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The latest insights and thought leadership for independent insurance agents.
Most independent agents agree that a digital marketing plan is an essential part of an overall marketing strategy in today’s connected world. Agencies seeking growth cannot do without one. But while many agents know they need to do more digital marketing, they lack a cohesive plan.
Successful digital marketing requires a plan – a strategy. Not only will it make your agency’s marketing more successful, but also will give you direction on where and how to focus your marketing efforts.
Here we will discuss the basics to help get your agency’s digital marketing plan on the right track.
A digital marketing plan begins with your audience. You simply can’t launch an effective digital marketing strategy without knowing who you are trying to reach. Does your agency have an ideal client? That is the person you want to create a marketing plan around.
In marketing terms, creating your audience is also known as creating a buyer persona.
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The more you know about your buyer, the better you can aim your digital marketing plan directly at their pain points. Start by asking yourself a few questions:
– Consider the basics here: How old is your audience? Where do they live? What do they do for a living? Do they have a family? What is their income level?
-Consider their concerns. When it comes to insurance, what concerns does your audience have? What keeps them up at night? What do they worry about?
– Think deeply about your customer. What moves them? Think about their emotional and mental drives. What is going to motivate your target audience to purchase insurance?
-Then, understand your clients’ pain points. When it comes to insurance, what is your audience’s problem and how can you solve it? Are they hung up on the cost of insurance? Do they lack knowledge about what kind of protection they need? Do they lack the time it takes to investigate their options? Identify your customers’ problems and become the solution.
The hallmark of an excellent digital marketing plan is specific and measurable goals. Consider what you want to accomplish with your
digital marketing plan. For independent agents, goals should be specific, timely and relevant. Examples may include:
In creating your digital marketing goals, focus on the areas where your agency has the best opportunity. For example, if you have a great homeowners’ product, you may set a goal around cross-marketing homeowners’ insurance to your auto only clients. While technically this isn’t an inbound strategy, such a goal may look something like this, “Increase homeowner cross sales to auto only customers by 10 percent in the first quarter.”
Once you have defined your audience and set your goals, you must determine the channels you want to use and create a content plan. There are several channels for digital marketing including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Also, Google AdWords offers opportunities for video, search, and display ads. Users can select their channels, and Google AdWords positions them across the entire Google network.
When selecting digital marketing channels, consider your audience and your goals. For agents, Facebook may be a more effective channel if your buyer is a more middle-aged demographic. Instagram, on the other hand, offers a younger demographic.
A digital marketing strategy is an empty shell without content. Marketing content is the honey that is going to attract your audience. Once you have identified the channels you will use in your strategy, you must create a content plan. Keep in mind, content parameters should be established for every digital marketing channel in your program. If you plan to use a couple of social media channels and an agency blog, you may have content parameters for each of those.
When developing your content plan, consider:
One of the greatest gifts of digital marketing is the way it lends itself to measurable results. An effective digital marketing plan must contain a system to measure results. This is how you know the program is working.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) of a marketing campaign will determine if your campaign is getting the desired results.
Select KPIs that correspond well with your marketing goals. For example, if part of your strategy is to convert website visitors into leads, you will want to measure your traffic to lead ratio.
Similarly, if part of your digital marketing plan is to increase organic traffic to your website, use organic traffic visitors as a KPI and develop an SEO strategy to help people find your agency in their search engines.
The ultimate goal of tracking your marketing efforts is to optimize your campaigns and make the necessary changes to achieve your KPIs.
Even the most well researched digital marketing strategies are adjusted and tweaked over time. Remember you aren’t married to your digital marketing strategy. Regularly evaluate your results and modify your plan as needed.
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