You don't have to tell insurance brokers thatit's a time of unprecedented change in the industry. Between thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act, health care exchangesand changes to Medicare, brokers are seeing a wholesaletransformation in the way they do business.

But many brokers are so focused on the revolution unfolding infront of them that they're missing a smaller, quieter revolutionthat's been happening behind their backs for years. In less thantwo decades, the Internet has gone from an entertaining distractionto a vital business tool. These days, if you're not connected,you're not relevant—and you're not reaching clients and potentialclients.

“Brokers have to be on the web, period,” says Rick Krout, salesexecutive at Warner Pacific in Denver. “With the new PPACA rulescoming down, with the exchanges and things like that, it's allgoing to be Internet. So these brokers that have maybe shied awayfrom getting their emails and websites, now they're going to haveto get on the web.”

The good news is that an array of cheap or free web tools canhelp even the least tech-savvy of brokers make the leap. Here's alook at some of the most popular.

Email services

Whether they are at their desks or looking at their phones,people check their email constantly. So sending an email newsletterto your clients is a no-brainer. Free services like MailChimp,where you do most of the heavy lifting, or paid services likeConstant Contact can help you create, send and track emails—an easyway to get through to a lot of clients at once.

Mary Heidbrier, of Boulder, Colo., based MLJ InsuranceSpecialists, sends e-newsletters to her individual and groupclients every three weeks, and she has seen firsthand thedifference direct communication makes. Within five minutes ofsending out a recent newsletter, she heard back from an individualclient who had just started at a new company.

“They needed a new broker, and I have a 12-person group fromit,” Heidbrier says. “We always have somebody emailing withquestions or giving us a referral right after we do anewsletter.”

Wisely, Heidbrier stays away from the hard sell in hernewsletters, focusing instead on topics she knows clients will havequestions about: out-of-pocket limits, underwriting, exchanges andso on.

“I feel like we're getting information out there, peopleappreciate it, and I know it keeps us top of mind,” she says. “Itreminds them who we are and that we're interested in them.”

LinkedIn

Think of it as Facebook for the business world: Here, brokerscan connect with other brokers and agents, clients, carriers orbroker groups. Another important reason to be on LinkedIn? To stayup-to-date on health insurance, health reform and other regulatorynews. Industry insiders suggest following groups that are postingthat news and information, and then sending that information on toyour clients.

“LinkedIn is one of the best for brokers, as far as social mediagoes,” Krout says. “It's just one of the best educationalopportunities out there right now because there are so many brokersall across the nation that are putting out really good content.[Other] brokers can repost it and forward it to their clients—it'spretty exciting what they can do. It can make them look good totheir employers.”

And the networking side of LinkedIn can be a huge help when itcomes to finding clients or preparing for meetings, says ChadSchneider, Aflac business developer manager, in Irvine, Calif.

“I, as a carrier, have actually introduced myself and got in thedoor to several very large brokers 100 percent on LinkedIn,” hesays. “I didn't call them, I didn't email them, I found them onLinkedIn and all of a sudden we've got a meeting. It's great.That's how it should be.”

And on pre-meeting days, Schneider will use the site to see whatgroups or contacts he has in common with potential new clients.

“They want to know who you are,” he says. “[When you're able tosay], 'By the way, we have 20 mutual contacts,' it's great. Itopens up a whole different level of introduction and warm-up.”

Webinars

Here's a tool that some claim will save you time andmoney—rather than drive all over town for the same routine meetingwith different clients, ask them to log in to a service like Yugmaor GoToWebinar and do your presentation just once, at yourlocation, while they follow along online. Maha Roberts, a specialtygroup sales executive at WarnerPacific in Denver, suggests usingwebinars to conduct monthly meetings with clients and to help themenroll online.

“I [recently] did one and I had one group client on it, but Ididn't drive all the way to south Denver to give her personalattention,” Heidbrier says. “Even though that was the only personthat ended up being on the webinar, I was still happy because I gotdone in 30 minutes what it takes me an hour and a half or two hoursto do when I have to go meet with somebody.”

Facebook

Sure, this popular social media site is mostly for peopleshowing off their vacation photos and linking to their favorite catvideos, but Facebook also can be a valuable tool for brokerslooking to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

That's the word from Schneider, who says that insurance sales“are no longer about spreadsheeting.”

He says it's about developing yourself as a brand. And Facebookis the perfect place to “tell your company's story,” Schneidersays.

“You want to think your clients know what you do for them on aday-to-day basis, but at the end of the day, do they know yourcompany's story? You can get a cup of coffee anywhere, butStarbucks creates an experience,” he says. “In the insurance world,you can do the same thing—here's what this person is all about;here's why you're hiring this person. Let's face it, in theinsurance world, that's really the only thing that separates you,in the grand scheme.”

Heidbrier echoes the sentiment. Even with just 200 followers,she says, she's able to let people know more about who she is andwhat she can do for them.

“I'm just happy to get my business name out there—to get peopleto think a little differently about insurance companies, aboutagents, and to let them know that I'm reputable, I'm here. I'm notsome vague person on the phone,” she says. “A lot of my business isover the phone and on the Internet. We do emails, we don't doin-person meetings hardly ever; we can't afford to. So this hasbeen a way to give us more personality.”

Facebook also is a road for two-way communication with customersand prospects. You can post news articles and FAQs for customersabout things that affect them—small business tax credits andadvantages of an HSA, for example—and respond to their questionsand comments with more good information.

YouTube

Those webinars you're conducting? Archive them on the popularvideo-sharing site. Or use your cell-phone camera to record a shortvideo about you and your services.

“People today—especially younger people—they buy based onrecommendation,” Schneider says. “Your dad can say, 'You need lifeinsurance,' but if somebody explains why, and here's a cool videoas to why the need for life insurance and everybody else is doingthis whole life insurance thing, all of a sudden people are goingto buy life insurance. That's where they that create thatenvironment.”

Videos also are a great way to put a face to a name, asSchneider found out when he ran for national secretary of theNational Association of Health Underwriters.

“Rather than sending that email that is so normal and kind ofpassé these days, what if you sent a video email?” he says. “Whatif you were to create video you could put on your website? I didvideo emails for my campaign—sitting in my office, saying 'vote forme,' and at the conference, everyone knew who I was.”

It's no fad

Whatever tools you use, it's important to adopt thempermanently. Have a Facebook page? Update it every day. Did youjust send out an e-newsletter? Don't forget to send another in afew weeks. The web and social media are here to stay.

“A lot of people are scared of this, but it's not going away,”Schneider says. “It's not a fad; it's fundamentalcommunication.”

Consider these facts: 96 percent of millennials are on a socialnetwork; 80 percent of companies use social media for recruitment;and 78 percent of consumers trust recommendations. Someuniversities no longer issue email addresses, as kids insteadmigrate to social media for information sharing. And the insuranceindustry is at the forefront of the social-media revolution: as anindustry, insurance has the most Facebook pages, Schneidersays.

“I think today more than ever, consumers are looking forresources and freaked out about what's going on,” he says. “Abroker that can have that media presence, give them tools andresources to be able to take a look at it, connect them toexchanges and resources and how-to's and white papers and whateverthose tools might be, those are people that are going to get moretraction.”