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Social media has become one of the most prominent marketing channels. A recent study shows that nearly 91 percent of all businesses are using social media as a new marketing tool to reach customers and prospects. It’s also reported that Americans spend more than 3.5 hours a day using social media. That’s more time than we spend watching television! Does your agency want to catch the wave of a new marketing era to help grow your business exponentially? Are you unsure of how it’s all supposed to work? Do you know how to hire the right person to manage your online presence?
When hiring a Social Media Marketing Agency to work for your Insurance Agency, how do you know what to look for, or how best to spend your agencies money? Can the marketing agency deliver what is promised, or are there other service that would better align with the vision of your Insurance Agency? The answers to these questions should help along you’re marketing journey.
What makes you Different in the Social World?
If you were to use Google to search for social media agencies you’d come across hundreds of thousands of agencies promising to bring you more customers and in turn, producing a positive return of investment (ROI). Just know, not every social media agency is right for every business, especially when it comes to the insurance marketing world. First, search for a marketing agency that acts in the best interest of your Insurance agency – one that has proven to be successful in the past. The agency that’s right for you should have a positive track record, a portfolio of case studies-within the insurance space, and a well facilitated and designed process for your agency.
Does my agency need to be on every social media site?
This question helps determine if the marketing agency is being honest or not and distinguishes their level of expertise. If the answer is YES, this could be a red flag that the agency is not going to act in the best interest of your insurance agency.
One component to marketing is reaching out to people; the other is being able to listen., Not all social media platforms are the same, and every insurance agency’s brand isn’t either. You should choose social media platforms that reach the target audience for your insurance agency. For instance, majority of Facebook users are female, nearly 82 percent of Pinterest users are also female who tend to have more education and a higher income. The right marketing agency for you will seek to determine your target audience and ensure the best use of your money by only using platforms that will be more likely to help your business succeed. Though, for some agencies, it may be ideal to be present on multiple social media websites, the important aspect is that the agency seeks to understand your target market and your targeted audience.
How do you develop creative content for your agency?
One of the most important questions to ask a social media agency is how do they conduct research and create content. A reputable agency will have a defined strategy that has proven to work for other clients. Their defined strategy should always include consideration of the target audience. Brands should not be impressed by agencies claiming to go with their gut feeling for the content. A major focal point to social media content strategy is to post quality pictures and videos. Nearly 44 percent of Facebook users claim that quality photographs are more enticing to click on rather than boring images or too much text.
Data and Tracking?
Having an effective process for reporting information to you regarding both positive and negatives of your businesses social media networking is important. You should expect to receive feedback regularly (weekly) after your brand has had adequate time to reach consumers through social media channels. The initial breakthrough of communication between your agencies brand and consumers may take a little time at first, but after that, you should expect regular feedback. Tracking is EVERYTHING when it comes to following and understanding your agencies marketing success.
How will you measure success for your agencies marketing team?
The first question on your mind, before hiring any marketing agency, probably has to do with ROI. While that’s a fairly unpredictable question to answer, a solid agency should be able to effectively explain how you’re going to achieve ROI by using their methods of social media marketing. Before signing on with any agency, ensure you have communicated your vision, mixing it with their expertise, for the overall process and what metrics you would like to use for measuring the branding success. An effective agency should be able to help you set a clearly defined metrics in which they can keep you updated regularly. Being able to manage your brand’s success in the social media marketing world will help your agency be able to better serve you as a customer and may even have you rethinking you’re branding strategy or target market. A lot of good information can be derived from the metrics used to measure the success of your brand. Take the bad with the good and it will help you move towards greater success for your agencies brand.
What’s the COST? Cost Matters
Of course cost matters. You will want to explore how much this type of marketing will cost you, but be sure that you are asking specifics about what services are included in the total cost. Are their regular posts or blogs to your social media profiles? How many websites/profiles are being maintained? What monitoring processes and metrics are involved in determining the outcome of the marketing strategy? These are just some of the factors considered in the cost. The overall cost to hire an agency for social media marketing will depend on various factors, including what services you agree to. Cost will always matter because you need to understand if there is a positive ROI with the marketing firm you’re using. Track this and review it monthly.
What’s your Experience?
Experience really does make a difference when it comes to social media marketing. Just because someone is savvy with Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or the Internet in general, it doesn’t make them successful at marketing. It’s important to look for an agency that understands and can demonstrate their knowledge of consumer data and marketing strategies that have worked for them in the past with other clients. Find out how many other insurance agencies they are working with. Another important aspect is to ensure the agency produces written content applicable to your target audience. An agency with defined strategies, mixed with business elements and technology, can provide you with an effective social media marketing plan.
Will you provide me a referral list so I can call them?
You wouldn’t think to hire an employee without first checking their references would you? Never ever hire without looking into their referrals. Another great way to look into them is to look at Google reviews to see how others have rated the marketing firm. The same principle applies when hiring a social media agency. This company will be working for you, so don’t be shy about asking to check their references either. The agency you are looking at may, in fact, have a nice portfolio showcasing their previous successes, but what better way to confirm this information than to speak directly with their current and/or previous clients? Being able to speak directly with clients will help assure yourself that you are making the right decision, either way you go. An honest agency wouldn’t shy away from this type of request, but instead, should be more than happy to put you in touch with some of their current and/or past clients.
Good luck with the process and never stop tracking your results and please contact us with any questions you may have at 860-684-5270
