By: Kaylyn Zielinski | IIAW Marketing & Communications Coordinator

As we enter the 2020 holiday season, it’s not a surprise that the holidays are feeling very different this year. Holiday parties are being put on hold and end-of-year networking events are being postponed. However, we are gifting you with a solution to allow for much-needed networking in the time of social distancing! You no longer need to sift through the posts on LinkedIn to find content and connections that matter to you - that’s what our Online Community is for: a curated platform for insurance professionals. This holiday season, we’re gifting you with a place for connection, in a time when in-person gatherings are non-existent. 

At the time of writing this article, we have already amassed over 120 members (and growing every day) who are engaged in our Online Community! That’s over 120 people who are ready to connect, collaborate and engage with you!

"

I really like the concept of the Online Community. One of the benefits of being involved in the Big I in general is the opportunity to interact and get to know other agents from across the state. The Online Community is a great new part of that, especially in light of the fact that we can’t get together in-person like we normally would. It gives us the chance to ask questions of our fellow agents and share experiences or advice, all in the interest of making us better as agents and as an industry. And it’s 

so easy to use, even I can do it."

- Steve Leitch, Leitch Insurance Agency, Inc.

Our Online Community is for every single one of our members, whether that be independent agents, carriers, vendors, companies, etc. 

As we’ve mentioned in previous publications, our Online Community is two-fold. Not only are we offering a free and fun platform to exclusively network, but we’re also supporting our local communities through this outlet as well. 

We just celebrated Small Business Saturday on November 28th, 2020, and we can proudly say that the IIAW and our Online Community participants truly played a part in supporting local Wisconsin businesses!

The IIAW awarded Thought Leaders (previously known as committee members) who signed up for our Online Community. Each Thought Leader received a $25 gift card to a local business of their choice. 

Amy Brice, AMERISAFE, used her gift card at Cottage Cafe in Madison

Ryan Waite used his gift card at Forage Kitchen in Madison

Jeff Thiel, R&R Insurance Services, used his gift card at Weissgerber Golden Mast Inn in Okauchee

Steve Leitch, Leitch Insurance Services, Inc., used his gift card at DeVine Liquor in River Falls

We’ve awarded our Thought Leaders (members registered to be a verified resource for questions and content within each of the Online Community Groups) a gift card for a local Wisconsin business of their choice. 

Every person who participates in our Online Community can earn rewards. Each time you engage within the Community, you earn points. Then, at the end of each quarter, if you’ve reached certain point thresholds, you’ll receive some awesome rewards.  

These rewards are: a $25 gift card to a local Wisconsin business of your choice, a $100 donation to a Wisconsin non-profit of your choice and an IIAW swag bag which contains items like Yetis, desktop whiteboards, smart plugs and more!

To join the IIAW’s Online Community, go to iiaw.com/joincommunity. Be sure to check your spam/junk folders for the invite email after filling out the survey on our website. We are looking forward to connecting with all of you in our Online Community! Happy Holidays!

Matt Banaszynski | CEO of the IIAW

This article was originally published in our September 2020 Wisconsin Independent Agent magazine issue. 

In last month’s issue of Wisconsin Independent Agent, we announced our new platform, the Online Community. IIAW’s Online Community will help our members, vendors, sponsors and IIAW staff connect. This new member benefit will launch on November 1st, and we have a big incentive for members to participate:

Top contributors of our Online Community will receive gifts and prizes that will give back to their local communities, simply for participating.

Participating in our Online Community is easy. All you need to do is sign up, join Groups, connect collaborate and engage to earn gifts that will give back to your local communities.

Sign Up:

On November 1st our Online Community will go live for all members. Once live, IIAW members can log into their profile on our website, iiaw.com, to access the Online Community. If you or someone within your company would like to join the Online Community but don’t currently have an account through our website, please contact us atinfo@iiaw.com and we will send you a link to be added as a user under your company’s membership. You can also email us at info@iiaw.com if you have any questions about logging into an existing account.

Join Groups:  

We are moving our current committees online, and they will now be called Groups. Amidst COVID-19, in-person gatherings are hard to accommodate. Instead, we want to continue offering a place for those with like interests to gather together but in a more attainable way - online. Recently, we opened Group sign up to those who would like to be Thought Leaders (previously known as committee members). Thought Leaders will lead discussions within their Groups and answer any questions that may arise. Prior to the launch of our Online Community, we will be opening the sign up for those that would like to be generalcontributors of Groups. There are no obligations to join a Group as a contributor, but contributors can still soak up the information being shared within the Groups they choose to join. When members log into their account on our website November 1st, they will already be a member of the Groups they selected in previous sign-ups.

As we move our current Groups (formerly known ascommittees) online, we are also introducing a few new Group interest areas.

• Legal - This Group will be a source for news and articles. This will be a place to discuss laws and legal implications. Information within this Group will be general in nature, and the forum will not be used to provide personal or

agency-specific legal advice and counsel.

• Education and Events - This Group will shareprofessional development and continuing education opportunities. Members in this Group will learn about industry educational offerings and events.

• Internet of Insurance - The Internet of Insurance User Group will assist users in the utilization and troubleshooting of the IOI, a free platform for members. Members can share questions, comments and connect with Thought Leaders within the Internet of Insurance space to make improvements to the customer and user experience. Within the Group, members can learn more about the platform and use it to your agency’s advantage. Founders and employees of DAIS, the company that created the IOI, will be Thought Leaders within this Group.

Connect, Collaborate and Engage

Our Online Community is our industry-curated version of Facebook and LinkedIn. Similar to your favorite social media sites, you can connect with others, read, comment, like posts and much more within Groups and on the feed (MyFeed). Connecting, collaborating and engaging with other members of our Online Community is the best way to get the most value out of this new member benefit.

Earn Gifts that Give Back

One of the important features of our Online Community is how we will be giving back to local communities. We have created a rewards system to award those who actively participate in MyFeed and Group discussions. Topcontributors will earn gift cards/gift certificates to local eateries (Wisconsin small businesses), donations to local charities and handpicked IIAW swag and prizes.

Additionally, participation will also play a part in theselection process for IIAW’s end-of-year Association Awards like Agent of the Year, Industry Representative of the Year, Emerging Leader of the Year and more.

If used to its full potential, our new Online Community will be a great member benefit. Being an active member of our Online Community and its Groups will give members the ability to be a part of just that - an online community of professionals that understand the industry, customers and values.

We are excited to offer our members this free and valuable benefit, and we are eager that together, as a community, we can support your local communities too!