After a recent series of catastrophic weather events, an insurance agent I know posted on his Facebook page a series of questions and answers, such as "If the wind knocks over my tree into my neighbor's garden and damages something, am I responsible?" As a result of this care and concern for his fans, he was able to write a number of new insurance policies. He did not use his Facebook page to overtly solicit business but to help his future clients.
If you're new to social media, you may have a few questions crossing your mind, such as:
1. Why even spend time and effort creating a Facebook page?
Facebook is the world's largest online social network, now with more than 750 million users. With a Facebook page, you can include everything that relates to your practice in one place, free of charge.
2. Why isn't our website enough of an online presence?
If you were a shopkeeper, where would you rather locate your store? On a dusty, lonely, country road or in the vibrant, buzzing commercial hub of your town? People are spending six billion minutes a day on Facebook (about an hour per user per day). Shouldn't your practice be there, too? Also, websites are difficult to update, but Facebook updates are as easy as logging in and typing or uploading.
3. What about good, old-fashioned marketing such as print advertising and the phone book?
As Malcolm Faulds said in a recent issue of Advertising Age, "Why spend millions of dollars on advertising, promotions and product placement when the most effective marketing can come from consumers themselves—through word of mouth?" To get started, become a fan of your own page and have all of your staff become fans, too.
4. What is the difference between a Facebook profile and a Facebook page?