The New Year is upon us and it is the best time to implement your marketing plans for the coming year. No doubt you have some goals, but how are you going to get there? By utilizing the 7 items below, you can start
your year off right and get great start on marketing in the New Year!
1. Modernize your website
Consumers want to purchase from a company that has a nice website. Of 200 people surveyed about making a purchase decision, only 3 said that the company's website had no effect on their purchase decision. If your website is old, outdated or has stale content on it, consider updating it early this year. There is no reason to wait! Consider these few items when creating your new website:
Each page should have a minimum of 400 words on it.
Put your most important products first. Search engines read the pages from top to bottom, left to right. (And, so do consumers, usually!)
Avoid templates (themes are okay). Your business is unique - Your website should be too.
Write your content for consumers, not for search engines.
Include your social media links and a company blog.
2. Blog
What exactly is a blog? A blog is simply short for weblog. A blog is a great place to showcase ideas and add valuable content to your website, regularly. A blog easily allows you to write about a new service, lower rates, explain coverages and more. When you blog, it adds new, fresh content to your website. Search engines love this. WordPress is a valuable blogging software that can easily be added to your domain.
3. Produce Video
Video is important now, and it was important last year. If you haven't started to utilize video at your insurance agency, now is the time. Video is important because it is considered rich media and the search engines love this! We take video a step further and include search engine optimization (SEO) with our client videos. This allows them to show up in search results and can direct more traffic to your website. What content should your videos contain? How about an agent explaining what comprehensive coverage covers, or what water damage isn't covered by a typical home insurance policy. The topics are limitless.
4. Get a Mobile Website
Okay, we've been hearing it for a few years now, but currently only about 15% of our agents website traffic comes through on mobile devices. 2013 just might be the year that this changes. How many people do you know have a smartphone? A tablet? Probably quite a few! Mobile will soon outpace the desktop for search. Your agency should be prepared with a mobile friendly website. Be sure to include a link to your whole site, but general guidelines for a mobile website should be a clear location, phone number and brief description of your business. Keep it simple with minimal pictures to improve load times.
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization can be a painstaking process, requires constant attention and you must follow Google's strict webmaster guidelines to ensure you don't get put into the "sandbox." Take that and pair it with the fact that insurance is one of the most competitive industries on the internet and you've got quite a task ahead of you! When optimizing your website look for easy wins. It's not easy to rank for "Insurance Seattle, WA" so don't waste your homepage on that term. Look for niche markets such as a small insurance company you represent with a large local presence. Here in the northwest we have several such as Mutual of Enumclaw, PEMCO, Oregon Mutual, Sublimity and more! Optimizing for these terms gives you a better chance of ranking on page one than if you were to try to compete with national carriers such as Farmers, Allstate and GEICO. Look for local optimization wins and be sure to utilize Google's free keyword tool (just Google "keyword tool.")
6. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a powerful tool to create a professional network unlike any other. Think about all that is "overshared" on Facebook and then contrast that with the professional posts that are written on LinkedIn. LinkedIn offers you the opportunity to work with others who need referrals such as real estate agents, mortgage brokers and other small business owners to generate business for each other. Furthermore, LinkedIn has valuable articles for help with different aspects of running a business and marketing that business. If you haven't already, create a profile, spend some time clearly explaining what you do and then start searching for people to network with. Networking does generate referrals!
7. Create a Newsletter
It is said that it is 75% less expensive to retain an existing customer that it is to gain a new one. It is also said that the #2 reason (second only to price) that people leave their insurance agent is they haven't heard from their agent. A newsletter is a fantastic way to stay in touch with your existing customers. In your newsletter, talk about seasonal risks such as boating or motorcycles, pipes freezing and cleaning your gutters. Talk about a new insurance company you have, highlight a new endorsement you offer. By sending out a newsletter you can touch your customers, showing that your agency is still working for them, informing of any changes that may impact them. They add value.
By taking these steps now, you're sure to get more business and make for a better year for your insurance agency. Best of luck in the New Year!
Tosten Marketing LLC is a Kirkland, WA based marketing company that specializes in insurance agency marketing. With over a decade of insurance experience, Tosten Marketing LLC works with insurance agents to minimize their workload by offsetting their marketing efforts. Tosten Marketing works only with insurance agents, so their marketing efforts go further. Additionally, their marketing programs are meant to be affordable for even the most modest marketing budgets. Visit
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