Digital marketing, if implemented effectively, can lead to great business growth and lead generation for insurance brokers. The key to this is avoiding these common digital marketing mistakes we see insurance brokers make over and over. Here are 10 pitfalls that you want to avoid slipping into, as an insurance broker:

1. Not having a strategy

This is the biggest digital marketing mistake we see over and over again. Brokers fall into the trap of having a big, beautiful website made and turning to social media as their saviour, without having an effective digital strategy in place. The best strategy for insurance brokers is one which understands what your business is trying to achieve and brings together your website, social media, email marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO) and your staff to support that objective.

Ask yourself this- Are we just posting on social media and hoping for leads? or do we have a strategy that brings our digital marketing together? If you don’t have a strategy, click here to speak to us.

2. Not understanding the end goal

Never start with social media and digital marketing without understanding your objectives. And having an objective of ‘’lead generation’’ is not enough- you need to break this down. Understanding your objectives will help you attract potential clients first with content that is relevant to them, before subtly introducing your services. Engage them with educative and relevant content, and they will be ready to hear about your policies and the great claims service you provide. Sell yourself less, and start focusing on your prospects’ problems and concerns.

3. Not understanding who their customer is

Who are you targeting? Have you developed a buyer persona which matches your target client? Most brokers using digital marketing especially commercial brokers target the company but forget to target the decision makers behind the company. For example, putting out a poster about haulage insurance and the services you can offer is all well and great, but so are hundreds of other brokers. What you need, is to understand the age, race and other demographics of the Director behind the business in order to give him something he will actually read. What is he more likely to read, an editorial by your business on the latest advances in haulage technology or your poster on haulage policy benefits?

Let your digital marketing be about the person, not the business.

4. Using a one-size- fits all approach

We see a lot of brokers who don’t tailor their messages to suite their target client but rather use a one-size-fits all approach. A good example is a broker who carries out email marketing for his professional indemnity (PI) offering, but rather than segment his book of leads so it is relevant to PI clients, sends the email out to everyone. This can turn off potential clients who don’t need PI and therefore classify the email as spam. As a result, they are less likely to read the broker’s next email.

5. Not having the right compliance information

At the Brokerlink, we understand that compliance is a way of life for our brokers, so we do not ignore it. We find several brokers with websites and marketing material which don’t have the disclosures required by the FCA’s rules. For example does your website have the appropriate disclosures around your regulatory status? Are you meeting the ICOB rules with your marketing? Have you provided clear information regarding the Financial Ombudsman Service on your website?

These are some of the digital marketing challenges we help our brokers meet.

6. Not being patient

Getting prospects to visit your website is a great step, but what do you do after this? Don’t expect them to call you or send you an email for more enquiries. This is where most insurance brokers fall short. Most visitors to your website will not decide to purchase your services after their first visit. HubSpot estimates that 96% of your website visitors are not ready to purchase your policies. How do you make sure that you are in the right place when they are ready to buy from you? Patience is key.

Remember- It typically takes about 6 months to start seeing the benefits of your digital marketing campaign- so plan for the long-term and be consistent.

7. Contacting clients once a year at renewal [Read our Aviva case study]

Clients and prospect relationships must be nurtured if you want to get them to buy your insurance policy. Sending your client one cold email in 12 months is definitely not the way to go. Even if they don’t take out that policy now, start warming them up for the next renewal by helping them find solutions to their problems. You will be top of their list at the next renewal. Read our latest [case study] on Aviva which shows how they increased revenues by 45% through regular contact with clients over a 12 month period.

8. Not using the right content and channels

Knowing your audience is one thing but knowing what to post on which channel is even more important. Your content must address the issues that your clients face on a frequent basis. Tips on “how to reduce your fleet premiums” is more likely to get clients to engage with your business and to buy your policies. Remember- you’re not the only broker emailing them the benefits of your policy.

9. Not having calls to actions (CTAs)

A call to action is a direct instruction to your users to perform a specific task. This could be to sign up to your newsletter or to request a callback. Websites with a call to actions always produce more click-throughs and hence more leads. We find a lot of brokers who can get clients to their website, but then lose the lead because they expect the target to pick up their phone and call them.

10. Not posting at the right times

Posting the right content at the wrong time can be detrimental to your content reaching the right audience. Did you know that if marketing your policies on Facebook on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday will produce the best results? Did you also know that email marketing on a Thursday morning is likely to get you less engagement from potential clients? You must know your target market and when they are active online. Knowing this would help you craft and publish your post at the right time to be seen by many. Check out our infographic on the best times to post.

Print these 10 tips off and use them to guide your digital marketing activities. If you need any help or to speak to someone, simply click here to speak to stuart@thebrokerlink.com or call us on 02071172953

Email marketing is growing in popularity with insurance brokers and for a good reason too as more turn to the digital age and re-discover how to provide information and industry news to clients. Whether you are a personal lines broker or a commercial broker, if you are not using email marketing, here are 5 reasons why you should be:

1. £4,400 for every £1 you spend?

Out of all the various marketing strategies available, email marketing is considered to have the highest return on investment for online marketing. Campaign monitor found that email marketing has a 4400% return on investment. 90% of email gets delivered to the intended recipient’s inbox, whereas only 2% of your Facebook fans see your posts in their News Feed.

This potentially means in the insurance broking world, for every £1 you spend, you can gain up to £4,400 in commission back. The challenge we at the BrokerLink have found is that brokers are just not using email marketing properly.

Click here to read the top 5 mistakes we see from brokers when they run an email marketing campaign.

2. It is cheaper

Perhaps the most appealing advantage of email marketing is the return on investment. No print costs, no postage fees, no advertising rates. Email marketing is as affordable as marketing gets. Most bulk email service providers will allow you to send emails to about 2000 emails every month for free. You don’t need to break the bank to take advantage of this.

3. Become number 1 in your customer’s eyes

Each time you send an email, you send your target more information about their industry, your business and your brand. With strategic planning, the right design and the right targeted content, your business will be consistently building its brand. By doing so, you stay with your audience. When a customer needs an insurance policy, you will be ‘top-of-mind’ for them.  Your business will stand a much better chance of providing a quote and trusted recommendations which will lead to a sale.

4. Better targeting

With email marketing, you have the ability to control exactly who sees your email. By segmenting your contacts based on their characteristics, demographics and location etc your message can be more relevant. Targeting your emails in this way ensures that your audience receives information suited specifically to their needs. For example solicitors do not receive information about fleet insurance which might put them off reading your next email.

5. It is measurable

With new email marketing software such as Mailchimp, it is easy to measure which emails were delivered and to who, how many were opened and which users engaged with your information. You can also easily see who forwarded your emails and to who. These insights can show you the policies and information that customers want and will help you come up with the right leads for your business.

• To find out how to take advantage of email marketing, click here to get in touch and we will talk you through what you can do.