Skip to main content

My Short Post On Social Media

Are you leveraging social media to help your business? Are you posting daily and creating content like the "experts" say to do? Most importantly, are you getting results?

I've tried using most of the more popular platforms for my insurance business, as well as my writing and speaking business. To say the results are "mixed" would be generous. This may be because I really haven't invested much into advertising on these platforms. 



The way I see it, when Facebook, for example, allows me to set up a free page for my business, that is like a "free trial" to see if I can get any interest in my product or service. After nearly 15 years of this trial period, I have garnered little to no business. 

One can come up with two arguments here. The first is why would you throw money at advertising when you haven't seen any returns. The other side is that "you could have done better if you had quit being a tight ass penny pincher." Fair enough.

But I have gotten some results for free. Some results weren't exactly as I had planned though. For instance, my YouTube channel has actually gotten me a couple of appointments, despite a tiny number of subscribers. LinkedIn has actually gotten me referrals from other insurance agents. And after throwing my line out on Instagram I've gotten a nibble or two. 

By far the worst result has come from X (formerly Twitter). Even with a decent number of followers, I've never had any result. I don't know if the platform has become too toxic or if anyone actually looks at the feed anymore at all. The alleged alternatives, Bluesky, Threads and Mastodon haven't generated much enthusiasm. 

As a huge fan of the TV show Shark Tank, I have come to realize that many of the entrepreneurs with large sales are dropping a large amount of money on social media advertising. As someone who doesn't (at the time of this writing) have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on marketing, I think there's a strategy out there that works for the rest of us.

I'll delve into this in upcoming posts but in the meantime, let me know what kind of results you're getting WITHOUT spending money.


Chris Castanes is a humorous speaker and former comedian who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His newest book, "Nearly Motivated", is yet another humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. As president of Surf Financial Brokers  he sells life and disability insurance in several states.

Labels:
Location: North Myrtle Beach, SC, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Adam Griggs Discusses The Entrepreneurial Journey

As entrepreneurs, business owners and other self-employed types, we are always try to learn how to work efficiently, maximize profits and keep our focus on the future. Sometimes, we overlook an obvious resource. By listening to the stories of how others in our shoes have made the journey to successful business person, we can see how our own stories are either similar or completely different. I personally love reading biographies of successful business people throughout history. Recently I finished David McCullough's book, "The Wright Brothers". Most of us know the story of these two bicycle shop owners who figured out how to fly and control the flight. However, there were other parts of this story that I learned. Their tenacity, business acumen and planning were integral to their success.  This is usually the case of most successful people.  By reading or hearing of these kinds of examples, we can look at our experiences to learn as well. Recently I had Adam Griggs of the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Carl Willis Discusses Why Communication Is The Key To Success

I met Carl Willis a few years ago through LinkedIn and I immediately was struck by his generosity. He is always happy to get on a Zoom call or accept my invitation to appear on my podcast. He has even invited me on his podcast, as well as other online events like his webinar.  In this episode, Carl and I discuss working on skillset, and more specifically, communicating your business' mission online. Listen in and let me know what you think. And please subscribe/follow the podcast! Chris Castane s is a humorous speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. His new book, "Nearly Motivated" is available on Amazon. For booking information,  click here . His new podcast,  "You're Going To Be Great At This!"  is available on most platforms.   He's also the president of  Surf Financial Brokers  selling life and disability insurance in several states.
Post a Comment
Read more

You Need To Follow-Up After A Networking Event

Networking is important for the success of our business, sales goals, and even personal relationships. Meeting people and building a rapport with them can lead to other introductions and referrals. But what should you do after a networking event to increase the odds of meeting your goals? Years ago, I would go to a networking event and hand out business cards like I was dealing poker. People would be polite and say "thank you" with an occasional "I'll give you a call". Of course, they did not call. Disappointed, I would question why I should bother and ask myself how this was working for other people. A coworker explained that I needed to be more proactive. Instead of handing out my cards (which are not cheap, by the way), I should be collecting cards from others, and following up on my own. This worked and I was soon booking appointments and getting some traction. Recently, I had Dorien Morin-Van Dam, host of the Strategy Talks podcast (a great listen) and we ...
Post a Comment
Read more