I often have agency owners ask me how much time they should be spending on social media. This question came up again last week on ACT‘s latest social media webinar that I was fortunate to be a part of. Interestingly enough, my answer is similar to the answer I would give a prospect who asks me how much life insurance they need. It depends. It can be daunting enough deciding which social media channels to use (I’ll cover this in an upcoming article) yet alone how much time an agency should be spending on such efforts.
Below are three main factors I would recommend agency owners to consider when determining the time investment they put into social media:
- What is the overall goal? It is safe to assume that new client acquisition is one possible goal. But for purposes here, let’s think outside of that box. What about retention, customer service, or brand awareness? What about spreading awareness of a disaster or sharing steps your policyholders can take to lower their risk when disaster is eminent. What about developing new networking partnerships? You can see that the discussion here can go well beyond the obvious. Don’t just create a twitter account because you feel you need to. Define your purpose first. Setting aside time becomes easier when you know where your headed. Having a goal also makes that time spent more effective.
- What is the size of your organization? Once your goals are established, you should think about the resources, personnel-wise, that you have available. If managed properly, maintaining your social media presence can easily be spread among different staff members. I know, I know… you worry about producers playing on facebook all day. Remember, managed properly. The workflow involved with managing a blog and social media presence can be streamlined in such a way that minimum time can be spent by each employee while maximum benefit is being gained through a collaborative effort.
- Who are you trying to reach? Consider who your audience is. Is it your current book of business? Are you trying to acquire new clients? Perhaps both. Whatever the case may be, who makes up that group? What is the age group? Is there a niche or industry group you have traditionally targeted your business towards? Paying attention to these things can help you understand how much time to spend on your efforts. There is no use logging countless hours online if your target audience isn’t even there but for a few hours each week. Don’t waste your time trying to engage the wrong audience.
There is no doubt that social media is becoming bigger everyday, but it is important to understand that it is just one piece of your agency’s operations. Treating it as such will help shrink it into perspective. Taking that into consideration, defining your goals, and developing a realistic plan to reach those goals will enhance your agency’s social media efforts.
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