Analysis

 

Brooks Insurance Professionals does not possess a social media presence for their small town, family-owned insurance agency. This analysis section dives into the best practices, recent research, and local study results to provide evidence for our overall recommendations. 

 

Where Social Media Content and Insurance Connect: Create And Post Content That Meets Client’s Need, Builds Professional Client- Agent Relationship, And Shows Transparency 

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Focus On Generation Z Coverage And Insurance Literacy To Address Unmet Client Needs And Lay the Foundation For Future Successes 
 
Insurance thrives where there is a need to be met, therefore coverage to be dispersed to individuals. Insurance agents must look for the need. There is a great need for coverage in Generation Z individuals, and the best way to reach the younger generation is to reach the parents.   

According to a comprehensive study conducted by the LIMRA (Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association) a highly reputable and accredited association, “Gen Z represents the highest number of individuals with a need for more coverage, at 48 percent” (Brooks, 2024).

 

This quote shows there is a large need for Gen Z coverage in life insurance, and the same is true for property and causality insurance as well because teenagers and young adults usually pay their own policy when moving into adulthood. A majority of teenagers carry over their car insurance policy from their previous insurance agency when they move into their adult years. This allows the agent/company to secure another generation of clients based off the parents. To meet this need, create and post media to grow the insurance literacy among Gen Z. This could include FAQ (frequently asked questions) Friday where every Friday, or whatever you would prefer, you open up the floor to answer questions people may have or post answers to common insurance questions. 

 

Create Client Loyalty By Building Client and Agent Relationship, Therefore Increasing Probability of Securing Next Generation Of Clientele: Their Children 
 
The best way to keep a secure relationship with the  client according to Business.com is by transparency which increases customer loyalty: “Transparency is defined as ‘a lack of hidden agendas or conditions, accompanied by the availability of full information required of collaboration, cooperation and collective decision-making'” (Nab, 2024). The customer wants to know that you have their best interests at the forefront of your concerns, therefore being more likely to trust the social media content being created. 

 

Transparency among the younger generation also appears to be of utmost importance: “millennial and Gen Z consumers, with 79 percent and 74 percent, respectively, saying that company transparency is important” (Nab, 2024). This transparency can look like giving them the full explanation of benefits, the positive and the negative; providing options to the clients even if the company benefits with one than another; and giving personal experiences about what worked best for you and others. These steps ensure that the client and agent relationship is strong. 

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Social media could be utilized here by creating posts about certain policies where coverage may be missed. For example, people could think they have full coverage on their house or think that they life insurance is secure when they retire. The social media posts could expose "holes" in coverage. This is an example of transparency within the social media content.

 

Build A Strong Relationship With Client Is Based Upon Transparency, Honesty, And Simplicity of Information - Adds To The Reliability Of Content Created
 
According to ASNOA (Agent Support Network of America), which is the leading independent insurance network in America, “Gen Z values simplicity and transparency in insurance products” (Larson, 2024). They prefer:   

• “policies with clear terms and conditions  

• straightforward language  

• no hidden fees” (Larson, 2024)   
   

“This generation seeks to understand exactly what they’re buying. Insurers who provide educational resources, such as blogs, videos, and interactive tools, are more likely to gain their trust” (Larson, 2024). The newer generation values the honesty built from the relationship with the insurance agent and their company. According to ASNOA data, insurance agents should be:   

• Honest about the coverage and price   

• Helpful when confusion or questions when they arise    

• Focused on the clients' needs and wants   

• Readily available with resources to help clients more easily understand the information given 

 

Create Simple And Straight Forward Content So Parents Can Show Their Young Adult Children, Creating Trust And Transparency with Parent, Child and Agent   
 
So how can you, an insurance agent, compile these findings into social media content? By appealing to both the parent and the child. Parents above all else want their children to be safe and educated enough within the insurance world to be safe if an emergency came about. An example of this would be if a young adult got into an accident.  A social media post would be created with a list of steps that the person would take after the accident occurred. This list would be short, simple, and straight forward for the individual. The parents would feel secure knowing that these educational resources would already be in the hands and on the phones of their growing teenager. 

