Find out what you need to know about social media as a Benefits Broker! Insurance agents aren’t commodity pushers, they’re relationship builders. And today's relationships with potential clients (especially millennial) start online. With 84% of people screening products and companies online before making a purchase it's more important to have a strong presents. If you're looking for a place to start then get social.

1. The Really Simple Guide to
Social Media for
Benefits Brokers!
(Part 1)
What benefits can build.
SM

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A Look Inside
Introduction................................................. 3
What are the Benefits?.......................... 4
Ways Social Media Helps You................ 5
Social Media Platforms............................. 6
LinkedIn....................................................7
Twitter......................................................7
Facebook................................................. 8
Blogging................................................. 8
Google+................................................... 9
Tools & Resources.....................................10
Time Saving Tools................................. 11
Free Grading Tools for Marketing......... 12
Our General Recommendations.......... 12
13 Things to Keep in Mind
When Posting......................................... 13
Interested in our sources?....................14
2

3. As a benefits broker and insurance agent, you aren’t just
a commodity pusher, you are a relationship builder. And
because you care about building a relationship with your
clients, social networking needs to become a part of your
routine. With roughly 168.5 million social media users
in the U.S. alone, there is a tremendous opportunity for
you to
make lasting connections online.
US Study shows
average age distribution
across social networks
(Twist Digital)
Ag
es
2
18 %
534
Ages
4
35-4
%
25
Ages
Ages
18-24
9%
45-5
19
%
4
4
Ages 55-6
-17
Ages 0
10%
%
15
Ages
65+
3%

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What are the Benefits?
Social Media gives benefits brokers and insurance agents an
opportunity to break the ice with potential clients. While it’s true
that a prospect will not likely seek you out on Facebook without
any knowledge of who you are, especially as you start out, that
is not the goal. The goal when building a social media page on
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Google+ is to give potential clients
insight into who you are as a broker or agent and why they
should work with you (your unique selling proposition or USP).
More and more people are turning to the internet to find connections
and answers long before they contact potential partners directly.
Americans spend
an average of
7 hrs &
168.5 million 36 mins
Social networking users!
a day being social
Once you’ve broken the ice
with these new-comers social
media also give them the
ability to share your services
more easily with a friend…
4

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Social media helps you in three ways:
1
Thanks to Google’s latest search algorithm release, being
social helps search engine optimization. This means that
having social media accounts and linking them to your
website and/or blog makes it easier to be found online.
2
Second, prospective clients are able to learn more about your
business in a medium they feel very comfortable with. Social
media platforms give today’s tech-savvy consumers the
ability to get a sense of how you do business through your
up-to-date posts, customer comments and even ratings.
Once you’ve broken the ice with these newcomers, social
media also give them the ability to share your services
more easily with a friend and spread your name by word of
mouth (or in the case of many social media, updates).
3
Lastly, social media develops brand recognition, which can
make every prospect and client interaction simpler.
47% of
Americans
say, “Facebook
has the greatest
impact on purchase
behavior.”
66% of
users search via
Google.
84% of
Americans
participate in some
form of product
branding before they
make a purchase.
5

6. Platforms
Social Media Platforms
give today’s tech-savvy customers the ability to get
a sense of
how you do business through
ratings, customer comments and up-to-date posts.
40
% of consumers
report social media affects their
health related decisions

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Social Media Platforms
Social Media Platforms
you need to be on!
LinkedIn:
LinkedIn is a professional networking platform
that allows you to connect with your professional
contacts and colleagues. This platform also
allows you to join professional Groups. Within
these Groups you will find tips, discussions
and links to reliable and useful information.
It also allows you to create a company page
where other users can choose to receive
updates about your business (called post or
status updates) by following your Page.
Twitter:
Twitter is a micro blogging social media platform
that allows you to “tweet” messages (status
updates) to your followers in 140 characters
or less, and follow others who tweet their own
updates. Many Twitter users are looking for
interesting people (not necessarily friends or
family), breaking news, online trends, updates
on their favorite celebrities or sports teams and
(most importantly to you) company contact.
Twitter is one of the quickest and easiest ways to
find out what’s important and/or what’s going
on right now with other users. The platform
is full of people who want to hear quick
updates on what you are working on, too.
Tip - For LinkedIn posts, you may
want to consider two different
approaches: Participating in
Groups lets you start or join
discussions with focused segments
of the entire LinkedIn network.
Posting, commenting and liking
within a Group is all done from
your personal Page. Updating your
company Page’s status is directed
at current followers which lets
you use a more direct, attentiongrabbing approach (much like
with Twitter or Facebook) than you
might do in a Group.
Tip - Twitter only allows you
140 characters to speak to your
audience, the use of hashtags
(#) and abbreviated links is
incredibly useful. Hashtags such as
#dentalinsurance or #obamacare
allow users to search trends or find
other tweets similar to the one they
are reading. As for links, it is always
a good idea to share a link to an
article or post you wish to share
with your audience. But if that link
is too long, you may not be able to
explain why they should be reading
it, which could lead to a low clickthrough rate. In these instances we
recommend bitly.com, an online
service that shortens URLs and
tracks how many people follow
your link.
7
#

