Social Media #4

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 I've helped agents go from throwing money at every local festival to having a clear plan for community investment that actually builds their business.

The difference?

Having a system instead of just good intentions.

Most agents I work with start exactly the same way. They sponsor the car show because it "feels right." Donate to the youth league because "we should support kids." Set up a booth at every street festival because "everyone will see us there."

Good heart.

Wrong approach.

After 25 years working with agencies, I've seen this pattern over and over. Agents with the best intentions throwing money at community events without any real strategy behind it.

Here's what actually works:

• Budget allocation based on ROI potential, not gut feelings
• Event selection that matches your ideal client demographics
• Follow-up systems turning handshakes into appointments
• Measurement tools showing real business impact

One of my agents put it perfectly: "I used to write checks and hope for the best. Now I invest strategically and actually track what happens."

Last year his community marketing generated 47 new clients.

Same budget. Better system.

Look, your community deserves your support. But your business deserves a plan that actually works.

The agents who get this right? They're not just throwing money around anymore... they're investing strategically and seeing real results.

What's your biggest frustration with community marketing right now?

👍 Like & share if you think agents need better systems for community investment. 

 From throwing money at car shows to building a community marketing machine.

That's what happens when agents stop winging their community involvement and start following a real process. I've built this transformation into every part of Agents in the Community because random acts of marketing don't build agencies.

After 25 years working with agents, I see the same pattern.

Pick a car show because "everyone will be there."
Write the check.
Show up with branded pens.
Hope something happens.

There's a better way.

Start with your community goals first... then map events to your actual ideal clients. Create follow-up systems that you can measure. Track ROI on every dollar.

The difference is night and day.

I've seen agents spending thousands on random sponsorships with nothing to show for it. Same agents, same budgets, but with a real system? They start seeing actual policy growth.

Community marketing works when you treat it like business strategy instead of hope and prayer.

The systematic approach I teach in Agents in the Community turns scattered spending into predictable growth. Because your community deserves agents who are there for the right reasons and your agency deserves results that matter.

Like and share if you believe community involvement should build your agency, not just drain your budget 👍

What's your biggest challenge with community marketing? 

 Top LinkedIn influencers post about single conferences for two weeks straight.

Meanwhile, insurance agents speak at a school, post one picture, and call it done.

I spend way too much time on LinkedIn.

Seriously. Ask anyone who knows me.

With over 5,000 connections in insurance, I became obsessed watching this pattern. Other industries squeeze weeks of content from one event.

We waste absolute goldmines.

Car shows. School visits. Community festivals.

Show up. Shake hands. Pack up.

Post once if you remember.

Man, what a waste.

So I dug deeper into what top performers actually do. They present themes that run for weeks. Extract different stories from single experiences. Build influence through strategic repetition.

Insurance agents?

We post twice and move on.

The framework was right there. I just needed to apply it to community marketing.

Here's what I developed:

**The 5-Layer Content System**

→ Your booth and team in action
→ Staff interactions and real conversations
→ Business owners and community leaders you meet
→ The actual event stuff (cars, music, activities)
→ The charity or cause you're supporting

One two-minute interview with a local business owner becomes seven different posts over several weeks.

Most agents use that video once and forget about it.

But you can create content around their business story... insurance applications... employee insights... how long they've been in business... community involvement.

Seven pieces from one conversation.

Research shows authentic local content influences 90% of customers more than conventional advertising.

Yet most agents still rely on carrier content.

After 25 years working with agents, I know we can do better. That's why I built Agents in the Community.

Because when agents master content multiplication, they build something bigger than policies.

They become neighbors.

Community pillars.

People who matter.

What's your take on maximizing community event content?

Like and share if you think agents need better content strategies 👍 

Our email marketing services help you connect with your audience, nurture leads, and increase customer retention through targeted and personalized email campaigns.

 Stop winging your community marketing and start building a real plan.

Most agents I meet are frustrated because they know community marketing should work, but they're just throwing money at random events without any strategy.

Look, I've been there.

Twenty-five years in this business, and I've watched agents write the same $500 check for the same community festival every year. They show up with a tent and some pens, shake a few hands, then wonder why their phone isn't ringing.

The problem isn't community marketing.

