One of the most effective ways to reach new clients, social media platforms offer a great pathway to generate new leads and grow your business. But how exactly do you reach these prospective clients via social media? We will answer this question and more below.
The Top Social Media Platforms
Though there are numerous social media platforms, the three most influential and visited are Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
One of the most popular platforms in the insurance industry, Facebook was the original social media platform to really change how we communicate online. Among its many uses, being able to create profile pages proves most relevant to insurance agents. By creating a professional Facebook profile page, you can connect with other agents and prospective clients and build your brand and reputation through industry-relevant posts and activity.
With over 2.9 billion users worldwide, Facebook has an immense reach. What’s more, 50% of seniors report being active on Facebook! So for agents selling Medicare, this platform is a must. For those selling ACA insurance, 70% or more of all other age groups are also active on Facebook. Facebook Digital Ads is another valuable tool offered by Facebook, allowing users to pay to have their ads visible to the massive Facebook audience. Click here to RSVP for our Facebook Digital Ads training.
The creator of the hashtag (#), Twitter is a fast-paced social media option for agents, allowing you to get information out quickly and often. Twitter also offers its retweet option, allowing users to re-share posts by other users and further amplify the content of that post. Overall, Twitter offers a great medium for disseminating news and information in just seconds, reaching a large audience fast.
Though still dominated by a younger crowd (age 18-29), research shows the number of users age 50 and up continues to grow, making Twitter a great platform for ACA agents and increasingly a helpful platform for Medicare agents.
The social media platform designated for working professionals, LinkedIn is a must for any insurance agent looking for B2B connections and an overall professional presence in the insurance industry. LinkedIn provides a way for agents to reach other agents and Field Marketing Organizations like Keystone Advisors. For anything from networking, finding industry events, even to finding a business partner, LinkedIn is the go-to social media platform.
According to Statistics, LinkedIn had 169 million users in 2021. And when it comes to marketing your business, research shows that 96% of business-to-business content marketers use LinkedIn. Whether for networking or marketing, LinkedIn is an essential platform for all insurance agents.
Agent Best Practices for Maximizing Social Media Marketing
Now that we’ve covered the top social media platforms, let’s go over how to get started on your social media marketing strategy. Below are a few best practices to start with.
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Know your audience demographic: Client age, gender, etc., are important factors when preparing your marketing content. Catering to your audience will maximize your outreach efforts.
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Consider the social media platform(s) your audience interacts with most often: You want to focus your attention and efforts on the social media platforms your target audience uses most often. Facebook might be a better platform for agents targeting seniors, whereas Twitter is better for agents trying to reach ACA clients.
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Review platform Analytics: Discussed in more detail below, make sure you are consistently checking the analytical feedback provided by the social media platform, to help you narrow your audience and more effectively reach them.
Social Media Platform Analytics are Key
The most effective tool to determine who your audience is and what they want is always analytics. Below are measurements you can analyze to improve your audience outreach.
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Demographics: These are general characteristics of individuals interacting with your content (age, gender, location, etc.)
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Follows: Not only do followers help to build your credibility, they help you to flesh out the demographics of your audience. A larger number of followers typically equates to increased interest in what you are posting to your social media platform.
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Clicks: Measures the number of people that clicked on a post. Typically a good indicator of interest levels of a post.
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Reach: A measurement of how many people have seen a particular post of yours through their newsfeed. Not necessarily engaged with it.
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Engagement Metrics: These are measurement of how many people interacted with a post by either clicking on a link, liking the post, sharing it, or commenting on it.
Social Media sites all offer free-of-charge analytical data to their users. Below are the analytical tools offered by the 3 major platforms.
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Facebook Audience Insight and Ads Manager are tools offered by Facebook to track your page activity and digital ad activity, including user behavior and post or ad performance.
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Twitter Analytics gives you insight into how your audience is responding to your content, what is receiving good reception and what is not. This data can be used to optimize your Twitter campaigns.
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LinkedIn Page Analytics helps to understand your audience better. This tool allows you to create tailored content and find ideal business connections.
Social Media is an essential tool for all health insurance agents looking to grow their business. With people of all ages and demographics increasingly using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, make sure you take advantage of all these social media platforms have to offer!
Interested in upping your social media game? Or have questions in general? Call the Keystone Agent support line at (346) -233-1992. You can also RSVP for our related agent training webinars on Producer Academy
Or if you want to request a contract now, you can complete an onboarding form at keystoneadvisorsproduceracademy.com/partnerwithkeystoneadvisors