And if our coverage lapses, do we feel the difference?  Unlikely.  In my consulting days, I remember addressing some senior insurance executives who had hired my team to solve an issue of cancellation of policies for non-payment.  When I posed this question to them and suggested that what they were selling was the functional equivalent of a 'big bowl of steam,' they looked at me like I was the most irreverent person in the world! 

I plowed through my analogy with them though, giving them the examples of a customer not paying their cable bill or cell phone bill.  Shut off someone's cable or cell phone and you get an immediate reaction! People will jump through hoops to get reconnected again!  I think they got it finally (or at least indulged me enough to not fire me)!

Fast forward a few years as we find ourselves squarely in an era of social marketing.  How can social marketing and media help an insurance agency?  I set out to get some answers by interviewing one of my favorite insurance agents, Bob O'Brien, a Vice-President with Noyes, Hall & Allen in South Portland, Maine.  He has been successfully leveraging social media to make his mark and distinguish his firm in a crowded field.  Here's what he had to say:

SM: How did you start your journey into social media?

Bob:  In 2008, I read an article by Katherine Boehret (@kabster728) in the Wall St. Journal. I'd heard of Twitter before, but didn't stop to think that it might be a useful tool for business until I read the Journal article. I was surprised to find several local people engaged in some really interesting conversations - everything from news about local happenings to humorous observations, to comments about customer experiences with local businesses.

SM:  Insurance is one of those necessities in life, but not necessarily something people, at least non-insurance types of people, have conversations about.  What is your approach to starting those conversations? 

Bob:  I almost never start those conversations, but I try to contribute to them when they spring up. I never want to appear to be "selling" insurance, but I want my followers to know that selling insurance is what I do for work.  When I comment on a news article or the local weather, it's sometimes with an insurance slant, and people tolerate that, because that's part of who I am. But I also tweet about other things that interest me: local life, cycling, sports, dogs, raising a family, etc. 

Occasionally, I will tweet about a broad safety topic (driving safety or home safety, for example), almost as a public service announcement. I try to make sure it relates to the majority of people (e.g. remembering to change your smoke detector batteries, or remembering to renew your car registration).

SM:  Do you use social media to get new clients? 

Bob:  Some people I've met through Twitter have become clients, both for individual insurance (home, auto, etc.) and the businesses they own (property, liability, workers' compensation).  I never pitch insurance directly through Twitter; I just try to let people know that I'm available to answer questions if they have any, and trust that a relationship will develop if I can add value. 

Mainers understand the value of doing business locally. They want to be able to sit down at the table with you if they have a question or problem, and they want to be able to talk to the same person every time. They know that when they buy locally, more of their money stays in the community, and that smaller businesses like ours employ people who also buy products at the businesses they work at or own. Social media reinforces that "localness" by adding a personality behind the company.

Our agency also has a blog, in which we try to relate current news, happenings, and weather issues to peoples' insurance.  Our blog posts might provide advice to avoid problems, ways to avoid a claim, or how to save money. We try to keep the posts as light and conversational as possible, which isn't always easy with a technical subject like insurance.

SM:  What benefits has your business seen from your efforts?

Bob:  I think the biggest benefit of social media is that it gives us an ear to peoples' conversations about business, social issues and local life in general. It helps us focus our resources on things people need and want, and to learn about their preferences - everything from the way they communicate with the businesses they patronize to the way they pay for the products and services they choose.  

I hope that our engagement in social media has increased our agency's local name recognition, and enhances our image as an insurance agency that stays current with the latest communication tools. We are an independent insurance agency: we represent more than a dozen insurance companies. We compete against companies with billion-dollar advertising budgets, which we obviously can't match. But social media helps us to spread the word locally about the quality service we provide and products we offer.

Several of the insurance companies we represent have toid us that we are in the forefront of insurance agency use of social media, which they see as progressive. Some "social media proponents" -both inside and outside the insurance industry - have asked permission to use our blog, Facebook page and Twitter posts as examples in their presentations and seminars, which is an ego boost, if nothing else.

SM: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me!   

Personally, having done business with Bob since I moved to Maine 12 years ago, one key attribute that I particularly enjoy about his style is that he is never selling, even when he is selling me insurance.  I rely on him as a trusted advisor and that quality shines through in real life and in how Bob approaches his social marketing.  You can't fake authenticity!

Follow Bob on Twitter, Facebook, or read his blog for the latest in relevant insurance news!