While social media has taken over the conversation these past few years, businesses have been trying to figure out how they can incorporate a digital strategy into their marketing plan since the mid 90’s. It all started in 1994, when HotWired brought us the first clickable banner ad, changing the way users looked at the internet and what it was capable of doing. Google was founded in 1998, Myspace, one of the first social networking sites, arrived on the scene shortly after, followed by Facebook. Thanks to the mobile smart-phone, tablets, and easier access to Internet, more people are online than ever before. This leaves business owners asking how they can utilize digital marketing to make more money. That’s a good question to ask yourself as an insurance agency owner, and we encourage you read the number blog posts here about your agency’s online presence. But, before you click away and start dreaming of new Facebook likes and retweets, there is something you must hear: Traditional marketing isn’t dead and you can’t just turn away from it.

Marketing Strategy
The core of your agency’s marketing strategy hasn’t changed, nor should it. As you look to include additional digital channels into your strategy, stay true to who you are. What are you selling? How do you compare with competitors on pricing? What is the added value? How can customers purchase policies from you? The answers to these questions mostly remain the same, regardless of new marketing tactics that exist. You should be able to answer these questions succinctly, without wavering. Make your answers compelling. You must find a way to connect with your audience.

Public Relations
While readership is declining across most publications, newspapers and magazines are still being published across the country and many readers see them as reliable and credible sources. Local papers are especially valuable to communities. A strong public relations effort on behalf of your agency will benefit you immensely. Positive pieces about the community work that your agency is doing are types of stories that local papers are looking for. Each time your agency donates to a nonprofit, works in a local school, or gives back to the community you serve, the local papers should receive a press release about the partnership. Using Twitter to connect with reporters is a great way to use social media in conjunction with traditional marketing efforts. Almost every reporter is on Twitter looking for new stories and breaking news, especially on the local level.

Advertising
Though subscriptions and readership is down, print publications are still making their way into the mailboxes of potential customers. Every publication has a different audience, and your advertisements should appeal to that target market. Switching up content and design on ads is something that many companies don’t do, but is essential to successful campaigns in print. Different people need different types of insurance, don’t try to sell the same thing to everyone.
With all the talk of social media on mobile advertising, it’s easy to forget about television commercials, but you shouldn’t rule them out. Nielsen estimates 116.3 million TV homes in the United States, up from previous estimates. Television commercials may seem out of your league and budget, but your local network stations or cable providers probably have programs in place to help small businesses produce commercials to air in your local community.

Raffles, Referrals & Giveaways
While insurance policies aren’t something you can discount or coupon like a physical item in a retail store, there are ways to incorporate raffles and giveaways into your plan to sell more policies. We’ve talked at length about referral programs and their success in an insurance agency. Raffling off tickets to a sporting event, theater performance, or concert are all compelling incentives for people to contact you, whether it be to get a quote or refer someone else. Use these traditional methods of name and data collection to increase your prospect list, and then have your sales team get to work.