NU Online News Service, April 8, 3:58 p.m.EDT

The growth of social media over the Internet is somethinginsurance agents can embrace and learn to use as another tool tohelp grow their business experts in its use said.

Their comments came during a webinar panel yesterday led by JeffYates, executive director for ACT (Agents Council for Technology),that included independent agents and consultants discussing theuses and potential of social media for producers.

Despite all the concerns agents may have about "sticking theirtoe in the water," when it comes to social media pages, it is nowtime for them to take a leap into digital social networking, saidRick Morgan, chairman of ACT Social Web Work Group.

Social media, despite its vast number of Web sites, needs to bedemystified, and while it might "sound scary," "it is not a wholelot different from the brick and mortar community" we are used to,Mr. Morgan observed.

He said it is nothing more complicated than what people havedone for generations, which is social networking--meeting, talkingand engaging other people in ideas and conversations.

While some argue that social media--such as Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn, YouTube and MySpace, for example--is a fad filled withuseless conversation, Mr. Morgan said these were the same argumentsused to debunk the development of current technologies.

"It is not about technology, but about how we communicate andbuy stuff," Mr. Morgan remarked.

The social media content is a whole new set of tools forbuilding business, Mr. Morgan explained, and it will allow agentsto get their message out about their business "in a way they nevercould before."

Jason Hoeppner, a member of the Westbrook, Conn.-basedconsulting firm B.H. Burke & Co. Inc., said social media canplay a direct role in an agency's strategies and operations.

What agents need to consider is what their base is and how theywant to go about driving prospects to their business. They may wantto concentrate on a niche or expand from one, but they need astrategy before embarking on that course, he advised.

Whatever the direction, Mr. Hoeppner noted, once they havefigured out who they want to direct their message at, agents needto make sure the message is consistent across all types of socialmedia they may use.

Ryan Hanley, an independent agent at the Guilderland Agency inAlbany, N.Y., discussed his own use of social media where he hasestablished a blog (www.ryanhanley.com) and utilizesFacebook and Twitter, among some of his social media outreach.

The cost for establishing his own domain name and the blog pageruns $130 a year, and he was able to create the page himself usingWordPress, he explained.

Utilizing links through other social media contacts, hisagency's message is seen by thousands. He maintains short articlesfor these contacts of current and local interest to his readers,Mr. Hanley said.

The main objective of a blog page, he noted, is that there isenough content there to keep people interested and allow them toget to know you. His page includes a YouTube link introducinghimself and his agency.

Chris Jordan, an independent agent who established AtlantaInsurance Live! in Atlanta, is a stay-at-home father who does thebulk of his agency marketing through the Internet. He doesn't dodirect calling or mailing, he said, because "it's not in mybudget."

He described the site as a virtual meeting place with videocontent concerning insurance, that extends to other social media(www.atlantainsurancelive.com).

While he has a personal reason for his marketing decision, Mr.Jordan said, he believes advancement and penetration of technologymakes it the emerging tool for independent agents.

He said agents should not overanalyze their Web pages. Instead,the major focus of social media should be socializing and buildingrelationships.

Mr. Jordan explained he has built a very strong local networkand during the month of March he wrote more than $5,000 in premiumonline, adding that he does still have traditional insurancebusiness. But, he said, this number illustrates the potential thatWeb-based social media business can garner.

"This is just one person's effort," Mr. Jordan said. "If youintegrate an effective, systematic strategy into an organization, Ithink you are going to see some phenomenal results over time."

A rebroadcast of the event is available through the social medialink at www.iiaba.net/act.