Regardless of the industry vertical, digital marketing has to be an aspect of every business’ overall marketing plan. For more traditional industries like Insurance,  this has been more difficult to integrate into marketing plans.

Yet, if you’re part of a brokerage, you’ve likely begun to see the crucial role of digital marketing in today’s insurance landscape. 

Center to any successful digital strategy is content that engages your audience. While this all sounds simple enough, it’s not uncommon for brokerages to struggle in getting their content strategy off the ground.

The Challenge of Trying Something New

Planning and building content from scratch isn’t easy. It’s only natural to overthink things or feel overwhelmed trying to build a content plan for the first time.

Many brokerages find themselves trying their hand at something new without any previous precedence set. It’s an enormous challenge, and brokerages must deal with knowledge gaps.

Moreover, content writers and marketers aren’t typically accessible within traditional insurance brokerage settings, presenting an immediate roadblock. Where and how do you find the right people for such vital tasks?

The Value Of Your Content Strategy

Content campaigns won’t get executed successfully without a strategy. Your industry and the market are too complex to approach this crucial marketing ad hoc.

However, there are specifics to a successful strategy, such as:

  • Knowing your audience
  • Understanding different types of messaging
  • Awareness of the various channels

Content is a broader term than most think. Specifically, it isn’t just writing. There are banner ads, videos, website images, and product marketing. 

Additionally, there are two approaches to content.

Brand Awareness

The first type of content revolves around brand awareness. Whether in written form or video (a growth area), brand awareness content enables brokers to bring their business – and people- to life. By adding a personality and sharing a unique value proposition, this type of content enables brokers to differentiate themselves from their competitors and begin developing a relationship with prospects.

Coverage-Specific Content

This second type of content marketing–focused on the benefits and  pain points tied specifically to your clients and their coverage This type of content requires intimate knowledge of the value of your insurance products and service aligned with your target audience, i.e. your customers. I should include pain points or challenges that working with brokerage can overcome and be written in a language that will resonate with them. It’s a chance to showcase your knowledge and expertise, and how you deliver value. 

It’s crucial to differentiate between the two approaches to content production and have a planned strategy to create both types.

If You Can’t Start, You Can’t Execute

Even the simple act of starting a content campaign presents brokerages with seemingly insurmountable challenges.

Provided you can develop a content strategy aligned with increasing the value of your current clients and attract new ones, how will you execute it? 

While getting started is often the most challenging part, and inertia is always a risk, establishing a firm grasp of the above details will give you a useful nudge forward.

Insights On Content Production

Earlier, we discussed the need to differentiate between your more brand awareness  content and your product and coverage type of content.

Know that the product and coverage content takes longer to produce and requires due diligence. So, as you work on those pieces, it’s wise to keep peppering in more straightforward, branded topical content to reinforce your brokerage’s messaging and identity, ensuring your audience hears from you frequently. 

A Focus On Measurement

All businesses – including Insurance providers – must prioritize measurement. After all, if you aren’t measuring, you aren’t managing, and you won’t have the numbers to help you course-correct or leverage a resonating message.

Provided it’s your first time using a content strategy, monitoring the first year to get an idea of your audience’s preferences. During this initial period it’s important to establish benchmarks, test channels, messages and format.  Then, after there is sufficient data, KPIs can be leveraged to better action the results. 

Repurposing Content

Another way to increase the return on your content investment is to repurpose it across multiple channels and use cases. Post a blog, case study or video on your organic social channels, then boost it with paid advertising, including your newsletter or various direct communications such as  welcome campaigns, cross sell initiatives or renewal flows. This approach is time-efficient and takes the pressure off of having to pull a rabbit out of your hat to fill your content schedule.

While these tips are  helpful, getting off the ground with your content strategy and making sense of the metrics still can present many challenges. Fortunately, we at Goose Digital specialize in helping insurance brokerages navigate those obstacles. Contact us today to learn more about our services, and how we can help.