As an independent insurance agent, you’ll be much busier than you realize once you establish your customer base. In fact, the job outlook for insurance agents is projected to increase by 6% from 2021 to 2031.
Most insurance agents focus on one specific insurance or a combination of insurance policies. But whatever you focus on, as this job industry grows, you’ll need the right online marketing strategies to stand out among the rest.
Knowing where to begin can be challenging, especially when you’re a new agent. Don’t worry; you just need to know the online strategies that will get you results quickly.
Keep reading this guide to learn the top marketing strategies for independent insurance agents, like partnering with the right insurance field marketing organization.
Identify Your Target Customer Base
Even if you have an idea about who your target customers are, it’s imperative to dig deep. Defining your customer base allows you to focus on your digital marketing strategies without wasting time and money.
One of the most effective ways to do this is to create a customer or buyer persona. Doing this involves creating a fictional customer just like they were a real person. This fictional person will have specific demographics, interests, and behaviors.
You’ll need to compile data from your social media sites and your customers’ data. Using tools like Facebook Audience Insights will help you get the information you need. You should then focus on details like:
- Age
- Language
- Location
- Challenges
- Interests
- Spending patterns
Once you do this, you can better identify this target customer’s pain points and goals. This includes figuring out what problems your customers want to solve and what barriers they face.
Ultimately, you’ll be able to target each type of customer and better recommend the best insurance products for their situation.
Create a High-Quality Website
Having a quality website is crucial. After all, 76% of consumers look at online presence before taking further steps. You’ll need to create a website that draws your visitors in and convinces them to spend more than 20 seconds looking through your content.
Your website is a crucial first step to establishing a consistent online presence. Be sure not to neglect any aspect of your website and focus on key points like:
- Ensure you have a simple layout
- Choose a pleasant color scheme
- Make it easy to navigate
- Use a strong call to action
- Use the most relevant information at the top of the page
- Include your business name and phone number
- Include hours of operation
- Include the primary insurance services you offer
- Include links to your social media profiles
Don’t forget to include photographs of yourself and your insurance agency. This helps give your website a more personal touch.
It’s well worth it to hire a professional to design your website to ensure it’s optimized and ready to turn visitors into customers.
Begin Content Marketing
So, what’s the best way to show off your expertise? A strong content marketing campaign will propel you to the next level.
There are many ways you can begin a content marketing campaign. However, the best way is to keep it simple and subtle. Most often, this approach is the most effective.
To do this, you can create a blog on your website and publish content about insurance-related topics.
Blog Content
Creating compelling and relevant content is one of the best ways to draw people in. It also helps drive traffic to your website and shows potential customers that you’re a true professional.
Even more, you can use this content across all your digital channels. The content can include blog posts, pictures, and infographics. It will help you engage your customers and boost your brand awareness.
Write about insurance products, costs, policies, and benefits. Use listicles, and don’t be afraid to get creative with your blog posts.
Monthly Email Newsletters
You can also send email newsletters each month. This newsletter should contain the latest on various insurance policies and benefits.
Take your time to craft creative newsletters. Don’t be afraid to get professional help to develop an email campaign that gets you noticed.
An email marketing strategist can help develop an attention-grabbing campaign unique to your business. They’ll also ensure the emails are fun and easy to read.
Video Content
Video content is hugely popular, and you can’t afford to overlook it. In fact, internet users worldwide enjoy video content, with 244.4 million video viewers in the US alone. The demand for video content is increasing, with 91% of consumers wanting to see more video content online.
There is no question that videos are a powerful marketing tool, so you need to use them to your advantage.
You can create short videos that discuss the insurance products you’re selling. Be sure to include specific policy information, costs, and benefits. People love seeing videos on social media platforms, so don’t be afraid to create short videos daily.
It’s also wise to consider asking your customers if they want to do a video testimonial about their experience with you.
Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Remember, you can have a fantastic website and engaging content, but your potential customers have to be able to find you online. You’ll need to be among the top-ranked Google search engine results to get the attention you need.
SEO is one of the best ways to do this. SEO involves keyword research to find relevant keywords to put on your website. These keywords would be what people use to search for insurance services or to find a local insurance agent.
When SEO is done correctly, it will raise your ranking naturally when potential clients search for services.
There are different types of SEO that you should focus on, which include:
Local SEO
Local SEO can help you target specific customers. For example, if your insurance agency operates locally, you can focus on local SEO to attract clients. Local SEO involves local keyword research and optimizing your Google business profile.
Additionally, local SEO focuses on creating locally relevant content to help boost interest from a specific geographic area.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO focuses on your website content and uses it to rank your site on search engines.
It’s essential to realize that Google prefers helpful and informative content. Therefore, on-page SEO will first focus on your blog and add fresh content. It also uses target keywords for your blog content.
It’s critical to update all page titles to target your primary keywords. You’ll need to update all item descriptions if you have an online store.
Off-Page SEO
Unlike on-page SEO, off-page SEO focuses on factors outside your website that can influence your rankings.