The problem is treating it like charity instead of business.

The pattern became crystal clear. The agents who got real results from their community investments had one thing in common.

They planned it like everything else in their business.

They knew which events actually brought them prospects. They tracked their time investment. They had follow-up systems that worked.

And they weren't just hoping something would happen.

That's why I created Agents in the Community. A real system to help you move from random spending to strategic planning.

Because your passion for serving your community deserves better than throwing money at events and crossing your fingers.

You need budgets, calendars, tracking tools... and a community of other agents who understand what works and what doesn't.

What's your biggest frustration with community marketing right now? Share below if you're ready to stop guessing and start planning. 

 Agents who master community marketing never worry about leads again.

I've seen this transformation dozens of times over 25 years working with agencies.

Agent starts scattered. Car show here, festival there... no real plan.

Then something clicks.

They build an actual system for their community involvement.

Six months later, their phone's ringing with people who've never been clients but know exactly who they are.

Here's what changed:

Instead of random events, they picked 3-4 that really matter to their community.

Instead of just handing out business cards, they focused on relationships.
Real conversations. Follow-up that actually happens.

Instead of hoping for results, they started tracking what works.

The agents doing this right?

They're not chasing leads anymore.

They're the agent everyone knows teaches financial literacy at the high school.
The one who's been supporting youth sports for years.
The person their neighbors think of first when insurance comes up.

That's the power of systematic community marketing.

You become the obvious choice before people even need you.

Most agents are still throwing spaghetti at the wall with community events... but the smart ones are building real systems.

Which approach sounds more like yours?

Like this if you're ready to stop chasing leads and start having them come to you 👍 

 Six months ago, Sarah was throwing money at every local event hoping something would stick. Today, she has a systematic approach that tells her exactly which community investments generate clients and which ones to skip.

What changed?

She stopped treating community marketing like a guessing game.

Most agents do this:
→ See an event
→ Write a check
→ Show up with brochures
→ Cross fingers

Sarah learned to ask different questions first.

Who actually attends this thing? Are they homeowners in my age range, or mostly renters under 25?

What's my real goal beyond "getting my name out there"?

How will I know if this worked?

She started tracking. Event costs, leads generated, policies written... even renewal rates from community contacts.

Eye-opening.

That car show she'd sponsored for 3 years? Generated exactly zero policies. Zero.

The high school job fair she'd ignored? Became her biggest source of young adult renters.

Now her marketing budget has a system behind it.

Every dollar has a purpose. Every event gets measured.

Community marketing works when you treat it like business investment instead of expensive hope.

What community events have surprised you with results? Share if you think more agents need to track their community ROI 👇 

 From random community events to predictable client growth in 90 days.

I've spent 25 years watching agents make the same mistake.

They sponsor the local car show. Set up their booth at the festival. Hand out branded stress balls and hope someone remembers them.

Then wonder why their "marketing budget" feels like throwing money away.

Here's the thing...

Most agents treat community marketing like a lottery ticket instead of a business investment.

No planning. No follow-up system. No clue which events actually work.

I've helped agents turn this around by teaching them to approach community marketing the same way they'd approach any other business decision.

→ Budget by event and expected return
→ Build systems for capturing contacts
→ Track what generates actual policies

The results? Same events, completely different outcomes.

One agent I worked with was spending $5,000 a year on random sponsorships. After we built his system, those same events started generating 2-3 new policies monthly.

The booth conversations became scheduled appointments.
The sponsorship money turned into trackable ROI.
The community relationships became predictable referrals.

That's why I created Agents in the Community.

Because every agent deserves a real process for their community marketing investments, not just another "networking opportunity."

What's been your experience with community events?

Like and share if you think agents need better systems for community marketing 👍 

 From random sponsorships to systematic growth in 90 days.

Insurance agents love their communities.

But here's the thing... most of us are terrible at turning that passion into business growth.

We sponsor events because they feel right. Write checks because everyone else does. Put our names on banners and hope something good happens.

I get it.

After 25 years working with agencies, I've seen this pattern everywhere. Agents spending thousands on community efforts but never tracking what actually works.

The car show that brings zero leads.
The festival sponsorship that builds goodwill but not business.
The little league team that appreciates you but never refers clients.

