Facebook | Michael Reynolds

October 25, 2009 By Michael Reynolds 4 Comments

How an insurance agency generates business using Facebook

I always enjoy hearing stories of small business owners using social media to generate leads and connect with new clients. As much as I encourage people to give social media a chance, it’s the real-world case studies that speak the loudest.

Jim DeWitt is an owner at DeWitt Insurance Group and is a member of my BNI chapter. Jim’s agency offers life and health insurance (both business and individual), as well as property and casualty insurance. During our BNI meetings, Jim sometimes shares with us how he finds new clients. Frequently his clients come from Facebook as a result of his commitment to staying active in social media. I sat down with him to learn more.

Jim let me know that he started off on Facebook just reconnecting with old friends and used it for keeping in touch. He did not overtly talk about business but when people asked him how he was doing, he would let them know that he was an insurance agent and that he enjoys helping people save money on their insurance. This frequently led to opportunities to provide quotes to his connections and sometimes led to new business. At its most basic level, Facebook allowed Jim to expand his network and engage in business conversations with his connections.

As Jim earned more and more business via Facebook connections, he began to share his stories via the Facebook news feed. One such posting announced that he was able to save someone $1,000 a year on insurance and explained how much he enjoyed his job. It was not a hard sell, but rather an authentic story that displayed his passion for helping others. Following this post, a number of his connections asked him for quotes on their insurance. Jim acquired 3 new clients as a result of that post.

Facebook also helps Jim keep an eye out for opportunities. Sometimes his connections will share their dissatisfaction with their insurance policies. When this happens, Jim politely offers to provide quotes for them to see if he can help. This has also led to new business.

Jim also let me know that not only do his clients frequently come from Facebook, but those same clients also often refer him to other friends and family – sometimes via Facebook.

So far, Jim’s activity on Facebook has led to approximately 20 new business opportunities (some still in progress) and 10 new clients. Not only is he able to find new clients, but Facebook also helps him provide better service to his existing clients. When he notices that his connections announce life changes on Facebook, it gives him the opportunity to proactively offer to update their insurance policies and offer advice on proper coverage. This strengthens the relationship and improves his client retention.

While other insurance agents are struggling to squeeze more business out of offline marketing and cold calling, Jim DeWitt is integrating social media into his business strategy and is achieving great success. By being authentic, helpful, and active on Facebook, Jim is growing his agency and expanding his network.

To learn more about Jim, contact him via his Facebook profile or call him at 317.695.2317… he would love to hear from you!

Filed Under: Marketing, Technology Tagged With: bni, facebook, indiana, indianapolis, Marketing

October 14, 2009 By Michael Reynolds Leave a Comment

Personal Branding with Social Media

You may be familiar with branding as it relates to companies and organizations. A company’s brand is the essence that should affect everything it does. How often, however, do we pay attention to our personal brands?

Yes, a person has a brand. Anyone who works, communicates, or participates in society at any level has a personal brand. Your personal brand is made up of a number of different factors and it influences how you are perceived by others.

Job-seekers should pay especially close attention to their personal branding as it can have significant impact on how successful they are.

Traditionally, personal branding was affected by communication style and appearance. Today, however, social media and online communication has made it possible to strengthen personal branding to a greater extent. The way someone presents himself or herself online can make a big difference in how that person is perceived before any personal contact is made. For this reason, it’s important to manage your personal brand online. What are some ways to do this?

Acquire a clear, professional head shot photo. Use the same photo on all of your profiles. This gives a strong first impression and strengthens your personal brand in multiple places.

Complete your profiles on social networks. If your LinkedIn profile stays stuck at 80% complete, it looks like you don’t care. Many companies don’t want a resume anymore – they want to see your LinkedIn profile. Don’t shortchange yourself.

Collect LinkedIn recommendations. A profile with no recommendations is a red flag which means that person does not do much networking. Reach out to people and recommend others so they will return the favor. A good list of quality recommendations strengthens your personal brand by showing that others value your work.

Polish your writing style. Few things damage a personal brand more than poor writing. If you don’t write well, do some research or take a class and learn to write in a clear, articulate fashion. This will help as you blog, write your own bios, and communicate in general with others.

Create and post presentations on SlideShare. Even if you don’t do any speaking right away, go ahead and put some slide decks together to have them ready. This positions you as an authority in your field which may lead to speaking engagements. Be sure to link to your presentations from LinkedIn using the built-in SlideShare application.

