We've reachedthe point where businesses of all sizes know they should beincorporating social media into their overall marketing strategies.(Image: Shutterstock)

Social media has become an essential marketing tool forbusinesses of all sizes.

Buffer, a socialmedia management platform, recently released its State ofSocial 2018 report, which surveyed over 1,700 companies, half ofwhich employ fewer than 10 people. Survey results showedthat a whopping 96% of businesses are using social mediamarketing.

Related: 5 social marketing trends for insurance agents in2018

We've reached the point where businesses of all sizes know theyshould be incorporating social media into their overall marketingstrategies, but the social media landscape can be overwhelming,especially for busy insurance agents and brokers who want to focuson revenue generation and agency management.

It can be difficult to know which platforms to use, what topost, how often to post, and how to measure success. But socialmedia marketing doesn't have to be overwhelming.

Here are five easy-to-implement social media strategies that canjumpstart your social media marketing efforts:

1. Update your LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn is the most popular business-oriented social networkingplatform, with more than 500 million users. While you may think ofLinkedIn as nothing more than an online resume, it is an essentialsocial media marketing tool.

Related: Tips for insurance agents & brokers on gettingsocial using LinkedIn

Your LinkedIn profile is an online professional statement aboutyou — who you are, what you do, why you're qualified, how tocontact you, when to hire you and how connected and relevant youare. It's often the first place someone will look for informationabout you when they are considering doing business with you.

At a minimum, make sure your profile is updated with yourcurrent title and a description of what you do. Upload a currentphoto of yourself, and make sure your contact information isaccurate.

2. Look for content in everyday activities

"Content" can be a scary word for people who are just gettinginto social media marketing. I talk to a lot of brokers who havethe impression that they need to invest time creating long,insightful and witty articles if they want to participate on socialmedia. They don't always recognize the value of their expertise anddon't realize that they are constantly creating content in thecourse of a normal day.

Related: 6 important tips for insurance agency contentmarketing

Content can exist in an email that you send to a clientresponding to a technical question about an insurance policy. Itcan be an answer to a question that an employee asks you at an openenrollment meeting, or it can be in a conversation you have with areferral source about a prospective client's needs. It only takes afew minutes to repurpose those responses into informative contentthat you can share on social media.

3. Identify FAQs & SAQs

Here's my favorite exercise for creating content: Spend a fewminutes writing down five frequently asked questions (FAQs) thatyou often hear in different professional situations. For example,what do people ask you about flood insurance? What do customersmost often ask when considering deductible amounts? What are thecommon questions clients ask about new car insurance?

In addition, consider the should-ask questions (SAQs) that youwish people asked you more often. For example, what shouldhomeowners consider when doing a home remodel? What shouldindividuals know about cyber coverage? What should renters thinkabout when moving into a new rental? Each of these can generateshort Q&A posts or become the foundation for a longerarticle.

4. Be positive, timely & authentic

Your social media presence is often the first way prospectiveclients, vendors and referral partners learn about you. Yourcontent should be an authentic reflection of what it's like to dobusiness with you.

• Are you informative, helpful and knowledgeable?
• Are you enthusiastic about what you do?
• How do you handle challenges?
• What are your thoughts about current events in your industry,and how are you advising your clients?

Your content is an indication of what it's like to work withyou, and it will often be the first step in the valuableknow-like-trust relationship cycle.

5. Spend 10 minutes each day

Once you identify the content that you are creating during thecourse of your day, you only need to set aside a few minutes eachday to share it.

I highly recommend using a social media management tool likeBuffer or Hootsuite. They make sharing easy, allowing you topost one piece of content over multiple platforms, and scheduleposts for future distribution. Using a social media management toolalso allows you to post without getting distracted by thoseproductivity-killing notifications and cat videos.

While there can be a lot more to social media marketing, it doesn't have to becomplicated, and it doesn't require a lot of technical skill,writing skill, or time. Follow these easy-to-implement tips toensure that you have control over your online presence.

Amy Evans, HIP, is president of Colibri InsuranceServices. Reach her at (323) 633-2263.