Insurance Facebook Lead Generation 2024: Real Results + 5 Roadblocks That Hold Agents Back

If you're an insurance agent who has heard that Facebook ads suck or that they no longer work, or maybe that's even been your own experience, or perhaps you're an agent that is considering testing out using Facebook ads to generate your own exclusive leads, but you are afraid of wasting your time, energy, and your money on something that's not going to work out anyway, then this video is for you. I have seen that there are 5 things that hold insurance agents back from unlocking the true potential power that Facebook ads actually have that allow you to actually generate your own exclusive leads on autopilot and free you to be able to scale your business to places that you didn't even know were imaginable. In this video, I'm going to share with you what those 5 things are, and I'm also going to share with you some real-life results from just the past 30 days. My name is Shauna, and I'm the CEO and founder of Social Weaves Media. I have been running ads for clients since 2016, and in 2022, I started specializing in teaching insurance agents how to become fully self-sufficient at generating your own exclusive leads. And in all of my time of running Facebook or Instagram ads— or technically they're Meta ads now— one thing that I have always heard is Facebook ads don't work anymore. This one update happened and now it's broken. You can't get the same results from Facebook ads that you used to be able to. This big change happened and now nothing is the same. And I will tell you, one thing that always stays consistent in running Meta ads is that it's never going to stay the same. It's like the ocean. You either have to learn how to surf on the wave in order to continue getting good results, Or it's going to go right over your head. So first, I've always heard that the Facebook ads have stopped working. And the reality is, as long as there is a platform, that there are people that get on the platform, there is an opportunity for you to generate leads and utilize this platform to blow up your business. So before we go any further and I share with you the 5 roadblocks that I see really prevent agents from tapping into the full power, I'm going to share my screen with you and I'm going to share with you just a glimpse of a few different client results just so you can see what is actually happening in the back end of Facebook these days. Now, the very first thing that I'm going to show you— I'm going to grab my little cursor so you can see it— is I have the date set for these. As I record right now today, it is August 5th, 2024. So I thought the most fair thing to do to actually give you a glimpse of ads is to show you basically the entire month of July up into this point on a couple of different ad accounts. Now, most of these ad accounts are established accounts, but this is something that is truly able to be unlocked from any account that is willing to work through these 5 different roadblocks to get to this point. So this account right here, you can see that we've generated 324, and this was actually for a webinar. We called it, um, an online workshop. So this was for a webinar, and this was our cost per lead that we got. Now, in looking at my numbers, I can see exactly why our cost per lead was so amazing. A large part of that was my link click-through rate was incredibly high. We also had a great landing page conversion rate. Let's pop into another account. So this one was ran July 1st through August 5th. Now, this one is also for a webinar or a free training, like in the Medicare space. Now, this particular account was only targeting warm individuals that had either interacted with their account before or was already on their email list. So these are people that have had experience with this account before. This account has worked themselves up to develop somewhat of a presence and a relationship, and that is why this cost per lead is so extremely low for something that was for a webinar. Let's look at another set. Now this one I'm showing you in this account, and this one was actually also for a webinar, and this one was for a Medicaid planning webinar. And right here, this is our campaign that we ran to individuals that were cold or had never heard of this account before. And then this account right here, this one, this campaign was retargeting. So we were retargeting individuals that had interacted with them in the past but had not fully completed completed the sign-up for their monthly training that they have on Medicaid planning. Now, one thing that's really interesting to see on the back end here, as you'll hear me talk about in some of the 5 things, is understanding the metrics. This one right here, the CPM, is actually how Facebook charges you, and they were charging us a lot of money to get in front of this audience right here because it was such a small audience. This price is much lower to get in front of the cold audience. But what has made our actual cost per completed registration lower here is because our link click-through rate is so extremely high. That means that our ad message was on point and really appealed to those individuals, so they were more likely to click. This also had a really good landing page conversion rate. Now this one right here is for leads, and we were running a lead magnet like a free guide or a free checklist. And you can see this one, we spend $50 a day. This campaign is still live. This one has been running for a long time, and you can see how low our cost per lead is. You can see our link click-through rate is really nice, and it looks pretty good. All right, same thing for this one. This one is actually to schedule an appointment. So this is an established account running to individuals pushing to actually schedule a consult. And you can see what our cost per lead is. This one is actually an account that— this is also a live account that I could change the state. In fact, let's do it. Let's go to maximum. And now you can see overall how many leads this specific campaign has actually generated. I just think it's fair to show you, you know, the last 30 days so that way you know that it's something that currently is working. And then