With the rise of the digital age, internet marketing is becoming more and more challenging for insurance agents. Younger generations – especially the notoriously picky millennials – depend on the internet to evaluate businesses and insurers, while many local insurers have to compete with already well-known national and global companies online.
Of all the contemporary marketing strategies, internet marketing is one of the most critical. Think about the last time you wanted to go out to eat or needed to find a physician – did you do a quick Google search or did you check out what others are saying on Yelp to help you make a decision?
Here are some tips for agents to help better attract customers online:
1. Provide quality content on your website
When customers search online for an insurer, they are looking for quality content that answers their questions and makes them feel better about their financial future. Websites with only a phone number, address, and “About us/me” section do not address all of the issues customers are concerned with.
Customers want information on your experience and your approach to fulfilling their needs. Providing them with tools and resources to let them self-educate will establish credibility.
2. Be cautious with how you use social media
People generally do not want to be sold to on social media – particularly on websites such as Twitter and Facebook. Posting information about new plans or products can actually lead to skeptic customers and can do more harm than good. Social media marketing is useful for building relationships with customers, but can be time and resource-intensive.
3. Update your website frequently
Maintaining the quality content on your website is just as important as providing it to customers. The content you provide should be timely and relevant. If you offered a service or event (like a special or sale) in the past that you no longer provide, then it should not be on your website.
A business that is careful about what is on their website is deemed more trustworthy and reliable by customers. Additionally, search engines prioritize websites that frequently update their content.
4. Optimize your website for mobile devices
Most business websites in 2016 are optimized for mobile devices and yours should be no exception. Any simple website issue – like a link on your phone not working or text that is too small – can frustrate prospects and drive them away.
Additionally, Google now prioritizes websites that are optimized for mobile devices, which means that not having your website optimized can decrease your chance of being noticed.
5. Measure your success with marketing campaigns
Marketing campaigns should be regularly inspected to determine whether they were a success or a failure. In order to collect data for review, you need to figure out which campaigns are generating leads and how many leads are generated by each campaign. Keep track of how many calls, emails, and online inquiries you receive and determine which campaigns are more successful than others.
People use the internet to scrutinize all kinds of businesses – from restaurants to insurance agents. A weak or non-existent online presence can result in a loss of prospects and clients.
Bill Brinkley has assisted insurance agents with promoting their products and reaching their goals for over fifteen years. He specializes in using cutting-edge techniques in online marketing to get agents more leads and grow their business. Bill likes helping and watching businesses grow.