One thing that sets us apart is that we specialize in each market we serve. We have dedicated teams for growth and education in each area to support our agent partners. We host webinars like this one on a weekly basis, and they are recorded. Today’s webinar will be recorded as well, and you can find past webinars in our training library on our website. I highly encourage you to take a look at what we’ve done, what’s coming up, and to register for future sessions.

My name is Christy Wilbert. I’m the Senior Vice President of URL and oversee the Medicare division. I’ve been with URL for about ten years. Prior to that, I worked as an underwriter for an insurance carrier, and before that, I was an insurance agent just like many of you, primarily in the PNC space. When I came to URL, I was new to Medicare, so if I can learn it, you can too. If you’re new to the business, my main role here is education. I focus on teaching agents how to get started, how to stay compliant, and how to find new ways to market. If you’re not marketing successfully, you’re not growing your business, and that’s what brought us here today.

I’ve been hearing a lot about social media marketing. Believe it or not, I’m not as young as I look. I’m forty years old, and I’m not particularly great at social media or technology, especially compared to twenty-year-olds. When I started researching who truly understands social media, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and paid advertising, Shauna’s name kept coming up. Facebook is so important because it allows you to reach a wide audience while still targeting very specific people. You can build your brand, create intent behind your messaging, and track results through analytics, which makes social media marketing very cost-effective.

What stood out to me most about Shauna is that she teaches you how to do this yourself. Yes, you can pay someone to manage ads for you, but if you’re willing to invest the time, Shauna offers a step-by-step course that teaches you how to generate your own leads through social media. I’m currently going through the process myself, and I can tell you it’s been a learning experience. We’ve had trial and error here at URL with social media ads, and Shauna was quick to point out what we were doing wrong, which is one of the best ways to learn. If you work with her early, you can avoid many of those mistakes.

Shauna is extremely focused on education, compliance, and integrity, which aligns perfectly with URL’s values. She is a seasoned expert in paid social media lead generation, and her course is constantly evolving. This is not a one-time purchase that becomes outdated. She updates it regularly to reflect platform changes and new strategies. She has helped countless insurance agents generate a steady stream of targeted leads, and you’re in for a real treat today.

She will also be our keynote speaker at the Medicare Connections Conference this year in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on September 3rd. If you haven’t registered yet, I highly recommend doing so and seeing her in person. We will handle questions either throughout the session or at the end, depending on what makes sense. There is a Q&A button in your chat box, and we’ve also included a downloadable handout on Facebook leads. I’m very excited to introduce Shauna Thorson from Social Waves Media.

Thank you so much, Christy. I really appreciate that introduction. I’m excited to be here today. What we’re going to dive into is the exact system and workflow for generating your own exclusive leads automatically. I also want you to leave today with a clear understanding of Facebook ads and why some campaigns succeed while others fail. I’ll cover industry changes that affect you, the biggest ad mistake I see, examples of high-converting ads, and much more.

Like Christymentioned, if I can learn this, anyone can. I didn’t get into this industry until I was about thirty-five, and I didn’t consider myself tech-savvy. In fact, I disliked the marketing side of online business at first. Over time, I grew to love it, and now I’m passionate about teaching it clearly and simply. I’ve been running paid social media ads since 2015 and entered the insurance space in 2022 after performing an ad audit for an IMO. With just a few changes in one hour, we reduced their cost per lead by seventy-five percent, and that’s when I began specializing in insurance lead generation.

When it comes to lead generation in 2025, you have several options. Traditional networking and grassroots marketing are time-intensive and unpredictable. Direct mail and online lead vendors can be expensive and often lack transparency or exclusivity. Social media lead generation allows you to speak directly to people who are already interested in what you offer. Among all platforms, Meta, which includes Facebook and Instagram, is the most effective for insurance agents.

Meta offers professional business pages, access to both Facebook and Instagram through one system, a massive and engaged audience, advanced targeting capabilities, and direct messaging. Most importantly, you don’t need to be tech-savvy to get strong results. After major changes like the iOS 14 update, Meta shifted toward a simpler, more streamlined lead generation process that keeps users on the platform. You no longer need a website to generate high-quality leads. Instead, Meta offers built-in lead generation ads where users click an ad, fill out a form on Facebook, and are directed to a thank-you page.

In January 2025, insurance became classified as a Meta special ad category. While this limits certain targeting options such as age, gender, and zip code, advertisers still control geography, messaging, placements, and strategy. The algorithm still works behind the scenes, using content engagement to determine who should see your ads. With specific messaging, the right audience self-selects, allowing your ads to naturally reach seniors, under-65 clients, or business owners.

Successful campaigns depend on three key factors. First is setting up the backend of your account properly using Meta Business Manager and Ads Manager, rather than boosting posts or using front-end tools. Second is having a strategic campaign structure and messaging. Ads are built like a tree, with campaigns as the foundation, ad sets as branches, and ad creatives as leaves. One of the biggest mistakes new advertisers make is using only one ad creative, which limits optimization and drives up costs. Providing multiple creatives and variations allows Meta to test and optimize effectively.

Specific messaging is critical, especially in a special ad category. When ads clearly speak to a specific audience, the algorithm learns who to serve them to. The third key is data-driven testing and optimization. Meta provides hundreds of metrics, but only a small set truly matters for lead generation. Understanding these metrics allows you to improve performance and reduce costs over time.

If you want to start generating leads, you have three choices. You can try to learn everything on your own, which is time-consuming and often overwhelming. You can hire an ad manager, which is expensive and still requires oversight. Or you can invest in learning the system yourself. That’s why I created the course Insurance Click to Close. Insurance agents are more than capable of learning how to generate their own leads, just like they’ve learned complex products and regulations.

Inside the course, I teach backend setup, campaign structure, ad creation, lead flow, CRM integration, and optimization strategies. Leads are delivered directly through Meta’s Lead Center or automatically into your CRM. The course includes insurance-specific strategies, advanced campaign setups, and lifetime updates. It’s designed to make you fully self-sufficient, whether you manage ads yourself or oversee someone else.

For those enrolling this week, there are several bonuses, including the Lead Conversion Toolkit with customizable lead magnets, tested ad copy, form strategies, and hooks. You’ll also learn how to build social proof affordably and gain access to the Lead Generation Launchpad, which covers social media basics for beginners.

Agents who have completed the course report significantly lower lead costs and increased confidence managing their marketing. The course is valued at over $15,000 but is priced at $1,497. For webinar attendees, a $500 voucher is available this week, bringing the price to $997 with lifetime access. The price will increase in the future.

For those who want hands-on support, the Inner Circle membership provides access to live coaching, ad critiques, and a private Facebook group with my team. This is available at a discounted rate for new enrollees.

Thank you again for your time today. I’m excited to answer questions and support you on your lead generation journey. I hope to see many of you at the Medicare Connections Conference in Hershey. Have a great rest of your day.