We've reached the point where businesses of all sizes know they should be incorporating social media into their overall marketing strategies. (Image: Shutterstock)

Social media has become an essential marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. Buffer, a social media management platform, recently released its State of Social 2018 report, which surveyed over 1,700 companies, half of which employ fewer than 10 people. Survey results showed that a whopping 96 percent of businesses are using social media marketing.

We've reached the point where businesses of all sizes know they should be incorporating social media into their overall marketing strategies, but the social media landscape can be overwhelming, especially for busy brokers who want to focus on revenue generation and agency management. It can be difficult to know which platforms to use, what to post, how often to post, and how to measure success. But social media marketing doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here are five easy-to-implement social media strategies that can jumpstart your social media marketing efforts.

1. Update your LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn is the most popular business-oriented social networking platform, with more than 500 million users. While you may think of LinkedIn as nothing more than an online resume, it is an essential social media marketing tool. Your LinkedIn profile is an online professional statement about you—who you are, what you do, why you're qualified, how to contact you, when to hire you and how connected and relevant you are. It is often the first place someone will look for information about you when they are considering doing business with you.