then you can enter your schools, years of graduation, & company to find more friends.

You Can Skip Any of These Steps Now, but Before You Connect with More People, It is Important To Have a Good Profile Set Up.

Your first step, if you choose to do it, is to enter your email and import friends.


Before we do anything else, we should review the security settings on your account. They should be based on the overall strategy that was discussed at the agency.

From the main screen, click on Settings, then click on manage next to Privacy.


Click on the Profile section.


You can set who can see the various sections of your profile and account:- My Networks And Friends- Only Friends- Friends of Friends- Everyone

Click on Save Changes when you have things set as you want!


On the Contact Information tab you can also set who can view the contact information you entered on your profile.


You can also set if –and how – you will be notified when something happens in your FB account (e.g., someone posts something on your wall).

You can get an email, for some actions, a text to your phone, or no notification.


• Create a Fan Page for your agency.

• Look into Facebook Ads.

• Invite people to become Fans or “Like” your page, Ad, etc.


• Facebook AdsFacebook Ads:

On your Profile page look to the right-hand column. There will be several advertisements, and on top of the column, a link “Create an Ad”




Suggested Best Practices for Advertising on Facebook

1. Identify your advertising goals2. Targeting3. Keyword targeting4. Make your product stand out5. Keep your ad simple6. Use a strong call‐to‐action7. Use an image8. Landing pages9. Keep the user experience in mind10. Evaluate your campaign performance and make the necessary changes

http://www.facebook.com/ads/best_practices.php

http://www.facebook.com/ads/best_practices.php


• Live Feed vs. News Feed

– Live Feed is a new feature that allows you to designate a quantity of friends from whom you want to see real time updates on your wall.

– News Feed is similar to the “old” Facebook wall except that Facebook chooses the updates that it thinks are most interesting or relevant to you.

One Last Facebook Note• Facebook has a type of marketing

called “social action ads”.

• Basically, Facebook may use your name or photo to show other confirmed friends that you are a fan of a page or have joined a group.

• The settings for this can be changed under Settings / Privacy /

News Feed and Wall / Facebook Ads.

How Do I Get Started? — LinkedIn

http://www.linkedin.com

Enter your:- First Name- Last Name- Email- A Password

Then click on Join Now.

http://www.linkedin.com/


Enter your basic information:- Company- Job Title- Country- Zip Code

Click the Confirm button.

You will then need to confirm your account by clicking on a link sent to your email address.


Import contacts from your web email.

Work on your profile!


Lot’s of stuff to fill in…

Once you have the basics you can focus on recommendations.

How Do I Get Started? — LinkedInHow do you connect with new people and learn about useful topics ?

Join Groups!

Look for groups in the insurance industry or other organizations you deal with (think CL…)

In Groups you can:- Post & respond to

discussions.- Post & respond to jobs.- Connect with other

members.


The Groups on LinkedIn are an excellent way to connect with people who are in your industry.


• Other areas to explore:– Answers

– ApplicationsYou can add sections/applications to your Home screen.

Other useful sections/applications are Who’s viewed my profile? and Events.

One Last LinkedIn Note

• LinkedIn takes a much stricter stance on connecting with people.– Users have the option of selecting “I don’t know” (IDK) the senders of connection requests.

– Too many IDKs and you will be required to enter a valid email address in order to add someone to your network.

– Too many more IDKs and your account could be frozen.

How Do I Get Started? — Twitter

http://www.twitter.comhttps://twitter.com/login

Twitter Is the Easiest Platform To Set Up & To Start Using.

Click on the Sign up now button.

Note that once you have an account, you can just click on the Sign In button to start.

http://www.twitter.com/

https://twitter.com/login

How Do I Get Started? —TwitterYou will need to enter:

- Your full name- A Username

(think of how you want your agency to be represented)

- A Password

- Your Email

Finally, you will need to enter the security words & click on the Create my account button.

How Do I Get Started? — TwitterThe Twitter Feed:- “Wall” or notes from the people you are following.- “What are you doing?” is your area to type, in 140 characters or less, whatever is on your mind.- You can click on the words in red to open up links or to go to the user’s profile.