What if there was a better way?

→ Budget planning that shows you exactly where to invest
→ Event selection based on your actual market
→ Follow-up systems that build real relationships

When agents move from random community involvement to strategic community marketing, everything shifts. They serve better AND grow predictably.

Your community deserves your best effort.
Your business deserves measurable results.

You can have both.

What's your biggest community marketing challenge? Drop it below and let's solve it together 👇 

 The best agents track three things most agencies completely ignore.

After 25 years working with agents of all stripes: Captive, Independent, small, large, etc., I've noticed something.

Most agencies get obsessed with likes, shares, website traffic. All that surface stuff.

But the agents building serious books?

They measure completely different things.

Relationship depth, for starters. Not how many clients they have, but how many actually refer them. Like, actively pick up the phone and send people their way. They track this every month.

Community presence is another one.

Not sponsorship dollars or events attended. But walk down Main Street... how many people know their name and what they do? That face-to-face recognition matters more than any online metric.

And here's one most miss entirely:

Education impact.

When they teach Insurance 101 in high schools or speak at community events, they track understanding. Not just butts in seats, but did people actually learn something useful?

I've watched agents transform their businesses by switching focus to these metrics.

Because here's what I've learned working in this industry...

The numbers that actually predict new business aren't the ones everyone talks about.

They're the ones that measure real human connection.

Think about your own tracking. Are you measuring what feels good, or what actually drives results?

Like and share if you're ready to focus on metrics that matter 👇 

 I got kicked out of my own sponsored car show.

After 25 years helping agents with community marketing, my biggest disaster taught me why confident salespeople freeze at community events. The problem isn't what you think.

2000 Cruisin' Sherwood.

I planned everything. Perfect booth, amazing giveaways, fought the chamber director for the best spot.

Wound tighter than a spring.

Then my friend walked over. That look on his face...

"Duane, you need to leave. Nobody wants you here."

I'd turned into a complete control freak. Pissed off half the organizing committee.

Went to my car and lost it.

Here's what hit me after I got it together:

The problem isn't confidence.

You're trying to control something you can't control.

In your office? You run everything. The lighting, the seating, how conversations flow. You're the expert.

Community events?

Weather happens. Equipment breaks. Teenagers ask questions that catch you off guard.

Most agents wait to feel confident before they act.

Backwards.

Confidence comes from action. Even messy, imperfect action.

After my meltdown I spent two hours apologizing to everyone. Swore I'd never lose my cool like that again.

Everything shifted.

I realized I was there to have fun, see cool cars, make people smile. If I couldn't enjoy it... what was the point?

From then on: only events that sounded fun. Prepare your best, accept that stuff will go wrong, roll with it.

Never stressed about community events again.

Your marketing plan is sitting there complete. And you're frozen.

Stop waiting for confidence to magically appear.

→ Start small: Coffee shop - talk to 10 people
→ Try a brief Rotary presentation
→ Teach one class at the high school

You're not trying to change the world. Just get your first rep.

You've handled scarier firsts. Opening your agency, building your business, surviving your first policy sale.

The only difference between you and agents dominating their local market?

They took that first messy step.

What's really holding you back from scheduling your first community event?

👍 Like and share if you've ever let perfectionism keep you on the sidelines. 

 From random sponsorships to systematic client generation.

Here's what I see happening with agents and community marketing...

They're spending thousands on events. Car shows, festivals, sponsorships. All good causes.

But zero tracking.

Zero measurement.

Just hope and a handshake.

I worked with an agent who was dropping $15,000 annually on community stuff. When I asked what was working, she just shrugged.

"I think the car show brings people in?"

Six months later, she had a completely different approach:

→ Budget with specific ROI goals
→ Calendar aligned with her target demographics
→ Simple tracking system for every event
→ Clear criteria for which events to repeat

Same $15,000 budget.

40% more qualified leads.

The difference? She stopped treating community marketing like charity and started treating it like... marketing.

Look, your community deserves your support. Always will.

But your business deserves a return too.

After 25 years in this industry, the agents who grow are the ones who bring strategy to their community involvement. Not just good intentions.

Both matter.

But only one pays the bills.

What's your biggest challenge with measuring community marketing ROI?