Insurance Agents Are...

Insurance Agents Are…
 
It won’t come as a surprise to hear that insurance agents have a less than stellar reputation. I have Google alerts set up for certain phrases that appear online in the news.  I set one up for “insurance agent arrested”.  I recently received Google notifications for stories including, “Grifton insurance agent charged again with embezzling from elderly”1, “Two Former Agents Face 55 Felony Counts in Life Scheme”2, and “Loris insurance agent arrested for scamming customers”3.  
 
Here’s something that may make you laugh or cringe, go to Google and type in “insurance agents ar”.  Google’s autocomplete search predictions returned the following:​
 





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​I would never say insurance agents are scum or crooks.  But if Google predicts that is something people will search then someone has to be writing about that topic.  Now consider if one of those two phrases took you to a page about you and your agency.  

Does your agency have a good online reputation?  As an agent you want to know what is being said about you online.  Think about your entire insurance agency’s internet marketing presence.  Will potential clients see your insurance agency as reputable?  Engaged?  Knowledgeable? An authority on insurance products and services?  An independent agency with a clean and unique insurance agency website?
 
Manage your brand reputation
 
Managing your agency means managing your brand reputation.  Monitor what people are saying about you online.  People trust online reviews.  So needless to say, you need positive online reviews. When you get a review you should be notified so you can respond to the review.
 
Manage your notifications in Google My Business
 
Google says, “You can choose which kinds of Google My Business notifications you receive on your mobile device and in your email inbox. Notifications can help in a variety of ways, like letting you know when customers leave photos or reviews for your business listing, alerting you to product news from Google, and reminding you to keep your listing up-to-date.”
Turn on Google My Business customer reviews notifications:
 

• Go to www.business.google.com/settings
• Select the checkbox for “Customer Reviews alerts when customers post reviews of your business”

 
Manage your notifications on Facebook
 
If you have elected to allow people to leave reviews on your Facebook business page, you can get a notification each time there is activity on your page.  
 

• Log in to Facebook
• Select “Settings”
• From the menu on the left, select “Notifications”
• Turn On New Reviews Notifications

 
You can adjust a number of settings and get a notification each time there is activity on your agency's Facebook page or an important page update, get a notification every 12-24 hours on all activity and updates on your page during that time or turn off all notifications.  
 
Never turn off your notifications.  Closely monitor all of your online social activity.
 
Google Alerts
 
I mentioned Google Alerts at the start of this blog.  I have alerts set up for work related and non-work related notifications. At the least, I suggest setting up an alert for your name, your agency’s name and your competitor’s agency name(s).  
 
Setting Up Google Alerts
 

• www.google.com/alerts
• “Show options”
• Select how often you would like to receive alerts (As it happens, At most once a day, At most one a week)
• Sources “Automatic” for all results (News, Blog, Web, etc.)
• How Many (Choose between Only the best results and All results)

 
Freshen Up & Tune Up
 
Once you have set up alerts and notifications on Google and Facebook, take some time to freshen up and tune-up your social media and internet marketing.  Do you have products you would like to showcase?  Facebook allows you to showcase multiple products.  Take some time and create a unique product or services page.  In Google, add more photos, add a video testimonial, check your business hours and business categories and update your listing as necessary.
 
Now go help Google’s autocomplete to say, “Insurance Agents Are Awesome”!
 
1 http://www.witn.com/content/news/Former-insurance-agent-charged-again-with-embezzling-from-elderly-427057413.html
 
2 https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/two-former-agents-face-55-felony-counts-life-scheme
 
3 http://wbtw.com/2017/03/02/loris-insurance-agent-arrested-for-scamming-customers/
 

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