Link your profiles together. Be sure that it’s easy to find you on various networks. Your LinkedIn and Twitter profiles should link to your blog. Your blog should link to all your profiles. Link together as much as you can.

Articulate your goals. When someone asks you how they can help you (whether online or offline), be sure to have a clear, consistent answer. Understand who your target customer is, the type of job you want, or just who you want to meet. Be able to deliver your message in 30 seconds or less. Post your goals in your bio on social networks.

Blog. This can be a difficult thing for some because writing does not come naturally for everyone. However, even a blog that is updated once a month can make a difference. Blog about your perspectives on your profession, your area of expertise, or offer educational content. This helps others get to know you better.

Communicate and distribute content via Twitter. Twitter is a great tool for sharing your content with others and having concise conversations. Balance your Twitter activity between posting your own content and engaging in conversations with others. Don’t forget to re-tweet information from others that you find interesting. What you re-tweet says a lot about you.

This may seem like a lot of work at first, but your personal brand is important. It can affect your communication, your work, and your success. Take care of it and utilize social media to strengthen it.

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Marketing, Technology Tagged With: branding, facebook, linkedin, social media, twitter

September 29, 2009 By Michael Reynolds 4 Comments

Are you a social media zombie?

What’s a social media zombie? It’s a term I affectionately use for someone who has profiles on social networks but uses them at about 10% capacity. Here are some ways to determine whether you are a social media zombie:

You have a LinkedIn profile but less than 10 connections
Your Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter profile has no photo
You have a Twitter account with only one update that says “Trying out Twitter”
You reply to LinkedIn messages 6 weeks late with the apologetic message “sorry, I should check this more often”
You blog once every 6 months
Your LinkedIn profile is at 80% completion and has been for months
You never comment on anyone else’s content
You have a Facebook profile but your profile photo is a tree, nature scene, or your cat
Your LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter status has not been updated in weeks
You never share links or articles
You don’t answer questions because you don’t know they have been asked

Though I am obviously poking a little bit of fun here, the point I am making is that it’s not enough to just “be” on these networks. You only start to get value from social media when you contribute. Joining a network does not mean that you will magically start making connections and growing your business. You must provide value to your community. This can include:

Blog about topics in your area of expertise
Complete your LinkedIn profile and make connections with people you meet in real life
Share interesting content on Facebook
Make introductions for other people
Post photos
Post videos
Publish your blog post via Twitter
Ask questions
Answer questions

The same rules apply in social media as in real-world networking. Give first before expecting to get. Remember, people want to do business with people. They are more likely to want to do business with interesting people. Lack of participation = uninteresting.

Don’t be a social media zombie. Go contribute something!

Filed Under: Marketing, Technology Tagged With: blog, blogging, facebook, linkedin, social media, twitter

June 15, 2009 By Michael Reynolds 1 Comment

Overcoming Social Media Paranoia

I’ve been having some great conversations lately with people who ask me about social media. Some of my favorite conversations start with the other party saying something to the effect of “Facebook is creepy… I don’t want everyone knowing what I’m doing.” These are great conversations because I have the opportunity to (hopefully) clear up some misconceptions about social media.

“I don’t want everyone knowing what I’m doing.”

This is typically objection #1. For some reason, some people think that joining Facebook (or Twitter, etc.) automatically means that everything they do will magically be broadcast the whole world and privacy will disappear. Not so. Social networks let you control what is distributed. Do you constantly call or email people with all your private life details? No… and it’s no different in social media. You decide what gets posted.

“I don’t want my personal information (address, photos, etc.) posted online for everyone to see.”

When you decorate your house, do you hang your family photos on the exterior walls for everyone to see? Do you make copies of your house key for everyone in your neigborhood and hand them out at the July 4th cookout? No? Then follow the same rules on your social networks. Facebook, for example, lets you selectively show and hide photos and albums so that only certain groups of people can see them. You also have control over what people see and who you allow into your network.

“I don’t care what my friends had for breakfast.”

I usually hear this objection when talking about Twitter. While it’s true that some people will tell you all the mundane things going on throughout the day, including what they had for breakfast, there is a simple solution to this: don’t follow them. Keep in mind that you are in control. You can choose to follow people who interest you. If you want to see quality content, then follow people and organizations that offer content that interests you.

After a few minutes of conversation, I am usually able to clear up some of the misconceptions around social media. I enjoy this because I feel very strongly that when used correctly, this new generation of online tools has the potential to enhance our qualities of life and help business grow.

What are you scared of?

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Marketing, Technology Tagged With: facebook, linkedin, Marketing, social media, twitter

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