Getting social with protection

Ask yourself, how well do you know your clients?

When it comes to talking about family protection, knowing – and understanding – your clients is the key to having conversations that count.  And using social media can give you the kind of insight you need to understand their hopes and dreams.

It can also help you build longer term relationships – you’ll get to know them better and be more aware of what’s going in in their lives. For example, they may mention buying a house or having a baby, both of which could give you an opportunity to review their protection needs.

So it’s a win, win situation.  You get information you need to have meaningful discussions and your clients start to recognise what’s worth protecting.

Listening in online

It may seem like unfamiliar territory, but spending just 30 minutes searching an online community like ‘Mumsnet’ can give you invaluable insight.  You’ll see the kinds of conversations people are having about protection:  What they don’t understand, what needs clarifying and what’s stopping them sorting it.

I’m a regular blogger on Mummymoneymatters.com and for me, it’s much better to listen to the conversation and respond, rather than just ‘broadcasting’.  So I always take the time to read what people are discussing to make my posts topical and relevant.

But there is a limit to how much you can show you know about your clients’ private lives before it creates the wrong impression.

So it’s really important to strike the right balance.

That way, your name will be out there with prospective clients and you can build positive word of mouth.

Let’s start talking

To really make the most of the wide reach of social media, it’s helpful to think of clients as a member of a family, rather than as an individual.  Your clients may be grandparents, but that doesn’t mean they don’t use social media to connect with their grandchildren or children.

So having an online presence means your business could be seen by a much wider network of people via your clients’ extended family.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m incredibly passionate about protection, and I see on a daily basis the positive impact it has on people’s lives. Take a look at this blog from a lady who lost her husband when she was just 30 years old. She describes the difference life insurance made to her family’s life so eloquently.

Sadly, many families are still under-protected so we need to get people talking about it and I think using social media is a great way of doing just that.  So what do you think?  Is social media the way forward with clients?  Or do you favour more traditional methods?