Facebook

[mitchdunford]

Insurance Journal is now on Facebook. Become a Insurance Journal Facebook Fan today!

[Phils]

I'll not deny I'm in the "senior" segment of agents' age. But....

... can someone post the benefits and advantages of Facebook please?

Phil

[christhompson]

Phil,

I think a good way to look at Facebook would be to view it as a very quick acting "word of mouth" type advertising. It could be used as an always on piece of advertising.

You can join Facebook and then add clients and or coworkers to your friends list and then easily notify them of changes, specials, discounts that you are running. On many online publications, IJ included, there are "Share This" links on page where you can "share" the article you are reading with your friends on Facebook. This could be used to help share news that you find important to your clients that are friended on Facebook.

[d's insurance store]

This is called Social Networking...and it is being touted as the 'next best thing' for marketers.

Because of the linking described in the above posting, Facebook and to a degree the Twitter concept, is seen as a way to get your name into an ever linking group of people who will pass along your 'business face' as an implied endorsement because they have or are doing business with you.

There are a number of marketers who are hustling for a fee the 'secrets' to marketing through these two particular sources and it is being presented as a 'must do' as oppossed to the traditional, dying sources of advertising such as Yellow Pages, direct mail, newpaper, broadcast, etc.

Me? I'm skeptical that this will benefit an agency in proportion to the effort needed to make it work. It purportedly works in conjunction with setting up and maintaining an active web site that has interactive features and blogs that keep a prospect or client engaged on a regular basis with your site and communications.

It's one thing for us to share the daily war stories and gossip of being in the business...I think it's quite another to think that outsiders really care about our day to day strugles, successes and daily annoyances.

Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

[Aartrijk]

I'll not deny I'm in the "senior" segment of agents' age. But....

... can someone post the benefits and advantages of Facebook please?

Phil

There's one key reason to consider Facebook: it's where the people are. Facebook has 200 million users and is among the top 10 most-visited Web sites.

[pita3333]

I'll not deny I'm in the "senior" segment of agents' age. But....

... can someone post the benefits and advantages of Facebook please?

Phil

There's one key reason to consider Facebook: it's where the people are. Facebook has 200 million users and is among the top 10 most-visited Web sites.

ya sure that is where people "are" but are they there to make business connections? I am a facebook user...and I am not there for that reason. Perhaps I am an exception...and perhaps my point of view will change in future. I am keeping my mind open on that frontier.

[Phils]

It's one thing for us to share the daily war stories and gossip of being in the business...I think it's quite another to think that outsiders really care about our day to day strugles, successes and daily annoyances.

Just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Thanks for the replies and explanations.

I've only found one source of advertising that has consistantly worked for our agency -- phone book ads.

TV commercials generated comments from existing customers of "...hey, I saw you on TV" but it never seemed to bring in much new business. Newspaper ads are worse, probably because anybody wanting to buy insurance isn't usually inclined to check the newspaper to see "... what insurance is on sale today". Program ads (sports, shows, whatever) are only a good revenue source for the company selling them IMO.

But I wanted to see if I was totally missing the point on this newest technology. Nobody should want updates on what WE are doing, ever. IF they did, they need to get a life. I understand the social networking part, I just couldn't understand how it could be a business tool.

Phil

[alardler]

I think Facebook can help you with your business.

Many future clients, aka the "Millennials", are avid users of Facebook and Twitter. They don't just use the sites for social networking but they use it to get information on things they need. A group of college students at Virginia Commonwealth University, who are studying insurance and risk management, attended a recent conference and mentioned many of them purchased health insurance over the Internet but did not know what they were buying. But if they had someone to sit down with them and discuss all their insurance options, they would have made their purchases in person. The rest of the agents in the room discovered there's an untapped market out there! You would think their parents would help guide them to their own agents for help, but apparently not.

Facebook does offer paid advertising space and you can narrow the resources to your specific geographic area - only those users would see it.

The Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia's Young Agent Council just started a FB page. And their IIAV's Education Center now has one to advertise their classes and other events. It's just another way to get the word out about our industry.

[d's insurance store]

After one week, my mileage ratings are in.....based on the buzz surrounding Facebook, I decided to look into their 'pure' advertising campaign offer. It works either on a CPM (cost per thousand) or a pay per click basis, with the advertiser (me) making up one of those tiny ads with the compelling headline and irresistable offer and then in my case, offering to pay per click within the geographic and demographic boundries I set up to target my ads.

So, I went two different routes. First, a very localized ad targeted to within 10 miles of my zip code, with a few other demographic tweeks (mostly age) and some broad Facebook 'interests'. This is my P&C ad...asking for action to either call or via my web site, soliciting a quote for lower rates. Setting up the ad, Facebook gave me some estimated numbers depending on the filtering I would select. I had to really broaden my criteria to get above 200 potential Facebook displays of the ad...and I can tell you that apparently, Facebook knows its demographics. After one week in the broad interest and age categories...only 400 or so impressions and no clicks.

I can offer another product in another state...so, broadly selecting the entire state, I made up the same kind of ad, with the hard hitting headline and the compelling offer with a link to an 800 phone number or my product specific web site. Well, with this state and my filters, Facebook said my potential market would be thousands...and indeed it is. So, after one week.....65K + impressions and five clicks only on the first day and none since and no contacts at all.

Now, it's cheap enough that I can continue the pay per click routine, but insofar as true results, it's been a loser...big time. So, my conclusion at this moment...perhaps Facebook offers a P&C avenue or maybe health or life, in some demographic or geographic settings...but for me? No, not yet, and maybe not ever.

