Welcome to a series of posts in Empowerkit that will be aimed at helping insurance agents succeed in inbound and insurance content marketing. This first post is introductory: and it’ll go over the main reasons you should be using content to make the most out of your insurance inbound marketing strategy.
As an insurance agent, you’re always working on ways to reel clients in: you’re constantly looking for leads and resorting to ads, cold calling and even traditional media to get to them. But what if I told you that there’s a better way for you to focus your marketing efforts?
Establishing the Basics of Insurance Content Marketing
First, let’s start with some concepts that need to be cleared up before moving forward. To fully understand why you should be producing content, first we’ll need to get you into context.
What is content?
Content is information that’s presented to visitors in a site in the form of text, videos, images, audio and animation. Although content most commonly refers to text alone, it’s important to keep those other media in mind (they can come in handy when looking for new ways to engage clients).
What is online marketing?
As an insurance agent, you know what marketing is. Logically, online marketing is promoting yourself or your brand in the world wide web. Blogs, content marketing, ads and email marketing are all considered in this field.
What is a content marketing/strategy?
Content marketing, of course, is the use of valuable content to attract customers. Said content needs to be compelling enough to engage potential clients with your business. Content strategy is the practice of developing a plan that revolves around using content as a marketing tool. This overlooks content creation, management, among other aspects of the process.
What is inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing is advertising by reeling customers in. As opposed to outbound marketing (traditional media, email marketing, etc.), inbound uses a set of techniques (one of which is content marketing), to make your business easy to find when the customers come looking for you.
People want to be in control of the information they get. According to Mashable, 80% of people skip TV advertisements; while 40% of direct mail is never opened. More than ever, people value their time, so if they’re going to learn about your business, it’s going to be under their terms. Inbound marketing is a way to be prepared for when that happens.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization are a set of techniques used with the purpose of getting a site to rank higher in the search pages. People, when searching for something in the internet, will mostly look at the first or second result pages. SEO uses content, keywords, inbound links, among other methods, to get you closer to the first spot. With it, you can gain visibility, traffic (the amount of visitors in your site) and, leads!
Leads, Marketing and Visibility
Check this data out and get ready to take advantage of what you’ve been missing in terms of insurance inbound marketing!
1. To Get New Leads
One of the most important parts of your day is contacting potential clients. The traditional approach to advertising may get you some good quality leads here and there. But, did you know that, according to The CMA, per dollar, content marketing produces three times more leads?
2. To Gain Authority in the Field
Insurance can be tricky because it may entail knowledge in law, economics and other areas. By having valuable content in your site that addresses some of the questions regarding insurance, you’ll start to gain a certain stance in your visitors’ eyes. You’ll become an authority in the field. Visitors will start coming to you and they’ll tell them friends about your business!
3. To Engage Your Potential Clients
Compelling content is the one that attracts, relates and gives value to the readers. The CMA states that according to 37 percent of marketing managers, the most important channel for engaging customers is content-led websites. This way, you’re letting people come into your site, meet you and learn about what you do!
4. To Show Value Through Your Content
When putting content out there, you’re also reflecting yourself in it. The CMA identified that 82% of users like reading content from brands when it’s relevant. So first, it needs to be something they’re interested in and that will gives value to them. And through it, they’ll learn more and allocate that value onto you!
5. To Portray Trustworthiness
In insurance, trust is a very important element because you’re dealing with delicate issues.
Content can be a great way to transmit trust onto your readers: Roper Public Affairs indicates that 70% say content marketing makes them feel closer to the business while 78 percent believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships with them. So start building up content to create a closer relationship with existing and potential clients!
6. To Market Yourself
It’s tough being an insurance agent. Essentially what you’re doing is trying to sell yourself and your services. ContentPlus found out that 70% percent of consumers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than ads. So allow them to get to know your business!
7. To Be Part of the World Wide Web
The Content Marketing Association states that 20% of users’ time is spent surfing the Internet on content-led websites. This means that if they have a doubt about their insurance, first of all, they’re going to be looking in the internet, and when they do, they’ll most probably find the answer in a blog. There’s the opportunity for you!
You need to get in the mix to join the conversation and be a reference to them. The world is developing in the web and more often than not, people rely on it to get what they want. By not being there, you’re allowing your business to go to your competitors! Join the mix and get part of the cake!
8. To Gain Visibility
Blogging is extremely recommended to achieve a certain status in the search pages and help your SEO efforts. This is because blogs generate 7 times more traffic than a static page and they provide a greater opportunity to rank for different sets of keywords. The better visibility you have, there’s more possibility to lead traffic into your site!
9. To Save on Time and Money
How much time and money do you put into chasing leads? As Mashable declares: “Content marketing costs less than traditional, outbound marketing. Statistics show that content marketing costs 62 percent less per lead than outbound marketing“. Take this opportunity to bring in more business for only a fraction of the time and money invested.
10. To Keep Communication Channels Opened
Content can also work as a way to strengthen bonds with existing clients. As you might have heard, it can be more costly to find new customers than retaining customer loyalty. With useful content, your clients will be able to read about tips you give out, comment and stay tuned with the changes in your business.
This way, even if you only see them once or twice a year, they’ll get the feeling that you’re always there for them.
What next? Put content to good use!
With all this information, it’s easy to see that content is the way to go. Still, it can be tricky to do it right. So what’s next?! How should you take advantage of it?! Don’t worry! Empowerkit’s got you covered.
Keep on the lookout for upcoming posts aimed at insurance agents on content inspiration, tips for content marketing and everything plus anything you could ever think of regarding content, to improve your online marketing strategy!
If you have any questions about this post or Empowerkit, feel free to ask!
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