The insurance industry has made huge strides in the last decade. Our underwriting decisions are now informed by complex computer models and mapping tools, and yet our networking has stayed more or less the same.

Although lunches, sporting events, happy hours and phone calls have driven marketing in the insurance industry since the beginning, with social media we now have the opportunity to reach our clients even when we can't be physically together. Nothing will ever replace face-to-face meetings with our clients, but we can supplement those meetings using social media.

We commonly think of Twitter as a great place to read up on the latest celebrity gossip, follow a favorite company or keep up with the news. But did you know that financial services is one of the most active industries on Twitter? And the insurance industry is a growing part of that segment. B2C (business-to-consumer) companies are leading the way; many B2C brands have done a great job at reaching customers via Twitter, earning them points for customer service and helping them gain new business. Meanwhile B2B (business-to-business) brands have been a bit slower to embrace social media, perhaps due to a lack of statistics linking social media to monetary gains. But it's time to give it a try.