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 eighth episode, Peter and Rick talk with Anson Thompson of The Thompson Group of Parker City, Indiana about branding and the importance of personality on the web. He also talks about where he gets his ideas and why he’s not afraid to share them.
The podcast was published Thursday, October 29, 2009. Run time is 19 minutes 44 seconds.
Much of the discussion at the recent Aartrijk Brand Camp focused on the value of blogging and becoming a better blogger. Liz Strauss, a social web and blogging pioneer, offered some great tips. For example, she suggested that we separate brainstorming ideas from the actual writing of the blog. Other ideas ranged from creating and following an editorial calendar to finding our voice.
Liz also stressed how important it is to be consistent. That is, it is better to publish one post a week than to do five posts in one week and then wait several weeks until the next post.
Liz also reminded us that what is unique about each of our blogs is us. Being ourselves is what distinguishes us from all the rest of the content on the Web.
Agent bloggers Cindy Donaldson from Founders Group, Nibby Priest from Vaughn Insurance and and Kristin Rielly from Irwin Siegel Agency also shared some valuable pointers they use in writing their blogs. So too did Laura Toops, editor of American Agent and Broker magazine and creator of the Agent for Change blog on the magazine’s Web site. For example, they suggested keeping posts short and to the point and writing about topics that are of general interest and not just about insurance..
If you are interested in starting a blog or becoming a better blogger I would recommend visiting the blogs highlighted above. Watching what others are doing is great way to learn. Another valuable resource I have found helpful is the ProBlogger Blog.
If you have a blog, what ideas and/or tips do you have to share?
– Rick Morgan
Follow Aartrijk on Twitter: @Aartrijk. Follow Brand Camp conversation on Twitter using hashtag #ABC09.
Photo: flickr cambodia4kids.org
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 5: Human Services 2.0
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 fifth episode, Peter and Rick talk with Irwin Siegel Agency, Inc. about their trailblazing efforts with social web tools to build online communities in the human services field.
The podcast was published Monday, September 14, 2009. Run time is 21 minutes 50 seconds.
Filed under Aartrijk, Podcasts, insurance branding · Tagged with Aartrijk, Blogging, independent agents, insurance agencies, insurance branding, Irwin Siegel Agency, Peter van Aartrijk, Rick Morgan, social Web, Web 2.0, Web sites
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 4: Expanding Business Objectives
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 fourth episode, Rick and Peter talk to Katie Herbst, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist at Westfield Insurance, about the evolution of social media at Westfield and her role within the organization.
The video was published Tuesday, September 1, 2009. Run time is 26 min 30 seconds.
Filed under Aartrijk, Podcasts, insurance branding, social Web · Tagged with Aartrijk Brand Camp, Blogging, independent agents, insurance branding, Peter van Aartrijk, Podcast, Rick Morgan, Social Networking, social Web
Trying to figure out social networking? Chris Amrhein of Insurance Is Fun! gives insights on how it works for independent insurance agencies/agents.
Chris, who trains and talks with numerous independent agents, is featured on the latest podcast (Episode 3: The New Old) of On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan published by Insurance Journal.
In the third episode, Chris Amrhein of Insurance Is Fun! talks with Peter and Rick about similarities of digital world to the old world, complete with front porches and Grateful Dead concerts.
The video was published Monday, August 17, 2009. Run time is 18 minutes 48 seconds.
Filed under Aartrijk, Podcasts, insurance branding, social Web · Tagged with Facebook, independent agents, insurance branding, marketing, Peter van Aartrijk, Rick Morgan, Social Networking, social Web, Twitter
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 second episode, Cindy Donaldson, Marketing Director at Founders Insurance Group, explains the agency’s use of social marketing tools to reach customers and prospects.
The video was published Wednesday, August 5, 2009. Run time is 15 min 28 sec.
Filed under Aartrijk, Branding, Podcasts, insurance branding, social Web · Tagged with Blogging, independent agents, Peter van Aartrijk, Podcast, Rick Morgan, Social Networking, social Web
Photo Credit - Flickr heardsy
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved. (Matthew 9:17)
The world of marketing, PR, branding and communication is being transformed. Consumers have rebelled against “push” marketing. They want to be heard when it comes to how you do business. Trusted relationships are more important than ever and control of your brand is in the hands of your customers.
Clearly “old” marketing and media strategy is failing. Social networking to the rescue, right? Not so fast. When it comes to social media it is not enough to engage the tools, build strategy and implement. Rather, success requires a change in culture and in the way in which business is done. Success with social media requires a culture that is customer centric, comfortable with transparency and understands that message and opinion lie primarily outside of their control. That is, success happens when the “new wine” of social media is put in the “new bottle” of a transformed company culture.
Rick Morgan
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 this first episode, Insurance Journal’s Mitch Dunford and Julie Tinney introduce the new “On Point” podcast with hosts Rick and Peter, and discuss Insurance Journal’s adoption of technology, including social media.
The podcast was published Thursday, June 25, 2009. Run time is 29 minutes 2 seconds.
