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CultIVAteClIentrelAtIonshIpsonlInetobestusesocialmediacreateaPolicyandaPPointanemPloyeetomanageitMobilecloudandsocialtechnologiesarequicklyevolvingcausingsocietaltransformationandgivingrisetoanewempoweredandconnectedconsumer.Howwellanagencyunderstandsthischangelearnstoadaptandeffectivelyengagesthenewconnectedconsumerwilldeterminetheirfutureviability.Keepingupandadaptingtonewtechnologyandthechangingdemandsofcustomersandprospectshasalwaysbeenachallengeforbusiness.Buttodayadvancementsintechnologyandchangesinconsumerbehaviorarehappeningrapidlyandaredrivenbyconsumersratherthancorporations.Manyoftheoldwaysofdoingbusinessarelesseffectivethanbefore.TraditionalYellowPageadvertisingdoeslittletoreachconsumers.Emailispassforsomeyoungerconsumerswhoprefertextinginstead.Todaymanyconsumersdemandthattheirbusinesspartnersareonlinetransparentaccessibleopensociallyresponsibleandhonest.Theywanttheirfavoritebrandsonapersonalorpersonalizedlevel.ThechallengefacingtheinsuranceindustryisnotjustaboutmakingsureagentshaveblogsFacebookpagesTwitteraccountsandPinterestsitestocuraterelevantbusinessinformation.Yesitisimportanttolearnhowtoeffectivelyusenewtechnology.Butitiscriticaltopaycloseattentiontotheevolutionofconsumerbehavior.Successfulagentsusenewtechnologiestogrowacommunityofonlinerelationshipsandtoconvertemployeesandfollowersintobrandadvocates.Ratherthanusingthesetoolstosimplyamplifytheirsalesmessagethesermsusesocialnetworkingtostrengthenrelationshipsconnectandbuildtrust.Itx19sasubtlebutpowerfuldifferenceinapproach.Equallyimportantaneffectivesocialnetworkingstrategymustbemorethanamarketingdepartmentproject.Socialnetworkingdoesnotmagicallytransformorsolveanagencyx19smarketingorcommunicationproblems.Adaptingtothenewbusinessenvironmentrequiressocialnetworkinginitiativestobeintegratedintoacomprehensivebusinessstrategyasitwillinvolveandaffectallbusinessunitswithintheagency.Therearemanysocialtoolsthatcanbeusedbutitmustbewellmanagedmonitoredmeasuredandevaluated.Creatingagoodagencysocialmediapolicyguideisanimportantrststep.Itshouldclearlydenewhatisandisnx19tpermissiblewhenemployeesarepresentingthemselvesasagencyrepresentativesonline.ManyagentsandbrokersalreadyhaveguidesoutlininguseoftheInternetandemailatwork.Forthesebusinessesadditionalguidelinescoveringuseofthesocialwebmaysufceandforthosethatdonotanewlycreatedguidecancoveremployeeuseofallofthesetools.TheAgentsCouncilforTechnologyoffersasamplesocialmediapolicyforagents.Anotherimportantstepindevelopingasocialmediaplanistomakesureapersonattheagencyoverseesandmanagestheinitiativebytakingontheresponsibilityasacommunitymanager.Ideallythecommunitymanagermanagesthecommunicationowbetweenthecompanyanditsengagedonlineusers.Ultimatelychargedwithcarryingoutthecompanyx19sonlinestrategythisdigital-savvyemployeeprovidesvitaloversightforallcommunicationspublicrelationssocialmediaeventsandcontentcreation.Oncetheguideandmanagerareinplacethecompanyshouldbewellpositionedtoexecuteconsistentuseofonlinetoolsandin-personnetworkingtocreaterelationshipsandseamlesslyprojectthecompanyx19sbrandx14bothonlineandoff.MartyAgatherisvicepresidentclientdevelopmentforProjectCAP.page17APublicationofIndependentInsuranceAgentsofWVGotofacebook.comIIAWVinc