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Your Agency Facebook Page:What lf You Build lt and TheyDon't Come?Q: Okay, so I took your advice in a previous editionof the PIA NationalAgency Marketing Guide andcreated a Facebook page for our agency. But nowit's just sitting there with hardly any fans. Whatshould I do?First of all, let me congratulateyoul With nearly a billionusers (that's one of out every seven people on the pianetwho has a Facebook account) be assured thatyou are inthe right place to promote you r agency.And let me assureyou a Facebook page can work foryou. When I spoke atthe annualconvention forthe PIAof Tennessee, an agent told me that he was ab e to writenumerous new policies by posting questions on hisFacebook page such as, "lf mytreefa ls down and hits myneighbor's house, am I responsibleforthe damage?" Heinvolved his fans in the conversation and then showedthat he was an expert on the topic of insurance to hiscommunity. (Notice he did not use his Facebook page toshout: "Call me today for a free insurance quote!")ln fact, just of few of the many insurance Facebook pagesyou may want to study and emulate inciude:

By Ted JanuszAdvice from the ExpertsHere are some of the best tips and tricks I have foundon howto grow the fan base foryour agency's Facebookpage from six other social media experts.

Use Facebook Directory on Facehook Seairch tolocate other Faceboak pages in your insuranceniche. Lookfor public discussions based onsearch terms related to your busines,s.

--Ch i ng Ya, 5o cii I m e d i a e x a m i n e r.co m

. McKinnon lnsurance (Notice how this page doesn'tpitch insurance products but instead al ows theirprospects and clients to get to know them on a per-sonal level. People want to buy insurance from thosethey know and "like."). AIan Galvez lnsurance. Baker & Associates lnsurance Agency. Hill & Hamilton lnsurance and Financial Services. Westfield lnsurance. Progressive. Flo, the Progressive Girl (This page was not cre-ated by sorne corporate marketer, but rather by an18-year-old male fan of Flo's from Ok ahoma. Noticehow many mi lions of likes the page has todayl). Securance Service

. The NationalAlliance for lnsurance Education &Research. Allstate lnsurance. State Farm lnsurance. Nationwide lnsurance. The World's Greatest Spokesperson in the World. Aflac Duck.GEtCOConltnued on page c0

2012PlA NationalAgency Marketing Cuide

Ourf rst expert, ChingYa, of SociaImediaexaminei'cor-n,suggests these three rdeas:1. Take the lnitiative: Request Help from Friendsit's diffrcult to start a Facebook page with no engagementwhatsoever Why not send messages toyourfriends andclients who are supportive of your agency? Ask them tohelp out in some discussions, reward them with publlcity,or return the favor. Ask them to use Facebook's Suggestfeatu re to "suggest" that thei r friends I i ke you r pa ge.When the req uest comes from these com m u n ity thoughtleaders, it's a lot harderfor others to decline to hit that"like" button2. Use TaggingOne of the most popular features on Facebook is tag-ging,whtch givesyou the abllityto identify and referencepeople in photos, videos and notes. Friends you tag inyour status updates will receive a notiication and a Wallpost linkingthem toyour post.3. Participate Outside Your PageUse Facebook Directory and Facebook Search to locateother Facebook pages inyour insurance niche. Lookforpublic discussions based on search terms related toyourbusiness.Our second expert, Laura Rubinstein, of the Social MediaMarketing Strategist, suggests two ideas:1. Hold a Contest-.J upiter Research reported in 2001that 49 percent of consumers enter an online sweep-stakes at least once a month. Sponsoring a contest willdo two th ings for yo u: i rst, you will eas ily be a ble to

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%l ,8-E&To get ideas on how other companies have incorporatedcontests and social media, please see this artic e by DavidSpark entitled "10 Creative Contests Powered by SocialMed i a," http ://nr a s h a b le.coni,r2 009/0Bii1/socia i'med ia-contests.2. Promote a Charity. This benefitsyou,yourfans, and thecharity. lt's a triple winl Let everyone knowthat for everyx number of fans who join, you are going to donate x dol-lars to a certain charity.Rob Dickens of Memebu rn,1. Suggest to Friends

Just belowyour Facebook page pictureyou'llind alinkthat says "Suggestto Friends."This al owsyouto invite allof yourfriends on Facebook.2. Promote Your Facebook PageLf you send out a newsletter, be sureyou include alinktoyour Facebook page. Have a Facebook badgeon your Website.3. E-mail SignaturesJust imagine how much exposureyour page wiilget if the linktoyour agency's Facebook page is included in every single e-mail sent from your agencyl

Ruth White-Cabell, Strategic Campaigns Manager atCisco:1. Create Exclusive Content - Ask you rself what va luable, relevant contentyou can provide toyourfans

Page:What lf You Build lt and TheyBy Ted lanusz

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Your Agency FacebookDon't Come?determine which of yourfans want to interact with you,and, secondly, once they do, they will be more open to fu-ture marketing messages from you. Progressive and StateFarm arelust two of the insurance companies which haverecently sponsored contests on Facebook.

