Pat Alexander, founder of InsuranceEcosystem.com

The Aartrijk team is pleased to welcome — for the first time — guest bloggers from in and around the insurance industry, starting this month.

To kick off this occasional series, we welcome Pat Alexander, founder of industry blog InsuranceEcosystem.com and a Brand Camp 2009 alumna.

About Pat: In 2009, she launched InsuranceEcosystem.com as a resource for the insurance industry and a way to spark more conversation about her areas of expertise in independent agencies, coaching and technology. She describes Insurance Ecosystem as a blog that “provide[s] you with communicators that don’t normally blog but have great views and information to share. Each of these individuals … [has] so much to contribute in their area of expertise.”

1. What has happened in the past year with your firm now in the area of branding? What changes or initiatives have you been working on?

After Aartrijk Brand Camp 2009, I developed a plan to redesign my primary Web site, PatAlexander.com, and give it a fresh look and to develop a blog where individuals of interest to insurance agents could blog regularly or at their whim. Developing this blog included developing a brand for it as well as an audience.

Often watching and listening is a great way to learn how the various social networking tools can work for you. I also follow a number of non-insurance industry social networking “gurus.” One of my favorite is Amber Naslund of Brass Tack Thinking. Amber is director of community for Radian6. Smart young lady providing great thoughts and tools.

4. Now a word from our sponsor. Tell us one thing that you learned at Aartrijk Brand Camp 2009, and how you have implemented it or changed your branding since then.

At Brand Camp 2009, I learned so much about the importance of brand. I have always told agencies that I work with it is important that everyone in the agency delivers the same message about the agency.

I now believe that the brand and message are inseparable. I developed a presentation, specific to insurance agents, on the importance of brand and social media. From this presentation, I have gained a couple of clients, and I am assisting them in developing and implementing their social media plan.

The focus is on providing their clients and prospects with useful and informative information. We develop what they want their brand and message to be — and carry that through the tools that they choose to use.

Pat Alexander’s Web site also has a great resource: a list of industry blogs and other relevant blogs. Follow Pat on Twitter.