Selling with social media is a heavily debated idea. Should you? Shouldn’t you? Opinions from every expert on the medium differ, but I believe there is a very fine line between overtly promoting your services and not doing enough to gain credibility on social media. Here are three tips to help you walk that line and win business through social media.

1. Don’t do the hard sell

“Who wants insurance? I’m selling insurance!” will turn off any audience, no matter how much they like you or your business. Discussing relevant topics and mixing in the sales talk is the best way to cultivate a loyal audience and keep them talking on your site.

Consider this scenario: a driver has been thinking about switching his auto insurance broker. As many people do, he is surfing Facebook to see if there are any outstanding testimonials or referrals. Which of these real posts would catch his eye and compel him to respond?

“Check out this new video that covers all of our insurance offerings!” or
“Distractions are everywhere, not just on the road. Which of these would distract you least: a cow or the postman?

These were two real posts. The first post received one “like” (by what appears to be an employee); the second post received 16 “likes” and many comments answering the question. The broker may not make a sale on this post, but all of those potential customers interacting with the post will think of their positive experience when they go to buy insurance.

2. Interact with your audience.

One of the biggest mistakes that any business can make on social media is to create pages on every available site and let them go stale. Only bite off what you can chew. If you only have five minutes to dedicate to social media each day, create a Facebook page (the most popular tool for business), and post once or twice, daily. The key to generating an active following is responding when people comment on your posts. Even if you don’t feel the post really requires a response, always respond—even if it’s just to say “thanks.” Your audience will know you’re listening and like you (and your business) more for it.

3. Be the Expert.

Do your clients know to call you when they have a question related to their insurance or the market in which they do business? They should. Social media is an excellent venue to show your audience that you are the expert. Posting interesting facts or articles about your specialty shows your clients (and prospects) that you know your stuff. The bonus? When your followers start to comment and ask questions on these posts, you have the opportunity to explain the concepts, wow them and win their business.

Selling with social media can be very effective, but only when executed tactfully. Available in Broker Briefcase, Succeed with Social Media – An essential guide for Brokers outlines how to sell with social media and helps you execute immediately using sample posts and tweets. Develop or improve your social media presence and start winning new business today.