Once again my disclaimer...your milage may vary.

[Foundersgrp]

I'm not sure a small local independent agency will necessarily gain from advertising on Facebook as much as having a presence and branding themselves in the web 2.0 enviroment. FB is on my to do list - we have had great success with our blog which was recently started. www.foundersgrp.wordpress.com.
I'm the Marketing Director of an Independent Agency in CT, prior to this life I owned my own advertising firm. I did a lot of Web 2.0 networking and advertising - from Twitter, to e-newsletters. They not only increased my brand awareness but increased my market share and elevated me as an expert in my field. I'm now carrying that on to my role in the insurance industry with great results.

Good luck!

Cindy

[d's insurance store]

OK, Cindy, I clicked on the link and indeed, you and the agency principal have certainly put together a blog that looks interesting...to me. But, how will it play in the rest of cyberspace that takes in your agency's marketing area? I gather the attempt is to humanize the mystical world of insurance, starting with personal lines and the common misconceptions about buying coverage.

And when you use the term 'success', I'd be interested in knowing how you're defining success after only a few weeks of postings. I'll presume the agency has put the word out to its own email list of clients and other interested parties. But if you're defining success as a measurable increase in sales, retention, referrals, premium, recognition...where are you guys on the matrix after this short a period of time?

Or, has it just been like advertising on local cable television? Lots and lots of 'hey, I saw you on TV late last night', but no real increase in revenue. Validation for your current clients, but not a lot of transferable motivation for new folks to 'call for a quote'.

Or perhaps, you're relying on this blog to generate SEO enhancement to help with web searching by potential clients who might have an easier time finding the agency on page one of Google as opposed to page 75.

And, one final question...do you or the agency principal have the wherewithall to stay the course...generating blog content that is fresh and relevant into the useful future? Or will you guys run out of non redundant and repetitive things to say about the wacky world of insurance?

Don't misinterpret what I'm observing. The blog looks good and presents well. I'm just wondering if it will enhance the bottom line in a meaningful way, or if this is just one more piece of the never ending puzzle to march in place, staying revelent in this brave new Web 2.0 world.

[Foundersgrp]

D'

I need to clarify a few things before I get into the social networking questions you asked. Prior to coming on board with Founders I owned my own advertising firm - my current bosses were one of my clients. They hired my firm to brand their elite division - Founders Platinum which caters to high end clients in NW Ct and NYC. That job morphed into my current position with the firm. So, prior to doing the blog - we did some initial marketing of the firm, and began branding the new company name ( it was changed a few years earlier) and updated their marketing materials.
The next step in our campaign was to further brand ourselves as experts in our field - becoming trusted advisors versus vendors. This is where the blog comes in.

The Founders Forum Blog has been extremely succesful in its short life on many levels:
1. it makes us very different than any of our competitors within our target demographic
2. We are getting it in front of the "right" people - ie center's of influence
3. Increased brand awareness - people are talking about "us"
4. And yes - the big one for all you number crunchers - it has brought in new clients.

- Don't forget - advertising in any form is all about getting noticed.
- Advertising is cumulative - it takes many hits of varying types before a potential user will consider buying from you.
- Advertising creates a perception.
- And the really big one that most "non marketing people" forget is that humans are easily influenced. ( Cavemen and Geckos have influenced millions)

Blogging get's us noticed, it is one more step in the sales process, it has created the perception that we are experts in our field - which we are - and the more people that read our blog the more clients we will eventually get because people buy from people they trust and people they like.

As far as sustainability - I enjoy blogging, and it's my job to make sure it happens - so yes, we are in the long haul until the next social networking craze takes over!

A tip - if you plan on blogging - you need to get people to the blog. Email the links to clients and friends, put it on Facebook and Twitter and also include links in your monthly e-newsletter. If you arent doing any of those - you should!



Hope that helps!

Cindy Donaldson
Director of Marketing - Founders Insurance Group
cdonaldson@foundersgrp.com
www.foundersgrp.wordpress.com

[mightyquinn]

Let's see. I need insurance. Should I go to Facebook or Google for a local agent?

My money is on Googling and this points out the necessity of insurance agents to be very involved in the key words and site content that will take them to the head of their class in Google.

A site without excellent keyword direction is a waste of time and money. You need a high ranking.

Blogs are good but from my experience they do not usually have a high Google ranking unless they are professionaly administered.

Never ever blur the line between social networking and networking. Its one thing to have tons of "friends" in Facebook but they are more than likely your reflection so if you need business answers that is not the place to go unless you and your "friends" have business savvy.

[Big Dog]

mightyquinn has an excellent point.

If a friend of mine joined Facebook for the sole purpose of trying to get business, not only would that show how shallow they are, but they would quickly be removed from my "Friends" list, and most likely killfiled.

Facebook is a SOCIAL NETWORKING site, not a B2B site.

[Island Girl Agent]

Interesting comments...I have to say I totally agree with Big Dog on this one. I'm also on Facebook to network with my friends, not to hunt for business prospects nor do I pay any attention to their advertisements. I'm too busy looking at all the new photos my niece posted...you get my drift. One thing that hasn't been mentioned...we actually had to block social networking sites in our office since that seemed to work better than constantly monitoring who was spending too much time there rather than working...I don't see Facebook having a place in the small to medium sized independent agency. I'd rather work on my website as an avenue for the technology driven leads...and it works well for us.