{"id":5579,"date":"2018-04-16T15:41:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T19:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/Life-Insurance-Blog\/?guid=046db46ee9b346f580abaa5dd9b5f942"},"modified":"2018-04-16T15:41:00","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T19:41:00","slug":"strong-social-media-presence-critical-to-advisor-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2018\/04\/16\/strong-social-media-presence-critical-to-advisor-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Strong Social Media Presence Critical To Advisor Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arlington, Va., and Windsor, Conn. <\/strong>\u2013 When it comes to purchasing life insurance, consumers are engaging online and through social media platforms as a way to evaluate financial products and financial professionals.<\/p>\n

The new study, conducted jointly by the non-profit educational organization Life Happens<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0not-for-profit research industry trade association LIMRA<\/a>, highlights the fact that social media is a critical marketing tool for agents and advisors to be successful today.<\/p>\n

The annual Insurance Barometer Study tracks consumer understanding and preferences when it comes to life insurance ownership, and uncovers common purchase barriers and misconceptions. In addition to focusing on life insurance, long-term care and disability insurance, the study also reveals how average consumers feel about their financial situation and outlook.<\/p>\n

Consumers often ask social media contacts for recommendations on a variety of products and services, including financial services. Social media sites have become a common source for reviews and recommendations, as consumers seek peer-approved products and professionals. The study found more than a third of Americans (34 percent) \u2014and more than half of Millennials\u2014are likely to ask for recommendations for an insurance agent or financial advisor on social media.<\/p>\n

Vetting Professionals on Social Media<\/strong>
\nIn addition to using social media as a way to source recommendations, consumers are also using these platforms to evaluate an insurance or financial professional they would like to work with. More than half of Millennials (54 percent) and 44 percent of Gen Xers are likely to check an agent\u2019s or advisor\u2019s social-media presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn\u2014a clear signal that a social media presence is quickly becoming a \u2018must-have\u2019, just like a website or email address.<\/p>\n

Consumers use social media platforms to get a complete picture of an advisor to determine if they are a good source of information and a good fit personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s study reinforces the increasingly important role that social media has on an advisor\u2019s marketing efforts,\u201d said Marvin Feldman, CLU, ChFC, RFC, president and CEO of Life Happens. \u201cAdvisors and agents must ensure their profiles are regularly updated and provide consumers with quality content and information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Online Activity in the Life Insurance Purchasing Process\u00a0<\/strong>
\nBeyond leveraging social media, 87 percent of consumers indicate that during the purchase process they would use the internet to research life insurance, regardless of how they purchase their policy. In their research, consumers visit the websites of life insurance companies and seek educational information online.<\/p>\n

Almost half of respondents that had sought life insurance information or attempted to purchase life insurance online indicate they also used insurance comparison\/quoting sites as part of the research process. Sixty-seven percent of Millennials use comparison\/quoting websites as part of the life insurance purchase process, compared with 45 percent of Gen X and 28 percent of Boomers.<\/p>\n

As consumers are increasingly interested in using professionals\u2019 websites to educate themselves, it is critical for advisors and agents to keep these sites refreshed and current. Two-thirds of consumers would not do business with an advisor who has an out-of-date site.<\/p>\n

A Perfect Balance: Importance of Personal Touch<\/strong>
\nWhile online resources are increasingly important to consumers, the majority still want personal contact with a professional when buying life insurance. Millennials are most likely to want to meet with a financial professional before purchasing life insurance (73 percent), compared with Gen X (64 percent) and Boomers (69 percent).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s study paints a clear picture of what consumers expect from the life insurance industry today,\u201d said James Scanlon, director, LIMRA Market Research. \u201cFinancial professionals need to provide consumers with a more seamless experience, blending online resources, social platforms, with in-person consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consumers want to take advantage of both personal networks and professional help, online research and in-person guidance. Agents and advisors must present an \u201calways on\u201d persona as consumers utilize a multi-channel approach to purchasing insurance.<\/p>\n

Study Methodology<\/strong>
\nIn January 2018, LIMRA and Life Happens engaged an online panel to survey adult consumers who are financial decision makers in their households. Responses were received from 2,082 individuals. The data were weighted by age, gender, education, race, region, and income to be representative of the general population. A propensity score adjustment was added to correct for biases inherent in Internet panels. The margin of error in this study is 3 percentage points.<\/p>\n

The post Strong Social Media Presence Critical To Advisor Success<\/a> appeared first on InsuranceNewsNet<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arlington, Va., and Windsor, Conn. – When it comes to purchasing life insurance, consumers are engaging online and through social…<\/p>\n

The post Strong Social Media Presence Critical To Advisor Success<\/a> appeared first on InsuranceNewsNet<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5579"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/578"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5580,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5579\/revisions\/5580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}