on Facebook that they can't get anywhere else. Byoffering exclusive content on Facebook, you imme-diately give users a reason to join. lt also providesa powerful motivator to share your page with theirown networks.Ask Questions and Take Polls and Surveys Youwant people to interact with you on Facebook. Todrlve engagement, be genuinely curious and askquestions. (Rememberthe success of the PIA of Tennessee convention attendee?) To get even broaderfeedback, use regular polls and surveys within yourFa cebook pa ge. Two hel pfu I too ls : rnrwrv. pol id adC'y'con and v!\!\ /.\rrr \ eyr'c'.ey.. . r'rRespond to Comments - Encourage interaction bybeing interactive. Make sure you are responding tocomments from your fans.Share Content from Others - lt's not just about youand your agency. lt's rmportant to share contentvideos, photos, blog posts, artic es and links fromothers as well.Finally, Don't be Afraid to Experiment -There is nocookie-cutter approach to success with social me-dia. Being active y engaged is a key part of successon Facebook.

Mari Smith, co-author of Facebook Market ng: An lour aDay:

lnvite Your E-mail and Ezine Subscribers Send out aninvitation toyour subscribers via e-mai (severaltimes,overtime) lettingthem know aboutyour Facebookpage a nd encou ra gi n g them to.1oi n. Provide themwith a description of the page and, rather than lustasking them to " ike our page,"tell them exactly what'sin it for them when they do.

Finally, our sixth expert, Cindy Ratzlaffof the lnternation-al Socia Media Association, asks:

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Continuedfrom page 50Did you knowthat video postings on Facebook arechosen more often to appear in the "Top News" streamofyourfans and therefore have a better chance ofbeing seen by their friends? Post short video messageswith insu ra nce ti ps that you r fa ns ca n sha re with theirfriends. Keep these messages under one minute andincl ude on ly sol id advice or tips that you r fans will bethrilled to share with their friends.People love videosl ln fact, Youlube is now the secondlargest search engine in the world behind Coogle.And if you wa nt you r video to be noticed, ma ke su rethat you don't have someone from the agency in aheadshot going blah-blah-blah in insurance speak. lfyou want to have your video stand out, make it witty,off-beat, or intensely personal.

Four Keys to Facebook SuccessLet's conclude with these four key steps to build, growand manageyour Facebook page:1. Develop a Strategy - Why do most of the morethan 3 million Facebook pages fail? Because creat-

ing one was a reactive, rather than a proactive,event. Many businesses create Facebook pagessimply because it seems like everyone else is. (+8%of allsmall businesses now have a Facebook page.)What do you want to accomplish with your page?As a n exa m ple of a n effective strategy for a Face-book page, the Buffalo, New York CPA firm of Freed,Maxick & Battaglia determined that it wanted to"humanize employees, showcase community in-volvement, a nd position the com pa ny as a thoughtleader"with their Facebook page. Onceyou developa strategy foryour agency, it will make your effortson your Facebook page a whole lot easier.2. Based upon whatyou wantto achievewithyourFacebook page, create great content. Your Facebookpage is not the place to recycle you r self-servingcommercials anci press releases. Develop fabulous

exclusive content (especially captivating videos andphotos)that will make it easyforyourfans to "like"your page, and to keep them coming back for more.The main reason people unsubscribe from blogs isbecause the blog holder doesn't update the blogoften enough with quality, consistent posts. Makesure that the content on your Facebook page isalwaysfresh.3. Promote Your Page. With a Facebook page, it ismore than "build it and theywill come." lncludeyour Facebook page URL on all of your marketingmateria ls.4. TrackYour Successes by Using Facebook lnsights.Want to see what's working and not working onyour Facebook page? This free analytics tool avail-a b I e at www.facebook.com/i ns i ghts wi | | give yo uinformation that will showyou, soyou can ref neyou r efforts a long the way.

The effective use of social media in general and Facebookin particular requires usto shift ourthinking. Usingtrad itiona I ma rketi n g i ncl ud i n g you r Website, you wou ldsimply "shout out"toyour customers and your prospectsaboutyour agency. Now with Facebookyou have thea bility to actua lly engage with you r fa ns, to have two-way com m u n ication with them. You ca n now fi nd outhowthey reallyfeel aboutyour services, allowingyou todeliverwhattheytruly need. And onceyou do,you willbe surprised howyourfans will actually helpyou spreadthe word aboutyour agency and your services totheirfriends. ln the end,you'll be able to deliver better resultsfor your agency, your clients and yourself. And isn't thatwhat it's allabout?Ted lanusz speaks to insurance agents and PIA state af-f liates on "Social Media for Baby Boomers." Learn more atwww. i a n u s p re se ntat i o n s.co m /soci a I - m e d i a.htm.PIA members, discover how to harness the power of so-cial media to bring new business into your agency. Foryour FREE copy of step-by-step instructions in the "SocialMedia Marketing Cuide for lnsurance Professionals" visitwww.i n s u ra n cea qo ra q ate.co m /soci a I - m ed i a -q u i d e.

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