The 5 Steps to Starting Your Social Media Plan for Insurance Agents

 

    In order to stay ahead of the competition, insurance agents have begun using social media as a way to connect with potential and current clients. However, many agents feel unsure how to get started or where to go with what they currently have. Don't leave leads and prospects on the table. We will educate you on how to create a successful plan on your selected social platform.

Let Premier Insurance Contracts help you create an effective social media plan. Insurance agents need to consider their goals and what they want to achieve.

Pre-Step: Goals

Most social media users operate without a plan or clear goals. As a result, their content is often sporadic and all over the place. However, if you take the time to sit down and figure out your goals, you can create content and strategies that are much more likely to succeed.

Once you know what you want to achieve, you can create a plan for how social media can help you get there. For example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, you can create content highlighting your unique selling points and post it on platforms where your target audience is most active. On the other hand, if your goal is to generate leads, you can use social media to drive traffic to your website or landing pages. By being purposeful and strategic about your social media use, you can achieve far better results.

 

Step 1: Audit Your Current Social Presence

Whether you're an avid social media user or a more reluctant participant, it's important to audit your social media presence. Taking stock of your current social media accounts and the goals you want to achieve through social media will allow you to create an effective social media plan.

There are many different social media platforms available today, each with its unique features and benefits. Some platforms may be better suited for engaging with customers, while others might provide more networking and professional development opportunities.

Consider the following when assessing your company's social media presence:

• Which networks are you currently active on? (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Google My Business)
• Are your networks optimized? (photo and cover images, bio, URL, etc.)
• Which networks are currently bringing you the most value? (engagement, sales, followers)
• How do your profiles compare to your competitors' profiles?

 

 

Step 2: Document Who Your Ideal Customer Is

When creating a social media presence for your business, it is important to note who your ideal customer is. Once you have an idea of who your ideal social media audience is, you can begin to plan out strategies to attract them. This will help you target specific individuals and create content that appeals to them specifically.

Insurance agents need these new clients to resemble their best ones – focus on getting to know your top 20% of customers. Ask yourself these questions about your selected customers:

• Age
• Location
• Job Title
• Income
• Pain Points (that your business can solve)
• Most Used Social Network

 

You can create information relevant to their interests or use unique language or imagery with this information. Because if you try to attract everyone, you end up attracting no one.

 

Step 3: Create and Produce Engaging Content

Now we're getting to the good stuff everyone loves to talk about CONTENT! So what exactly does "content" mean on social media? Let me tell you, if you went fishing, it would be your fishing rod.

Creating engaging content for social media can be a challenge, especially if you are trying to reach a specific audience. If you want your content to be successful, you need to have content that educates, inspires, and converts. Content Creation is a creative process, but with so many tools available for insurance agents, they help you develop your creativity.

For every form of content out there, there is a tool to help you create, improve or manage it. You can use tools like Canva for creating images or Jasper Ai to create a blog, or Audacity for podcast production. I guarantee it.

Here are a few examples of content you could create:

• Images
• Videos
• Blog Posts
• Company News
• Infographics
• eBooks
• Interviews

 

Content is the lifeblood of any social media platform. Make high-quality, engaging content a top priority. Creating fun-to-read and informative content is a great way to ensure people keep coming back for more. Your readers will thank you with more engagement.

Remember to create content with your goals and audience in mind.

Step 4: Planning and Budget

Don't be fooled by the fun and games of social media; it's a serious business tool. Like any other business strategy, you need to plan and budget for social media to ensure its success.

Create a plan that you can stick to both through time and money. Plan your content through a content calendar. I strongly recommend creating a content calendar that outlines your image, copy, hashtags, publishing dates, and links. Agents contracted with Premier Insurance Contracts have content calendars available for their disposal.

Most platforms have tools where you can schedule your post or ads to be published on set dates and times.

A question we get all the time is should insurance agents invest in paid social media or stick with the free options? Social Media platforms are like subscriptions. You have the free option that gives you most of the available benefits, and you have the paid subscription that gives you some sort of advantage. Here are some things to consider when talking about PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Marketing or Organic Post (Free Posting).

At the core of any social media plan for insurance agents, it should be a clear goal for lead generation. Whether you are optimizing content for organic search results or working with paid ads, having a well-researched plan will ensure that your efforts are focused on hitting your targets and delivering results.

And take into consideration that PPC-generated leads are yours, and you do with them as you please. No sharing with other agents like you would with other lead-generating vendor lists!

 

Step 5: Track, Analyze, Optimize

This may be the most critical step for succeeding on social media. Even the best social media marketers rely on tracking, analyzing, and the best one yet, optimizing. It might seem basic, but tracking your results, analyzing the data, and then making tweaks to optimize them is crucial. Gather information from your social media analytics and or management tools and dive into what worked or didn't.

For example, look at the time of day you post; Saturday mornings tend to be the slowest for sales or conversions because most people tend to be with family or not focused on work or buying online.

Optimizing and making tweaks to your strategy is a trial and error Digital Marketing, most of the time, is trial and error, and don't let anyone tell you any different.

The more information you have, the better decisions we can make about how best to use your resources and what areas need additional attention with increased investment of time or money!

Here are a few metrics to consider measuring:

• Conversion Rate
• Highest Performance Content- (Time, Style, Copy)
• Age of Most Engaged Audience
• Reach
• Page Comparison
• Click Rate
• Total Shares

Conclusion

A great social media plan is never set in stone. Your goals should never change, but your plan is a constant work in progress that changes when necessary. So get out there, create a Social Media Plan and start growing your agency and reaching new prospects.

Social media is a necessary part of any insurance agent's marketing plan. It can help you connect with potential and current customers, build brand awareness, and generate leads. But it's not enough to just set up a few social media profiles and start posting – you need to have a strategy in place if you want to see actual results.

Do you need help getting your social media marketing off the ground?

That's where we come in. We understand that starting in social media can be daunting, so we offer all of our contracted agents a meeting with one of our digital marketing specialists. They will create a personalized Social Media Marketing Plan tailored specifically for your insurance agency.

Get contracted today for a free consultation with one of our digital marketing specialists!

As a bonus, here are nine tips for improving your social media presence:

• Search and Invite Each Customer to your Pages
• Include Trendy Post
• Stay Active
• Interact with your Audience On and Off your Page
• Show your Personality in your Content
• Educate Over Selling (Sell Every 5th Post)
• Stay in for the Long Haul
• Try Out New Features on the Platform
• Join Groups (Don't Sell Only Interact)