Why should I get involved in Social Media? I don’t need to. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean I have to.
Social Media will put you in touch with your customers (AND potential customers), and their needs/objectives more than any other mass marketing tool. Become “social” with them and it will change the dynamics of the business relationship.
Social Media exposes you and your company publicly and says, “I want to hear from my customers and give them what they need”. How about providing a great customer service option, other than phone and email, by opening up the channels of Social Media platforms?
Fear of change; I’m going to stick to what works for our business; we’ve been fine without it.
According to hundreds of statistics and studies, Social Media is not “just a fad”. Give Social Media a chance before you miss the opportunity in relationship building and lead generation while saving marketing dollars!
Insurance Agency Marketing has evolved beyond yellow pages and many companies are re-inventing themselves by their usage of Social Media. Your customers want to work with businesses that are innovative, not antiquated.
How about Ford? If Fortune 50 companies are embracing Social Media, should you?
It costs too much.
The cost will be time and patience as it will not build accidentally or overnight. Conversely it can SAVE you money by reducing customer service and the cost of marketing campaigns. If you are still relying on direct mail, try testing a Social Media campaign where you only invest time and spread the word online.
I’m in no hurry.
Are your competitors? It’s about missed opportunities. Look at all the Fortune 500 companies (Wal-Mart, Dell, Bank of America, General Motors, to name a few) that lost out on their name on Twitter before it exploded into a phenomenon.
I don’t have time to learn how Social Media works.
There is always a learning curve and we try to take the path of least resistance by doing the same things we have always done. Think about that…what if you never took the time to learn how to use a computer? Would your business have suffered? You must take the time to teach yourself with the many tools available online or find someone with the expertise needed to help you.
It will require too many resources within our agency.
Yes, it will require resources and so does answering the phone, marketing and investing in the proper equipment and systems to run your agency. What if you offset some of these traditional costs by using Social Media?
I’m worried about the legal ramifications/regulatory issues.
Create a Social Media policy for your customers that clearly outlines the rules for communicating with your agency via Social Media.
It’s too risky; we’re better off doing nothing.
And there is great risk in doing nothing! Have you ever made much progress by doing nothing? At the very least, learn how Social Media works so you can monitor what your customers are saying about you and your competitors online. Take advantage of the massive amount of information available to you.
You can’t measure it; Social Media results are not quantifiable.
Oh, but they are! You can track your Social Media ROI (Return on Investment) much more effectively than you can an advertising/marketing campaign done through traditional channels. The internet loves stats; you can slice and dice them however you like.
What about personal/company privacy? You have to give up too much information.
This is a valid objection but with some knowledge of Social Media platforms, you can protect your privacy. You control what you put out to the public. It is, however, important to develop rules, procedures and a Social Media policy if you have employees. Clearly state the roles and responsibilities for those participating in Social Media on behalf AND outside of the company.
You are Spot On! We are getting great results. We also find most of our insured’s are on FB…a great place to communicate with them. We believe LI and FB will soon take the place of email. We also have a lot of our applications available at not only our website, but, our FB, too.
Why should I get involved in Social Media? I don’t need to. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean I have to.
Why should I get involved in Social Media? I don’t need to. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean I have to.
Comments (4)
Excellent advise! And there is no need to pay tons of $$$$ for some hyped up marketing program.
Well said
You are Spot On! We are getting great results. We also find most of our insured’s are on FB…a great place to communicate with them. We believe LI and FB will soon take the place of email. We also have a lot of our applications available at not only our website, but, our FB, too.
Thanks for the feedback and Sheri…I love hearing about Social Media results! Great job!