One of the first things off-page SEO will address is the quality of your backlinks. Backlinks involve you publishing relevant and informative articles.
Then, other websites cite your article in their article as a reference. This gives you a quality backlink that can boost your SEO.
Off-page SEO also involves managing social media presence and customer reviews. You’ll also focus on PR and outreach to other businesses.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO looks at different factors that affect how your website performs overall. This involves site speed and user experience, which means your website needs to be easy to navigate.
If you have problems like broken links and slow-loading pages, it will hurt your rankings significantly.
Other areas of technical SEO include:
- Fixing duplicate content
- Making your website mobile-friendly
- Ensuring the pages load quickly
- Having a clear sitemap
The main point of technical SEO is to make your webpage a comfortable experience for potential customers. It’s a key component of SEO, and working on all of these types of SEO will take your marketing campaign to the next level.
Use Social Media to Your Advantage
Whether you’re a new business or still working on getting leads, social media for insurance agents can help you reach your goals. But social media doesn’t just stop there.
Social media can help improve the overall customer service experience, allowing you to interact with your customers more. Social media can also:
- Enable you to create more trust
- Help establish a stronger online presence
- Help drive more traffic to your website
- Help with branding
- Showcase reviews and testimonials
You’ll need to form a plan of attack by focusing on specific aspects of social media.
Facebook Marketing for Insurance Agents
A great place to start is by using Facebook marketing. Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms worldwide, with 2.85 billion users as of 2021. You definitely can’t afford to overlook Facebook.
When establishing a Facebook page for your insurance agency, you must ensure it has all the necessary information. This information should include your name, phone number, address, and links to all other social media accounts.
With Facebook, you’ll be able to:
- Post and record videos explaining insurance plans
- Post pictures
- Notify customers of various rate changes
- Place ads to drive more clicks and business
- Hold contests
Facebook is relatively easy to use, so you don’t need to be intimidated if you’re a beginner.
Instagram Marketing for Insurance Agents
Be sure not to underestimate the potential of Instagram. Instagram is more popular amongst the younger crowd. This particular demographic may not understand insurance or think they need it.
However, it’s a great customer base to tap into, and you can use your content as a teaching tool.
Create an Instagram business account to share your business information. Instagram Stories and Reels allow you to add fun, peppy videos explaining insurance policy basics.
Instagram is super visual, so don’t forget to post appealing graphics and visuals that get attention.
Use an Insurance Field Marketing Organization (FMO)
An FMO is a company that provides support to independent insurance agents. It helps agents improve sales and client retention. An FMO gives you the extra support you need to be successful.
Partnering with an FMO has many benefits and can take your marketing to the next level.
First, an FMO provides the training and resources you need to market your business and generate leads. For example, reputable companies like TR King Insurance Marketing offer various insurance training programs to help you grow.
You’ll get specific marketing training that shows you how to sell particular products like Medicare or final expense insurance over the phone or in person. Many older adults are interested in this insurance, so you’ll learn how to navigate this market.
You’ll also receive additional training, better cash flow, and access to software and tools that help you better serve your customers.
An FMO is especially helpful to new agents, so you’ll get product-specific training that helps you better understand what you’re selling. You’ll also learn more details about different career procedures and policies.
Finally, you’ll need carrier-specific training to work with different insurance carriers. You’ll need to learn about policies, procedures, claims processing, etc. FMOs will teach you everything you need to know.
Overall, an FMO can give you the boost you need with marketing and knowledge of insurance products.
Buy Quality Insurance Leads
Another great thing about companies like TR King Insurance Marketing is that you can buy quality insurance leads.
You can buy affordable insurance leads to help build your business. These high-quality leads include detailed information like last name, address, phone number, date of birth, and a valid email.
These leads are also exclusive to you for 21 days and are screened for fraud to ensure they contain valid information.
You can get hundreds of various leads that include:
- Medicare insurance
- Final expense insurance
- Health insurance agencies
You can also access insurance leads on demand via the LeadStream Lead Portal. This is a self-serve platform that is designed for independent insurance agents. This helps agents gain access to exclusive leads in real-time.
All leads are compliant with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). TCPA regulates all telemarketing calls like pre-recorded, auto-dialed, and text messages. It has specific rules like restricting calls before 8 am or after 9 pm and calling numbers on the do-not-call registry.
Turning quality leads into sales will boost your sales and bring you more leads. It’s perfect for marketing since you’ll have a positive customer experience. This leads to opportunities to get positive reviews and recommendations.
Implement These Online Marketing Strategies
Implementing these online marketing strategies will take your insurance marketing to the next level.
Remember, you don’t need to do it all alone. You can turn to the professionals at TR King Insurance Marketing for all your marketing needs. We can help you build your customer base and industry presence one day at a time.
We began in 2007 when independent insurance agent Todd R. King formed TR King Insurance Marketing to develop long-lasting relationships with insurance agents all over the US.
We have the tools and products to help you succeed. Make sure to visit online today to start the onboarding process and learn more!