Every Tom, Dick, Harry, and potential client that goes by any other name spends time on the internet. It’s where they go to get answers to their questions, to shop for products, and to find a trusted insurance agent in their neighborhood. And if they can’t find you online, you and your business are missing out.
But don’t worry. It’s never too late to hop onboard and create a significant online presence–and win over a whole new clientele.
Unsure about where to start? No problem. By following a few easy steps, you can embark on a successful digital marketing campaign.
Create a Home on the Web
The first step–and it is an important one–is to create a professional-looking website that truly represents both you and your business. Just as your marketing endeavors in the real world are aimed at getting customers through the door of your office, your online marketing efforts are meant to attract customers to your website. In other words, your website is your business’s home base in the cyberworld.
Your website enables potential clients to contact you anytime, anywhere. It ensures that “searchers” will be able to find you. And it allows you to manage your content, showcase your insurance prowess, and share your products with a whole new audience.
Create Content
Now that you’ve got a website, the marketing possibilities are only as endless as your imagination. A great place to start, however, is by introducing a blog and a Q&A section.
Blog
As an Insurance Agent, you are privy to a wealth of information about a subject that many people find both mysterious and confusing. By creating informative content that displays your know-how, you will not only solidify yourself as expert in your field, but you will also win over the trust of your audience.
According to John Beveridge’s “Use Content Marketing for Agency Lead Generation,” Hubspot has learned that “companies that blog 15 times or more per month get five times more web traffic than companies that don’t blog.” This equates to more leads and more sales.
Possessing a popular blog will also enable you to invite other industry professionals to discuss topics–further solidifying your image as a well-connected pro, and winning over an even larger audience.
As an added bonus, “Digital Marketing is Quickly Becoming the Marketing Channel of the 21st Century,” also points out that “the content that is produced can be reused and repurposed for training material, additional sales collateral, and other assets within your organization.”
Q&A
Inviting visitors to pose questions–and answering them free of charge–not only fosters trust, but it also lets your clientele know that you care about their own personal insurance needs. It helps form a bond between them and you.
You could also offer videos of free seminars via your website. Short offerings with digestible “bites” of information work best. Not only will these work towards building a relationship with the viewer, but they are an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your knowledge and your winning personality.
Engage in Social Media
If you’ve never engaged in social media, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to market your services–and it’s free. And these platforms can all be linked back to your cyberworld home base, your website.
Everyone and their brother, their brother’s mother, and their brother’s mother’s dog is on social media–and if you want to reach them, you need to go to the places they hang out. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+ are great places to start.
Use LinkedIn to showcase your portfolio of accomplishments, connect with other industry leaders, join or lead business-related groups, and receive and issue endorsements. Create a business Facebook page to showcase your blog content, advertise new products and promotions, and, of course, collect “likes.” Twitter is a great place to share short bursts of information, entice people to read your blog content, and follow those “impossible to connect with in person” industry leaders. Google+ enables you to share your blog posts, join communities, host an information hangout, or advertise an upcoming event. You can even use social media to connect with clients in the event of a natural disaster.
“5 Free Apps Every Insurance Agent Should Know About” also reminds us that there are mobile applications like Cloze that can help you keep on top of your social media accounts. And, once you get started, you will likely find that social media networking is your favorite part of the day.
If you’ve been putting off engaging in digital marketing, there is no time like the present to dive right in. You’ll be surprised at how well these effort pay off–and how much you enjoy doing it!
What part of your digital marketing mix yields the best results? Why do you think that is?
