What changes or improvements should
your agency implement this year?
By Christopher W. Cook
Being one of the younger folks on staff here at Rough Notes, the duty of maintaining our social media presence was bestowed on me. I tend to plan posts in advance and then I set ’em and forget ’em—rarely checking view statistics and comments. I’m even worse on my personal LinkedIn account, forgetting some months to post about the release of a new magazine issue and what pages my articles appear on. But, hey, I’m the magazine editor; I have a lot of other things on my plate.
But marketing is important. Promoting your business and services to attract new clients should be a top priority.
So what can you do?
According to the 2024 Agency Universe Study from the Big “I,” the top three marketing activities—social media and digital marketing, agency website maintenance, and agency portal maintenance—all saw a decrease in participation this year compared to two years ago (drops of 6%, 4%, and 2%, respectively). As for ways in which social media is used, while building an agency’s brand saw a 3% increase, attracting new prospects decreased 6% in the two-year period.
While marketing budgets were on par last year compared to two years ago, the same study shows that small agencies dropped their marketing budgets from $5,500 to $5,100 (32% of agency expenditures); large agencies saw a drop from $65,900 to $34,800 (9% of agency expenditures).
With the start of the new year, maybe now is a good time to look at your agency’s marketing strategy and investigate possible changes or improvements.
Challenges
Whether it’s the steady pool of competition or changes in the marketing world overall, challenges will continue to arise for the independent insurance agency.
“In a modern society measured heavily by instant gratifications, it’s critical to understand that your marketing strategy is a long-term continuous effort,” says Kate Ferri Dawson, president of Ferri Dawson Insurance Group in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. “Being open-minded to new platforms as well as flexible to change in your methods or processes are vital to redirect unsuccessful marketing campaigns.”
“We’re seeing some real growing pains in agency marketing right now; a lot of agencies are still holding onto traditional marketing approaches that worked great in the past but just aren’t connecting with tech-savvy clients and prospects,” adds Dshanya Reese, brand marketing manager at Watkins Insurance Group in Austin, Texas.
“We’re also facing a challenge where everyone in our space is starting to sound the same,” she says. “Our clients are looking for something personal, something that shows we really get them, but scaling that personalized attention is tricky.”
“One of the biggest challenges is getting your message across in many of the crowded spaces online,” says James O’Hearn, president of O’Hearn Insurance in Lowell, Massachusetts. “There is a lot of competition vying for the same types of clients and it’s hard to separate your business from the others. There are also so many different social media sites to choose from to get in front of your audience.
“Another struggle is finding the time to get a good strategy in place. We are all pulled in many different directions and often marketing can fall to the bottom of the to-do list.”
So where do you start when addressing your marketing strategy? First, look at what’s currently not working.
“From what I’ve learned over the years, it usually shows up in the little things first,” says Reese. “You might notice your emails aren’t getting the opens they used to, or your social posts are falling flat when they used to spark conversations. But one of the most telling signs is when you start hearing frustration from your team. When your people are constantly hitting walls or scrambling for materials they need, that’s a red flag that your strategy might be out of sync.”
“Many strategies have metrics tied to them, so you can see if you are connecting (e.g., a promoted Facebook post’s number of interactions and engagements),” says O’Hearn. “Using that data, you can see what types of posts get more or less traction, which can be helpful. Fortunately, with a lot of the services, you can start out small and increase your spend if you think it’s getting you a return on your investment.”
“We track the origin of all quote requests to determine which marketing efforts are making the most impact in terms of new business to the agency,” adds Ferri Dawson. “You have to understand what is working to also understand what is not. While advertising factors a return on investment, marketing casts a broader net, but it’s harder to quantify its success.”
“Being open-minded to new platforms as well as
flexible to change in your methods or processes are
vital to redirect unsuccessful marketing campaigns.”
—Kate Ferri Dawson
President
Ferri Dawson Insurance Group
Best practices and tech
Once the problems have been recognized, where do you go from there?
“Having a clear goal in mind for your strategy is the first step,” says O’Hearn. “Once you know what you are looking to achieve, you can pick an avenue that you think works best. Are you looking for new leads, boosting sales or possibly just general awareness of your business?