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Listed below is data compiled by the NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) regarding Generation Z literacy rates:   

•  “Over half of respondents (54%) shared they feel ‘overwhelmed or anxious’ at the thought of dealing with insurance  

• About 1 in 3 young adults (34%), for instance, said they were ‘going to try to wait as long as possible’ to get their own life insurance, with over 1 in 4 (28%) saying the same for health insurance 

• Just over 1 in 4 Gen Z adults could correctly identify the insurance terms "deductible" (27%) and "copay" (29%)  

•  Survey also found 22% of Gen Z respondents have little or no awareness of the importance of auto insurance, and 14% have little or no awareness of the importance of health insurance” (National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 2024).   

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This adds to the need for easy-to-read social media posts available for Gen Z individuals to intake. Parents could then send their children a quick link to a short, educational post. Parents want to know that their children are safe, and with higher insurance literacy among young adults along with knowledge of steps do if an emergency happened, the young adults would be better equipped to be safer and more informed.  

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How Build and Maintain A Local Community For Insurance Marketing Through Localizing And Micro-Targeting

  

We wanted to better understand how a small business insurance broker can expand their clientele through social media. We sought out this information by conducting research through databases. Research suggests that localizing and micro-targeting are two ways to do this. 

 

Post Ads That Pertain To Your Local Community 
 
We found that advertising through social media locally is one way for an insurance broker to build strong relationships with their clients. People often do not feel a connection with big brands cooperate logo, but they do feel a connection with an agent that spends time to advertise locally. Laehn states “…that an ad shown from a local adviser performs up to 250% better than the same ad shown from a corporate brand” (Laehn, 2018). 

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We found that one way you can post localized ads is by including testimonials from current clients. Including these testimonials will show potential new clients that you care about your client’s experience and build a relationship with those that you work with. There are different ways you can go about gathering customer feedback Newberry states “Social media contests can be an effective way to gather client testimonials” (Newberry, 2023). 

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Testimonials Will: 

• Build up good reviews 

• Show personability 

• Stand out to new clients 

 

 

One notable outcome from our survey was that 76% of our respondents found it important to make a connection with their insurance agent. This finding backed up the research that we had done. It shed light on the importance of connection and made it apparent that it would be necessary to include relationship builders with insurance and social media.  

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Figure 1: Over 8 in 10 Respondent Value Connection with Insurance Agent

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​​​The figure above shows results from the local study your team conducted which algins with the fact that people want connection . They want to know there is a personable human being on the other end of the insurance transaction. Therefore, posting testimonials increases the connection to previous clients and adds credibility and reliability to the insurance agent.  

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Micro-Target Ads Based On Characteristics Of Your Target Audience 
 
We found that in addition to localizing, micro-targeting your social media ads further builds up your possible clientele. By posting on social media, it will "allow advertisers to target ads based on consumers’ locations, demographics, interests and behaviors” (Laehn, 2018). Since the platforms already connect potential client’s information to your ads, it makes it easier to further micro-target. 

 

One way to do so would be to make posts targeted on specific life events. Laehn (2018) states, “About half of consumers shop for insurance based on life event." Posts then will reach potential new clients that are going through the life event that you posted about. For example, ads about coverage after getting in a car wreck or ads about coverage regarding damage from a storm will prompt clients to place themselves in those situations; therefore, prompting them to buy coverage in case those events happen to them in their life.  

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Micro-Targeted Ads Will: 

• Connect you with your niche group 

• Expand your ad views to more people going through specific life events 

• Help you understand what events happen most in your community based on what is most engaged with 

 

Post Local And Event Specific Ads  
 
This means that localizing and micro-targeting are two important aspects to consider when you are advertising on social media to expand your clientele. 

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Localizing shows how personable you are and helps make connections with new people. One way to go about localizing is to post client testimonials. 

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Micro-targeting helps you gain more clients because you are posting what applies to them. One way to go about micro-targeting is to post about specific life events. This is effective because a lot of the people that are shopping for insurance are doing so because of something that has happened in their life, or they saw what happened in someone else's life. When they see a post that is targeted specifically to something that they are going through, they are going to be more likely to buy. 

 

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What Makes Effective Social Media Strategies For Insurance Brokers Is Their Ability To Engage Young Adults

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It is vital insurance agencies to be active on social media. This strategy explains what to post, when to post, and what to include in posts to connect with a target audience of young adults ages 18-25. It also highlights ways to build trust and credibility by being personable. 

