More Than One In A Million: Standing Out In the Insurance Industry

Understanding the best way to experience success in insurance marketing means understanding that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all marketing plan for the insurance business. The new business owner who is in need of business coverage may never find your insurance agency if you rely on the yellow pages for your advertising efforts. Likewise, the new family looking for life insurance may never find you if you rely on brick and mortar networking and ignore the latest in online networking opportunities. A successful insurance agency must rely on a variety of marketing mediums and channels to increase overall visibility and, most importantly, conversions. The most successful medium these days is the Internet.

Marketing Evolves with the Internet

Internet marketing refers to a broad scope of tools and techniques available to entrepreneurs. Since the rise and growth of the Internet and business websites, a variety of channels have been used to generate increased exposure. First, email marketing was considered the only way to market a business online. Whole life insurance might be proposed to a potential client base through a series of emails, much like the sales letters of yesterday. As technology changed, websites became predominate. Ecommerce tools, security measures, and increases in connection speeds led to an explosion of websites selling everything from electronics to term insurance. This system has further evolved to include mobile media marketing, with businesses creating websites optimized for viewing on mobile devices and integrating QR codes. Today, those who hope to utilize the Internet to make their insurance agency stand out, rely on a variety of channels, including email marketing, mobile marketing, online networking, social media, and multimedia.

Finding Your Niche and Your Channel

Success in insurance today means niche marketing and finding channels that are most likely seen by the target market. Niche marketing, or defining a specific target market and directing the majority of marketing efforts to that core product and demographic, is successful online for several reasons. For example, while most insurance brokers offer a variety of policies, by focusing on a specific type, such as whole life, it will be easier to create a successful marketing model based on channels that are most likely to reach the targeted demographic. That sounds a lot more complex than it is. Consider the target market for life policies, which is often young families seeking to protect their financial stability in the case of a death with an insurance premium. This young target market is likely very technologically savvy, and fully Internet integrated. The best channels for this marketing strategy would be mobile marketing and networking through professional sites such as Commonfig.

Building Leads Through Social Media

Equally as important as defining a niche market and specific channels, is integrating today’s most popular technologies into a marketing plan. With sites like FaceBook growing by the thousands each day, social media has become a strong tool for lead generation. Think of social media as you would your old-fashioned networking meeting. A profile or business page on several social media sites creates incremental exposure through the spidering effect of a network. Increased visibility on a site like Commonfig relies on the principles of word-of-mouth, professional references, and technology to increase lead generation. The insurance industry in particular is beset by competition. With hundreds of competitors, making your agency stand out has become of paramount importance. Understanding how the Internet and online marketing have evolved, how to develop a niche market, take advantage of specific marketing channels, and integrating social media will make the difference.