Note: Darron Markwood, AIP Marketing Alliance Vice President of Marketing and Compliance Officer, is sharing his personal marketing/compliance opinions about social media in this three-part series. His opinions are not representative of AIPMA or Integrity and are designed to be informative and educational only. This week focuses more on effective marketing on social media. You can read Part 1 of this discussion by clicking here and read Part 2 of this series by clicking here. You can reach him at darronm@aipma.com or (248) 312-2609 for questions or to continue the conversation.

Remember those long trips with your parents where they printed out the AAA TripTik to follow the highlighted “right” paths to that final vacation destination and discover where the family could stop on the way there? For example, our Michigan road trips to the Mackinac Bridge and Mystery Spot in St. Ignace usually included a stop in Birch Run at Tony’s Restaurant, figuring out which rest area was the best stop, and even maybe filling up for gas in Gaylord or Grayling.

Just like driving somewhere, today’s consumers navigate without the printed AAA TripTik bound maps (Note: AAA has an online planner now here), and you have to understand people have different ways and means of getting from here to there – and finding your business online is a different process for each person.

Think about your drive to work, home, or any location. Do you just take the usual way? Do you use the Maps feature on your phone? Or do you go with an app like Waze? What if an ad pops up in that moment and claims to have the “best traffic app” for you? Which one of these directional assistants do you trust to get you from here to there quickly?

We have been a part of the information superhighway since the 1990s, and today’s bumper-to-bumper online traffic causes so much congestion with paid advertising, AI-generated content, and competitors fighting for the same business as yours. As talked about previously, everyone is looking for the Porsche or Rolls Royce attention-grabbing customer looks that could turn heads in traffic, but they don’t want the eye rolls generated by an older, rusty 1978 Ford Grenada (Note: my first car back then) or the snobby head-turn typical of a Tesla Cybertruck reaction.

If you hate traffic jams, then you probably hate social media even more. Despite the numerous resources out there to help independent agents and agencies post content and generate attention, your social media presence is just another car stuck in rush hour. Whether you pay more for your vehicle or not, your selected platforms still need to stand out amongst the other vehicles on social media.

That’s why I’m wrapping up our social media series talking about the actual marketing aspect, and how AIP Marketing Alliance, an Integrity Company, tackles the challenges and necessary evils of LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X, Threads, and other social media sites.

First, you need a roadmap for your social media direction. What are you trying to do? Who do you want to attract? How do you want them to find you? What platform makes the most sense? What type of content are you going to use and why? Where are your target customers and prospects located? How are you going to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns? Do you have the time to add social media posts to your marketing? Do you have the budget to spend on advertising? Is it worth creating a social media page on multiple platforms?

I have many social media pet peeves. MANY. Before I tackle the marketing aspect, I want to share a few of these with you.

• Don’t put a social media icon on your website that doesn’t work or redirect to your specific page (I know, LinkedIn can be wonky at times with this).
• Don’t have a social media page on a platform and the latest post was more than one month old. That means you’ve basically given up on posting or don’t have the time for it.
• Don’t waste digital space. Are you going to acquire a 60-year-old customer on TikTok? Are today’s executives scanning Instagram for videos, stories, and posts about your business? Is anyone under 50 years old using Facebook?

By now, you understand the road I’m going down for independent life insurance, annuity, final expense, and even Medicare selling financial professionals. Start down the right path on social media that makes common sense for you and your business.

For AIPMA, I’ve selected our four main social media platforms for different reasons as we focus on recruiting independent wholesalers and agents – we do not actively sell to consumers, so my B2B strategy and channels are selected to target those audiences.

• LinkedIn typically focuses more on the business aspects as we align with AIPMA’s 80+ contracted carriers by sharing information to reach financial professionals. You’ll see us share common life insurance and annuity articles, products and services, mix in a good amount of employee and Integrity content, and tag a lot of these people and companies.
• YouTube is the platform we use for video, which currently is the most important piece of content you can post on social media. We utilize it for our newsletter videos, campaigns (like Life Insurance Awareness Month in September), and company-focused content. You also can pay for Vimeo to avoid the ads.
• Facebook and Instagram are the old school platforms, but they work in tandem so we can post content to both easily at the same time. AIPMA also focuses more on mobile users now as the trend pushes toward that direction.

