This document discusses how insurance agencies can enhance their brand through digital marketing. It recommends that agencies evaluate their brand from the customer's perspective, manage their online presence across multiple social media platforms consistently, and provide valuable content to engage customers and build their brand. The key is to have a unified brand identity across all touchpoints that solves customers' problems and presents the agency's unique personality and services.

1. Marketing Insurance in The Digital Age
Driving Brand Awareness and Value Through Digital Marketing
ENHANCING YOUR BRAND FROM
EVERY ANGLE
July 2014

2. Senior Vice
President
Rick Morgan
Highlight:
Being named to Insurance Newscast’s 100 Most
Powerful People in the Insurance Industry – North
America.
Independent Agency Principal
Silver Plume
Applied Systems
Agents Council for Technology

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxpa4dNVd3c

4. In simplistic terms, digital marketing is the
promotion of products or brands via one or more
forms of electronic media.
4

5. Why does brand matter?

6. “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and
relationships that, taken together, account for a
consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over
another. If the consumer doesn’t pay a premium, make a
selection or spread the workd, then not brand value exists
for tht consumer.” – Seth Godin
6

7.  customers edit
choices on where
to buy.
 Attract and retain
customers.
 Enhance your
influence.

8.  Get more referrals.
 Focus on value
over price.

9.  Expand products
and services.

10.  Build “mind
share.
 Share your
personality.

11.  Recruit and retain
employees, business
partners.

12.  Survive a crisis.
 Increase
revenue per
customer—and
build value.

13.  Create fans (not
just customers).

14. A strong brand increases
the agency valuation multiple
by 100 basis points or more
than an agency without a brand.
—Hales &
Company

16. BRAND vs. BRAND
IDENTITY

17.  What customers say about your agency?
 Do they talk more about value or price?
 What do people in the community say?
 What do the employees say?
 Are you managing the entire customer
experience?
 Why do people come to your agency?
 Why do they stay?
 How do you define “great service?”
 What do you do for customers beyond the policy?
Do You Know

20. 20

21. Which Social Platform is Best?
 Agency website - Our online office
 Blog - My observations on different things (inc.
insurance)
 Facebook - I like insurance
 LinkedIn - I am skilled at insurance
 Twitter - I #insurance now
 YouTube - Watch me tell you about insurance
 Google + - Lets all discuss insurance together
 Pinterest - Here are my insurance specialties
21

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23. 23

24. 24

25.  Find your target audience
 Solve (customers and prospects) most important
problems.
 Listen, participate, and engage.
 Have a plan for handling negative comments.
 Have a plan to engage those who leave positive
comments.
 Monitor.
25

27. 1. Evaluate your brand—involve entire staff.
2. Realize every customer interaction impacts the
brand.
3. Offer the best products and services.
4. Unify your touch points—logos, signage, marketing
materials, online presence.
5. Reach out to customers.

28.  Build/Maintain brand awareness?
 Expand to new target market?
 Penetrate current markets more deeply?
 Keep valuable customers?
 Cross-sell customers?
 Introduce new capability (life, benefits, HR
consulting, etc.)?
 Expand demographically?
 Announce a new service or locations?

29. 29

30. 30

31. Http://indpependentagent.com/ACT
31
How do you want or expect employees to act
while engaged in social activity?

32. 32

33. 33
 Founded 2004
 1,310,000,000 Monthly active users
 680,000,000 Monthly mobile users
 Average time spent per visit 18 min.
33

34.  Make the most of your cover photo (and profile)
34

35.  Become personally
involved in your real-life
community.
35

36.  Highlight or
pin your best
posts
36

37. 37
Largest and most influential professional social
network (225 Million)
Focus
Connections
Write a compelling summary
Great cover image
37

38. 3838

39. 39
Ask your employees to connect with your page.
Ask for product and service reviews.
Publish company updates.
Comment and Like as your company.
Promote your LinkedIn Company Page.
39

40. 4040
Groups
Insurance Groups
Consumer Groups

41. 41
Twitter is Unique (500 Million Users - 200
Million Active)
Use Twitter for Your Agency
Present your brand
Follow people
Drive traffic to your website/blog
Share photographs/video (vine)
41

42. 42
Benefits of Twitter
Speed
Information
Retweeting/Viral
Some Helpful Hints
Set up lists
Use a tool such as Hootsuite, Buffer or
TweetDeck
Hashtags
42

43. 4343

44. 44
Why a Business Page? (343 million active users)
All things Google
Great for finding new customers
Authentic
Great for getting found (local and SEO)
Hangouts
44

45. 45
Fill out your profile
Connect your business website and Google+ page
Bigger, better cover photos
Use Google+ as your business page
Use Circles
Communities
45

46. 4646

47. Some apply to all social media platforms
 Be human, genuine, transparent and authentic
47

48.  Reply to fans
 Foster conversation
 Don’t syndicate the same
content on every social channel,
etc.
48

49.  Provide Valuable Content
49

50. 50
What To Say

51.  Where do you get content?
 Quality content is king.
 Content is a means to an end.
 What to say and how to say it
 Information gathering
 Create an editorial calendar
 Keeping on schedule
 Setting aside a few minutes a day for a quick scan
of trending topics and customer reaction.
 Be spontaneous
 Rich Media – Video, Podcasts, Webinars
51

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55.  Are you who you say you are?
 Your customers not you define your brand.
 Consumer expectations are set by culture, not the
industry.
 Today’s culture is social: Consumers are connected
and empowered.
 Social businesses are positioned to succeed.
55

56. ENHANCING YOUR BRAND
FROM EVERY ANGLE
703.912.7974 Rick@Aartrijk.com www.Aartrijk.com