In a day and age where small businesses need all the advantages they can get to stay a step ahead of the competition, social media can be one of their greatest allies.
But how many small businesses are hurting themselves by not employing social media to assist them in trying to sell their products or services? As it turns out, too many of them do not take advantage of all social media has to offer them.
One product where more and more consumers have gone online to browse for and purchase is auto insurance. With busy schedules and wanting to be able to compare and contrast auto insurance quotes on their own time, more consumers are using the Internet in hopes of driving off with the right car insurance.
According to a report from comScore, 2011 was a year that saw the auto insurance industry maintain the pace of online quoting activity it had witnessed in recent years, meaning consumers continue to be comfortable shopping for car insurance on the web. A comScore spokesperson noted that “This bodes well for insurance providers who are able to meet the challenge of growing their online channels and customer acquisition strategies in the current market.”
With that in mind, it only makes sense that auto insurance companies need to be present and relevant on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more. As consumers look for auto insurance quotes, not being a factor on these sites can leave the auto insurer stuck in reverse.
If your small business selling auto insurance is not engaged in social media, there is still time to buckle up and drive off to connecting with more consumers. The reasons why and how you need to do that include:
1. Know your message and where it will go - If you are just starting out on social media, don’t get in over your head. Rather than trying to be too many things to too many people, start and slow and build from there. Whether you choose Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest or another site, make sure you have the time and effort to make it work. You need to post on a regular basis, meaning not only do consumers want to come back to your page, but it will also help you with the search engines. If you post too infrequently, you stand to be further down on Google and other search engines, while also losing consumer interest;
2. Engage with consumers - One of the most important things with doing social media the right way is making sure you engage with those who come to your social media page or pages. Consumers will come to the site or sites with questions, meaning you need to provide them with the information. The consumer is more apt to want to do business with you if you connect with them and meet all their needs. That being said, do not try and shove a sale down their throat. When the time is right to talk about the individual possibly buying an auto insurance policy from you, then go into your sales mode. If you do it too early, you stand the chance of scaring them off;
3. Offer consumers incentives - A great way to reel in more interest is offering consumers free items, deals and more. If you have a Facebook fan page, run a contest where consumers have the chance to win prizes, savings on their auto insurance policies if they sign up with you and more. If you’re posting images on Pinterest, run a contest involving the pictures where consumers also have the chance to win prizes. Anything that gets consumers to want to come back to your social media pages is a win-win situation for your business;
4. Don’t be anti-social - While there are still some small businesses that refuse for one reason or another not to engage in social media, why would you want to be one of them? Not only should your website be informative and updated with a blog and auto insurance news and facts, you need the social media component too. Facebook recently announced it has some 1 billion users, Twitter claims to have approximately 500 million, and sites like Google+ and Pinterest continue to show signs of growing. Even if you do not have the time yourself to run the social media efforts for your auto insurance business, find someone who can. At the end of the day, you are only hurting your company’s opportunity to grow when you come across as anti-social.