Social media is one of the most powerful and effective marketing tools for insurance agents and brokers alike. However, it can be easy to misuse social media platforms and do more harm than good for your business. To avoid this, here are some of the most common social media marketing mistakes that insurance professionals make and how you can avoid them:
Using only one social media platform
Reputable insurance marketing companies recommend insurance brokers and agents to use more than one social media marketing to promote their business. Otherwise, you may not be maximizing your reach and thus missing out on great leads that having multiple platforms would have provided.
However, handling more than one social media platform can be a handful, especially on top of your other work responsibilities. Hence, it’s also recommended that you hire a virtual assistant to handle your social media pages for you.
Having an inconsistent online presence
If you leave your social media pages idle for weeks at a time, it leads to clients, and even potential leads–to think your business does not actively engage with its followers. As a result, existing customers may choose to unfollow you seeing that your page no longer gives them value, and potential clients may look for other insurance professionals that have a more active social media presence instead.
Keeping your online presence consistent is undoubtedly a challenge for many insurance professionals because it can eat up a big chunk out of your already busy schedule. However, keep in mind that having an inconsistent online presence is oftentimes worse than having no social media at all. If you simply don’t have the time for this, use a social media management tool that allows you to plan your posts in advance. Alternatively, hire a social media manager who can keep your pages active for you.
Posting boring, irrelevant content
Few things can turn clients away from your page faster than boring, unoriginal, repetitive, and irrelevant content. And seeing that social media is already saturated with insurance brokers, agents, and companies trying to make themselves stand out, posting content that brings no value to clients is an easy way to make your page lose followers.
Talking about insurance and finances can be boring, yes, but there are plenty of ways that you can make your content engaging. For instance, try diversifying your content across blogs, videos, infographics, pictures, and other types of media. Moreover, keep your content as authentic as can be, maintaining a consistent brand voice throughout your posts.
Making every post a sales pitch
Followers don’t like it when every post is trying to sell them something. It can make them feel that your page only exists to make a sale, which is not an effective way to create meaningful connections with your clients. Hence, keep the sales talk to a minimum by practicing the 80-20 rule wherein 80% of your content is made to educate and entertain, while the other 20% is for promoting your offers.
Not responding to customers
One of the primary purposes of having social media for your insurance business is to engage with customers by replying to comments, answering questions, and responding to private messages. If you fail to do so, your clients will likely look for another insurance professional who will respond to them.
Similarly, failing to respond to customers promptly is another mistake that you don’t want to make. The majority of online users expect to receive a response from businesses within an hour, some within a day, and if you don’t respond by then, you have likely lost business with them.
Using topics that are too serious
Needless to say, insurance is an important aspect of life, but clients rarely want to see insurance posts with super heavy themes that make them sad rather than inspired. So instead of creating content that revolves around serious topics such as death, accidents, and severe health conditions, try making your content more lighthearted and enjoyable to see. There’s nothing wrong with creating a serious post once in a while, but it shouldn’t become the main theme of your social media pages.
If you’re stumped on ideas about content, seek help from an insurance marketing company or a social media specialist that can help you come up with fresh, entertaining topics for your pages.
As with any other type of business, social media is a necessity for insurance professionals, not an option. Although social media marketing is not rocket science, there are still a lot of mistakes that you have to learn to avoid in order to maximize your resources and generate more leads.
