Video marketing is a great way for insurance agents to connect with existing and potential customers. Not only is it efficient and cost-effective—you can film and upload a video from your office for pennies on the dollar, and distribute it for free or practically free across social media—but it’s a great way to bring your personality and passion to an industry that many perceive as being dry and boring. Engage customers, answer questions, and build your business—everybody wins. Here are a few ideas for videos you can film and put up on your social media platforms and websites.

If your clients don’t hear from you regularly, chances are you’re missing some opportunities. Even those who invest heavily in their marketing strategies often drop the ball when it comes to following up with customers. If you can adopt a regular, consistent follow-up strategy, you’re sure to make a positive impression. Here are a few tips to help you do that.

Lots of insurance agencies spend plenty of money on advertising and marketing—without actually deciding how much money to spend ahead of time. But even if you’re yet to be established and you’re planning on relying on the low-cost and even free marketing options out there for the time being, it’s important to bear in mind that even the cheapest marketing can be expensive. The key is to plan ahead!

For many insurance agencies, most business is local business. True, maximizing your insurance marketing efforts and social media strategy is important—but you can also make connections, and generate revenue, by rolling up your sleeves and getting involved in the community around you. Here are just a few ideas to help you and your employees get out of the office and get involved.

It’s true that some people would rather send a text or email than talk on the phone these days. But insurance coverage can be complicated, and chances are your customers will have plenty of questions that can be handled much more efficiently through a phone conversation. In addition, your business building plan might involve cold-calling. As an insurance agent/broker, you might find yourself on the phone for a large portion of the day. Here’s a list of guidelines for making a good impression on the phone.

Insurance customers have a lot of choices these days. From larger insurance companies to local independent agents, there are plenty of companies trying to get their business—and if you want to win, it’s your job to cut through the noise. One of the ways you can do that is through effective follow-up.

Even among agencies that invest heavily in sales and marketing, follow-up is one of the areas where few excel. But it can be an extremely effective sales tool. Here are a few sales tips for insurance agents on mastering the art of the follow-up.

Facebook wants you to share your “Likes.” It wants your friends to see all the pages you “Like,” as well as businesses. But you may not want that information shared around—for a variety of reasons. By default, all the pages you “Like” on Facebook are visible to your friends and connections. However, it’s possible to change your Facebook privacy settings to hide them. To do it, follow these directions:

1. Scroll down to the “Likes” box to the left of your timeline. Not your News Feed but your timeline.

Selling to existing customers is always easier than generating business from a brand-new source. It’s less expensive, too. Once they’ve bought from you once, customers are more willing to spend money with you again—they’ve already proven they trust you. And while there might be better deals out there, it takes time to shop around—and many customers are more than willing to stick with what they know.

Persuading a prospect to become a customer often involves “showing up” a certain number of times—staying in touch with them on a regular basis so that when they’re ready to buy the kind of insurance you sell, you’ll be the first person that comes to mind.

The bad news is that this takes time and a certain amount of planning. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be expensive. Here are some free marketing ideas for insurance agents who need to keep in touch with customers and prospects.

Over a billion people use Facebook—and chances are, most of your customers are on the site as well. This makes it a powerful and essential marketing tool. You might use Facebook yourself to keep in touch with friends and family—and it’s a natural extension to use it to keep connected to customers.

However, transitioning from using Facebook for personal reasons to using it as a marketer isn’t always as easy as it should be. Here are some marketing ideas for insurance agents in engaging your customers on Facebook—and making sure they keep you in mind for their insurance needs.

Twitter can be a powerful tool in boosting your business—but the right way to do it isn’t always self-evident. One reason is that there is no “right way” to use Twitter—many people have had success using it in different ways. However, if you’re in the insurance business, there are a few specific things you could be doing to make your Twitter efforts more effective. Here are a few ideas.

Making time for social media can be the biggest challenge for many insurance agents in using it effectively. But there are plenty of ways to minimize the time spent on social media while still getting a lot out of it. Here are a few ways to use it effectively — without letting it take over your life.