Presentation delivered at the 2009 IIABA Agents Council on Technology conference in Tampa

1. Making Sense of
Social Media
Agenda
• Making sense of Social Media
• Definitions and Survey results
• Get in the game
Mike Wise
• Building credibility & relationship
VP – Insurance Technologies
• Landing pages & Conversions
mwise@ideastar.com
• Next Steps & Discussion

2. Making sense of Social Media

3. • Social Media v. Social Networks
• Communities and Forums
• User-generated Content
• Blog
• Wiki
• Other questions
Defining Social Media

4. According to the May 2008 survey, 73% of
American adults use the internet.
Online Activities
Look for information online about a service or product you are thinking of buying 81%
Go to a website that provides info or support for a specific medical condition or
58%
personal situation
Watch a video on a video-sharing site like YouTube or Google Video 52%
Upload photos to a website so you can share them with others online (as of 2006) 37%
Read someone else’s online journal or blog 33%
Use an online social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or LinkedIn 29%
http://www.pewinternet.org/trends/Internet_Activities_7.22.08.htm
General Population Utilization Stats (Pew)

5. Social Network Growth Stats
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-9948219-36.html
Making Sense of Social Media

6. How familiar are you with the terms
Web 2.0 or Social Media?
ACT Web 2.0 Social Media Survey (56 respondents)

7. What social media tools are you using in your
personal life and/or agency?
Option Personal Agency
Blog (wordpress, blogspot) 17 7
Social Networking Sites (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.) 33 15
Wiki (industry specific or Wikipedia) 19 7
Shared Media - (YouTube, Flickr, SmugMug, Picasa, etc.) 25 1
Micro blogs (Twitter) 8 4
Virtual Gaming (SecondLife, etc.) 3 1
Instant Messaging (AOL IM, Gmail Chat, etc.) 26 15
Text Messaging (via cell phone) 37 16
ACT Web 2.0 Social Media Survey (56 respondents)

8. Making Sense of
Social Media
Getting in
The Game

9. Blog

10. Vaughn Insurance Agency Blog

11. Team Blog

12. Create a Searchable Archive

13. The news you
want – delivered
RSS Feeds

14. Utilizing Social Networks (LinkedIn)

15. Insurance Groups on LinkedIn

16. Affinity Groups

17. Keeping up with new stuff

18. Marketing on Twitter

19. Making Sense of
Social Media
Building Credibility
& Relationships

20. Leverage Advertising – Contextual Ads

21. Vaughn Insurance Agency on Facebook

22. Progressive on Facebook

23. Leverage Geography

24. Mobile – The Next Frontier

25. Making Sense of
Social Media
Landing Pages
& Conversions

26. Landing Pages and Conversions

27. Analytics – Understanding your audience

28. Making Sense of
Social Media
Next
Steps

29. Set up an account, start watching
Understand RSS, use a feedreader
what others are doing, think!
Widen your network, monitor updates
Widen your network, monitor updates,
get active
Grab your name, company name,
Start blogging, link to your product page
Tweet daily
Next steps – Do Something Everyday.

30. Making Sense of
Social Media
Who R U & Sales and Marketing 101:
Right place, right time,
right message
Y R here? Now the right CHANNEL!

31. Q&A
We Know Insurance
www.insurance-technologies.com
www.ideastar.com
Mike Wise
• Agent e-contracting • Web design Vice President – Insurance Technologies
• Agent portals • Online marketing 216-674-1600 ext. 116
• Policy e-application • Blogs mwise@ideastar.com
http://blog.insurance-technologies.com/
• Quoting Software • Social Media http://twitter.com/mikewise07
• Lead management systems • And more http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewise07