Our world of social media continues to explode. Along with that comes new technologies and new design. While creating a new social media plan for a client over the past few weeks, I determine that my site was too busy and outdated in its design and performance. It has only been about a year since I last had a re-design. However, as someone working with clients on updating who they are and how they operate, I think I need to be as current as possible in addition to looking to the future.

Remaining as current as possible is a challenge. While assembling my social media presentation for the client; there were changes to some of the tools I was recommending. Just a few days ago I became frustrated with the blogging software I was using and decided to go back to a previously used software. Well, just today I received an update to the blogging software I was using and now it is superior to the one I returned to, so here I am again and loving the new features.

Now in the world of an agency you can’t go changing software everyday, but you need to be involved with your current vendors to engage them in moving forward in their development. When I talk to a vendor and ask what they are doing to design and implement touch screen functionality I usually just get ignored. Sometimes they tell me their clients are asking for it. I suggest that most agencies don’t know they should be pushing for this technology.

Insurance agencies are so focused in their world that they are not always aware of what is happening in the outside world and what technologies they should be engaging. I believe that if insurance agencies and companies want to hire and retain the best people they need to have the best technologies. Many days I feel our whole industry is going nowhere fast toward achieving the best technologies.

What are you wishing for? Have you talked to your vendor? What is their response?

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Insurance Agency processes, insurance agency workflows, social media

In January 2010 I presented a session at the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas‘ Joe Vincent Seminar on Social Media in Insurance Agencies. I have received so much positive feedback about this session. As a result of this session I have had the pleasure to work with an agency on developing their social media plan. The owner of the agency attended the session and had some ideas in mind. The initial question was – “What tools do we use?” Then – “How do we manage them?”

I had designed a product called Web 2.0 Strategies some months ago. This was its initial outing. What fun and what a challenge. I initially met with the agency for a Q&A. One of the great parts of this session was that the owner thought it was important that I also get feedback from various staff members on what they think the agency’s social media plan should look like. I received great information from them and ideas on a couple of items we had not discussed in the executive meeting.

Back in my office I began pulling all the information together for a presentation and recommendations. While a small number of social media outlets are meaningful, to support them properly, there are a number of tools needed. How was I going to take this very confusing world and make it easily understandable?

Only a few days before my initial meeting with the agency I didn’t have a clear understanding myself of why you would want or need to use foursquare. I had inquired to the twitter community about this question and my friend Liz Kittell provided me with a definition. However, it just didn’t seem to fit a social media plan in my mind. Oddly enough the owner was describing to me a benefit that the agency negotiates on behalf of all clients with some of the agency’s commercial clients. While he is talking it become crystal clear to me what foursquare is all about.

Another challenge I found while working on this plan is that Web 2.0 and social media are ever changing. Each day there are new articles with great ideas and uses for social media. Functions as social media sites are changing frequently as well. Then when you think you have documented everything applicable a new idea comes along or you find that piece of information you have been looking for endlessly.

This is a chart I used to simplify the plan visually for the client. Then I provided them with a detailed report of what each of these could accomplish and suggestions on how to use. Additionally, we discussed tools such as hootsuite for managing their twitter accounts and their usage of foursquare.

This picture was our focal point for the meeting that we could re-visit at anytime. As the client said, this chart helped them through the mass of information to focus on the tools that would benefit them. What additional tools does our agency use to facilitate your social media plan? What questions do you have about putting together a social media plan?

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Social Media, twitter, facebook, business to business, youtube, foursquare, linkedin, joe vincent seminar, web 2.0, independent insurance agents of texas

In January this year I had the privilege of presenting “Turning Social Media Into Social Business” as a breakout session at the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas‘ Joe Vincent Seminar. This was one of three breakout sessions in the last time slot of the day. The session was almost full. I was amazed as there were other sessions offering CE credits and each had great speakers. It seems there was plenty of interest in the session at hand. The questions were plentiful and engaging.

The following is the opening of this session as reported by the Insurance Journal’s Stephanie K. Jones.

One of the primary reasons why insurance agents don’t jump into the world of social media — such as blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and the myriad other Web-based avenues for reaching out to the world at large — is that they are unsure how to go about it, according to a Texas-based agency consultant, coach and mentor who said there’s a lot of resistance to using such tools in the agency universe.

The link will take you to the Insurance Journal article written by Stephanie K. Jones Social Media Can Drive Traffic to Agency’s ‘Home Base’

Thank you Stephanie for a great article.

