Hurricane Alex is heating up and heading closer and closer to the Texas border. This is freaking out the major insurance carriers. Many folks are being denied coverage for their homes and many applications that are in an “open status” are not being finalized due to the storms pending arrival. When a storm hit a certain point in its creation process, insurance authorities call a “cut-off” point. This is meant to keep people from waiting too long to insure their homes. Works for many, not for all.

Dagley Insurance will do anything and everything to insure all Texas homeowners. Whatever your risks, we’ll work with the top rated carriers to secure a homeowners insurance policy for you.

Whether your home is covered under insurance or not, taking the proper precautions to protect your home is important. Check out this document, NHC.NOAA.GOV, to make sure your home is storm-proof.

Viral marketing is all the rage. The success of many products and brands demonstrated the eclectic power the digital media possess in inspiring consumers to respond to a more intimate interaction with a brand. This phenomenon has caught the attention of sundry businesses including Dagley Insurance and Financial Services in Katy, Texas. The marketing team at Dagley looked at social media outlets as the optimal medium that to promote and sell auto insurance, homeowners insurance, commercial insurance, life insurance and financial services.

The question is, what is the role of viral marketing in the social media campaign?

Viral marketing is the process of distributing promotional materials through user-initiated efforts. In other words the company provides content that is entertaining, informational or otherwise interesting to the target demographic and that target demographic under their own volition forwards the information to friends and family in their circle. Chances are that you have been a critical link between the company who created the branding message and thousands or even millions of uninitiated viewers of this subliminal type campaign.

Let us look at two giant companies who initiated successful viral marketing campaigns – Nike Japan and Dove, Campaign for Real Beauty.

Nike Japan wanted to re-ignite the youth’s affinity to their tag-line “Just Do It”. They encouraged young people to submit a video of themselves doing a killer move in any physical activity of their choice. The chosen videos were used by Nike in traditional advertising campaigns but the multitude of submissions were the real home run for Nike as they were sent back and forth over and over again reaching millions on the web branding their name and successfully re-igniting the tag line.

Dove’s Campaign For Real Beauty was a simple video that was developed to have the vital components of previous videos that have gone viral interwoven with their marketing creativity.  It simply showed the transformation of woman’s face in a way that was captivating.  This too was sent around the virtual world effectively providing the impressions that the company sought.

A few things to consider: First neither company was trying to sell a product, just branding, and secondly they take a single-minded proposition. Both are true of all top viral marketing efforts. Further, and most importantly, when considering how this could be implemented for a small company, the Nike model can be initiated with little or no cost, it’s called user generated content (UGC). The very idea of this should get all business involved in some capacity. Dagley Insurance sure isn’t missing the boat.

Yes, they identified that social media marketing and all of its aspects and nuances are vital to growth.  It truly offers them the best opportunity to promote their full line of auto insurance, homeowners insurance, commercial insurance, life insurance and financial services as well as to develop a more intimate relationship with their market. It is, after all, the most honest medium to date. Viral marketing is a step above traditional media because it offers immediate opportunity for your brand to be accessed by the consumer but beyond that, it is still very close to the good old traditional advertising. It still needs a single-minded approach, needs to be short and to have a breakthrough idea.

If you are in a business you need to know that social media marketing must now be a line item I your marketing budget. Additionally, you need to know that all clients of Dagley Insurance are provided with a social media-marketing package as a benefit of being a client. They extend their knowledge so that it helps grow your business. What’s your insurance company doing for you?

Contact Dagley Insurance if you would like to be more than a client.

Effective Social Media Marketing in the Insurance Industry.

First and foremost it is important to understand that much like traditional marketing social media marketing is sorely misunderstood. The general business populous that handles marketing for their organization still believes that putting an advertisement in a magazine, newspaper, dare I say yellow pages or on television, radio and so on constitutes an advertising campaign. When in all actuality no one single effort is a campaign. In fact, a campaign is a multi-dimensional approach to delivering a single message utilizing a variety of mediums targeting a specific demographic. Information is needed to identify the optimal combination of media and the inherent risk potential associated with any media effort. This information should never come from the person selling the advertising. Collecting and understanding this data rest solely on shoulders of the individual or team in charge of spending your marketing dollars. That’s what they were hired to do, Right.

That being said the burgeoning economy that is social media marketing, much like any new industry, yields the opportunity not only to gain ground or surpass your competitors but it all creates an opportunity for the unscrupulous to take advantage of un-savvy media buyers. You know who you are. As many companies that there are who are embracing (or at least trying to embrace) social media marketing there are more than five times as many who make no effort to participate in it, yet alone optimize this viable, valuable and ever evolving marketing platform. Of those who do engage the concept most of them are stuck in the quagmire that has haunted the marketing world since the cavemen developed signs. In this case the sign is Facebook. Companies put a page on Facebook and think that they have a social media campaign. And as indicated earlier a single sign does not constitute a campaign.

