For those not familiar with it, social media can be an intimidating platform to master. From Facebook and Twitter to LinkedIn and Google+, social media marketing is an easy and savvy way to increase referrals and grow a business. However, even with social media resources available at their disposal, many insurance agencies are afraid to jump on board says Laird Rixford, president of Insurance Technologies Corporation (
ITC), a leading provider of marketing, rating and management software and services to the insurance industry.
“A lot of agency owners are afraid to get their agencies on something like Facebook because they are worried that their employees will just sit there and scroll through their personal Facebook all day,” says Rixford. “But the truth is, if you block Facebook at the agency level, everyone can just pick up their personal phones and then you will have even less control.”
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Not shying away from digital marketing, whether it is through social media, email campaigns or review marketing, can give an agency an upper hand when competing in today’s marketplace – especially with the emerging trend of virtual agents.
“Really make yourself available virtually through Facebook messenger, direct messaging, online chats and more,” Rixford says.
Virtual agents, which have become increasingly popular in recent years, now provide consumers easy and convenient service via a virtual, online platform. To better compete with these virtual agents, Rixford emphasizes the importance for independent agents and brokers to create a virtual presence to be more easily accessible to consumers.
“[Virtual agents] work on Facebook messenger or work on Twitter direct messenger, and they are using all these different methods where they actively communicate with the consumer,” says Rixford. “Don’t be afraid to open that door to social media because that’s how the modern consumer wants to communicate, and that’s what virtual agents are doing.”
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