Author: John Scranton
How Insurance Agencies are Maximizing Their Social Media Investment
Insurance agencies and wholesale brokers are investing in social media content creation as a valuable tool for attracting new clients and retaining existing ones. Social media content creation drives lead generation because it answers questions and conveys expertise to prospects. Business professionals and decision makers prefer to work with organizations that have a strong online presence because it gives them the opportunity and freedom to conduct their own research on their own terms when it best fits into their schedule.
The most successful insurance agencies are investing in social media. And, perhaps most importantly, they are producing more content.
Here are five strategies that the most successful insurance agencies, brokers and wholesalers are using to maximize their social media dollars.
- Ensure a social media expert oversees the company’s content marketing strategy. – The most successful companies make sure there is at least one person that is designated to be in charge of executing the content marketing goals that the company has set.
- Have a documented content strategy. – Write down your goals and what indicators you’ll use to prove your success. Make sure you communicate your goals with your digital marketing team.
- Use a variety of tactics. – In this age of multi-media consumption, competition for audience attention is fierce. The smart investors realize that the wider they cast their net and invest in more tactics, the more new customers they will attract. Here is a list of possible content marketing tactics your organization could employ:
* Social media postings
* Articles on your website and prominent directories
* Blogs
* Digital Newsletters
* Case studies
* Videos
* White papers
* Webinars/webcasts
* Infographics
* Research reports
* Microsites
* Mobile content
* eBooks
* Mobile apps
* Digital magazines
* Podcasts
* Virtual conferences
* Annual reports
- Use social media more frequently. – B2B companies use an average of six social platforms, up from five last year. (Content Marketing Institute.) As expected, LinkedIn is the top social media site used by B2B marketers, while Facebook is a close second. The sites that have seen the most growth this last year include SlideShare, Google+ and Instagram. Social media drives awareness of your company which in turn impacts lead generation.
- Produce more content. – While it may seem obvious, producing more content is an effective strategy for attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. It may be very intimidating for an insurance agency to produce a quantity of content because it can be time-consuming and needs to be consistent.
StartUpSelling specializes in insurance marketing, web marketing and lead generation services. We have successfully created, launched and maintained marketing and lead generation campaigns for a vast array of insurance agencies, brokers and wholesalers. We deliver elite service and solutions at competitive price points. If you would like to maximize an investment in content marketing for your insurance organization, give us a call at 518-222-6392 today!
Originally Posted by John Scranton on June 22, 2015
On-Demand Webinar: Insurance Lead Gen for Trucking & Other Niche Markets
Check out this on-demand webinar revealing successful strategies for insurance agencies generating leads in transportation and other niche markets:
* Supporting producers with effective lead gen
* Building a prospect email list
* Appointment setting tips & strategies
* Creating a lead handling process
* ROI tracking and refinement
Watch the webinar here: https://startupselling.com/johnscranton/trucking-webinar/
How Smart Insurance Agencies are Saving Time and Generating Quality Marketing Content
By now, astute insurance agencies, brokers and wholesalers understand the value and importance of content marketing. Content marketing refers to creating and distributing relevant content using online frameworks such as websites, social networks, blogs, white papers, videos, e-zines, e-newsletters, etc. Many agencies struggle with the workload issues, motivation and inspiration needed to keep up with a long-term content strategy.
Here are some strategies that may help you plan and stay on top of your content marketing goals:
- Take time to curate content to explore new, interesting ideas. Use content curation tools like Feedly, Pocket or Evernote to help you discover, track and easily locate articles, videos and other relevant content your clients will appreciate.
- Use social media sharing tools like Buffer, PostPlanner, Hootsuite or SendSocialMedia that allow you to find and post to your social platforms directly from your internet browser, saving time and effort.
- Organize a team to help. The process of implementing content strategy is fraught with many nuances and challenges and requires an understanding of content creation and an established pattern of interaction between all members of the team. A strong content development team should include a content strategist, developer, copywriter, designer, SEO expert and other company representatives as needed.
- Assign the primary responsibility for content to a single project manager who will assign duties, provide oversight, ensure quality control standards are met and deadlines are met.
- Develop a content strategy that includes: target audience demographics and buyer persona, a primary message, secondary or tertiary messages, a compelling offer or “hook”, calls to action, multiple types of delivery methods (i.e. blogs, social network posts, graphics, videos, webinars, articles, white papers, resource guides, etc.).
- Set regular meeting times to review issues as well as progress.
- Evaluate the results of your content strategy and refine future planning as needed.
Many insurance agencies, brokers or wholesalers outsource content creation to a competent marketing firm. Outsourcing is a cost effective option because it eliminates the need to hire, train, supervise and compensate a digital marketing team. Contact StartUpSelling today to learn more about effective content marketing strategies for insurance agencies, brokers and wholesalers.
Originally Posted by John Scranton on June 26, 2015
Insurance Agency Marketing Plans: How to Insure the Success of Your Producers – Webinar Nears 20,000 Views
July Trucking Lead Gen Results – 12.9 to 24.5 Exclusive Appointments Per Month
These were our recent trucking agency lead generation results. They could be yours!
- 1 to 5 Power Units – 24.5 New Prospect Appointments/month
- 5 to 25 Power Units – 15.9 New Prospect Appointments/month
- 5 to 75 Power Units – 12.9 New Prospect Appointments/month
These appointments are exclusive to your agency, specific to your target market, and expecting to discuss trucking insurance with you. Start building your trucking pipeline today, to ensure great results!
Contact us at (518) 222-6392 for a 15 minute trucking lead gen discussion – and learn how and why other agencies are succeeding with this proven lead generation solution.
Reblog: Using Gated Content for Insurance Agency Lead Generation – by Alan Blume
What is gated content?
Insurance agency marketers leverage gated content for lead generation, by trading digital content fulfillment for visitor information such as name, email, organization, industry, title, etc. The digital content can be offered through insurance agency email marketing campaigns, PPC campaigns, social media marketing, blogs or newsletters, to mention a few of the insurance marketing vehicles which can be used.
Gated content specifically refers to front end form-based materials, such as articles, case studies, videos and white papers, which require visitors to provide information (fill out a form) before allowing access to that digital information. The form may simply require a name and email address, or depending upon the perceived value of the information, may require additional detail and demographic information about them and their and organizations.
Then what is ungated content? Ungated content presents information to the visitor on demand. Though there may be an option to sign up or provide information via a Call To Action, visitors can access the content immediately without any information required. [Read More…]
Top 5 Tips for Insurance Agency Appointment Setting – Recorded Webinar Nears 2,000 Views
My Dog is the Best Salesperson I Know – Popular Blog Post
This blog, posted just prior to Memorial Day weekend 2010, remains one of the most read in our history. Enjoy.
My Dog is the Best Salesperson I Know
Posted on May 28th, 2010 by John Scranton
I like to think that I am a capable salesperson. I inherited the sales “gene” from my father, and I have been able to make a career of selling or helping other organizations sell. However, a truly honest assessment shows that I am not even the most skilled sales professional in my own home. That distinctive honor goes to my dog. In case you are wondering, he is a three-year old hound mix named Flash.His sales methodology is simple, and he produces consistent results. Borrowing a few principles from my friends at Dale Carnegie – Flash is genuinely interested in others, he shows sincere appreciation, and he makes those around him feel important. He does this with no expectation of receiving anything in return. As long as his survival needs have been met, he is happy to invest all his time in others.
The results speak for themselves. He literally has a fan following in our neighborhood. He eats more bacon and steak than any dog I have ever known. His formula for success is to provide value without expectation, and he is rewarded without fail. Now if I could only get him to supplement his efforts with a few cold calls.
