Blog Cover Image 1

Inbound Internet Marketing for Insurance in 15 minutes or less

Posted by Carole Mahoney on 3/27/11 8:00 PM

 Well, this post will take you less than 15 minutes to read anyway. But it could be the thing that doesn't just save you 15%, it could double your expected growth.

Lately I have been talking with a lot of insurance agents and owners. One thing that they all seem to have in common is that they have seen growth either decline or remain flat. Which makes sense, less autos, RVs, employees out there to insure.

In response to these economic challenges, corporate agencies like  Progressive and Geico have launched aggressive 'name your own price' campaigns coupled with direct access to purchase what you want online in 15 minutes or less.

 

It's not easy for local or independent agents to compete.  

 

Or is it? 

 

It used to be that insurance companies could do some advertising to try to get in front of potential clients. But radio became less effective as costs rose and more people listened to satellite radio or the MP3 player instead. DVR skips or blocks commercials, and direct mail goes directly to the recycle bin. Getting in front of people just got a whole lot more expensive and difficult with new technology.

 

So how can you get your agency to be front of mind when a prospect realizes he or she needs insurance? What if there was a way to know when someone was looking, or when they bought a car or house, or just had a baby? How can you be in the right place, at the right time and not have to spend outrageous amounts of money in questionable advertising?

 

There is a way- it is called inbound internet marketing. Inbound meaning people come in to you, not you trying to go outbound to them.

 

So what are the opportunities for insurance companies?

 

What I found for local search volume on Google recently:

  • 'auto insurance'= 1,220,000
  • 'auto insurance quotes' = 201,000
  • 'home insurance'= 450,000
  • 'home insurance quotes' = 49,500

What about social media? 

Check out this estimated Facebook reach of 44,080 people.
  • who live in the United States
  • who live in Maine
  • age 16 and older
  • who like driving, driving around aimlessly, driving lessons, cars, autos, drivers ed, muscle cars, sports cars, classic cars, toyota 4x4, ford, chevy, chevy camaro, chevy trucks, trucks, trucking, Sunday drives, mustang, ford mustang, road trips, new cars or used cars
Ok, so not a hard sell to see that online is where your prospects are. But how can you reach them with all the noise and everyone else trying to get to them as well?
  1. Get Found!
    To be in the right place at the right time, your company needs to be found. To do this, content needs to be created, and created often. Every insurance agent I have talked with has impressed me with the amount of knowledge they possess about their industry. Share it! Educate your client why the only way to really save money on insurance is to cut coverage and why that can be a costly mistake.
  2. Convert
    It is not enough to be found and get traffic- you need to convert that traffic to leads for your sales team. Also consider- who is your ideal client? Is your target a price-conscious shopper who only wants the cheapest insurance? Or is it a more mature person who has things that they want to really protect?
  3. Analyze
    Unlike the advertising of old, internet marketing allows you to know what happened and where. You can continue to improve your results based on facts, not assumptions.

Despite the 'name your own price' and '15 minutes can save you 15% or more' campaigns from larger companies like Geico or Progressive, smaller insurance companies have real opportunities with inbound internet marketing.

How can you get started? Simply contact us for a free consult.

Topics: inbound marketing