Your Agency Facebook Page: What lf You Build lt and They Don't Come?

Q: Okay, so I took your advice in a previous edition of the PIA NationalAgency Marketing Guide and created a Facebook page for our agency. But now it's just sitting there with hardly any fans. What

By Ted Janusz

Advice from the Experts Here are some of the best tips and tricks I have found on howto grow the fan base foryour agency's Facebook page from six other social media experts.
Use Facebook Directory

should I do?
First of all, let me congratulateyoul With nearly a billion users (that's one of out every seven people on the pianet who has a Facebook account) be assured thatyou are in

on
your

Facehook Seairch

to

locate other Faceboak pages in your insurance niche. Lookfor public discussions based on
search terms related to
busines,s.
--Ch i ng Ya, 5o
cii I m e d i a e x a m i n e r.co o

the right place to promote you r agency.

And let me assureyou a Facebook page can work for you. When I spoke atthe annualconvention forthe PIA of Tennessee, an agent told me that he was ab e to write numerous new policies by posting questions on his Facebook page such as, "lf mytreefa ls down and hits my neighbor's house, am I responsibleforthe damage?" He involved his fans in the conversation and then showed that he was an expert on the topic of insurance to his community. (Notice he did not use his Facebook page to shout: "Call me today for a free insurance quote!")
ln fact, just of few of the many insurance Facebook pages you may want to study and emulate inciude: . McKinnon lnsurance (Notice how this page doesn't

Ourf rst expert, ChingYa, of SociaImediaexaminei'cor-n,

suggests these three rdeas: 1. Take the lnitiative: Request Help from Friends it's diffrcult to start a Facebook page with no engagement whatsoever Why not send messages toyourfriends and clients who are supportive of your agency? Ask them to help out in some discussions, reward them with publlcity, or return the favor. Ask them to use Facebook's Suggest featu re to "suggest" that thei r friends I i ke you r pa ge. When the req uest comes from these com m u n ity thought leaders, it's a lot harderfor others to decline to hit that

pitch insurance products but instead al ows their prospects and clients to get to know them on a personal level. People want to buy insurance from those they know and "like.")
. AIan Galvez lnsurance

"like" button 2. Use Tagging

One of the most popular features on Facebook is tagging,whtch givesyou the abllityto identify and reference people in photos, videos and notes. Friends you tag in

. Baker & Associates lnsurance Agency . Hill & Hamilton lnsurance and Financial Services
. Westfield lnsurance . Progressive . Flo, the Progressive Girl (This page was not created by sorne corporate marketer, but rather by an 18-year-old male fan of Flo's from Ok ahoma. Notice how many mi lions of likes the page has todayl) . Securance Service . The NationalAlliance for lnsurance Education &
Research . Allstate lnsurance

your status updates will receive a notiication and a Wall post linkingthem toyour post. 3. Participate Outside Your Page Use Facebook Directory and Facebook Search to locate other Facebook pages inyour insurance niche. Lookfor public discussions based on search terms related toyour
business.

Our second expert, Laura Rubinstein, of the Social Media Marketing Strategist, suggests two ideas:

. State Farm lnsurance

. Nationwide lnsurance
. The World's Greatest Spokesperson in the World . Aflac Duck .GEtCO

1. Hold a Contest-.J upiter

Research reported in 2001

that 49 percent of consumers enter an online sweepstakes at least once a month. Sponsoring a contest will do two th ings for yo u: i rst, you will eas ily be a ble to
Conltnued on page c0

28

2012PlA NationalAgency Marketing Cuide

Continuedfrom page 2B

Your Agency Facebook Page:What lf You Build lt and They Don't Come? By Ted lanusz
determine which of yourfans want to interact with you, and, secondly, once they do, they will be more open to future marketing messages from you. Progressive and State Farm arelust two of the insurance companies which have recently sponsored contests on Facebook. on Facebook that they can't get anywhere else. By offering exclusive content on Facebook, you immediately give users a reason to join. lt also provides a powerful motivator to share your page with their own networks. Ask Questions and Take Polls and Surveys You want people to interact with you on Facebook. To drlve engagement, be genuinely curious and ask questions. (Rememberthe success of the PIA of Ten nessee convention attendee?) To get even broader feedback, use regular polls and surveys within your Fa cebook pa ge. Two hel pfu I too ls : rnrwrv. pol id adC'y'

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Respond to Comments - Encourage interaction by being interactive. Make sure you are responding to comments from your fans. Share Content from Others - lt's not just about you and your agency. lt's rmportant to share content videos, photos, blog posts, artic es and links from

others as well. get ideas on how other companies have incorporated contests and social media, please see this artic e by David Spark entitled "10 Creative Contests Powered by Social
Med i a," http ://nr a s h a b le.coni,r2 socia i'med ia-contests.