The right-hand side has:- Trending Topics- Your Favorites- Direct Messages- Mentions (@YourUserName)

How Do I Get Started? — TwitterSettings:- Webpage in the URL field. - Can change your:

• Username• Email• One Line Bio• Location

This is the information that is displayed on your profile to others (or you) when they look you up.

Read the Tips!!


• Use Find People to search for friends and contacts on Twitter. You can search on:

- Username- Name- Company/business

You can also invite people by entering their email (the Invite by email tab) or look to see whether your contacts already have a Twitter account (the Find on other networks tab).


• Advanced Search allows you to conduct more complex searches using:– Word combinations

– People references

– Places


• Twitter actions:– DM

– Block

– Report

– Follow, un‐Follow

– Mention


Hot off the presses:

• Twitter Lists– New way to group the people you follow

– You can group by:• Common interests

• Geographic location

• Clients

• Friends, etc.

The potential of this new feature is still being realized…


• What else?

– Search for people/topics using insurance keywords on http://search.twitter.com.

– Register yourself as an insurance guru on http://wefollow.com (+Add yourself to WeFollow).

– Listen, learn, follow interesting people to see how they interact with their networks online.

– Start sharing! Provide value.

http://search.twitter.com/

http://wefollow.com/

Bonus

Joe client

• 10 Friends• 21 Followers

Sally Fan

• Local Chamber pres.

• Facebookpage admin

Twitter whale

• 43,000 followers

Your great articleon how to prepare your vacation home for winter…

They like and share your article

Social Media Time Management1) Manage Disruptions.

The key to managing disruptions is to have daily priorities.

2) Control Information Overload.

Stop trying to be everywhere. Just stop. In social media, information overload is yours to own and manage. Pick your two or three social sites, and unless your JOB is to spot the next big things, stick with them.

3) Leverage Tools.

Use a desktop tool like TweetDeck, Seesmic Desktop, CoTweet or HootSuite to streamline your Twitter use. Blog using a fluid tool like WordPress that has a suite of plugins to make your life easier, and use the scheduling function to write posts in advance. Make folders in Google Reader so you can prioritize your blog reviewing depending on how much time you have available.

This slide and the following four are from Amber Naslund’s blog:http://altitudebranding.com/category/social‐media‐time‐management/

http://www.tweetdeck.com/

http://seesmic.com/

http://www.hootsuite.com/

http://wordpress.org/

http://www.google.com/reader


Social Media Time Management4) Annotate and Share.

If you don’t have one already, get a Delicious.com account and use it for your bookmarks. I say bookmark freely, even if you never get back to reading it. If you want to find something, it’s easier to go back to it. If you don’t, your links can be a valuable resource of information to others (and you can send them to your specific tags if you get repeated requests for the same information).

Use sites like Slideshare.net to share your presentations, and get ideas or frameworks for ones of your own. Try Flickr Creative Commons for sourcing images and sharing your own.

5) Sometimes Templates Are Okay.

If you’re asked the same question several times a day in an email, write up a little framework of a response that you can personalize for each recipient but that contains the bulk of the information you need to share.

Build an FAQ page on your site to point people to. Create sharable documents that contain frequently requested information and have them on ready five in a folder for easy access.

http://delicious.com/

Social Media Time Management6) Wrangle Task Management.

When you’re processing email or items in social media, every time a task pops up, you need a place to put it.

7) Communicate Expectations.

Sometimes, you don’t have the answer. Sometimes, you don’t have the time to get to something right now, but you will at some point. Honesty and humility go a long way to helping manage expectations for responsiveness online. Try these:

– “I’d love to get that information to you, but I need 48 hours. Will that be okay, or do you need it sooner?”

– “I don’t have the answer to that, but I’d like to send your request to someone who does and have them respond. Is that okay?”

– “Hey there, I got your note but need a little time to respond. I’ll be back to you within the day.”