Many people that I encounter along my path in life think that social media is a waste of time. Can it be a waste of time. YES! Does it have to be a waste of time? NO! While I can write a lot of stuff about how great social media is for building your business, I believe that an actual example is the best way to demonstrate this.

This conversation occurred between two ladies that I am friends with on facebook, follow on twitter, and enjoy meeting up with at industry functions. I call both of them movers and shakers in the insurance industry and bright minds that will shape our industries future.

Now I challenge you to find two busier individuals. Here is the toll:

Liz

• Marketing Representative – Independent Insurance Agents of Nebraska

• Marketing Major – University of Nebraska – Lincoln

• Married

• StepMom that attends wrestling matches and other young people events

• Active in community projects

• Sports Fan

• Active in other insurance industry events

Ashley

• Vice President of Operations – Harbor/Brenn Insurance Agencies

• MBA Student

• Single Mom – Attends young people events

• Maid, Cook, Chauffeur

• Active in Independent Insurance Agents of Michigan

• Active in other insurance industry events

• Active in community projects

• I’m not sure about her stance on sports

However, they both find time for social networking. They use social networking to interact with their friends and family and for business. The example here is Liz needs information for an accounting class for Project Invest and Ashley hooking her up with Janet Tuttle. Liz had a question, Ashley had an answer and Janet will probably have a new client. Janet is a new entrepreneur. She is using social media as one of her tools for building her business. This all happened in a span of about 15 minutes.

I met both of Liz and Ashley through social media through other insurance industry individuals. I knew Janet through her work at her previous employer. Look at how small social media made the world and brought all of this together.

Please share how social media has help you in business or your personal life.

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Social Media, twitter, facebook, business to business, independent insurance agents of nebraska, independent insurance agents of michigan, harbor/brenn insurance agencies, university of nebraska-lincoln

Agencies tell me that they don’t know what to blog about and who would be listening to them anyway. It is always interesting to me after I post a blog to watch for comments. Even when I ask an interesting question there are not always comments. Other times when I don’t expect a response, I receive several.

Sunday evening my husband Gene and I changed our settings on each of our facebook accounts to Single. We are trying to resolve an issue we have with facebook not letting us show the individual to whom we are Married. So our thought was to change our status and then try again.

My comment to Gene as we made our changes was it would be interesting to see if anyone noticed and what the comments might be. The comments began almost instantaneously. Later in the evening there was a call from Gene’s youngest daughter. Her daughter, our youngest granddaughter, was concerned that there was some real problem.

The comments continue this morning. People who have never commented on anything I have ever said or posted on facebook made comments. Now the subject of the change would be shocking to a lot of people. Thus comments were inevitable. So this shows that when you post or blog it should be meaningful. That does not mean it has to be shocking. You don’t need to be a professional writer to spark interest. I am far from a professional writer. What I have learned in posting on twitter, facebook and my blog is that my subject just needs to be meaningful.

I am learning about being clear. Making each blog an opening for a conversation instead of a monolog. And being passionate about the subject. I have found that it takes time to build a following, the same as it takes time to build a client base. You might be surprised by who is watching and listening.

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blogging, facebook comments, who is watching and listening, twitter, social media

Last week I was privileged to be the facilitator for two sessions at the Big I of Nebraska’s first Technology Day.  In the afternoon session we discussed the potential errors and omissions issues that using social medial my pose and then we looked at the different social media resources.  When we were discussing Twitter.Com, a lady said the following:  I have read that the majority of tweets are meaningless, so why would my agency want to use them?

I agreed that a very large number of tweets were meaningless to the majority of the world.  First I sighted the success of the Dell Twitter program.  But that doesn’t exactly put it into perspective for an insurance agency.  As with any new tool a business is going to use, they need to understand the tool, what it does and how it can benefit the business.  Or maybe, more importantly, how it might benefit the agency’s clients.  So here are a few examples of how an agency might use Twitter.

• Announce a new blog post.
• Provide links to changes in laws that might affect the client, such as new rules applying to the use of cell phones.
• Raise awareness to a civic event that needs support.
• Announce promotions within the agency.
• Announce special occasions within the agency, such as a wedding, birth, etc.

For this to be effective, you will need to let your clients and prospects know you have a Twitter account.  You might need to provide them with some education about how to sign up for Twitter and why your agency will be using this tool and what for.  This allows each client to decide for themselves if they want to follow your agency on Twitter or not.

Please share your Twitter success, ask your Twitter questions and let me have your feedback on social media issues you would like to hear about.

Happy Twittering!!!