 

Sharing A Mix Of Educational And Relatable Content To Increase Viewer Exposure
 
We found that sharing a mix of educational and relatable content is beneficial. Educational posts can explain different types of insurance, their benefits, and why insurance is essential. Relatable stories can also be shared, like testimonials from young adults who have benefited from insurance. “Humans are naturally nosey and this kind of content is very relatable” (Hall, 2024). Combining educational content with relatable stories helps engage the audience and makes the information easier to understand. 

 

Posting Daily And At Differentiating Times Is Crucial For Social Media Success
 
We found posting at the right time is crucial for getting the most engagement. Educational content should be shared on morning weekdays. “This way, when your audience wakes up in the a.m. and starts scrolling their favorite platform, your post will be one of the top pieces of content in their social media feed” (Powers, 2022). While it is essential to post at certain times, posting frequently is vital. Posting consistently keeps your followers engaged. “The answer to “how often to post to social media” varies by platform. But it will also require some testing on your own accounts” (Macready 2024). Here’s an example of times we should post on different platforms of social media:   

• X (Twitter): two to three times day  

• TikTok: three to five times week  

• Instagram: three to five times week 

• Instagram Stories: two times a day 

• Facebook: one to two times a day 

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In addition, according to Isaac Deel, an undergraduate student at East Tennessee State University, researched what to do to promote the most engagement. One business he studied found that consistency is key: “The content plan that worked best for Green Llama on Facebook and Instagram was 2-3 reels per week, 1-2 posts in per week, and 1-2 stories each day. Over a three month period, this plan increased organic reach on both platforms by over 368.9 % and total followers by 50%” (Deel, 2023). Successful businesses use content calendars to help keep their content organized.  

 

Using A Social Media Calendar For Successful Social Media Implementation

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Content creation can be extremely time consuming especially when you are already running a business. To help avoid the time and the creation of content, content calendars have been invented to help business sort through the content and provide organization of what needs to be posted. Calendar settings can even automatically post media for the business if set up to do so. According to Roopco, an award-winning strategic communications agency, content calendars are of utmost importance for the flourishing of social media implementation because they:  

• “Support a Consistent Stream of Social Media Posts 

• Generate Higher Quality Content 

• Saves Time by Ensuring Organization 

• Reduces the Risk of Mistakes  

• Allows You to Plan for Relevant Social Moments” (Roopco, 2023).  

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There are pros and cons with different calendars. A highly recommended content calendar for businesses is called Sendible. This has been rated the best for agencies because of its “powerful features for agencies, including drafts and tasks to help you collaborate with your team, and fully white-label dashboards so that your clients can log in and connect their socials on your own branded version of the app” (Connell, 2024). I have hyperlinked to the website here which rates this content calendar and compares other calendars with it while also listing out the pros and cons of other calendar options.  

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Posting Visually Appealing Content
 
We found posts should be visually appealing, using high-quality images, infographics, and videos. (The role of visual content in digital marketing n.d.). The messaging should be straightforward language (Sachs, 2024). Engaging visuals and clear messaging are essential for capturing and retaining audience attention.  

• avoiding technical jargon 

• explaining terms in simple language 

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Each post should include a call to action (CTA). “As such, before you write CTAs, you should know your audience's preferences and what you want from them, i.e., to visit your website…” ((Rehman, 2024). To be effective, CTAs must be tailored to your audience's preferences and guide them on what action to take. 

 

Showing The Humanity Side of Business
 
We found showing the human side of our business is essential to building personability. This can be done by sharing behind-the-scenes content, introducing the team, making “day in my life” videos, and highlighting the people behind the brand. Engaging with followers by responding to comments and messages promptly also builds trust. “Open dialogue shows that you value your audience's input and are attentive to their needs and opinions” (Hall, 2024). Maintaining a consistent, friendly, and approachable tone across all posts is critical. To show how these videos create a personal connection with clients, here's a link to “A Day in my Life as an Insurance Broker.” 
 

Teaching And Encouraging Young Adults
 
We found that we should focus on teaching and encouraging young adults to understand why insurance is important. We can connect with them by posting educational and relatable content regularly and communicating in a friendly way. This approach not only informs them but also motivates them to take steps to secure their future with the right insurance plans. 

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