Should Small and Medium Insurance Agencies Invest in Press Releases? The inference here is that the larger agencies are already investing in this important marketing activity, which is an accurate description. Do the big brokers know something that the smaller agencies don’t? Press releases, often referred to today as press releases, provide agencies with many insurance agency marketing benefits. There are two types of distribution services, fee-based launches and free launches. Small agencies with modest budgets and some extra time can consider many of the free distribution services. Some of these include:
- PRLog
- Newsvine
- Newswire today
- Free press release
- PR.com
- i-Newswire
- 24-7
- PR-Inside
There are dozens of free distribution services, some of which also offer unlocking services based on premium rates. Agents and brokers who can budget for a more comprehensive distribution should consider fee-based or subscription-based providers. Some of the most popular payment services are:
- PRWeb
- PR Newswire
- Markewired
- BusinessWire
Why Should Insurance Agents Use Press Releases To Increase Their Insurance Agency Marketing Efforts?
- Expand Market Presence – Deliver a refined message to a broad target market.
- Reach New Markets – Alert new target markets, especially verticals, products and services.
- Create Name Recognition – Helps potential prospects “get to know” your agency by contacting or quoting them.
- Define Experience – Alerts prospects to in-depth knowledge of the industry (group benefits and compliance, truck insurance, risk retention groups, restaurant insurance, etc.).
- Improve Insurance Agency Search Engine Optimization – Although search engines argue otherwise, search engine optimization specialists have shown that press releases positively influence insurance agency SEO (SERP) .
- Attract media attention – Properly executed insurance agency press releases can be distributed to hundreds of thousands of news subscribers and tens of thousands of journalists and bloggers.
- Increase Website Traffic – Press releases attract readers and direct them to visit your website.
- Increase traffic on social networks: Most press release services allow readers to share the release through social networks.
What should agents include in their communications? These are some of the common components that should be included in each release:
- Title: Keep it short, relevant, and concise.
- Summary: A quick description of the release, in greater detail than the headline, enough to whet a prospective reader’s appetite.
- Deadline: generally includes the publication date and the issuer’s hometown.
- Introduction: first paragraph of a press release, which generally gives basic answers to the questions of who, what, when, where, and why.
- Body – The content of the release, including background, details, citations, metrics, etc.
- About – Most include a short “about” section, which provides information about the organization issuing the release, the website link, and other information important to the issuer.
- Media Contact Information: Name, telephone number, email address, postal address or other contact information of the contact person for the release.
Most services offer guidelines, pitch examples, and FAQs to help agents and brokers with the basics of press releases. Finding valuable topics is probably easier than agents think. New insurance agency webinars or webinar programs, new lines of business, new employees, new offices, new carrier relationships, announcements of innovative products and services, new website resources, upcoming conferences or trade shows, and content / video libraries are all themes can benefit from a release. Agencies may contract this work internally or outsource the initiative to a competent insurance agency marketing and public relations organization.
