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Your Agency Online Part 1: The Elements of Online Marketing

February 21, 2013

Confidential & Proprietary

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Today’s Marketing Landscape Why Digital Marketing for Insurance? Top 8 Digital To-Dos Case Study Q&A Resources

Agenda

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Marketing your insurance agency has so many new options that it can be overwhelming. Digital marketing = powerful lead generation and customer retention.

Marketing Landscape

SEO?

Websites?

E-mail?

Social Media?

Ad words

Coupons?

Directories?

Direct Mail?

Mobile Ads?

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Marketing Landscape

Did You Know…

• YouTube users watch more than 3B hours of video per month. (Source: YouTube)

• 91% of online adults use social media regularly. (Source: Experian)

• 88% of adults in the US have a cell phone, 57% have a laptop, 19% own an e-reader, and 19% have a tablet. (Source: Pew Internet)

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Why Digital Marketing?

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As a local insurance agency you offer great products and service, but getting new customers in the door and growing your business can be hard. Good digital marketing empowers you to:

• Capture “digital word of mouth” • Expand your reach and grow your customer base • Communicate with & retain current customers • Ultimately grow your business

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Top 8 Digital Marketing Areas

① Online Directories ② Online Reviews ③ Social Media ④ Images (Pictures) ⑤ Video ⑥ Website ⑦ Blog ⑧ Measure

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Case Study Example - EM freedman

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Online Directories – EM freedman

Tip #1: List Your Agency on All Relevant Online Directories Top two: Google Plus Local & Yelp Consistency is key Full name, address & phone

Randolph vs. Dedham Locations? Pictures are a plus

No pictures present Google Plus Local drives your

Google Maps listing

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Online Directories Resource Tip: Getlisted.org

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Online Reviews

Tip #2: Get as Many Customer Reviews as You Can

Reviews help your online directory rankings Don't incent customers to provide positive reviews Email customers to remind them to review you

Note that filters are more aggressively filtering out reviews that originate from a person clicking on a link in an email

Put a reminder on emails, your website, and social media pages Tip: Always respond promptly and courteously to negative reviews

Contact privately first if it is an option, publicly second

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Online Reviews

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Online Reviews – EM freedman

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Social Media

Tip #3: Use Social Media To Engage & Build Customers

Top three social media networks for business ① Facebook ② Twitter ③ LinkedIn

Setup business pages for each outlet Add logo, pictures, addresses

Separate business and personal accounts Only use business account to communicate with customers Monitor pages for privacy issues

Add links to each outlet; your email footers, website Build audience: Converse, don’t broadcast, follow to be followed

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Social Media – EM freedman

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Images

Tip #4: Images Are Your Friend

Images help add credibility to your website and engage visitors

More credibility and engagement = better search engine rankings and higher conversion

Picture ideas: Corporate events Community support Company outings New agents New ads New insurance products

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Images – EM freedman

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Video

Tip #5: Video Drives Engagement

Best site: YouTube Use video to tell your stories, show products, give tips 85.5 percent of U.S. Internet audiences view online video

(comScore) Videos boosted conversion rates and increased time on

website by 9 percent. (Wooshii) You only need your cell phone Make it educational not salesy

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Video

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Video – EM freedman

• Opportunity to Grow Digital Presence

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Website

Tip #6: Websites Today Should Be Functional Not Just Pretty

3 types of websites Placeholder Brochureware Functional

Functional websites Are easy to edit without involving a web designer (Content Management Systems) Allow transactions to occur when appropriate (Make a payment, etc.) Facilitate the generation of leads (Calls To Action) Are easily found online (Search Engine Optimization)

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Website – EM freedman

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Blog

Tip #7: Blogging is the New Newsletter

Attracts more people to your website and converts more visitors into leads

Positions you as an expert in your topic area Helps you communicate with current customers Blog often to keep content fresh

Offer advice, tips, updates – educational not salesy

Add pictures Include links to blog posts in Facebook, Twitter, and email newsletters

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Blog – EM freedman

• Opportunity to Grow Digital Presence

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Blog

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Measure

Tip #8: Measure, Refine, Measure Again Measure the impact of your digital marketing

Digital marketing is iterative and rapidly evolving Website

Track visits (and visit sources), bounces, and leads Social Media

Track number of friends, followers, and level of engagement (clicks, shares, likes, retweets, etc.)

Email Track opens, clicks, leads

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Ads

MA Ad Regulations For Insurance Agencies • No coupons or discounts for service or referrals

• Contests and raffles are OK

• Careful - it cannot be tied to buying something from you

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Case Study - EM freedman

Online Directories – Claim all your pages and be sure that all the information is exactly the

same (location is a big one). Adding pictures and reviews will improve listings.

Online Reviews – Get reviews from as many customers as possible. Let customers know

that you appreciate reviews.

Social Media – Great job! Create a Linkedin company profile.

Images (Pictures) – Great job!

Learning's

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Case Study - EM freedman

Video – Opportunity to grow. Create short information based videos around types

of coverage and helpful facts. Tie videos to events or news so that it is current (i.e. new grad car- what type of coverage is needed?).

Website – Great start! Try separating new customers needs (Get A Quote) from

current customer needs (File A Claim).

Blog – Opportunity to become a trusted expert with current and prospective

customers.

Measure – Refine and iterate over time.

Learning's

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Q&A

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Next Steps

Additional resources: http://thrivehive.com/maia