In the new world of digital marketing, there are countless options, from search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, blogging, email marketing, SMS marketing, just to mention a few. Your business and the type of policies you sell determines the strategy you should apply. Whether it is an inbound marketing approach or outbound marketing.

Companies like Aviva have embraced these strategies and seen a 48% increase in policy sign-ups as seen in this case study. For brokers, inbound marketing works. Let’s explore some features of it.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing has been defined in many ways but we agree with the HubSpot definition which says that;

“Inbound marketing is an approach focused on attracting customers through content and interactions that are relevant and helpful — not interruptive. With inbound marketing, potential customers find you through channels like blogs, search engines, and social media.”

In simple terms, inbound marketing seeks to attract clients to your business while providing them with value, whereas outbound marketing broadcasts a message in hope of gaining interested clients.

Content in Context, that is inbound marketing.

Proper execution can cause your brokerage to increase exponentially through gaining and retaining clients who are in need of your policy.

Attracts genuine users

Most insurance brokers are spending a lot of money on outbound marketing ads which may reach a lot of people quickly but the majority of those people will not be interested in any of their policies. Inbound marketing only attracts users who are genuinely interested in your product and hence increases the chances of converting into a sale.

It is cost effective

The best thing about inbound marketing is that you do not have to break the bank in order to benefit from it. Many shy away from inbound marketing because of the false notion that it is expensive. Spending money on a marketing strategy that brings you direct clients who are interested and ready to spend on a policy is much more valuable than spending money to attract ‘window shoppers’ who glance through your services and may never make a purchase.

You don’t need a large budget to run inbound marketing campaigns, rather what you need are experienced professionals who understand both inbound marketing and the insurance broker market. Our marketing campaigns are designed to fit your budget so get in touch and let’s discuss a strategy to gain you more clients.

Long lasting benefits

Most insurance brokers are spending a lot of money on outbound marketing ads which may reach a lot of people quickly but the majority of those people will not be interested in any of their policies. Inbound marketing only attracts users who are genuinely interested in your product and hence increases the chances of converting into a sale.

Increases your influence

Being a key figure of influence in the brokerage market is essential to attracting sustained and continuous clients. The level of content that is produced through the inbound marketing process serves as a very reliable resource to anybody searching for information on policies online.

Your content can open a lot of other doors for which can give you access to even more prospective clients. Set yourself a challenge to start now and remember that it takes time and consistency to start reaping the benefits of inbound marketing.

Get in touch with us for the very best of inbound marketing to help you increase your GWP through cost effective and proven methods.

Feature image source: yourdigitalresource.com

One question we always get asked by brokers is this – ‘’In this digital age of social media- LinkedIn, Facebook, email marketing, search engine optimisation (SEO), content marketing and all things digital, what actually works for insurance brokers?’’ At BrokerLink, we are always happy to share our knowledge on how digital marketing can be used to increase your GWP. So we put together this blog post to guide insurance brokers who have similar questions.

In order of the most effective:

1. Word-of-mouth

2. Email marketing

3. Social media

4. Search Engine Marketing (SEO &SEM)

5. Content marketing

It is nice to see that CBSPulse agrees with us

[Source CBSPulse.com]

In 1^st place- Word-of mouth

Word of mouth is still the best way for you to get a new customer and to convert that quote. Recommendations from family, friends and business colleagues still remain the best way to acquire new business. CBSPulse did a survey which found that 84% of people trust recommendations from their friends and family and are more likely to follow them. In this age of digital, word-of mouth can be even more powerful when brokers use customer testimonials, feedback and reviews. You can have customer testimonials and recommendations on your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles as well as use free tools like Google business listing and Feefo which can help you boost your referrals and show the difference between you and your competitors.

In 2nd place- Email marketing

In our experience, email marketing is still one of the top ways to build trust with your customers and to sell more policies. Email marketing has the highest return on investment rate at £4,400 per £1 spent. For business to business sales, this can be an excellent way of warming up your leads. Unfortunately, not a lot of brokers use email marketing consistently enough to benefit from it and increase their gross written premium (GWP).

[Read our blog on tips to run your email marketing campaign]

In 3rd place- Social Media

Social media is the still the buzz word and with billions of people currently on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, this can be an excellent way of getting your business and your insurance policies to potential customers. Social media is being used by some brokers to completely transform their business. The tricky part is that each social media channel has a different demographic, different purpose and different use. For example, the social media channel and tone you might use for selling a performance car policy will differ from the one you use for selling a professional indemnity policy. Even the hour of day and how much you post on Facebook differs from Twitter or Linkedin. Deciding which one is the most effective for your product and using it correctly is the key to beating other brokers in the market. [If you have a question about which one to use, please click here to ask us]

In 4th place- Search Engine Marketing

In this digital age, 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. Sixty-eight (68%) percent use Google to search and combined with the fact that the first 5 results in Google get 67% of all clicks, you will get an idea of why search engine marketing is so important. Customers looking for a policy will go to google to find the right policy and the right broker for them. Compared to email marketing or social media, search engine marketing can take a longer time to make an impact but cannot be underestimated. It is important that you have your business and website optimised for search engines such as Google in order to benefit from it. Remember, this can take some time to work, so be patient but consistent.

In 5th place- Content marketing

Content marketing has grown to become one of the best ways in which you can show potential customers how much knowledge you around the policy they want. Businesses can become experts through the content they provide and engaging content can gain a broker a following like never before. For brokers, great content can increase the number of people coming to your website and will also increase how google ranks your business. This will lead to more sales and business growth.

Why not use all of them?- Inbound Marketing

At Brokerlink, rather than use one method, we use a process called inbound marketing which combines word-of mouth, email marketing, social media, search engine optimisation (SEO) and content in the right proportions. Inbound marketing is helping the most digital savvy brokers such as Simply Business and Bought by Many to disrupt the market and grow their GWP at incredible rates. Why not join them? Click here to ask us how inbound marketing can help your business.

Feature image source – www.entrepreneur.com