The DO’s and DON’Ts of Social Media Marketing for Insurance Agencies

Running a successful insurance agency isn’t just about how much revenue you generate from selling policies. It’s also about watching your outflow of expenses to maintain a healthy financial operation.

4 Key Benefits to Utilizing Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is one approach that can be an effective way to support agency growth without hefty advertising expenditures. Here are four key benefits to utilizing social media marketing:

Social Media TO DO List

Like many things in life, there are some things you should do and other things you should avoid. Let’s start with your social media TO DO list:

• Do start with a plan. This should include which social media platforms you’ll be focused on, what your primary goals are, who will be responsible for creating, posting and responding to messages, and what budget you have for any paid social media.
• Do choose the optimal platform(s): LinkedIn is a good option for business-to-business messaging, while Facebook, Instagram and TikTok can be appropriate sources for reaching out to individual consumers. Although X (formerly Twitter) has a place in the world of social media, it’s less likely to generate leads or grow your brand.
• Do create a content calendar. This will guide the frequency of your messaging and allow you to create content ahead of time. Even if you have a robust calendar, leave some flexibility so you can post time-sensitive messages as opportunities present themselves.
• Do consider a class at a community college or other reputable source. Search for “how to use social media for business” or a similar phrase. LinkedIn can also be a good place to find courses to improve your social media skills.
• Do maintain consistency with your brand. If you’re a single-line agency, make sure you take advantage of social media resources the carrier offers. It you’re a multi-line agency, stay true to your overall brand image and make sure your content doesn’t violate any guidelines from your carriers.
• Do proofread everything carefully. Misspelled words, poor grammar or incorrect facts can backfire on any positive gains you’ve made in building your image of excellence.
• Do includes images in most (or all) posts. Words don’t grab attention in the same way a photo does – especially when people are aimlessly scrolling through social media.
• Do host webinars or Q&A sessions. Topics could include:
  • Managing Life’s Storms: How to Navigate Hail and Wind Damage
  • How Much Life Insurance Does My Family Really Need?
  • What’s a Buy-Sell Agreement and How Does it Protect My Small Business?
• Do post short videos on TikTok and Facebook or Instagram Reels. These would be short tips about home safety (fire and CO2 detectors) or driver safety (statistics about wearing seat belts).
• Do engage with your audience. The worst opportunity is a missed opportunity. If someone comments on your post, you must respond. If you don’t do this, it’s comparable to keeping the door locked at the agency when someone peeks in and knocks.
• Do get written authorization before using anyone’s image. If you take photos at an agency-sponsored picnic or other event, you should get permission before posting anyone’s photo.
• Do include testimonials (with signed authorizations on file). This can be a quick video comment from a client, a quote on a nice background image or even a story on your website that you can link to from your social media posts.
• Do consider supplementing organic social media with paid posts. Organic social media is the content you create and post, while paid social media includes those “promoted” posts. It can be a cost-effective way to reinforce your messaging. Having access to working capital can help fund a strategic, high-quality social media campaign that integrates paid posts.
• Do use humor judiciously. Humor drives viral videos, but humor is REALLY hard to do well – especially for serious businesses like insurance.

Social Media DO NOT List

Just like there are many things you can DO to support your marketing with social media, there are many things you DO NOT want to do:

• Don’t misrepresent yourself, your agency or employees. Although this seems obvious, it’s human nature to want to show yourself in a positive light. Avoid exaggeration or embellishment.
• Don’t post anything that could get you into trouble with the compliance department of your carriers. Social media marketing is about building relationships, not walking the tightrope of giving financial advice that could be misconstrued.
• Don’t “borrow” content from other sources. If you’re using non-original photography, credit the owner. If you’re using stock images, purchase them instead of downloading comps. The ethical way to borrow/share content is to repost the original message.
• Don’t ignore feedback. It’s easy to put blinders on when someone responds negatively to your posts. However, those unkind messages can sometimes provide really good insight into what people think about your agency and your approach. Of course, there will always be “Negative Nellies” who post hateful comments just because it’s their personality – ignore those and focus on sincere feedback.
• Don’t fall prey to social media success scams. There are fraudsters that will offer programs or classes to help you succeed on social media. Although they often seem genuine, if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• Don’t forget to assess and refresh your content. You don’t need to constantly create amazing over-the-top content. Occasionally take a step back to see what’s working and what you need to tweak.
• Don’t think that social media is a silver bullet. It is just one tool in your marketing and growth toolbox – but it’s definitely a tool worth having. Just like you couldn’t build a house with only a hammer, you certainly couldn’t build a house without one. Social media is the same.

Building and growing a successful agency means that you’re constantly juggling your myriad responsibilities. Planning and implementing a social media strategy may be one of those activities that you share with an agency partner or perhaps a skilled staff member. You could even consider teaming up with a business class at a nearby university to see if there are students interested in some real-life social media marketing opportunities.