Content marketing is hard to get away from. It’s the marketing buzzword that has defined 2012 and it’s probably the second biggest influence on online content behind the news. Practically everything you read online is in some way influenced by content marketing.
In the insurance industry, the only ones who seem to have spotted this trend are the big providers. While they focus their content on direct selling to customers, most agents aren’t engaging in content marketing at all. That doesn’t mean insurance agents have lost their opportunity. It just means that agents need to start coming up with great content marketing ideas for insurance. The first step in that process is to ask yourself a few questions.
1. Who should I market to?
The first question in every marketing plan. You will already have an average client profile in mind. The key is using that to build a profile of your ideal new client. Do you work better with businesses or individuals? Do the products you regularly deal with suit startups or corporations? The young or the middle aged?
2. What are they interested in?
Content marketing is about creating content that your potential clients like. The starting point for all content marketing ideas for insurance should be those prospects’ likes and dislikes. If your target is small businesses, your content ideas should fit that profile. Content like risk management advice and accident statistics are good content marketing ideas for small business insurers.
3. What do people look for when they buy insurance online?
Your content marketing activity will be most successful when prospects are researching insurance online. You should think about the kinds of resources those prospects will be looking for and build those resources into your content. You should create content that helps insurance buyers find the right insurer or offer advice on what to look for in a particular policy.
4. What would my clients/prospects find useful?
The research phase isn’t the only opportunity to gather interest from prospects. The best content marketing ideas for insurance are the ones that get shared among small business owners. Useful content is likely to be shared on social media, so you should aim to create useful insurance content. If you can create useful content that gets shared by people in your target market, even if the sharer doesn’t become a client they have become a promoter.
5. What do I have to share?
To be a successful content marketer, you don’t need to be a great content creator. You can also be a great content curator. By identifying useful content, you can still becoming a useful and trusted source. If prospects get used to getting good quality content from your social channels, they’re likely to trust you when it comes to selecting an agent.
6. What makes my agency unique?
Even great curators of content need to create some content of their own. When you do that, you should try to focus on the things that make your agency stand out. If you have had particular success with a certain risk, or in a particular industry, you should use that to create content ideas. Personalized stories that provide learning opportunities are really enjoyable to read and build your image as a unique agency.
7. What’s my voice?
The other way you can personalize your content is to put your voice into everything you create. If you have a unique presentation style, or if you prefer a relaxed business conversation, that should come across in your content. If you have a habit of dropping gags into your client calls, your content shouldn’t read like a college essay. Your content will be the first contact point for a lot of your prospects, it should feel like it came from you.
The answers to these questions can help you to come up with some great content marketing ideas for insurance. By applying one or all of them to your content strategy you can start to regain some ground on the big insurers. The only question left to ask is why haven’t you started yet?
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