Twitter is an interesting monster. Everyone focuses on the140 characters. I can't tell you how many times I've heard,“My life doesn't fit in 140 characters.”

My response, “Be more creative!”

Twitter is not the red-headed step-child of socialmMedia likemany new or unfamiliar the with interweb make it out tobe. On the contrary, Twitter might be the MOST power socialmedia tool out there excluding your blog (No debate yourblog is social media headquarters).

5 Ways to use Twitter as an insuranceagent

1. Drip marketing for my blog posts: When I writea new blog post the very first thing I do once I've hit the Publishbutton is Tweet the post (I actually have a WordPress Plugin thatdoes this automatically but it's still the first thing). I want thepost title and link out on the interweb. Once your post is in theTwitter feed people can Re-Tweet, comment, share, etc., with alltheir friends. I also have a plugin on my blog that will graban old blog post and Tweet it as if new every 2 hours (Tweet OldPost). This keeps information I created a year ago continuallyin front of current and potential clients.
2. Follow local and national business news: Inorder to be effective in the insurance business you need to alwaysbe up-to-date on what is going on in the business world on both thelocal and national level. There is such a negative perceptionof the insurance business (Which is entirely unwarranted) throughout the general public thatpoliticians at every level find attacking our profits an easymark. Staying aware of the economic conditions and legislationalways looming over the insurance business is a must.
3. Re-Tweet clients & prospects marketingmessages: People ask me all the time how you “Do Business”on Twitter. If you want to do business with a prospect, whatis the Number One, the Numero Uno way to get their attention?Anyone? If you answered, Send Them A Referral, then you are awinner (If you didn't know that start reading JohnJantsch). I have a Private List (Click on the link forinformation on Twitter Lists) of all my clients and a separateprivate list of all my prospects on Twitter. I watch bothlists. Anytime I can help either of them by referringbusiness, a service provider, another professional, whatever….Whenever I can add value to them I do. And an easy way to dothat on a regular basis is Re-Tweet their marketing messages.
4. Network with insurance professionals: Myfavorite part of Twitter is the insurance professionals that I haveconnected with (See Insurance Community Rocking the Social Web fora great list to get you started). These wonderful people havehelped me in so many ways. Besides being funny, andinteresting, and some cases hysterically crazy, they are very goodat what they do, insurance & marketing. I've learned somuch about the insurance business from the online insurancecommunity its unbelievable. Its weird to think but I considermyself friends with many people I have never even met.
5. Stay updated on latest insurance industrytrends: Insurance is a complicated business. If youare not in “The Biz” then you probably just rolled your eyes andsaid “Yeah right Insurance is boring and stupid and you can buy itonline so how complicated could it be,” and you would be ajerk. Unless you live and breath insurance every day its hardto understand how dynamic the insurance industry actuallyis. There are changes almost every week it seems and asdedicated independent agent we need to stay on top ofchanges. So I follow all the Insurance trade journals,magazines, and websites out on the Inter-Web so that when changedoes happen I can take it to the street.

Twitter is not just a 140 characters. 140 characters is thelast thing that Twitter is. True, 140 characters does make youuse the creative side of your brain and I understand that is adebilitating limitation to some of you. But I promise, if you takethe time to really think about how you can utilize Twitter in yourown business and industry the shade of online marketing will bedrawn aside and the blissful glow of communication will brightenyour world for ever more…

How do you use Twitter?