In conducting my research for this article I found a truly unique concept in social media marketing in a highly unlikely location, an Insurance and Financial Services company in Katy, Texas. This company has not only embraced the social media marketing world but they appear to be leading the charge. Having partnered with, and learned from, perhaps one of the top companies in the social media marketing world, they have successfully integrated a multi-dimensional and comprehensive social media marketing campaign that has effectively grown their business. Good for them. Right. Well in part, obviously, it is successful but it is also great for their clients. This company has turned the insurance industry on its collective ear. You see, now that they have a solid understanding of and documented success in social media marketing they have, uncharacteristically of the industry, not only asked a question that was never asked before, but they answered it too.

“What is your insurance company doing to help promote and grow your business?” What! Huh? That is the typical response when the question is asked. Go ahead. Ask yourself or the person sitting next to you….Go ahead, I’ll wait.

It is a perplexing question.  I’ve never heard it asked before and never even considered the prospect of it before. Why? Well the answer is simple. Why would an insurance company provide anything other than insurance? That type of narrow-mindedness has eluded this trendsetting Texas based firm that continues to grow with offices in Colorado now too. They have a different perspective and philosophy and the ideology that is at the root of this is simple, if your business grows our business grows.  So they’ve answered the question that they posed to themselves and developed a marketing department that works directly with their commercial clients to implement a social media marketing campaign to help their clients to grow their business. Free of charge. Yes, you’ve read that correctly, this is simply part of the relationship. If you are a client you get the benefit.

If you’re just getting an invoice it isn’t a relationship. Pick up the phone a give your agent a call and ask the question, “What are you doing to promote and help grow my business?” At least you’ll get a laugh from their response and that’s a benefit, right!

The devastating flash floods that have killed over a dozen campers in Arkansas have the uninsured in Texas nervous for what could come. Going without flood insurance is a popular thing. When it comes time to buy flood insurance, you tell yourself “it will never happen here.” Right? Well it’s happened in Arkansas and it could happen anywhere, including Texas.

Floods are the nation’s number one form of natural disaster. More common than earthquakes or hurricanes, floods can cause some serious and expensive damage. Since flood insurance is not part of your homeowners insurance, don’t forget to include it alongside your home coverage next time you evaluate your policies.

Contact Dagley Insurance for more information on securing a flood insurance plan and start protecting your home. Visit FEMA to learn some important steps for preparing yourself and your family for a flood.

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Texas’ largest homeowners insurance provider has yet again decided to raise premium rates on policy holders. Is anyone else tired of insurance companies nickel and diming us for everything we have? State Farm will raise rates at 4.5% this month, not too long after they jacked them up 8.5% in October! Sure, it stinks, but you’ll be happy to learn that you don’t have to be stuck paying State Farm all your money.

Here are a few things you can do to save on homeowners insurance:

• We believe this is the most important step to your savings…SHOP AROUND. Don’t have the time? Great, we’ll do it for you. As an independent insurance agency, we can shop all the top carriers to find you the lowest rates on homeowners insurance. Why wouldn’t you choose to use an independent agent?
• Bundle your homeowners policy with your auto policy. Most insurance companies will offer you a significant discount if you bundle your insurance policies with them. In many cases you can save up to 30% on your premiums. That’s some serious dough.
• Make your home disaster resistant. This is an important one for us Longhorns. Texas is the only state capable of any kind of weather. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tropical storms, etc. You name it, we got it. Doing things like installing storm-windows and reinforcing your roof will actually benefit you when it comes time to pay for homeowners insurance, Talk with your agent.
• You’ve hear this one before…KEEP A GOOD CREDIT RECORD. This one kind of speaks for itself. Insurance companies are more likely to give lower rates to folks who are in god credit standing.

For more information on the State Farm home insurance rate increase or to get a quote on a new homeowners insurance policy, visit Dagley Insurance Agency or call us at 888.840.7995.

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Facebook, twitter, and other social media channels are becoming increasingly important to the business world. And yes, that even applies to the tepid, misunderstood, insurance world. If used correctly, facebook and twitter will help maximize your web presence, build your company an effective brand, and allow you to interact with consumers in a personal way.

All too often, business owners, especially insurance folks, assume it’s a “set it and forget it” deal. It’s not that way at all. Social media must be tended to often and executed correctly, or it will simply be a waste of time. Below I provide 4 suggestions for your agency, or business, which will help you beef up your social media presence and use it to your advantage.

1. Create a page that is eye catching, unique, and speaks to your business brand. 99% (unofficial stat) of business pages on facebook and Twitter come in the form of blandness and monotony. Make your pages stand out and sing to visitors.
2. Interact directly with your visitors and encourage participation. Hold a contest, take a poll, offer a discount, give them useful information, etc. Keep people coming back with interesting tidbits and personal incentives.
3. Track your metrics. Metrics are a vital aspect to a successful web and social media presence. Understanding your company’s metrics will keep you informed of what works and what doesn’t. There are several programs for social media analytics management including webtrends.com and kontagent.com – or you can handle it on your own.
4. Keep posts frequent, but not too frequent. In other words, don’t annoy your friends and followers.

I’m calling out to all insurance agents and business owners! Get with it! Use social media to your advantage or don’t use it at all. Social media is not a fad and the hype is very real. Get on board or get out of the way.

Visit our website to learn more about our insurance agency http://dagleyins.com

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