February 2, 2009
A Social Media Marketing Primer
Posted by Rey Villar
Last year, it was search engine optimization (SEO). This year, the buzzword in online marketing is social media.
The Internet has exploded with hundreds of websites providing social media opportunities. Some have been around for years and are finally beginning to emerge. Others are recent newcomers who have rocketed to the forefront.
In addition to adding new terms like “de-friend” and “retweet” to our national vocabulary, these social media websites and tools are also providing marketing opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs.
It’s still an uncharted and very dynamic territory, however. That begs the question of why so many health insurance agents and brokers are now entering this new arena of “social media marketing”?
For starters, it’s free or has a low barrier to entry. More importantly, they see that social media marketing is not a fad. It’s definitely part of the growing trend of consumers making purchase decisions…using all the tools available on the Internet.
But social media can be daunting for a lot of people. If you’re just entering the social media market, here are six social media tools that you can use to expand your social media experience — and expertise.
Starting out as a college-level alternative to MySpace (which most now view as mostly for kids), Facebook started 2008 with only half the number of unique visitors as MySpace. By the end of the year, Facebook had surpassed its rival. It hasn’t looked back since.
Many users have discovered that Facebook is an ideal venue for connecting, or re-connecting, with old friends, relatives and colleagues…as well as current ones. Facebook is also an effective tool for expanding your network, especially among potential customers.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking that Facebook is only a high-end address book. It also provides a variety of tools that can actually turn it into an online desktop with access to word processors, spreadsheets, free conference calls and slide show presentations. Many people are now even using Facebook to send messages, instead of email.
Nor is Facebook just for the young. In fact, the over-35 crowd now outnumbers youths, teens and young adults on Facebook. And what’s the fastest growing demographic on Facebook? It’s women over 55 — up 175% during the four months ending January 2009.
Unfortunately, Facebook does have many features geared for entertainment. They can be fun, but they can also be a big waste of time. I recommend staying away from a lot of the free games, especially when you need to focus on work.
www.facebook.com
Sometimes referred to as Facebook for professionals, LinkedIn is the fastest growing networking tool for working people — and the companies who may want to hire them. Every second, someone joins LinkedIn.
It’s strictly business, so it doesn’t have all the games and “fun” features that Facebook offers. But it does let you set up your business and career profile, including links to your website and recommendations from satisfied clients.
LinkedIn is a great way to strengthen your network and add to it through the power of relationships. You’d be surprised how many of your colleagues are on it. NAHU executives, carrier representatives, and myself!
Even if you’re not looking for a new job, I highly recommend that you set up your LinkedIn profile. Many online shoppers are now turning to sites like LinkedIn to check out the agents and brokers they plant to contact or work with.
Nobody wants to be the guy with no connections on LinkedIn. So when you sign up, use their wizard to scour your contacts and it will compare it to those already signed up with LinkedIn. Then you simply send them an invitation to connect, and you’re done! And if you still don’t find any connections, then do a search for my name, and I’ll gladly connect with you.
www.linkedin.com
Forums
Online groups are a great way for health insurance agents to network and share with other agents across the country. You can get tips, tricks and warnings about potential pitfalls. You also get valuable help and support from agents “who’ve been there.”
Although both LinkedIn and Facebook have “groups” for people with similar pursuits, some professionals participate in forums that are specifically dedicated to their industry.
These forums are usually free and easy to join. Look for forums with a large number of active members. In addition, here are a couple of warnings to remember as you participate:
• Don’t just be a “lurker.” That’s the term members use for people who hang out at forums but never contribute. If it’s a worthwhile community, try to contribute to its growth by asking or answering questions.
• Distinguish the sourpusses from the sages. It’s not that hard. Some people will complain incessantly about nearly everyone. The true sages give sound advice with a balanced eye.
Yahoo! Answers
One of the biggest Q&A forums on the Internet is operated by Yahoo! Through its Yahoo! Answers site, consumers ask questions; “experts” throughout the web community are then invited to answer.
Agents and brokers have already reported finding clients through this forum. Here’s how you can as well…
1. Look for health insurance questions. Go to http://answers.yahoo.com/ and enter “health insurance” in the “Search for questions:” box.
2. Find questions you can answer. Yahoo will list the most recent queries that have health insurance in the question. Search for questions that you can legitimately answer.
3. Answer without selling. Give a genuine answer that will help the consumer. Avoid any hard sales at this point, as that turns people off. Instead, close your detailed response with an invitation to give you a call or send you an email if they have any more questions — or visit your website.
There’s a bonus to participating in Yahoo! Answers and other forums. Your responses will be available for the entire web to see. Other consumers with similar questions may find your answer in their searches as well.
Blog
Looking for a quick and easy way to boost your search engine results page rankings? Start a blog…and maintain it.
Google and other search engines love blogs. They like the fresh information that blogs offer, as well as the opportunity for user-generated content through comments. They also find most blogs easy to “index” and record for their search engine archives.
Blogs, however, give agents and brokers more than just SEO advantages. Blogs will help establish you as a health insurance expert for online shoppers — especially if you provide information that consumers will find helpful.
Blogs are also easy to set up and use. Talk to your web hosting service about adding a blog to your site. Most automatically provide it, free of charge.
Don’t have a website? You can start up a free blog even if you don’t currently have a website of your own. Just go to www.wordpress.com or www.blogger.com, and sign up for a free blog account.
In 2008, Twitter’s audience exploded to over 4.5 million, from a start of half a million. That 752% growth was phenomenal, but it’s still going. In just the first four months of 2009, Twitter’s audience has nearly doubled in size.
One of the reasons for Twitter’s rapid growth is its ease of use. It’s free and takes only five minutes to set up. And it doesn’t require a lot of programming or writing.
Twitter actually thrives and is built on simplicity. It’s a microblog. Each post is limited to only 140 characters. That’s about double the length of the average subject line for most emails.
Many people do believe that “Twittering” your thoughts, ideas and opinions is a waste of time — especially for marketing and sales. Sometimes, that may be true. But that’s the same complaint that so-called marketing experts had about blogs.
Those critics were wrong then; and it looks like they’re wrong again, if current trends continue. Savvy marketers are now using Twitter to build and maintain their community of prospects and potential clients. They’re also experimenting with it to generate leads.
We recently held a Norvax University workshop in Dallas and “tweeted” updates as the conference was going on. As I was speaking, I was encouraging the audience to sign up to our Twitter page at www.twitter.com/norvaxu for updates. In less than 2 days our ”followers” soared 700%!
Are Twitter and micro-blogging here to stay? How about Facebook, LinkedIn and regular blogging? By all indications, it looks like they’ll join email as another weapon in your marketing arsenal.
And like all tools, their success will depend heavily on how well you use them.
www.twitter.com