An important part of an agent’s job is to continually bring in new business. However, finding new ways to generate leads can stall that process. So, how do you find new sources for landing new clients? Agents should look for opportunities where their ideal clients spend time – often, this includes online. Agents can find customers on Facebook and other social media platforms by investing in building a profile and community in those spaces. In this guide, you will learn some easy ways you can start growing your business using social media.
Use Facebook to find customers
Facebook is an under-used and diverse platform that insurance agents can use to engage with potential clients, generate new business, and find customers. Making cold-calls and doing business face-to-face may be a familiar way to conduct business, however, Facebook offers a variety of tools that make communicating more efficient and effective (such as a business page, insights on your pages performance, advertising, Call-to-action buttons, event, messaging and even chatbots).
Your clients and prospects are already online, in fact, there are 2.6 billion active users on Facebook, of whom 1.73 billion visit the platform every day. Insurance agents can use Facebook to attract, connect, and drive leads. Below are some strategies you can implement to help you effectively use Facebook to find customers and grow your business.
- Strategy 1: Connect with Your Target Audience
Once you have identified who your target audience is and how you can help them, you need to connect with them. You can send an email to your current clients asking them to “Follow” your page and link to your business page on Facebook (TIP: set up a vanity URL to make it easier for others to find you), add your social media links (including Facebook) to your email signature, or create ads that highlight your services.
Once you’ve connected with your audience, it’s time to start iterating with them online.
- Strategy 2: Create a Schedule for Managing Your Page
Set up a schedule to post your content, read and respond to comments, and analyze and optimize your ads. Figuring out what you want to share and regularly planning out a content calendar is important (TIP: content can include a link to an article you wrote, something trendy happening in the industry, or an event you are hosting).
- Strategy 3: Create Content That Helps
Simply promoting your business is an outdated and unproductive method for finding customers on Facebook. Providing or sharing great content that educates, informs, and entertains your audience is key to building an engaged community. Using Facebook to generate new insurance leads means you need to intimately understand your targeted audience’s pain points and provide a solution. Content is a great way to address these issues and drive people to your website.
3 Strategies For Using LinkedIn to Find Customers
LinkedIn is a platform designed for professionals. Features include internal messaging, groups, content creation, and more. An insurance agent can use LinkedIn to network with other agents or to find potential leads. By participating in LinkedIn you can foster a sense of leadership in your industry and trust from other professionals. Using LinkedIn to find new customers can be effective and efficient when you use the following strategies.
- Strategy 1: Update Your Profile – Make sure your profile is up to date. Include relevant work, hobbies, volunteering, and any other pertinent information. More and more people are using LinkedIn as a means to connect with businesses near them, so be sure to use phrases that potential clients might be using to search for insurance online. Review your contact information and include a variety of ways clients can connect with you ( e.g., email, website link, and phone number).
- Strategy 2: Build Your Network – Establishing and expanding your network is key to opening the doors to new leads and landing clients. First, connect with colleagues (past, present, and other agencies). Then, look for your current clients LinkedIn. When connecting, include a note about how you know each other and why you want to connect. Finally, look for opportunities to connect with others you’d be interested in doing business with. When you reach out, be upfront that you don’t know each other but would love to learn more about what they do.
- Strategy 3: Create Content – An important way to draw attention to profile, traffic to your site, and gain potential leads is to provide valuable content. You can do this by creating unique content within the platform itself or by linking to articles that you have either written or read and recommend. Topics could include information about insurance, products, tips, and more.
The benefit of using LinkedIn is that, similar to Facebook, you can engage and connect with people that you already know and those that you don’t. Insurance agents who take advantage of this rich platform are able to identify targets, start conversations, and increase lead generation.
Tweet Your Way to New Customers in 3 Steps
Twitter is another popular platform that insurance agents can use to find leads and land clients. Twitter is a tool you can use to highlight your business, provide updates on events that impact the insurance industry and customers and educate potential clients about ways you can meet their diverse insurance needs.
There is more to Twitter than simply following others or Tweeting out information. Here are some strategies you can use to get customers using Twitter.
- Strategy 1: Connect with Your Followers – Twitter is a platform known for its concise posts and the ability to quickly communicate snippets of information. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have meaningful interactions on Twitter. You should follow current clients or businesses you want to work with as well as leaders in the insurance industry. Ask questions, respond to comments, and listen to the feedback your followers share with you. The important thing is to keep it concise and on topic and as with any social media platform you have to engage. Simply posting and never interacting will leave your followers feeling unheard and looking for an alternative.
- Strategy 2: Use Trending Topics and Hashtags (#) – Finding leads on Twitter can be relatively easy if you know how to look for them. Trending topics and hashtags make weeding through the noise much easier. Insurance agents should be looking for posts by people or businesses who have a problem they can solve. Whether it’s a question about commercial insurance coverage, getting a quote, or a complaint about a current provider. In addition, looking for announcements of new businesses or expansions could be an opportunity to make a connection and land new clients.
- Strategy 3: Share Content – Stay active and visible on the platform by delivering content that your targeted customers want to read. Anticipate their questions or concerns and post links to articles you’ve written that solve these issues for them
Using Social Media to generate leads can be rewarding and less time-consuming than face-to-face engagement. Besides generating leads, you have the opportunity to increase your brand awareness, direct the conversation, and establish yourself as a leader. Ultimately, social media’s diverse platforms are about building relationships, trust, and loyal followers. Insurance agents can leverage Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter by sharing information about relevant community activities and events as well as post articles, behind-the-scenes photos and stories, and more.
