Marketing DON'Ts For Insurance Agents

Marketing's tricky. Lots of times a marketing strategy will sound like an absolute home run while you're brainstorming, and then, once the strategy has been put to action, you realize you've struck out. This isn't because you suck at marketing. It's because not even the most well thought-out plans are going to work on everyone.

While you're trying to navigate what marketing strategies will work online, in person and in your community, there are a few very important land mines that you should avoid, no matter how good they look on paper. Take a look at these tried and true marketing DONT's.

1. DON'T ADD PEOPLE TO LISTS WITHOUT PERMISSION
Just because you had a great networking conversation or prospect chat and someone hands you a business card, that doesn't mean you're allowed to start spamming the ever-loving crap out of them. People need to be able to opt-in to receiving marketing calls and emails from you. Once you start spamming people, you're going to get reported and THAT is never a good look.

2. DON'T MAKE PEOPLE FILL OUT LONG QUOTE FORMS ONLINE
Ain't nobody got time for that. And also, you've got to operate on the assumption that people aren't tech-savvy enough to be able to complete a quote form online. We know, but still. Make sure that whatever forms you're asking people to fill out online are quick and easy. You need to make sure they hit DONE on that form before they hit the back or exit button.

3. DON'T USE A PERSONAL FACEBOOK PAGE FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Just no. Facebook has gone to great lengths to create a massive business platform for small business owners and it works. There are a ton of backend benefits to using a business page like insights and an ad platform (if you choose to run ads). Also, a business page is set up to look professional and to make your business as accessible as possible for your followers.

4. DON'T BUY FOLLOWERS AND ENGAGEMENT
We know that a post with low likes makes you feel like your content stinks, but it's better than paying for fake engagement on your posts. Not only can most platforms spot fake engagement from a mile away, so can your followers AND IT'S A BAD LOOK. You want to always be striving for as much genuine engagement from real followers as possible.

5. DON'T HAVE MORE THAN ONE OFFICIAL WEBPAGE
Lots of agents want to have a personal web page, as well as a page that lives on their carrier's site. This creates confusion from the jump for any prospect who Googles you. When a prospect finds two pages for the same agent, they're more apt to continue their search and find someone with just one page.

When it comes to what's GOING TO WORK for you and your agency in terms of marketing, it's a bit of a crap shoot. The good news is that those who've gone before you have a pretty clear picture of what ISN'T GOING TO WORK. Listen to agents when they tell you what tactics to avoid when it comes to reaching out to new customers. It'll save you a lot of embarrassment.