Amanda Nelson opened her State Farm agency in Moorhead, MN in August of 2019. She’s qualified for Level 3 Ambassador Club, SVP, and Chairman's Circle every year. Prior to opening her agency, she was an Agency Field Specialist for State Farm for seven years. She has a huge heart for helping others and we’re beyond excited that she’s taken time to share some marketing tips with us on the blog today.
Q: Can you tell us about the market you are in?
A: Moorhead is a rural market with a population of 44,000 but it’s steadily growing. One unique feature about Moorhead is that it’s right across the river from more metropolitan areas like Fargo and West Fargo. The market penetration is fairly low when looking at other areas of similar size which means there are lots of opportunities for growth.
Q: You have such an impressive social media presence. Can you walk us through your strategies here?
A: Our goal is to post 3-4 times per week. We occasionally use Hootsuite when we want to showcase a product that needs to be compliant but I’m much more excited about showing our team, our brand, the things that matter to our clients, and how we’re different. Every time I post, I’m hoping people will engage with our content using the comment feature. I think that’s when people feel most connected.
When I’m hiring, I’m always looking for someone that is excited about social media and/or marketing. Once they’re hired, I pay for them to attend a training from a local agency. After they are trained, we put our heads together and plan our posts a week in advance. I don’t like to plan any further than that because I want our content to be relevant.
Q: How much time do you spend on marketing for your agency?
A: Personally, I spend about two hours a week. This ranges from planning our social media content for the week, to attending events, and fostering partnerships within our community. Then one of our team members spends an additional two hours a week on finding partners in the community and posting to social media.
Q: Have you worked with a digital marketing agency before?
A: When I first started I partnered with Google. The relationship didn’t last long because I wasn’t seeing results. I’m using Agent Tagged Media (ATM) to manage banner ads across the internet and recently, signed up with On the Grid to manage my PPC and Local SEO. Since working with OTG I have seen an increase in StateFarm.com leads. But what’s even better is that the quality of my leads have gone up with a close rate of 72% on these leads.
Q: What made you decide to sign up with On the Grid LLC to manage your Google marketing?
A: My goal is growth. I want to provide my team with quality leads that will produce results versus having them waste their time cold calling and quoting. I understand spinning wheels in a sales role is part of the process but you get up and running a lot faster when the agency is providing its people with quality leads. Honestly, it’s something I should have done a long time ago. The fact that I know the people that are backing this business I finally felt comfortable diving in.
Q: What would you tell someone who has never used a digital marketing agency before?
A: It’s really a relationship based on analytics. You need time to see how the analytics change. Make sure you are sitting down monthly and ask yourself, “How have things changed from a month or two months ago when I wasn't using that? Is it changing the amount of opportunities I am receiving?” And giving it time… With Google I left too soon.
Q: What advice would you give to agents looking to build their agency?
A: I think when you’re building your agency and getting started you need to try a little of everything. Every market is different, every agent is different, every team is different. It’s going to take time and money to figure out what works. The biggest mistake you can make is being too focused on the dollar amount you are spending and worried about your budget. As a new business owner you have to take a risk. Maybe you’re overspending, but it’s eventually going to pay off in a big way and build revenue.
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