Keeping on top of all the social media channels available to users today can be a challenge for any individual, let alone the owner of a brokerage that already has to manage payroll, finances, and their employees, on top of their own book of business, or any broker that’s busy finding their clients the best coverage. With the pressure to come out on top in a competitive insurance environment, many are getting better at using social media to market themselves, but there’s still room for improvement.
“The majority of [insurance brokers] are doing social media right. In fact, they’re on the platforms and they’re using the platforms to connect with their customers, mainly from a customer service perspective, but that’s not true for the entire industry,” said Naheed Somji, senior social media specialist at Economical Insurance. “There are some brokers that are behind the times and I think their struggle is a lack of resources, a lack of budget for paid promotion, and I think they’re struggling with keeping on top of the platforms that are ever-changing, and it may not be one of their priorities at the moment.”
A few years ago, it was a struggle to get executives at insurance companies to buy into social media and realize the benefits of using it as a platform to promote a business. Not anymore, says Somji.
“What we’re seeing now is a lot greater adoption. It seems like teams are getting on the platforms because they know that they need to be there – they’ve been hearing that they need to be there – and now, it’s really about making sure what they’re doing on the platforms is effective. It’s about taking that adoption and making it more effective for their teams.”
Social media is about providing value by connecting and conversing with customers and prospects, but it’s about doing so on your customer’s terms, explained Somji.
“The brokers that do it best, they’ll see the sentiment towards their company change,” he added. “Brokers that have a great social media presence have competitive edge over companies that don’t. It helps them demonstrate their digital competency and their dedication to that customer service. I think that when a customer sees that you have an active Facebook account and that you’re very responsive to messages, they know that if they have a problem and if they need that service right away, you’re going to be available.”
A social media pro, Somji has tips for brokers that are specific to each social channel, but for those just starting out who might be struggle to get their heads around how to use Snapchat, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to their advantage, the specialist has a few key takeaways that apply across the board, keeping in mind too that video content is the future.
“One of the challenges that brokers have is time and they might not think that they have content, so I would challenge them to look in their inboxes as their main source for content. The one thing we know everybody does when they receive a question from a customer is answer it and those answers are a great place to start,” he told Insurance Business. “When we bring video into the equation, recording a short, informal 15 to 30-second answer to the most frequently asked question is a great way to generate a lot of content that is going to be immediately relevant and valuable for your audience.”
