Neil Patel once said, “There’s no such thing as a boring industry … just bad writers who aren’t creative.” He said this in response to thousands of business owners who were complaining that content writing wasn’t for them because they were in a boring niche. The truth is, content marketing is for every business in every industry — even insurance.

Why Should You Incorporate Content Writing Into Your Insurance Marketing Strategy?

We get it — you’re in the business of avoiding risk. It’s what you do. However, while this aversion to risk makes you great at your job, it may make you resistant to change that could lead to very real business growth. While you should continue to encourage your clients to steer clear of the unknown, take a leap of faith and invest in content marketing. Here’s why.

Stay Top of Mind

As an insurance company, it’s difficult to stay relevant as the only interaction customers have with you is either via a monthly bill or a phone call during which they file a claim. Both types of interactions are less than ideal. If you want to stay at the forefront of your customers’ minds for, say, when a friend or colleague asks for a referral, you need to give them small reminders throughout the month that you exist and that you’re ready to help. 

Content marketing allows you to grab your customers’ attention, for however briefly, a few times a month. Make each interaction a positive one by sharing pieces of interest. When trying to come up with ideas for content, think about the relevancy to the readers’ interests. What do your customers want to know? Below are a few topic ideas you can turn into great pieces any policy holder will want to read:

• How to reduce car insurance rates
• Seasonal maintenance or hazards (winterizing your home, staying healthy during flu season, etc.)
• Best foods for a healthy heart
• Exercises to reduce joint pain
• Frequently asked questions

Foster, Nurture and Maintain Relationships With Your Customers

One of the greatest benefits of content is its ability to connect a business to its customers. Whether you have 100 policyholders or 1,000, chances are you have a hard time keeping in touch with all of them, much less establishing a personal relationship with each. This distance makes it difficult for you to generate loyalty, and loyalty is key to customer retention and acquisition.

According to a HubSpot statistic, 50% of a consumer’s time online is spent engaging with custom content. A TMG finding reveals that as many as 78% of consumers believe that organizations that provide custom content are interested in establishing good relationships with them. If you struggle to form and maintain relationships with your customers, and therefore struggle to garner customer loyalty, it may be time to redesign your insurance marketing strategy so it includes content writing.

Establish Trust

Consumers today are smarter about how they spend their money than those of previous decades. While this may not necessarily mean they don’t make impulse purchases or that they save more money than previous generations, it does mean that they spend more time reviewing and comparing products and services and the brands that provide them. When two offerings are equal in quality and value, the customer is more likely to go with the company they trust. Content marketing helps establish that trust. There are stats to support this assertion.

According to statistics shared via WordStream, as much as 95% of shoppers consider content as trustworthy when evaluating a company and its offerings. Nine out of 10 B2B product or service buyers say content plays a moderate to major role in their purchase decisions. As many as 78% of consumers said they relied on white papers to make a major purchase decision in the last year.

Have Those Tough Talks in a Personal Manner

No policy holder likes to receive a bill in the mail along with a statement that says, “Oh, by the way, your rates are going up!” These types of inserts add insult to injury and are sure to inspire several of your customers to begin the hunt for a new carrier.

However, rate hikes are often necessary, which many insurance customers don’t understand. You can help them understand, however. For instance, maybe the risk factors in a customer’s particular region changed, or maybe the cost of medical care or repairs is on the rise. Whatever the reason, a friendly email or blog post explaining the rate hike may soften the blow to your policyholders.

Moreover, if you establish a strong relationship with your customers via content marketing before sharing bad news, they’re more likely to take it better. This is because you’ve earned their trust, so when you say the spike in rates was out of your control, they’ll believe you.

Brand Yourself As More Than an Insurance Agent

Your policyholders know you as an insurance agent, plain and simple. Because of this, they contact you only when their rates go up or when they need to file a claim. However, as an insurance professional, your knowledge extends far beyond numbers and claims.

For instance, maybe you have extensive knowledge of health issues and what individuals can do to manage symptoms or prevent issues entirely. Or maybe you’re also a financial whiz and know what steps consumers can take to not only reduce their rates but also save in other areas of their lives. If you have the knowledge, share it. In sharing your advice and expertise, your policyholders will begin to view you as more than just an insurance agent — they may begin to view you as a valuable life advisor.

Connect With Your Customers Today

If you want to stay top of mind, establish trust and foster and maintain relationships with your customers, content marketing is for you. However, to realize the benefits of content marketing, your articles need to be high quality, genuine and helpful. If you don’t have the time, resources or capacity to create that type of content, look into our content writing services.