From the Front Line: Effective and Economical Marketing Strategies for Agents

Effective and Economical Marketing Strategies for Agents

by Dan Bruck

Corporate marketers love to say, “Marketing can do anything, but we can’t do everything.” There are so many options to get your brand and products in front of key decision makers that there is never enough funding or people resources to engage and activate all the options. We are also forced to constantly look for what is new and next because marketing channels get oversaturated, and we all wind up overusing them – ultimately turning off the very consumers we’re trying to attract. The good news is that there are always new forms of outreach available.

According to research by HubSpot, in their 2022 State of Inbound Marketing Trends report:

• Short-form video content like TikTok’s and Instagram Reels are the most effective type of social media content
• Videos are the top content marketing media format for the third year in a row
• Facebook has the best ROI for social media ads versus other platforms

So, ask yourself, “When was the last time I created a video to promote my agency or updated my Facebook ads?”

Marketing your own agency is an effort that is uniquely yours to own based upon your goals and resources. But spending isn’t a requirement. One of our partnered agents started a scratch agency and in just 18 months, built a $1.6 million book of business from zero – without spending a dime on marketing. If you are going to fund marketing efforts, be prepared to do your homework so that you spend wisely or spend nothing at all.

Agents like to think of themselves as trusted advisors, sharing informed advice with their clients.

With the average age of an independent agent being 55 years old, that translates into a tremendous amount of industry expertise. When was the last time you authored an article aimed at potential clients and pitched it to a local media outlet? Thought leadership content positions you as an expert, gets your name and agency name visibility in your local community plus develops good will with future customers.

With video being the three-peat top content marketing media format, have you explored how you can better utilize video to attract new clients? Topics can include client testimonials, informational seminars, disaster preparedness and more. You can post them on your website, Facebook page and other popular social media platforms such as YouTube. When posting to searchable sites (such as YouTube) make sure to include a link to your website at the beginning of the description. YouTube cuts off the text after a couple lines and you want viewers to click through to your site without expanding the description. Include your agency name, address, and phone number at the bottom of the description. These additional business citations help your local SEO rankings.

Here's a throwback idea to attract new clients – but with a modern twist: Handwritten letters.

The open rate for a personalized letter hovers around 95% -- much higher than the 21% open rate for emails according to MailChimp. Sure, they are time consuming to create, but now you can prepare the message, create a list of recipients and a team of very well-trained robots will handwrite the letters and envelopes for you! Two companies offering this service include IgnitePOST and Handwrytten.

Are you in or interested in expanding into Commercial Lines? Then consider LinkedIn Sales Navigator as a sales intelligence tool. Do you have a specific geography that you want to mine for new prospects? Or are you specializing in specific types of businesses? Either way, Sales Navigator helps you find the right prospects with advanced search tools. There is even a 30-day free trial. Their lowest cost Core plan allows you to send up to 50 InMail messages per month.

No matter what marketing budget you are working with, there are many ways to be effective and economical – all while creating breakthrough results for your agency.