In 2020, over 223 million people in the U.S. used Facebook. By 2025, this number is expected to exceed 235 million, according to Statista. If you’re looking to grow your policy sales and aren’t on Facebook, you’re leaving money on the table. Money that other insurance agents are picking up.

There’s the right way for insurance agents to do Facebook marketing and the wrong way. The right way will help you build your business, while the wrong way will antagonize your prospects. Stick to the following dos and don’ts, though, and you’ll do great.

Facebook Marketing Done Right

Done right social media marketing can skyrocket your insurance business. You’ll be able to generate leads, increase your customer acquisition rates, and turn existing customers into loyal fans and advocates, leading to a significantly higher customer lifetime value.

So, what should you be doing?

Create Engaging Facebook Posts for Insurance-Oriented Readers

While it’s fine to promote your agency’s insurance products, the vast majority of your posts should provide your audience with value.

You should provide insurance-related tips but consider taking it further. Think about what associated advice your audience would find useful.

If you sell personal lines insurance, for example, post articles with advice on how people can keep their homes safe. You can even provide reviews and/or news on home security systems.

You can also post completely non-related topics, such as:

• Helpful tips and local information
• Support for client businesses
• Support for your community
• Special offers (infrequently)
• Status updates for your own agency
• Funny posts

The key to success is to provide your audience with value first, without asking for anything in return. You’ll become someone they trust for insurance-related information, which will naturally transition into you becoming the person they come to for their coverage needs as well.

Your audience will also feel subconsciously indebted to you, so when it’s time to renew or purchase a policy, they will want to repay you for all your help.  And if you don’t believe it works, there are lots of charities that would beg to differ.

Facebook Posts for Insurance Agents Must Be Optimized Too

If you want to increase the number of eyeballs on your posts and get more people to know your agency’s name, you need to be consistent and make life simple for your readers.

Use branded hashtags in your insurance Facebook posts and tag other pages to make it easier for your target market to find you. But don’t overdo it. One or two hashtags per post is plenty. More than that and you’re getting into annoying territory.

Also, make sure to post on a regular schedule. If you post sporadically, it erodes trust with your audience and sends the message that you have more important things to do than engage with them. Posting regularly, on the other hand, keeps you in front of your audience and first in their mind.

Short and Simple Insurance Facebook Posts Are Key

Keep your posts as short as possible. Fifty characters or less seems to be the sweet spot to get people to stop and read.

For longer content, include a link for people to click through and read. This has the added advantage of getting people on your site, which should be your ultimate goal.

Short is great but keep it simple too. Avoid insurance jargon. It doesn’t make you look smart; it just annoys people.

You also run the risk of delivering a confusing message, which is exactly what you don’t want. Just remember that if people have to stop and think about what a word means, you’ll lose them.

Get into Video

Video content is gaining a lot of traction on Facebook. Video posts have an average engagement rate of 0.26% compared to an average overall engagement rate of 0.18%. Additionally, over 1.25 billion people check out Facebook Watch every month.

So, posting video content on Facebook is a great way for you, as an insurance agent, to expand and quickly connect with your audience. Like your text posts, though, keep your videos short. Digital marketing experts say that about one minute is the perfect length for Facebook videos.

Interact with Your Audience

You must interact with your audience and you need to do it quickly. Whether they’re asking questions, posting comments, or complaining, be on the ball.

If you keep people waiting too long, they’ll feel unappreciated and turn to your competition. According to the 2020 Sprout Social Index, 40% of consumers expect a response within the first hour, while 79% expect a response in the first 24 hours.

The problem is that most businesses either don’t respond in a timely manner or even at all. The highest average response rate is from legal and real estate businesses at 29%, while sports firms have the lowest rates at 7%.

If you just answer all your readers, you’ll be far ahead of most other businesses. If you do it quickly, then you’ll basically be a Facebook marketing rock star across all industries and not just insurance.

Being that responsive can be challenging. One solution is to use a chatbot service like the one provided by MobileMonkey. The bot can answer frequently asked questions, provide helpful resources, or connect the user to a live agent. The important part is that it’s available 24/7 and answers immediately, which takes a lot of pressure off you.

Facebook Marketing Done Wrong

Now, let’s take a look at some Facebook don’ts, also known as those things that will sink your Facebook insurance marketing strategy.

Avoid Constant Promotions

You’re on Facebook to promote your agency. But the way to achieve long-term success for your business is build relationships with prospects and customers. Being constantly in sales mode is going to do the exact opposite. If you’re always promoting your products, you’ll create resentment.

Instead, inform people, but do it in a thoughtful way. And infrequently. Instead, focus on helping people and providing value.

Don’t Post Only Your Own Content

Posting only your own content all the time makes you seem a bit selfish. Instead, you want to balance the content you post. You want to aim for about 30% original content, 20% personal and fun content, and 50% content from other relevant sources.

Don’t Try to Manipulate Your Audience

Avoid posting content that promises the moon but delivers dirt, also known as “engagement bait.” It’s content that attempts to manipulate your audience into sharing, liking, or commenting, which will only backfire on you.

Not only will you annoy your audience, but Facebook will demote your posts at best and remove them at worst. Stick to quality and engaging content that provides your audience with value.

Don’t Ignore Complaints

A lot of people go to Facebook to complain. The worst thing you can do is ignore those negative comments, no matter how much you might want to. People are complaining because they want someone to listen to them and react.

Instead of ignoring the problem, respond quickly and acknowledge the problem. You can then invite the person to a private conversation to solve their problem, whether that’s through messenger, email, or even the phone.

This will score you points with the person complaining but also everyone else because people are very appreciative of agencies who are proactive in helping their customers with their problems.

Facebook marketing can be incredibly powerful for insurance agents , but it does take some effort. However, if you do it right by following the above advice, you’ll find the rewards far outweigh the drawbacks.