“The main goal of any of our marketing strategies is to create brand awareness and to be a recurring reminder that we are a great business in our community. We want people in the community to think of us when they have an insurance need. I believe that staying top of mind with social media has helped in many ways.”
Reese echoes the importance of having a goal. “Get crystal clear about what you’re trying to achieve,” she says. “Are you looking to get your name out there more? Deepen relationships with existing clients? Your goals will shape everything that follows.
“Really understand your audience and what keeps them up at night. What makes their job easier? What are they trying to achieve?”
Ferri Dawson agrees. “Determine and establish your target client and cater your marketing strategy specifically to them,” she says. “The more specific you are in your messaging, rather than general agency marketing, the closer you will get to attracting your target clientele.
“From there, it’s tracking whether or not your new clients fall into the category you were seeking. If you are attracting specifically who you were aiming for, your strategy is succeeding. If you are not, take the time to step back and review how to adjust accordingly.”
And what about the multitude of tech products available on the market?
“While technology is fantastic in theory, too many of us jump in without a real game plan and end up with ‘digital soup’ instead of a clear, unified approach to client engagement,” Reese says. “When it comes to choosing your channels and tools, be picky. It’s tempting to try everything, but I’ve found it’s better to do a few things well than spread yourself too thin.”
As for her agency, “I’ve found Jasper (jasper.ai) to be incredibly helpful for crafting our initial content drafts,” she adds. “Its AI capabilities help me maintain a consistent voice while scaling our content production.
“While technology is fantastic in theory, too many
of us jump in without a real game plan and end up with
‘digital soup’ instead of a clear, unified approach to client engagement.”
—Dshanya Reese
Brand Marketing Manager
Watkins Insurance Group
“Perplexity (perplexity.ai) has been another fantastic addition to my toolkit. It’s elevated my research game and helps me stay on top of industry trends. These tools handle a lot of heavy lifting for routine tasks, which lets me focus on the creative, strategic work that really moves the needle.”
Ferri Dawson has found that using Google Analytics to focus on the agency’s SEO has been tremendously effective. “By leveraging efforts into improving our SEO, we have greatly increased the number of clients reaching out,” she says. “We’ve also implemented targeted email campaigns. Rather than widespread with general information, we crafted messaging specific to an intended demographic.
“From awareness campaigns to telling existing customers about potential discounts such as senior driving courses to individualized emails following a new vehicle purchase, the measurable email open rate and overall success are directly tied to how relevant the subject is to the recipient.”
O’Hearn’s agency uses Social Jazz (socialjazz.com) to automate Facebook postings. “Social Jazz provides all the content and then it allows me to make changes on the posting calendar,” he says. “It’s great to have the content provided with images and wording which I can edit, move posts to different days or delete them all together. The system allows us to put in our own content as well, posts that might be more personal to our agency and/or community.”
“Having a clear goal in mind for your strategy is the first step. Once you know what you are looking to achieve, you can pick an avenue that you think works best.”
—James O’Hearn
President
O’Hearn Insurance
Advice
For agencies struggling with their marketing strategies, adhere to this advice.
“Tailor your platform and content by generation and make sure your marketing is specific to your agency and what sets you apart,” Ferri Dawson suggests. “Regardless of your ideal client or their generation, your messaging should lead with transparency. Your marketing efforts and branding should be authentic and transparent, and highlight what specifically sets you apart from your competition. If your marketing is well done, your client should feel like they know you before you’ve even met.”
“Getting started is the hardest part,” adds O’Hearn, “so I would recommend just trying something new. It doesn’t have to be a big project; it could be as small as creating a presence on a new social media site. You can get started without a large financial commitment and test out different places for your content. Once you’re comfortable and you’ve found a good market, you can put a more robust plan in place and monitor it and adjust.”
“Don’t chase the latest marketing trend because everyone else is doing it,” says Reese. “Choose technology that makes sense for your specific situation and invest in your team’s ability to use it effectively. Maybe that means creating new roles or setting up training programs—whatever it takes to build that expertise in-house.
“The marketing strategy you create today shouldn’t be set in stone. The market keeps evolving, and so should your approach. Stay flexible, keep learning, and be ready to adjust when needed. That’s what separates the agencies that thrive from those that just survive,” she concludes.
