If getting a website was the marketing buzz of the "00" decade, the marketing buzz of the "10" decade, at least at this very early stage of it, is create your social media presence.
The latest to jump on the bandwagon is the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. What this trade group is doing for its membership could be something the mortgage and ancillary services trades consider offering to their members as well.
The group has created a new annual publication for its members, the PIA National Agency Marketing Guide.
It contains hands-on marketing advice from some of the insurance industry's premier experts, with numerous examples from real agents who are experiencing success.
However, the group said the 2010 edition of the Guide has a special emphasis on social media.
The publication contains a soup-to-nuts guide on how independent insurance agents can use social media to support their agency's sales strategy, starting by explaining why every agency must consider creating a social media strategy.
It then describes many of the most popular social media tools and how retail independent agents have put them to use. Finally, the Guide discusses some of the pitfalls agents must avoid and how agents can plan for success in social media.
"The Internet has greatly changed how Americans look for information," said PIA National President Jon Spalding. "Over the past few years, social media has accelerated this change, creating a population of web-savvy individuals who are not nearly as reliant on traditional media as they were just a few short years ago. Although the end result will be different for all agencies, any agency that wants to stay competitive in this changing marketplace must at least consider how social media can support their efforts."
A print edition of the 2010 PIA National Agency Marketing Guide is being provided to all PIA members along with the June/July issue of PIA Connection magazine. Agents who join PIA in 2010 will also receive a copy. A PDF of the 2010 Agency Marketing Guide is available to PIA members on PIA National's website at www.pianet.com/Members.
"Over the past few years, many agents have found that the tried and true marketing techniques that they have relied upon for years are no longer generating the same levels of success as they once did," said Alexi Papandon, assistant vice president of communications for PIA National. The question then becomes, 'Will agents' marketing habits evolve along with the marketplace?'"