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Social Media Platforms
Facebook:
Facebook is a personal social media platform,
which also lets you promote and expand your
brand through the use of Business Pages.
47% of Americans using social networks say,
“Facebook has the greatest impact on purchase
behavior.” With that in mind, Facebook is a
great platform to reach prospective clients and
maintain consistent contact with current clients.
Tip - When using Facebook,
keep in mind the length and type
of posts you publish. Facebook
recommends that professional
posts not exceed 100 to 250
characters. Short, easy-to-read
posts grab the attention of your
audience and are more likely to
engage your audience. As far as the
types of posts published, photos
and videos often receive more
attention and engagement than
links and text-only posts alone.
Keep a constant mix, to offer your
audience variety and continually
test their likes and dislikes.
Blogging:
A blog is the best platform for longer content
development. Setting up your own blog
allows you to create your own content, such as
informative articles to help your clients, thought
pieces to show your mastery of your subject, or
opinion pieces to share on other social media
platforms. A blog can help you build credibility
and, even more important to search engines,
“authority” online. Having a blog or website with
continual updates will help you direct traffic to
your site and ultimately generate more business.
Tip - Connect your blog with
your website and social media
platforms to fuel your Search
Engine Optimization, which is the
most effective way to increase your
website’s visibility in Google, Bing
or Yahoo’s search results.
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Social Media Platforms
Google+:
Google+ is comparable to a combination of
Facebook and LinkedIn; it’s comprised of the
personal user interface without the resume
layout (similar to Facebook), however it allows
you to join Communities that are similar
to LinkedIn’s Groups. The best practice for
promoting your company is to create a Page.
Chances are Google already has your company
listed, which means all you need to do is claim
the listing. A Google+ Page will allow you to
interact in conversations under your company’s
name in all status updates and Community posts.
Tip - We suggest you use Google+
Communities much like LinkedIn
Groups, to focus on a conversation
or discussion about topics
relevant to the Community. Join
as many Communities as possible
that apply to your interests
(professional or otherwise) and
designate that you would like
updates within certain topics. This
will keep you up to date with the
topics you find most interesting,
and won’t require you to spend a
lot of your time on their site.
Keep in mind that within all of these
platforms, content is king. By developing
high-caliber, original content in
any form, you are building
a positive image for your
brand and your benefits
business. You always want
to give your audience a
reason to come back, and
strong, original and
consistently fresh
content gives
them that reason.
9

10. Tools & Resources
Worried social media is going to take up too much time?
You can always pull these
free tools out of your hat!

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Tools & Resources
Time Saving Tools
There are a few free tools
you may want to consider
to reduce the amount of
time you spend online and
to help you track activity
Mention – This tool will notify you when your
company’s name or other keywords have been
mentioned online. It allows you to set your own
keyword terms and phrases, which allows you to
respond to your customers in a timely manner.
Google Alerts – Similar to Mention, Google
Alerts will notify you when your keywords
are mentioned within any Google platform:
websites, blogs, video or discussions. If a
majority of your audience is finding you on
Google this is a great option for you. Note:
roughly 66% of web users search via Google.
RSS Reader – An RSS Feed is a standard feed
format of summarized text from a website, blog
or other online services, usually for those that
publish frequent updates and information. When
blogging, it’s a good idea to set up an RSS feed
to track other blogs, news headlines, audio and
video feeds you rely on to stay up to date.
Google Keyword Tool – While it may not be
necessary for you to set up a Google AdWords
campaign, it is always a good idea to see what
words and terms people are currently using
to find your site. Once you know what topics
your audience is engaging with, you can tailor
your content to better help your customers.
Buffer – This tool allows you to schedule posts
on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn from one
central location. It also offers suggested posts
based on trending topics. However, some of
the more advanced uses, such as pages and
some analytics, require a paid upgrade.
ManageFlitter – A tool that helps effectively
manage your Twitter account through timed
posts along with analytics. There are multiple
user types for this app, but we suggest you
start out on Freebie and go from there.
bitly.com – An online service that shortens
URLs (web addresses) and includes analytics.
These shortened links can be used on
any platform, even email to clients.
11

