Do the words Twitter, Facebook and Blogging make you nervous? Have you thought about
increasing your online presence to capture a new market but aren’t sure where to
start? Staying up-to-date with the latest trends in technology when marketing and
selling insurance may seem overwhelming and intimidating, but agents know it’s necessary
to grow.
Success in today’s online market absolutely depends on your entire web presence,
not just your website. Spreading your online presence as wide as possible helps
you reach millions of potential clients you may not be able to reach otherwise.
Below are four simple ways beginners can increase their web presence without breaking
the bank or their back.
1. Create a Website
Websites don’t have to be expensive and elaborate, they just have to be visible
to consumers, provide useful information and generate leads by allowing visitors
to contact you for free offers or more information.
There are several option available when creating a website. For the more tech savvy
agents, you can build your own (Top 10 Do-It-Yourself Website Builders) and for those
who’d rather leave it to the experts, you can check out the below links to get started:
INS Digital media
Insurance Web Designs
Insurance Broker Webmasters
Free Insurance Agent Websites
Some companies even offer supplemental marketing material to help draw prospects
to a website such as
Insurance Help Centers, a company that specializes in lead generating
website customization.
2. Use SEO to Increase your Website Ranking
SEO, or
Search Engine Optimization, is the process of adding keywords or phrases throughout your website to
help search
engine spiders properly rank your webpage in a Google search result.
In other words, when someone searches for “Financial Advisors” the webpage results
will be ordered by relevance of how well the title, description and keywords of
the website match the users web search query.
Still confused? Google offers an extremely helpful and easy to follow Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide as well
as basic information about a Google Search and how to increase your webpage rankings.
When using the
Google AdWords Keyword Tool, agents are able to insert their webpage
URL and Google will create a list of keyword ideas for you to use when adding or
modifying content to your web pages.
Once you’ve created and optimized your website you want as many people to visit
it as possible!
3. Start a Blog
Blogging is a great way to establish yourself as an expert while increasing your
online presence at the same time. Also, by commenting on blogs written by others,
it’s a great way to gain practice as well as increase your visibility by linking
back to your website, blog or other social media profiles.
Setting up a blog is the easy part (Best Blogging Host Software), it’s figuring out what
to write about that can be challenging (10 Business Blogging Best Practices). By reading
product focused blogs, you can practice your posting while gaining ideas of content
to write about:
Long-Term Care Blogs:
LTCConnects
Disability Blogs:
Disability Insurance Forums
P&C Blogs:
P&C Insurance News
Consumer Insurance Blog
Life Blogs:
LifeInsure
The Insurance Word
How to Write an Effective Blog Post:
Nine Signs of an Effective Blog Post
Top 7 Tips to Write an Effective Business Blog
Writing a Good Blog – For Dummies
Once you’ve started your own blog, you can drive people to it by promoting it on
your website as well as social media profiles. Don’t have a social media profile?
Keep reading to learn how to set one up in minutes!
4. Join Social Networking Sites
Social networking is one of the most powerful social media strategies you can implement.
These sites are free and allow you to create a personal profile page to post information
about you and your business, invite people to join your network, join groups with
people interested in the same topic, blast messages and events, and drive people
to your website or blog.
Just remember - you must provide useful and relevant information to your readers
and followers, otherwise those constant updates you’re providing will soon become
annoying and people will start blocking your updates on their homepage.
Getting Started
First, determine which social media outlet is best for you. Find out what platforms
your prospects use most. Don’t be afraid to create a profile at different sites
just so you can browse and check out how it works, who uses it and what other people
are posting. Also, don’t underestimate your teenager or grandchild’s ability to
help you set up a profile – believe me, they’ll have a full profile created with
pictures posted in seconds flat!
Below are top social media sites provided by InsuranceNewsNet Magazine that can give you an idea
of how many people are using social media. Potential prospects and clients are bound
to be online.
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Social Media Users
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Facebook.com
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307 million users
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YouTube.com
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300 million users
|
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Blogs (tracked by Technorati)
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133 million records indexed since 2002
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LinkedIn.com
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36 million members
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Twitter
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19.7 million unique visitors in May 2009
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How to Set Up Your Profile
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Social Media Beginner Guides
Facebook for Beginners
Social Media Marketing Beginners Guide
How to Effectively Use Twitter to Build Business Relationships
A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization
Increasing your online presence may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but with a
little practice and the resources provided in this article, you’ll be an expert
in no time!
For additional sales and marketing tips exclusive to insurance agents, visit the
new TWG Capital Agent Acceleration
Center.