Baby Boomers love Facebook and thanks to the pandemic more seniors are hanging out on there than ever before. If you're selling Medicare solutions to seniors and you're not using Facebook as a marketing tool, you're missing out. Sharing relevant content consistently and running targeted ads is an easy and economical way to get more leads. Ready to learn more?

Facebook's advertising process is straight forward and easy to work with. You must have a Facebook business page set up first. If you don't have a business page, it's easy to get that set up too. Once you have that up and running you can start advertising your insurance services. To run an ad, you're stepped through a series of questions which will determine what type of ad you want to run. You then upload your ad content, determine the audience, the price you want to pay and the duration of your ad. Once you finish that quick process, you then submit your ad for approval and within 24 hours (sometimes even sooner) you get an email alerting you to the status of your ad. Once approved your ad runs for the length you determined and will even cross post on Instagram if you have a professional Instagram account set up.

Still unsure? Feel free to download our Facebook Ads Quick Start Guide to walk you through the process. Screen shots and step-by step instructions will show you exactly what you need to do to target a specific audience in your preferred geographic area, and it will even show you how to drill down to target leads with certain life events or interests. This type of targeting will ensure your ad is being shown to the people you want to see it. 

So now that you have an ad running, when will you start seeing leads? After your ad begins running, you can track and manage leads through the Facebook Ads Manager which shows you when someone has responded to your ad. It will give you a plethora of other statistics too, but for the sake of keeping this blog post simple, we'll focus on the main goal: leads! You download them via an Excel file and the important thing to remember is that you need to login daily to check for leads. Facebook will not email you when you receive new leads. So make it a habit to login to the Ads Manager to track them and download them.

What if you don't get any leads from your first ad? Don't despair. Much of marketing is based on A/B testing. And what that means is you have to test out your ad, just as marketers do to see what type of ad content resonates with their targeted audience. The fact that Facebook makes advertising economical and you don't have to pour thousands of dollars into an ad campaign, allows you to test your ads and tweak them when necessary. Marketing has many nuances to it, and lead nurturing can take time. But if you're willing to put in a bit of effort and take the plunge, you will see proven results.

Hands down, Facebook advertising is the fastest and easiest way to get leads quickly. It's not a complicated process and it won't break the bank. Buying expensive leads from lead vendors can quickly add up, so if you haven't spent the time to learn how to advertise on Facebook, dedicate a couple hours to setting up your business page, creating ad content (or if you're one of our contracted agents, we'll create ad content for you) and go through the process of submitting your first ad. You'll be happy you did once those leads start filtering in.

By Carolyn Portanova

You're scratching your head again. You don't know how to get more clients. You want leads to just magically appear. Well, here's the reality. That's not going to happen. You have to take action. Break down your day from the moment you get to your desk until you walk out of the office. What fills your day? Is it responding to emails? Is it client phone calls? Is it submitting applications? Is there a chunk of your day allotted for marketing? If not, then now's the time to carve out an hour a day to share some content or run an ad. You have to market yourself. There's no way around it unless you have an influx of clients and can't possibly keep up with all of their demands.

How do you do that during a global pandemic? You do that online. And yes, attention spans are shorter than ever these days because people spend hours scrolling through endless content. But if your content strikes a chord with someone and that person turns into a new client, you've started the snowball effect.

What is the snowball effect? It's exactly what it sounds like. Marketing takes time. There is no instant payoff, unless you happen to share something that goes viral and you're all of a sudden internet famous. And yes, that happens every now and then, but let's be clear, you do not want to base your marketing strategy on a hopeful post going viral. Marketing takes commitment, dedication and hard work. You have to be consistent and share content regularly. 

What content do you share? Helpful, informative content that educates the consumer. Don't plug yourself non-stop. That turns off likely prospects. Share content that showcases your knowledge and your willingness to help others. Make it easy for people to click, read more, and get in touch with you. Consistency is key.

Running ad content on social media platforms (specifically Facebook) is economical and simple. It's not rocket science. Facebook does the majority of the work for you. And once you start running ads, you'll realize how easy it is. To be clear, it will take several tries before you figure out what content draws the most attention and what demographics to target. But once you get those clicks, which eventually turn into leads, you'll be happy you made the investment.

Where do you get the ad content? If you're a contracted agent with us, we'll help you with ad content. We'll work with you to create photo or video ads that will speak to people and will encourage them to learn more about your services.

It would be great if we could all get instantaneous results with our marketing efforts, or had an endless supply of money to fuel ad spend, but since that's not the case, we're here to work with you and teach you. The more content you share, the more people will become more familiar with your brand (agency) and will reach out to you when an insurance need arises. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.

