Insurance Agency Social Media Marketing – How to Find Prospects And Close Business Using LinkedIn

We are all aware of the relevance and increasing importance of social media marketing. It is powerful and it can be very profitable. Where else can you find high-quality prospect leads for free? In the B2B insurance agency marketing space, LinkedIn is the king of social media marketing. B2B social media marketing has become an increasingly important component of our insurance agency lead generation strategy, and one that we expect will continue to grow in the future. Here are a few suggestions that will help insurance agencies, brokers and agents find prospects and close business using LinkedIn:

• Complete your Profile – Make sure that you profile is current and complete. This can easily be accomplished by uploading a resume. Add a picture. Prospects who pass by should be able to quickly see who you are, what expertise you provide, and this should be delivered in a clear and professional manner.
• Join Groups – Find a handful of groups that your prospects would participate in and join them. I prefer professional groups over networking groups because I an using LinkedIn to sell, not to make friends. Post a discussion, question or link once a week. This is a quick and easy process. I am now a member of 50 groups and I post to all of them weekly. This puts my name and ideas in front of thousands of prospects – for free.
• Start a Group – Once you have the hang of participating in groups, start your own. Think about what your ideal client would want to see and learn about. If you are not sure, then ask your best clients. Then start a group that addresses their interests. Actively manage the discussions and try to expand the membership. I spend about 10 minutes per day doing this, and this minimal time investment has produced hundreds of new prospects and several new clients.
• Communicate and Update – Browsing updates to see what your network is up to is not going to produce leads. Communicate with people, send updates about you and your company on a regular (twice a week) basis. Connect with prospects, send direct messages, answer questions, join discussions. The more you participate, the greater the dividends you will receive.

Though there are many other social media marketing networks including Facebook, Twitter and Plaxo to mention a few, we have found LinkedIn, which according to a recent press release has “over 80 million members in over 200 countries”, to be the most valuable from a B2B insurance agency social media marketing perspective. One important note, LinkedIn now offers Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising campaigns, which if properly focused and monitored, can also successfully augment an insurance agency marketing plan for 2011. Though this aspect of LinkedIn is not for free, a relatively modest budget can yield some significant opportunities.