Choosing your insurance agency’s marketing strategies

One of the most important goals an insurance agency has is to write more policies. While it’s true that most of an insurance agency’s business comes from word-of-mouth and referrals, excluding traditional marketing efforts from your business development strategies can limit your growth potential.

However, it can be challenging to decide which marketing strategies to implement. Should you spend your money on social media marketing, or is it better invested in a Google ad?

On top of the multitude of options, several marketing myths make it even more challenging to invest in marketing.

Let’s explore these myths further and discuss how you should view them as an agency owner.

Common marketing myths

There is often a misconception that marketing is only effective if you already have a presence in the marketplace or if you have a large budget. While having a big budget and a significant online presence is helpful, they aren’t necessary to make your marketing work.

Here is a look at the most common marketing myths and the truth behind each.

Marketing campaigns should yield results immediately
Insurance agencies should target everyone with their marketing efforts
Small insurance agencies can’t benefit from marketing
Only marketing campaigns with large budgets provide results
To run a successful social media campaign, you need a large online presence

Marketing Myth #1: Marketing campaigns should yield results immediately

Everyone, even business owners outside of the insurance industry, expects to see results right away. However, seeing significant results within the first four to six weeks of a marketing campaign is slim. While you may see an initial spike of interest, the truth is that most marketing strategies take time to deliver actual results.

For example, if you’re launching a marketing campaign to drive more traffic to your website, it will take time to see a significant impact. To have results that continue after the marketing campaign is over, you need to:

Continue to produce engaging content your audience wants to read every month
Share the content in places where your audience frequently goes (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
Review data on how your audience is interacting with your content
Adjust your content to better engage your target audience

These things take time, and while it may be longer than you hope, investing the resources necessary will pay off in the long run.

Marketing Myth #2: Insurance agencies should target everyone with their marketing efforts

Many organizations believe that casting a wide net to target every potential customer will yield better results. However, this often isn’t the case. In fact, a more direct and narrow focus on a specific target audience is a better way to drive higher levels of engagement and leads.

Here are a few reasons why focusing on a specific group is better than focusing on a large, general group:

With a small group, you can focus on providing answers to their specific pain points
Marketing to a smaller audience increases your chances of converting more potential policyholders
You eliminate unqualified leads that will waste your team’s time

To identify the audience you want to target, consider your current policyholders. If you notice most of your customers have something in common, you can try to target potential customers who share the same interests.

Marketing Myth #3: Small insurance agencies can’t benefit from marketing

Smaller organizations and agencies often believe that their size prevents them from taking advantage of marketing tactics, but this isn’t the case. Regardless of size, a marketing plan will help your company focus time, energy, and resources on securing high-quality leads.

Without a marketing strategy, you’re relying on referrals and customers who happen to find your website or contact information. This strategy can often lead to missed opportunities and taking calls with unqualified leads.

Marketing Myth #4: Only marketing campaigns with large budgets provide results

One of the biggest misconceptions about marketing is that you need to have a large budget to see actual results. While a big budget will allow you to utilize multiple channels and implement several marketing tactics, a small budget can be just as effective when run correctly.

For example, running a Facebook ad for $100 a month can be quite beneficial when targeting a specific demographic with targeted content.

The main thing to remember is that regardless of your budget, you won’t see the results you’re hoping for without addressing your audience’s pain points and providing value.

Marketing Myth #5: To run a successful social media campaign, you need a large online presence

It’s easy to see why most agency owners believe that social media campaigns aren’t effective if they don’t already have a following on a platform. We hear about influencers and pages with hundreds of thousands of followers in today’s world. However, just because a company has a large number of followers doesn’t mean its social media marketing is effective.

For instance, a company that has 1,000 followers but only receives an average of 100 likes per post isn’t connecting with the followers the same way as an agency with 300 followers and an average of 200 likes per post.

What matters is the type of content you’re putting out on social media and how your audience engages with it.

Marketing for your insurance agency

As an insurance agency owner, it’s important to find new ways to attract potential policyholders if you want to grow your business. Marketing strategies can be a great addition to your current efforts, especially if you invest the time to focus on providing value to your target audience.

Thanks for reading our educational resource! Any above reference to a specific company, method, or product is meant for educational purposes only and is not specifically endorsed by Pie.

Insurance Agency Marketing Myths | For Agents | Pie Insurance