009/0Bii1/
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Finally, Don't be Afraid to Experiment -There is no cookie-cutter approach to success with social media. Being active y engaged is a key part of success on Facebook. ss
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2. Promote a Charity. This benefitsyou,yourfans, and the charity. lt's a triple winl Let everyone knowthat for every x number of fans who join, you are going to donate x dollars to a certain charity.
Rob Dickens of Memebu rn,

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1. Suggest to Friends
Just belowyour Facebook page pictureyou'llind a linkthat says "Suggestto Friends."This al owsyou to invite allof yourfriends on Facebook. 2. Promote Your Facebook Page Lf you send out a newsletter, be sureyou include a

Mari Smith, co-author of Facebook Market ng: An lour

Day:

linktoyour Facebook page. Have a Facebook badge on your Website. 3. E-mail Signatures
Just imagine how much exposureyour page wiil get if the linktoyour agency's Facebook page is in cluded in every single e-mail sent from your agencyl Ruth White-Cabell, Strategic Campaigns Manager at
Cisco:

lnvite Your E-mail and Ezine Subscribers Send out an invitation toyour subscribers via e-mai (severaltimes, overtime) lettingthem know aboutyour Facebook

with

ra gi n g them to.1oi n. Provide them a description of the page and, rather than lust asking them to " ike our page,"tell them exactly what's

page a nd encou

in it for them when they do.

Finally, our sixth expert, Cindy Ratzlaffof the lnternational Socia Media Association, asks:

1. Create Exclusive Content -

Ask you rself what va lu able, relevant contentyou can provide toyourfans

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Continuedfrom page 50
Did you knowthat video postings on Facebook are chosen more often to appear in the "Top News" stream ofyourfans and therefore have a better chance of being seen by their friends? Post short video messages with insu ra nce ti ps that you r fa ns ca n sha re with their friends. Keep these messages under one minute and incl ude on ly sol id advice or tips that you r fans will be thrilled to share with their friends. People love videosl ln fact, Youlube is now the second largest search engine in the world behind Coogle. And if you wa nt you r video to be noticed, ma ke su re that you don't have someone from the agency in a

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exclusive content (especially captivating videos and photos)that will make it easyforyourfans to "like" your page, and to keep them coming back for more. The main reason people unsubscribe from blogs is because the blog holder doesn't update the blog often enough with quality, consistent posts. Make sure that the content on your Facebook page is

headshot going blah-blah-blah in insurance speak. lf you want to have your video stand out, make it witty, off-beat, or intensely personal.

alwaysfresh.

3. Promote Your Page. With a Facebook page, it is more than "build it and theywill come." lnclude
URL on all of your marketing materia ls. 4. TrackYour Successes by Using Facebook lnsights. Want to see what's working and not working on your Facebook page? This free analytics tool availab
I

your Facebook page

at www.facebook.com/i

ns

ghts wi

| give yo u

information that will showyou, soyou can ref ne you r efforts a long the way. Four Keys to Facebook Success Let's conclude with these four key steps to build, grow and manageyour Facebook page: 1. Develop a Strategy - Why do most of the more than 3 million Facebook pages fail? Because creating one was a reactive, rather than a proactive, event. Many businesses create Facebook pages simply because it seems like everyone else is. (+8%
of allsmall businesses now have a Facebook page.) What do you want to accomplish with your page? As a n exa m ple of a n effective strategy for a Facebook page, the Buffalo, New York CPA firm of Freed, Maxick & Battaglia determined that it wanted to "humanize employees, showcase community involvement, a nd position the com pa ny as a thought leader"with their Facebook page. Onceyou develop a strategy foryour agency, it will make your efforts on your Facebook page a whole lot easier. 2. Based upon whatyou wantto achievewithyour Facebook page, create great content. Your Facebook page is not the place to recycle you r self-serving commercials anci press releases. Develop fabulous
The effective use of social media in general and Facebook in particular requires usto shift ourthinking. Using trad itiona I ma rketi n g i ncl ud i n g you r Website, you wou ld simply "shout out"toyour customers and your prospects aboutyour agency. Now with Facebookyou have the a bility to actua lly engage with you r fa ns, to have twoway com m u n ication with them. You ca n now fi nd out

howthey reallyfeel aboutyour services, allowingyou to deliverwhattheytruly need. And onceyou do,you will be surprised howyourfans will actually helpyou spread
the word aboutyour agency and your services totheir friends. ln the end,you'll be able to deliver better results for your agency, your clients and yourself. And isn't that

what it's allabout?

Ted

lanusz speaks to insurance agents and PIA state afLearn more

f liates on "Social Media for Baby Boomers."

www.
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n s.co m /soci a

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PIA members, discover how to harness the power of social media to bring new business into your agency. For your FREE copy of step-by-step instructions in the "Social Media Marketing Cuide for lnsurance Professionals" visit www.i n s u ra n cea qo ra q ate.co m /soci a - m ed i a -q u i d e.
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