Listen to agency owner Claudia McClain explain why even in today’s social media world success involves more than just putting up a Facebook Fan Page. Claudia explains how her agency has continued to grow and prosper even in this difficult economic time. Her secret – an agency culture built around strong customer service and a blend of traditional marketing and social networking. While the agency has a blog (two actually), a Facebook Fan Page, a LinkedIn account and is on Twitter, it also touches each customer 12 times a year with traditional print media.
The message Claudia drives home is that social networking is not a Silver Bullet to success. Rather, she sees social networking as providing her with a new set of tools that has enabled her to expand the way she communicates with prospects and customers. Yet, the foundation of her success is rooted in traditional marketing principals and practices, and the understanding that building long-lasting trusted relationships not only takes time, but is hard work.
The podcast was published Monday, July 26, 2010. Run time is 27 minutes 26 seconds.
Howdy! Here’s a brief 30-second video inviting you to Aartrijk Brand Camp 2010:
Aartrijk’s founder, president and CEO Peter van Aartrijk, recently visited The Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas, to scope out the location of Aartrijk Brand Camp 2010.
He found a comfortable environment, as well as a large animal that is the hallmark of the site.
Peter invites you to join other insurance brand decision-makers and thought leaders at Aartrijk Brand Camp 2010.
“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
Texas agent David Berry has used the marketing lessons he learned from his experiences in the captive agency system to find success as an independent agent. Listen as Berry discusses how he uses traditional marketing practices, combined with the new tools of social media, to grow his business.
Berry understands the importance of investing in technology; but more importantly he understands the need to make sure it’s used wisely. He’s committed to building strong relationships and providing great service as he builds his new business, and credits social media as a powerful tool to help him contain costs and expand his reach. Peter and Rick particularly enjoyed listening to Berry speak passionately about the advantages and value of the Independent Agency System.
The podcast was published Monday, July 12, 2010. Run time is 20 minutes 41 seconds.
“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
Linda Rey is a second-generation agent and owner of Rey Insurance in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Frank Rey founded the agency in 1978 to serve bilingual clients in the local community.
Linda discusses how she has incorporated the use of social media into the agency’s marketing strategy. For Linda, it was an “effective way to be present, visible, and increase awareness and exposure.”
At a time when people are skittish on the economy, it’s great to hang out with folks who are bullish.
One of my favorites is Charlie McShane, and his company is State Auto, based out of Columbus, Ohio.
Recently Maureen Wall Bentley, our executive vice president of brand strategy, and I attended Charlie’s grand opening of State Auto’s new Hunt Valley, Maryland offices, just north of Baltimore. Charlie is the company’s eastern regional president—he actually founded the region for State Auto and was the only employee there a few years ago. (In case you don’t recognize Charlie, he’s the big man on campus in the center of the photo.) Read more
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
Paul Peeples, AAI, AIT, CPIM is Vice President of Information Systems at Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA). His technology background, coupled with over 20 years experience in the insurance industry, has provided FAIA innovative ways to communicate with independent agents. In this episode, Paul tells Peter and Rick about ACT’s growing arsenal of social media resources, about life on the leading edge of technology and about FAIA’s free weekly “radio show” called Friday Morning Live!
The podcast was published Monday, March 1, 2010. Run time is 25 minutes 27 seconds.
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
“Don’t be a binge blogger.”
These are the words of Liz Strauss, a blogger and social media educator, when discussing the importance of consistency over frequency. Other advice for new bloggers includes: using free web analytics to monitor metrics; using FAQs as initial blog posts; and the importance of a really good headline on a blog post.
Here’s another: “You are the chef that provides the content that Google serves up.”
Enjoy other morsels of blogging wisdom at Liz’s April SOBCon in Chicago, follow Liz on Twitter, or tune into this tasty episode.
The podcast was published Monday, February 1, 2010. Run time is 27 minutes 15 seconds.
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
As Allstate’s social media manager, Marcia Hansen oversees Vehicle Vibes, an automotive blog geared toward women and young adults, and Friender Benders.com, an entertaining and irreverent user-generated content portal. Marcia is also the host of Vehicle Vibes Radio, live at 10am Central on Tuesdays.
As Allstate’s social media guru, Marsha was also a presenter at Aartrijk’s Brand Camp, talking about her role in marketing and the importance of listening to customers and prospects.
The podcast was published Monday, December 28, 2009. Run time is 29 minutes 3 seconds.
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
In the eleventh episode, Peter and Rick talk with Chris Jordan of Atlanta Insurance Live in Atlanta, Georgia. Chris argues using video and live chat promotes transparency and gives agency owners and agents new ways to connect with their customers. Facebook, Twitter and the other social web tools add to his social media arsenal and provide an avenue to connect and establish relationships.
The podcast was published Monday, December 14, 2009. Run time is 18 minutes 23 seconds.
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
In the tenth episode, Peter and Rick talk to Aartrijk colleagues Charles Wasilewski, director, Marketing-Communications and Maureen Bentley, vice president, Brand Strategy about their recent experiences at “Brand Camp” September 28-30 in Chicago. The team acknowledge the “time vampire” that social media can be, but instead focus on best-practices strategies and success stories to help manage social media risks in a smart and effective way.
The podcast was published Monday, November 30, 2009. Run time is 19 minutes 34 seconds.