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Tools & Resources
Free Grading Tools for Marketing
Marketing Grader – This free tool from HubSpot analyzes your
website and provides actionable insights to improve your marketing.
LikeAlyzer – A tool that grades your Facebook page. All it
needs is a URL. This app can be helpful when measuring and
analyzing the effectiveness of your Facebook Page activity.
It offers helpful hints, and allows you to compare your Page
against similar industry pages and competitors.
Our General
Recommendations
WordPress is a great publishing
platform, which we use at AlwaysCare,
that features a tremendous list
of Plugins that can help you with
everything from website or blog design
to automated e-newsletters to your
clients to search engine optimization.
Review industry regulations before
becoming social. An excellent source to
review is the NAIC Market Regulation and
Consumer Affairs (D) Committee’s Social
Media White Paper and the FINRA Guidance
on Blogs and Social Networking Web Sites.
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Tools & Resources
13 Things to Keep in Mind When Posting
1
Stay away from the “hard sell” social media post.
Consider each post as if it were the first conversation
with a potential client. It is okay to have some
promotional posts mixed in (eventually), but mostly
be informative, personable and, above all, helpful.
2
Become active on multiple platforms. Know where
your customers are and meet them there.
3
Share things about your agency or business so that viewers
can get to know you. Your USP is a great place to start.
4
Ask questions.
5
Post weekly (or more often, if possible).
6
Respond to comments and questions quickly and
engage prospects and clients where their interests lie.
7
Create interactive posts.
8
Vary your posts. Sharing a mix of text, photos, links
and videos will keep your followers engaged.
9
Stay positive and respond in a timely manner.
10
Pass valuable information along, and share
your own original content when possible.
11
Use praise in your posts. Complimenting a
client, employee, or partner using a link or
posting to them is often very effective.
12
Stay professional. Remember that once
it’s online, it never truly goes away. If
you wouldn’t say it in a crowded room of
strangers (including mothers and fathers
with young children), don’t say it at all.
13
Remember relationships developed
online don’t have to stay there. Use
social media to start a discussion
that may end up offline.
13

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Tools & Resources
Interested in our sources?
3 Ways to Drive Sales Via Agent Social
Media (Insurance & Technology)
10 Free Tools Every Business Blogger
Should Bookmark (HubSpot)
11 Shocking New Social Media Statistics
in America (Convince & Convert)
50 Awesome Social Media Ideas for
Insurance Agencies (Insurance Journal)
Are You Effectively Using Social Media
for Business Development? (Forbes)
Regulatory Standards for the
Use of Social Media in Insurance
(Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP)
Social Media Analytics: Data Mining
Applied to Insurance Twitter Posts
(Casualty Actuarial Society)
Social Media for Business: Never Miss
a Single Trick! (Social Media Today)
Social Media Doesn’t Drive Sales… But
That’s Not the Point (Tara Hunt via LinkedIn)
Give Them Something to Talk
About: Brian Solis on the Art of
Engagement (Google Think Insights)
Social Networking’s Value to Insurance
Agents & Brokers - Making the Case
(Agents Council for Technology, Independent
Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, Inc.)
How to Use Social Media in
Sales (Duct Tape Marketing)
Study: 78% Of Salespeople Using Social
Media Outsell Their Peers (Forbes)
If You Work in Insurance, This Should Be
the Only Article You Read on the Future
of Social Media (Ryan Hanley, CIC)
Tips On Using Social Media as Your Secret
Sales Weapon (HootSuite via LinkedIn)
Using Social Media for Business
(Social Media Today)
Talk to a Marketer
about adding social
media to your strategy
Contact a Sales
Rep about our
benefits today!
Click Here
Click Here
14

15. 1-888-729-5433, Ext. 2013
www.AlwaysCareBenefits.com
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 98100
Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9100
Mon. - Fri. 7:30 AM - 8:30 PM (CST)
Sat. 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (CST)
Physical Address:
8485 Goodwood Boulevard
Baton Rouge, LA 70806-7878