Be All You Can Be with Cutting Edge Marketing

By: John Boudreau, COO and Co-Founder of Astonish Results

Having a passion for change within your insurance agency will be the ultimate deciding factor in regards to how successful you are in this new marketing age. Unfortunately, passion is highly underrated these days, yet I believe that it is a significant contributor to the success of any business. When you are passionate you are willing to do anything to influence your company and move forward, in a positive direction.

Internet marketing is changing the way we promote and brand our businesses. However, launching an insurance marketing strategy does not just mean doing the bare minimum, it means doing whatever it takes to get your business seen. Using social media platforms such as Twitter, Linked-In, Facebook, Goggle+, Foursquare, and blogging will enhance the overall consumer perception of your company.

Do you invest 85% of your time and money into your insurance agency marketing? Are you aware that more than 85% of consumers research their insurance online? Are you ready to make a real change and drive more business to your local agency?

Your agency needs to be willing to dedicate and develop active social media accountability. Social network marketing not only will draw in business but also generates significant opportunity, allowing for discussion with and about your agency. This creates a world that is more involved and aware:

“Teachability is something I am a strong believer in. If your agency is willing to learn and grow then you will grow with the new marketing world.”

New media and social media are two major elements that will contribute to a successful marketing plan in 2012, and going forward. Through professional networking opportunities via LinkedIn and strategic agency promotion through Facebook Fan pages you are able to upload photos of events, create public announcements and invitations, network with prospects – you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to reach – and most importantly, share genuine information with your consumer. Social network marketing is most successful because it give your consumer an inside look as to who you are and why you are a leading, local insurance resource; if that isn’t a serious edge above your competition, I don’t know what it. Twitter and Google + are also platforms with unique social media marketing opportunity, especially when it comes to sharing product and ideas and educating both clients and prospects about the intricacies of the insurance industry. Twitter especially is much more conversational, allowing you to communicate in real-time and quickly address the needs or concerns of your social community.

Once you have familiarized yourself with the various social platforms, their specific strengths and what they can bring to your agency, it’s time to bring your strategy full circle. The most important thing you can do is tie all of your social efforts together in a concise, blended marketing strategy. 360-degree marketing is a particular strategy that involves incorporating different types of marketing together, such as creating a strategy that allows for social media, blogging, and email marketing to work together, hand-in-hand, rather than limiting your resources and working on various initiatives individually.

Looking for further ways to take your online presence to the next level? Try thinking outside the box—your agency can do so much with social media. Run a contest, give products or services to charitable cause, create coupons; all of these ideas give you the opportunity to grab consumers’ attention and loyalty by giving rethinking the way you market your agency. Not to mention, this unique approach allows you the opportunity to generate new interest and referrals!

Taking your insurance marketing strategy to the next level really comes down to the ability to test, take risks and commit to change. If you are willing to utilize cutting edge strategic marketing such as social media, 360- degree marketing, giveaways and new media, you are making the right changes.

At Astonish Results, we are very passionate about getting insurance agencies excited about their business again! Since our inception, we have been discovering new ways to help independent insurance agencies compete with the bigger fish, build a sense of community, and close more sales!

Want to instill positive change in your agency? With the creation and implementation of a blended online strategy, let us help you change your agency forever. Call us today at 1.888.899.1936 to speak with a dedicated Astonish Results representative who will schedule a tour of our digital insurance marketing system for you, or sign up online for a FREE virtual presentation today!