Fundamentals of Digital Marketing for Insurance Agents

The idea of marketing for one’s own brand started by word of mouth, then by newspapers, radio and TV commercials. Now, in the digital age, everything is easily accessible online to everyone. Clients and prospects have their own personal computer in their pocket, and usually a laptop or desktop at home. They are able to look up information, watch videos and explore the digital world at any time of day and from virtually any location. If agents do not adapt to this digital world, their brand is bound to fall behind and be out-paced by competitors who embrace these changes.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is the effort to market oneself online. Postcards, ads in newspapers and other channels of traditional marketing are still useful in their own way. However, digital marketing is becoming more important because clients of all ages are using the internet more and more to search for services, products, businesses, etc. From AcquireUp’s 2025 Industry Report, 50% of agents and advisors manage their own marketing, which represents significant effort.

Percentage of Searchers by Age Group Who Search Online in a Typical Day: 18-29 Years: 55%, 30-49 Years: 54%, 50-64 Years: 40%, 65 Years and older: 27%
Source: Pew Research Center

By improving your digital marketing, you can move ahead of your competition. Setting up these different aspects of digital marketing may take some time, but the brand awareness, generated leads and additional prospects will be worth it in the end.

Effective Digital Marketing for Insurance Agents

Social Media Networking

When it comes to networking, social media is an easy way to connect with both clients and fellow agents. It’s a means of directly engaging your business with your audience. If done well, social media networking can present substantial business opportunities (both local and national), depending on the size and scope of your business.

You can create your own business page on social media, or even your own business-focused account. Then, once your account is established, you can start engaging on social platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and other online forums.

By engaging with others through social media, you reduce expenses because social media marketing is generally more cost-efficient as compared to running events. Plus, travel expenses decrease because no traveling is required. In other words, networking on social media saves both time and money.

Do keep in mind that most social media applications have terms of service and guidelines that should be followed. Failure in this area could land you in hot water, so tread carefully.

The average person uses 6 or more social media networks per month.
Source: Sprout Social

Online Presence and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Almost every brand has a website, and you should too if you want to efficiently promote your business. There are multiple ways to build one yourself without help from a web designer. With sites like Wix, and WordPress, it’s easy to build your website from the ground up.

Once your website is built, you should consider SEO. This method of digital marketing helps improve website traffic and helps it rank higher in search engines. We offer quick and easy SEO practices you can implement on your website to help you get started, along with a list of top 5 SEO tools.

75% of Google users ignore the 2nd page of results.
Source: HubSpot

Online Reviews and Local Search

These days, it’s easy for clients to leave online reviews for your business. Whether they are good or bad, reviews can benefit you as an insurance agent.

It’s a good idea to have a free Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) account associated with your business. Clients can leave Google reviews on your business profile, which is visible to new prospects. This usually works best if you have a physical location for your business. By having this account set up, you can reply to reviews sent in by clients. It’s also good to respond to reviews left on any other social media and review sites that you’re set up on.

Benefits of responding to reviews:

• Improves your online reputation
• Enhances trust and loyalty with clients
• Increases the chance of new business and more visibility
• Builds stronger relationships with clients

Google Free Business Profile accounts can be useful in boosting your local online presence, especially if your business focuses on a specific geographic area. For more ideas about boosting your local online presence, check out this helpful blog.

87% of customers engage with businesses that have a 3-4 star rating on Google.
Source: Wisernotify

Produce Relevant Content and Promote on Multiple Channels

Prospects search for content that informs. So to be effective, your content should educate and show prospects how your business can help them. Think about how your business stands out from your competition. Why should a client or potential prospect care about what you offer? Are you answering a question for them? Are you offering a solution? Prove it by showing your expertise and experience in the content you create.

When creating content, be it for a blog or a video, think about how you can use it for multiple channels. For example, if you have a long video on YouTube, that video content could be broken down into a YouTube Short, made into a Facebook post and even repurposed into a blog. By separating out and repurposing your content in this way, you increase awareness of your business more than if you left it on one channel.

Marketing channels to promote content:

• Video
• Blog on your website
• Webpage
• Social media
• Podcast

Digital Marketing in Conclusion

The digital environment for businesses is not going away. If you haven’t started exploring digital marketing, it’s time to begin. Some of these suggestions may take time, so be sure to tackle them in small steps. Also, take a good look at your brand along with the products and services you provide. Determine what differentiates you from the competition and use that information to create content that highlights those points in an educational and informative manner.

Partner with SMS to Boost Your Business

Senior Market Sales^® (SMS) is a premier health and wealth field marketing organization (FMO) with a penchant for helping agents and advisors increase marketing effectiveness. If you’re looking to generate more leads, book more appointments or increase your client retention, look no further than SMS!

SMS offers marketing solutions for your business needs, ranging from the traditional to the digital, and everything in between. If you’re interested in branding, social media marketing strategies or other marketing collateral, be sure to contact SMS. A licensed and experienced marketing consultant would love to speak to you today!