9 Best Practices and Pitfalls of Social Media

One of the best ways you can improve your social media performance is by making a habit of establishing new connections in your community to grow your audience. Following, liking, and making complimentary comments on non-financial services industry-related content is essential to growing a relevant audience, especially when you focus on engaging with your local community.

Here are a few types of interactions that can get you noticed: 

New Clients or Prospects: Connecting with new or potential clients is encouraged, especially on LinkedIn. If they post something unrelated to financial services business-related content, such as a birthday or life event, you can give well-wishes and build your relationship.

Community Organizations: If you’re an active volunteer or have organization ties, engage with charities or community organizations—it’ll show that you care for the community!

Local Businesses: If they’re not competitors or financial services businesses, engaging local business owners is a great way to build rapport. For example, if a client of yours recently opened a restaurant, showing support can go a long way in maintaining your relationship.

Local Government or Community Centers: Popular local community pages can be a great place to show support. It’s likely that active community members also have eyes on content and may discover your page.

Here are a few types of interactions you’ll want to avoid:  

Competitors: While following carriers for industry news is acceptable, it’s best not to interact with competitor content. Do not like, share, or comment on content from other insurance carriers or competitor financial service providers.

Political Debate: Whether you spot a news source or a client sharing political opinions, remember that you’re representing your business and National Life. Please steer clear from engaging. Avoid following any contentious or heavily politicized accounts.

Investment Advice: If a page or individual is sharing suspect investment advice or seems to be “pumping stocks” or sharing otherwise questionable information, steer clear from engaging with such content and consider unfollowing them. Follow reputable business news sources or investment columns, but do not engage with any such business-related content.

Someone Who Writes A Favorable Post or Comment About You— If you like, comment, or share such a comment, it could be interpreted as adoption or entanglement which triggers communication rules on misleading or incomplete statements or claims and testimonial guidelines. While it’s polite to give thanks, remember you can do this verbally.

Someone Who Writes A Complaint About You- Whether they’ve commented on your content or tagged you in a post on their own page, do not engage. Complaints may not be responded to on a public social media site without prior approval of Market Conduct and Compliance or ESI compliance, as applicable. Please see our Social Media Policy, available on the Social Media Playbook, for more information and to remain compliant.

Now get started!  Try to log onto social daily and challenge yourself; for instance, set a goal to add / follow 5-10 local pages weekly. From there, start to engage with them. Consistency is key.