Paid social media advertising offers a level of targeting that traditional media cannot match. It is ideal for niche insurers, who need to target a specific hard-to-reach demographic. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat and LinkedIn all have some ability to target ads and/or filters to potential customers, based on data such as likes, age, gender, hobbies, location, language and more.

Identify your customers

Whether you are a car insurer or you offer cover for something niche, like equestrian insurance, you need to know who your customer is and where they are. For example, if you are trying to target a broad segment or an older demographic, then Facebook is likely to be the most effective channel, as over 32 million people in the UK have a Facebook account. However, if you are an equestrian insurer you may be better off on Instagram, where #horse has over 16 million posts and counting.

The best way to get to know your customer is through data, use Google analytics, social media and third-party research to get a realistic picture of who your customers are. If you are hoping to target a new market then use third party data and make sure you do plenty of A/B testing.

Know your goal

When you are working out your social media advertising strategy, you need to pin down what you are asking the customer to do. Do you want to see a rise in clicks to your website? Do you want your customers fill out a form? Grow your mailing list? Raise brand awareness? Improve engagement with your content? Depending on your goal, your ad will need to reflect this with an appropriate call to action.

Rotate your ads

Just like on TV or radio, it's annoying to see the same ad over and over again. It can be especially frustrating on social media, where users are used to seeing something new in their feed almost every time they log in. So, it's important that you rotate your ads frequently, by changing the creative and messaging slightly so they don’t grow stale. Also, unlike TV and radio, social media facilitates engagement – if your customers get bored you’ll know about it! According to leading social media management platform, Hootsuite, you should rotate your ads every three- five days.

Measuring your goals and outcomes

Return on investment is crucial in this data-driven world, so it's vital that you can measure your goals. Most social media platforms will have tools to help you track your goals. However, not all do, so make sure you check what can be measured before you commit budget to a campaign. If the platform itself cannot track what you need then it might be possible for you use a third party tool or app.

While social media advertising is the latest step in marketing’s evolution it still adheres to the basic marketing principles, where your audience need to be in the right place at the right time, and at the right price, for this channel to be profitable for your insurance firm.