– To your boss, perhaps: “I’d like to complete this project, but here’s the information/ resources I’m missing to get it done…”

Social Media Time Management… “(there) is another reason why it’s crucial to infuse some humanity into your

conversations online, so folks know that you’re just a person over there, not a superhero or a robot. You need time to spend with your kid, feed the dog, spend with your spouse, read a book. Yes, you should still do those things. Being sure that folks know you’re responsive in a reasonable fashion but not going to be able to handle things ’round the clock’ is super important.”

8 ) Establish Routines

If you have regular tasks and tactics to focus on, you’ll want to try and carve out time for them. Some examples:

• Blogging, reviewing and responding to email

• Listening and Monitoring (unless you have a dedicated staff person for this)

• Reporting and Analysis

• Checking in on social networks – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Forums…

If you set aside specific hours in your day, turn off other distractions. (Yes, it’s okay to close your email program.) Put your phone on Do Not Disturb or let it go to voicemail. Even 30 minutes of focused time on a single task, on a regular basis, can ramp up your productivity. It is NOT “inauthentic” to set times to interact on your chosen social networks. It’s all a matter of balancing priorities.

Social Media Time Management

9) Unplug.

Please. Get offline. Go outside. Take a bath. Play with your kid. Go to the movies. Or go to an in‐person event or Tweetup. There is nothing that will derail your social media efforts more than never walking away from them.

You need perspective from an unplugged view so your priorities stay in focus. You need time to scribble your goals on paper, or just think. Productivity isn’t always about how many balls you’re juggling. Sometimes, it’s about very careful editing of how you do – or don’t –spend your time.

Amber Naslund,http://altitudebranding.com/category/social‐media‐time‐management/


Online Presence & Image

• Think through your agency image and work it into your profiles.

• Although part of the reason behind social media is to bring the personal side to business relationships, business should be paramount.

• If you are going to foray into social media and establish or grow relationships, do not disengage once there.

What To Watch Out For

• Social Media is not a panacea. It will, however, allow you to reach prospects and clients in a way that they may find more natural.

• Spammers! (And take care not to become one.)

• When appropriate, discussions (or service) should be taken to another medium.

• Keep your friends and followers interested. Provide good and valuable content.

Case Study 1 — PA• A PA agency has started accounts on Twitter.

– They are taking a geographic approach. In other words, there is a local business person who monitors and controls a group for people who live in that specific area. 85% of their 160 followers are local.

– They are using Twitter to get the word out on issues that pertain to insurance, but also to put a personal touch on their communications with clients as well as other followers in their area.So Far They Have Gathered 7 Leads from Their Followers and

Have Written 3+ Policies (160/7/3).

Case Study 2 – MA• A MA agency has launched a marketing effort that ties their website, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter together to generate more leads.– They are using all the sites to provide useful insurance information and news to their clients/fans/followers.

– They advertise promotions through these channels.

– Overall, they drive potential leads back to their website, where they gather the prospects’ contact information to pass along to their service center.

They Get About 6 Leads Per Week, and They Close on About 15% of Those Leads.

Case Study 3 – NJ

• A NJ agency has a robust Fan Page on Facebook.

– They post insurance news, local events, and helpful information for their fans/clients.

– They also show recommendations (reviews) from clients.

– Those clients also, in turn, point their friends to the Fan Page so they can become fans.

– This builds the agency’s brand, & the stories, pictures, and events they share build their reputation.

Case Study – Additional Examples

These next two slides are examples from Rick Morgan’s

“The Social Web and The Independent Agent ―

You’ve Got to Be Kidding”

Agent Inspired Examples

1. Provide the forum for discussion of social and family issues.Founders Group Insurance uses their Blog and Twitter to engage their followers in both cultural and insurance‐related topics. http://foundersgrp.wordpress.com/

2. Help customers with disaster preparedness and disaster recovery.Nibby Priest, an agent in Henderson, KY, used Facebook and Twitter to communicate with customers during an ice storm. Claims were actually submitted over Facebook. http://blog.govaughn.com/

http://foundersgrp.wordpress.com/

http://blog.govaughn.com/

Agent Inspired Examples3. Educate customers on insurance and allow

them to share feedback.Agent Dennis Volz uses his San Diego Insurance Blog to help customers and prospects understand the world of insurance. http://dennis‐insurance.blogspot.com/

4. Develop communities for targeting customer segments.Irwin Siegel Agency, Inc., uses social networking to help generate interest with target customer segments. http://www.siegelagency.com/default.htm

5. Enhance your brand and marketing message. Rick Dinger of Creseda Valley Insurance has used YouTube and Facebook to attract a new audience. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU6JrRrsyk0. http://cvins.com/

http://dennis-insurance.blogspot.com/

http://www.siegelagency.com/default.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU6JrRrsyk0

http://cvins.com/

Now What?