During the last decade at AIPMA, the online social media strategy is simple – make us transparent and keep the content original. The people you see on our website and social media pages are the same people who contribute to our success for the last 44 years and counting. Why do I use the old-school #TuesdayThoughts program? It’s easy. The more our employees do videos, the more comfortable they get doing videos, and the more often they want to do videos. It eliminates the fear most people have of recording videos or standing in front of the camera.

Admittedly, I’ve given some feedback to agents wanting to start the social media experience, but I can’t drive their content or business. Sure, AIPMA also provides compliant, organically-driven content to help them get started – plus we can share approved blogs and videos from our contracted carriers to help in the process. We have #TheRightMIXin26 to grow their business on social media as well as within life insurance and annuity channels.

In my opinion, here are a couple of suggestions to round out this series.

• Select Carefully. You don’t have to use multiple channels if you don’t have the time. Think about what platforms make sense and start slowly. You always can expand to other sites.
• Be authentic. People know AI when they see and hear it. Share reasons why consumers would choose you to help their #retirementplanning efforts.
• Don’t post robotically. If you post at the same time every day, they know it’s robotic. Don’t just post about products. Sharing some content that makes sense, shows some of your individuality, and gives a consumer prospect a reason to follow your updates.
• Video killed the radio star: Videos continue to gain popularity. If you aren’t comfortable doing them, don’t do them. If you do record videos, make them short and worthwhile – don’t just post a video to say hello.
• Use tools: I highly recommend Canva. It’s cheap, easy, and it has templates built for social media. You also can spice up your videos in less time than other video tools at an affordable annual price. You also can use specific apps/services that post your content to multiple platforms.
• Consistency: Social media isn’t “set it and forget it.” I post to LinkedIn daily during the week. Consumer-focused platforms (FB, IG, etc.) also get good responses on weekends. Share content from other places (LIMRA, carriers, etc.) if you don’t have something valuable to post that day. The more you post original content, the more you feed the algorithms out there.

I hope you’ve found this three-part series informational and educational as whatever direction you choose will take a couple of curves and potential speed bumps in your road to social media success. Some people are thriving in the social media world right now, but the rules and regulations could impact the effectiveness of your posts and advertising as discussed in the previous articles. In the meantime, you are welcome to contact me at darronm@aipma.com to share your thoughts or ask questions regarding compliant social media marketing.

We are #TheRightMIXin26 for independent insurance wholesalers and agents. For more than 40 years, AIP Marketing Alliance (AIPMA), an Integrity Company, serves as a premier life insurance and annuity distribution partner to provide full-service support to independent wholesalers, brokerages and agents from our Troy, Michigan office. NOT AFFILIATED WITH OR ENDORSED BY THE GOVERNMENT OR THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.

AIP Marketing Alliance is committed to supporting our independent insurance wholesalers and agents. Visit our blog on aipma.com to stay informed on these upcoming launches and learn why wholesalers nationwide choose AIPMA as their distributor for selling life insurance, annuities, long-term care insurance, final expense, and much more. Ask about lead programs, access to IntegrityCONNECT’s technology, myAIP CRM platform with customizable recruiter portal, and online tools/resources designed to grow your business. The difference is personal.

AIP Marketing Alliance, an Integrity Company, has developed this electronic communication for informational and educational use only. Be advised, AIP Marketing Alliance, Inc., does not provide legal advice, tax advice, or guidance on issues involving securities laws, insurance laws nor securities or insurance regulations. This material should not be relied on as providing any such advice or guidance to either agents or retail consumers. Within this communication, AIPMA shares links for usage as information only. This content should not be interpreted as solicitation to purchase life insurance, annuities, or other products or as advice designed to meet your clients’ specific needs. Content involving fiduciary, tax, or legal advice should be directed to your legal, tax, and financial professionals for specific advice or product recommendations. AIPMA will not accept any legal liability resulting from any use of 3rd party material(s).