Social Media Won't Last

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” — Ken Olsen, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

"In 1938 Chester Carlson invented xerography. Virtually every major corporation, including IBM and Xerox, didn’t think much of his idea and rejected it. They felt that since carbon paper was cheap and readily available, no one would buy an expensive copying machine."
 

Still working without a social media presence?   Still pouring thousands of dollars into a yellow page ad?  Just admit it, you've decided social marketing isn't for you and you're content to leaving low cost access to exponentially thousands of preferred insured's to your competitors.  Besides, your current marketing plan has worked for years.  Or has it? 

Have you ever measured the return on investment for your yellow page ad?  Do you track how many successful submissions (not quotes) that you get from it?  Listen, I'm not saying that a yellow page ad is useless (yes I am) because it does provide one great service, it helps  those looking for insurance with an alphabetized list of  available agents that they can call until they find the lowest price.

However, with agency Facebook and twitter accounts, you could potentially reach customers who might not even know they're looking.   Through passive advertising you create your page, share it with your friends, who share it with their friends and so on and so on.  Just how many friends? Facebook has 1.4 billion users followed by twitter with over 500 million.

Here are some more interesting stats:

Total number of Facebook users worldwide	1.4 Billion
Total percentage of 18-24 year olds who already use social media	98%
Total percentage of people on Earth who use Facebook	11%
Total amount of minutes people spend on Facebook every month	700 billion
Average amount of time a person uses Facebook per month	15 hours 33 minutes
Total amount of people who access Facebook with phone	250 million
Total amount of websites that have integrated with Facebook	2.5 million
Total pieces of content shared on Facebook each month	70 billion

Don't be afraid. It really isn't hard.  Do it tomorrow and then take 10 minutes every day to post something useful or share someone else's useful post.  But keep in mind your page isn't just your business card.   It's important to post valuable and free information. Every time you do that's another chance for someone to link to your page and find out about your agency.

Don't miss out on a chance to start social marketing now because you're intimidated.  There's literally thousands of resources to guide you to become a master of social media.  If you want to study a little further, Click here for some ideas on how to get started.