• Use the platforms as another service channel?– Think of how you use email today.– E&O and saving correspondence.– When do you take it to other channels?

• Use the platforms as lead generators?– Absolutely!

• Use the platforms to communicate with your carriers?

Now, Back at the Office1. Discuss the use of Social Media & the various platforms available.2. Learn more about each one (see the useful links).3. Decide as an agency if & how you will employ the platforms.4. Write down the plan – with goals! This can also be used as the

agency policy for social media, on which everyone will be trained.(Think about how you will measure the results too.)

5. Designate the lead(s) for the effort.6. Sign up!7. Listen, watch, read, & learn more.8. Dip your toe in. Interact, communicate, share.9. Follow and link up with others (even those outside your areas).10. Share some more & gain a larger audience.

Do Not Expect Immediate Results. As With Any Relationship, It May Take Some Time To Develop a Level of Trust That Transitions to an Agent/Client Situation.

Agency Policy on Social Media

• Personal vs. Business Accounts

• Time authorized

• When/What you are required to move to another media.

• Integration into workflows.

• Approach it much like you do your internet policy.

• Appropriate Use – Monitor It Frequently Enough

– Consequences

Resources / Useful Links• Twitter

– Tweetdeck ‐ http://tweetdeck.com/beta/– Search.twitter.com ‐ http://search.twitter.com/– We Follow ‐ http://wefollow.com/– http://michaelhyatt.com/2008/05/12‐reasons‐to‐start‐twittering.html– http://www.cio.com/article/492019/Twitter_Bible_Everything_You_Need_To_Know_About_Twitter

• Facebook– http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/05/facebook‐friend‐lists/– http://webmarketingcoach.blogspot.com/2009/07/7‐great‐resources‐for‐using‐facebook‐as.html– http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/07/21/32‐ways‐to‐use‐facebook‐for‐business/– http://www.focus.com/fyi/marketing/facebook‐marketing‐toolbox‐100‐tools‐and‐tips‐tap‐facebook/– http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/08/31/is‐facebook‐really‐better‐than‐twitter‐for‐your‐business/#more‐16320

• LinkedIn– http://onlinebusinessnetworker.wordpress.com/category/linkedin‐networking‐strategies/– http://blog.inc.com/e‐commerce/2009/08/linkedin_small_business_success.html

• Other helpful articles & tools:– Mashable.com ‐ http://mashable.com/– Altitude Branding ‐ http://altitudebranding.com/ (Amber Naslund)– http://www.cio.com/article/print/503304– http://www.problogger.net/archives/2009/09/03/9‐things‐to‐do‐to‐make‐sure‐your‐next‐blog‐post‐is‐read‐

by‐more‐than‐your‐mom/– http://www.copyblogger.com/kumbaya‐blogging/– Friend Feed ‐ http://friendfeed.com/

http://tweetdeck.com/beta/

http://search.twitter.com/

http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/07/21/32-ways-to-use-facebook-for-business/

http://webworkerdaily.com/2009/07/21/32-ways-to-use-facebook-for-business/

http://friendfeed.com/

• Link Up & Follow Me!– twitter.com/JasonBHBCo– linkedin.com/in/JasonBHBCo– facebook.com/JasonBHBCo

• The Old Fashioned Way!– [email protected]– (860) 399‐8288

http://twitter.com/JasonBHBCo

http://www.linkedin.com/in/JasonBHBCo

http://www.facebook.com/JasonBHBCo

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Documents

ASCnet Soc Med Nov09