The popularity of Facebook makes it a necessary marketing tool for any insurance agent or broker, but producers need to put the proper operating foundations in place to ensure success before launching their business site.

In a Web seminar titled "Facebook For Insurance Professionals," sponsored by the Agents Council for Technology (ACT), consultants and executives discussed what producers need to do to make their Facebook business page a successful marketing tool.

Rick Morgan, a consultant at Rick Morgan Consulting and chairman of ACT's social media Web working group, says agents and brokers should not expect too much from social media in terms of solving their marketing issues.

"It is no silver bullet," says Morgan, "It will not magically turn your agency into some marketing organization."

He says social media should be integrated into an agency's overall marketing strategy and used as another tool to reach customers.

Cindy Donaldson, director of marketing and personal lines sales for Founders Insurance Group, says producers should be a part of the social media revolution because people are online today about so many different things, and their firm can be a part of that.

Concerning Facebook, she notes its prominence today by the fact there aremore than 750 million users and most are in the United States, spending over 700 billion minutes online.

"It should be a powerful part of your overall marketing plan," says Donaldson.

Active participation is also important to get the most out of Facebook, she notes, saying users need to stay active and post information that consumers will find interesting and useful.

As far as security and privacy, Donaldson says who you want to allow to see your Facebook page should be controlled and determined while setting up the page.

"If you are an open-book person, you can put it out there; if you are a very private person then don't put it out there," says Donaldson. "Have your privacy settings set tightly, and don't put things out there that you don't want the world to see."

Both Donaldson and Morgan say they know agents who have successful social media sites who are private.

Morgan says that with Facebook, his feeling is that users should set-up a personal page first before going ahead with a business page. He believes the benefit is that the foundation of the personal profile provides individual connection to the business page.

If worried about mixing work and private life, Donaldson says it's perfectly fine not to make your co-workers friends. If there are things in your private life you don't want to share, that is a legitimate reason for limiting access to personal pages.

To make the page successful, Donaldson says it is important to open communication between employees and the business owner over the use of the Facebook page. Parameters around usage must be set with a social media policy in employee handbooks.

Among some other tips:

• Appoint someone to monitor the page periodically to ensure appropriate behavior.

• Get permission from employees and clients before posting any pictures.

• Visit other business' Facebook pages to get ideas about what to do.

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