Inaugural Edition of Association Publication Spotlights Social Media

PIA National has unveiled the inaugural edition of a new annual publication for PIA members. The 2010 PIA National Agency Marketing Guide contains hands-on marketing advice from some of the insurance industry's premier experts. It's a valuable commentary on what is working for agents in today's marketplace, with numerous examples from real agents who are experiencing success. Those in attendance at this year's convention received a sneak preview of it during the General Session meeting.

The special emphasis of the 2010 PIA National Agency Marketing Guide is social media. The publication contains a soup-to-nuts guide on how independent insurance agents can use social media to support their agency's sales strategy. The Guide lays the groundwork by explaining why every agency must consider creating a social media strategy. It then describes many of the most popular social media tools and how retail independent agents have put them to use. Finally, the Guide discusses some of the pitfalls agents must avoid and how agents can plan for success in social media.

A print edition of the 2010 PIA National Agency Marketing Guide is being provided to all PIA members along with the June/July issue of PIA Connection magazine. Agents who join PIA in 2010 will also receive a copy. A PDF of the 2010 Agency Marketing Guide is available to PIA members on PIA National's website at www.pianet.com/Members.

The 2010 PIA National Agency Marketing Guide is the latest deliverable from PIA National's award-winning PIA Branding Program, Local Agents Serving Main Street America^SM. Through the PIA Branding Program, PIA National has previously provided its members with print and radio advertisements which are made available to PIA member agencies at no cost. Earlier this year PIA National introduced a series of Spanish radio ads and the association is poised to release a series of Spanish print ads.

To learn more about the PIA Branding Program and to see a list of the 66 companies that have signed on as sponsors, simply visit PIA National's website at www.pianet.com/piabrandingprogram.