this one right here is a newer account, and it is running to a lead magnet currently. It is like a free checklist of changes that are happening, uh, to plans in the upcoming year. And you can see right here, this link click-through rate is a little bit lower than the other ones, um, but we're very happy with what our cost per lead is and what the conversion is looking like with the leads. And this one also is live. So you can see here, I have chosen July 1st through today. If I go to maximum, you're gonna see that we've actually generated quite a few leads. And what our actual ad spend has been here. So do Facebook ads still work? The answer is yes, they absolutely work, and they can be extremely impactful in allowing a business to be able to scale and grow. But there are 5 different roadblocks that, in my experience since working with insurance agents very closely since 2022, that I see hold agents back from truly unlocking the true power of Facebook ads. So let's start with number one, and that is having the wrong mindset. I have seen so many agents decide that they want to run Meta ads and they have the false belief that it is the platform's duty to go out and get them the results that they want. They truly believe that if they give Facebook $20 a day, $10 a day, $50 a day, that Facebook is supposed to figure it out and instantly be able to generate them leads. No. When you're running Facebook or Meta ads, you are given the opportunity to get your content in front of their users, and you're also given the opportunity to utilize their AI, their algorithm that knows so many different things and has so many different targeting points on each individual user on the platform to match that up and try to take your content that you are working on to make optimal and great and sound good to this ideal person and matching them up together. When you are a brand new account, lots of different things are happening. First of all, you are brand new to learning how to use the platform. It is unrealistic to think that you're going to be a unicorn, and there are a few unicorns. I've had some unicorn clients and that things have gone well, but most of the time you're not going to be the magical unicorn that instantly knows how to set up your ad, message your ad, and it's instantly going to connect with the Meta algorithm and get served in front of the right people. So one, you're learning how to the platform, while 2, Meta, the algorithm, is getting to know who you are as an advertiser. Facebook in the United States alone, there are over 14.4 million active users that are over the age of 65. So if you're running a Medicare insurance ad, we've got about 14 million individuals that Facebook's going to be able to test things out. If you're running in a more broad, like maybe it's life or ACA, then you're looking at— there's billions of active users on the platform. So having having that wrong mindset that it's the platform's duty to go out and get you the leads is going to set you up for failure. Instead, you're given the opportunity for your ads to be served to their audience, and it's up to you to hone in that skill set and to truly take advantage of it. All right, number 2, not using the optimal campaign structure. So when you set up your ads on the back end, there are specific structures that are going to help you actually achieve the goals that you're looking for. Are you running one line of business to one state? Are you running multiple lines of business to multiple states? Are we targeting T65? Are we also running Medicare insurance ads at the same time? There are very specific ways that allow you to set your campaign up to potentially get the best results. Now here's the deal, Facebook makes it very easy for anyone to pay the platform And just serve their ads to users. In fact, if you have a business page and you've posted anything, I'm sure you get notifications that ask you to boost the post or just spend this much money to get in front of this many people. And you can do that. And when you pay the platform to do that, you're technically paying for an ad. It's just not optimally set up. So I like to think of Facebook as a tool, very much like a paintbrush. Anyone can pick up a paintbrush. Dip it in paint, slap it up on something and say, look, I'm a painter. While other people will actually learn how to use the tool and they'll be able to create something that you can tell what it is. You can see what it's supposed to be an image of. And then there's other people that are truly going to master how to use that tool and make something that's truly a masterpiece. So Facebook ads are a tool like a paintbrush that anyone can pick up. But those who actually take the time to learn this skill set are the ones that are actually going to reap the rewards. Now, if you are into this type of stuff and you're wanting to potentially learn how to generate your own leads, whether it is organically or through paid ads, then subscribe. I suggest that you stick around here because that's what we talk about on my channel. All right, roadblock number 3, not getting the messaging right. Now, in the past, when I first was running Facebook ads, the audience targeting was key. It was super niche targeting, how you layered things, how you got things right. And now we live in a world where broad targeting is actually more of where you're gonna find the success. Now, just because we're targeting, we're targeting broadly and we're giving Facebook different suggestions of who to put our ads in front of, it doesn't mean that the algorithm doesn't have that information. And isn't able to decipher which individuals has that specific targeting. In fact, it's gotten extremely smart and extremely better at being able to understand what the content is, understand who this user is, and be able to match it up. But at the same time, it is on you, the creator of the ad, to really work in on honing in your messaging. I see insurance agents spend so much time mastering the skill of being able to lead a consult and being able to close a sale, and obviously Obviously, that is a pivotal, important skill set for you to learn. But you know what else is extremely important? Your messaging to get that person in front