By Carolyn Portanova

How many times have you said to yourself "How do I get more leads without paying for them?" It's the never ending question that plagues insurance agents. You want your business to grow and don't know how to get more clients calling you. The reality is, if you're servicing your existing clients properly, they will do the marketing for you. Calling, mailing, emailing and even door knocking (yes some agents still do this) are all forms of outbound marketing. It's time to review your strategy.

How will your existing clients market for you, you ask? It's a process of nurturing them and educating them. Keep in touch with them, inform them of new products and services you offer. In essence, be their teacher. And what does this do for you? It lets your clients know that you're keeping abreast of market trends and products. You're coming to them with the latest in industry news and solutions. Bringing your A game to the table resonates with clients. 

Word of mouth and influencers are two forms of marketing. But the reality is, they're both the same. Influencers typically work online and via social media. Word of mouth extends into the digital space and offline as well. If you take care of your clients, they become your influencers and spread the word that you are THE agent to work with. 

Another key component to this, is to focus on additional sales with your existing client base. Offering one type of insurance can be limiting, so if you feel you can take on new products, by all means do it! You don't have to offer every insurance product known to man; however, if you can assist your clients with an array of solutions, you'll have your own, private army doing your marketing for you.

Referral marketing is big in this industry and everyone asks for referrals. If your clients talk about you, they'll send referrals without you ever having to ask for them. They're doing the marketing work for you.

Incorporate inbound marketing with your outbound marketing strategy to allow your client base to grow. That means sending them informative pieces, and it doesn't have to be solely insurance-based. Including articles about retirement, nursing homes, social security and even protecting them from identity theft are all ways to enlighten your clients. The more you focus on attention and sales within your existing client base, the more you'll get in return.

By Carolyn Portanova

"Before a prospect for life insurance, annuities, disability insurance or other products or services meets you in person, they might visit your website or explore your social media or call your office . A poor first impression on any of these fronts can degrade your credibility and spook the prospect."

​"Though giving advice today on first impressions may seem cliché, it is perhaps MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. Customer choice is at an all-time high. Prospects can easily click to the next search result and collect a stack of proposals before making a decision. In this ultra-competitive landscape, advisors cannot afford to botch the first impression.

"The classic wisdom of looking and behaving at your best still applies, but we have to extend that philosophy into every possible first-touch moment." Read the full article...

Source: Think Advisor , February 8, 2019, Marykay Long

Are you in need of help with your online presence? If so, we're here to assist. Don't lose prospects because your online presence needs work. Falling short with an online presence will only inhibit your ability to gain more clients. As your FMO, we want you to succeed and that means helping you with your branding and marketing. Reaching as many potential clients as possible in today's fast paced world of scrolling takes the right tools and the right knowledge. We can help you build your online presence, and we urge you to take advantage of our services.

If you don't have a website, a social media presence or even a Google listing, we need to rectify that. Simple steps that ensure you're found online need to be implemented. Referrals are fantastic, but new clients that come by way of the internet are just waiting to fall into your lap.

​Visit our Marketing Resources page to learn more, and get in touch with us today.

By Carolyn Portanova

If you’re looking for ways to find new clients in 2017, hopefully you have a game plan already put into place. And if not? Have you considered these options?

Do you have a website? If not, are you building one for 2017? 
Creating a website does not have to be daunting and expensive. Just having a landing page with your contact information can often times be enough initially. There are so many options for creating a web presence. It’s endless and you can have one in a matter of hours. WordPress, Squarespace, Weebly and Wix are all options that allow customers to build sites on their own without hiring a web designer. IXN Tech is a company we personally recommend for building insurance websites.

Do you have a Facebook page at the very least? 
Not your personal Facebook profile, but an actual business page to let the world know you’re online, where they can come to your page and find relevant industry news, updates and contact information. Building a Facebook page is something everyone should absolutely do, and it can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. If you have a personal online presence, then it only makes sense to have one for your business and your brand as well.

Have you run ads on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter?
If you’ve never thought about running a Facebook ad or an ad on LinkedIn to find potential clients, what are you waiting for? You can run ads and target specific demographics to alert your potential client base that you’re on social media, and you’re keeping up with the times (and looking to grow your business). Both sites, as well as Twitter, have step-by-step directions on how to go about running an ad. You decide your budget and you decide how long you want your ads to run.
Take the time to research your advertising options on the social networks mentioned, and build that Facebook page today. In a matter of minutes you can have an online presence and you can use your personal contacts and existing clients to help spread the word about your business profile. No one will know you’re out there, if you don’t tell them.
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If you don’t have an online presence, you’re missing out on an enormous opportunity. More and more small businesses are understanding the need for a digital presence, and although it may seem overwhelming and overly crowded out there on the Interweb, it’s absolutely necessary for your business to expand.

By Carolyn Portanova