of you. A lot of times your messaging not only can attract the right individual, but it can help prequalify them. In fact, you can take someone who wasn't even considering life insurance and you can stir up a specific emotion and feeling and then take them down the path of showing them that the solution to get rid of this stirred up feeling is to secure your family's future by moving forward, by speaking to you. Or you can stir up the feeling of you're 64 and there are certain deadlines that you need to get to before you turn 65. And I'm here and I can help you move through that. So the messaging and testing different approaches in your messaging is extremely important. In fact, can you offer something different from other agents? So many agents want to, in my experience, want to put an ad out that's basically like, hey, if you're looking for burial insurance, I can help you. Or like, seeking a new health insurance plan, I can help you. It's open enrollment time. Click this button right here and schedule a consult. And while sometimes, especially in the fall months, if you're running Medicare or ACA ads, that very direct, in-your-face approach of, hey, I I can help you find the right plan. That can work. But can you set yourself apart? Can we at least have some ads that set you apart? Maybe instead of a free consult for Medicare insurance, you're gonna say that you're gonna offer an audit on a current health plan account. You say, I'm gonna audit and I'm gonna see what's going on, and I'm gonna set you up for the next year by answering any questions that you have. And then that's your opportunity to start building a relationship with them. Maybe you offer, instead of a free consult, you offer a free guide of the 3 biggest pitfalls that individuals fall into when re-enrolling in health insurance in November. Something that is a little bit different that starts to set you apart and also makes it very easy for users to interact with your brand. When it's in your face and it's like, hey, sign up for a free health insurance consult, and that's all it is, While that can still work, and maybe you should have that in some of your ad creatives, thinking about coming across a little differently and testing different approaches can make a huge impact. I like to say that content is king. This is true, but empathetic or emotional messaging is queen. You can have a king without a queen, but it's much more powerful when you have the two combined. So oftentimes, just if you're an agent that can actually empathize with with what your people are going through, whether it's frustration, overwhelm, not knowing that their doctor wasn't in network, paying too much for prescription, um, not having an agent that's going to actually answer their questions. Playing on that emotional side can not only strengthen the lead to actually being more of a prospect, but it can also make you stand out and bring your cost per lead down. All right, number 4, the next biggest roadblock that I see agents fall into that prevent them from getting killer results is not knowing how to interpret the data. Here's the deal: amateurs are obsessed with low cost per lead. Amateurs are obsessed with what the cost per lead is. Experts are obsessed with understanding why the cost per lead is what it is, and then zooming out and looking at the big picture of what's actually happening. When brand new agents first start running ads, all they want to do is focus on that cost per lead. And I did just show you some beautiful cost per leads because that shows that Facebook ads actually can work. But whether that cost per lead is high or if it is what it is right now, I want to fully understand why. I want to go into each ad creative and look at the link click-through rate, see if it affects what my form conversion rate is or my landing page conversion rate is. Then I also want to zoom out and look at the big picture to see what the true ROI I also look at the big picture in terms of building a prospect list. You have people's information, and now you're able to reach out to them on November 1st, or even I would say before then, like right now in August, you could be saying, I have openings right now for you to have a prime spot for me to do an audit on your previous account, answer any questions, and set you up so that way when October— if it's Medicare November we're able to enroll you in the right plan immediately. So take advantage of testing the, the different approaches, looking at the data, and truly zooming out and looking at the big picture. And number 5, the last thing that gets in the way of agents unlocking true amazing results that can allow them to scale their business is giving up. It's how many agents choose to give up after barely dipping their toe into the pool. All the rewards in Facebook world go to those who keep going and choose to work it out. You have to have the attitude that there is no learn— there is no losing, there's only learning. So when you are paying to have your ads served, you're not necessarily just focusing on the cost per lead. You are looking at the data that you are curating. And you're able to look at that data and create new hypothesis of how you're going to approach your next campaign. I have seen how crazy impactful it is for an agent that has 10 failed campaigns, then they finally get one that is right and they're able to scale it. And I have seen how it can completely change the trajectory of someone's business. So don't give up. Now, here's a little secret that I do want to leave you with. Insurance lead generation ads don't have to be that complicated, and I have seen that agents are smart enough and are more than capable of learning how to become fully self-sufficient at generating their own leads. And if they do decide to hire an agency and they want to work with someone, it's so important that they know how to actually actually look at the results and know if that agency is actually doing a good job for them or not. So if you are interested in learning more about generating your own leads, then I hope you subscribe. If you have any questions, drop them below. I love answering questions, or it might give me an idea for a new video to put out. So I'll see you next time.