Should small and medium size insurance agencies spend money on press releases? Larger agencies are already investing in this important marketing activity - which is an accurate depiction. That is the inference here. Carry out the large brokers know something smaller agencies usually do not? Press releases, which today are also known as news releases, provide agencies with a lot of insurance agency marketing benefits. There are 2 types of distribution services, fee based releases and free releases. Small agencies with modest budgets and some more time can consider many of the free distribution services. Some of these include: - Brian Lock Reviews
PRLog
Newsvine
Newswire Today
Free Press Release
PR.com
i-Newswire
24-7
PR-Inside
You can find lots of free distribution services, many of which also offer premium fee based release services. brokers and Agents which may allocate budget for more comprehensive distribution should look into fee based or subscription providers. Some the greater known fee based services are:
PRWeb
PR Newswire
Marketwired
BusinessWire
Why must insurance agents use press announcements to augment their insurance agency marketing initiatives?
Expand market presence - deliver a refined message to a broad potential audience.
Reach new markets - alert new target markets, especially verticals, of services and products.
Create name recognition - helps target prospects "know" your agency when contacting them or quoting.
Define expertise - alerts prospects of deep industry knowledge (compliance and group benefits, trucking insurance, risk retention groups, restaurant insurance, etc.).
Improve insurance agency search engine optimization - though search engines argue to the contrary, seo specialists have proven that press releases positively influence insurance agency SEO (SERPs).
Attract media attention - Properly executed, insurance agency press announcements may be distributed to thousands and thousands of news subscribers and tens of thousands journalists and bloggers.
Increase online traffic - press releases engages readers and directs them to visit your website.
Boost social media marketing traffic - most press release services allow readers to share the production via social media.
What should agents include in their releases? Here are some of the common components which should be a part of every release:
Headline - make it relevant, pithy and short.
Summary - a simple description of the release, with greater granularity compared to headline, enough to whet hunger of the perspective reader.
Dateline - usually includes the discharge date and originating town of issuer.
Introduction - first paragraph inside a press release, that generally gives basic techniques to the questions of who, why, what, when and where.
Body - the content from the release including background, metrics, quotations and details etc.
About - most add a brief "about" section, providing information regarding the organization issuing the release, website link along with other information essential to the issuer.
Media contact information - name, phone number, e-mail address, mailing address, or any other contact information for your release contact person.
Most services offer guidelines, release examples and FAQs to aid agents and brokers with press release basics. Finding worthy topics is probably easier than agents may believe. New insurance agency webinars or webinar programs, new lines of economic, new employees, new offices, new carrier relationships, innovative products and repair announcements, new website resources, upcoming speaking engagements or trade show exhibitions, and content/video libraries are topics which can be helped by a release. Agencies can either staff this work internally. Alternatively, outsource the initiative to a proficient insurance agency marketing and PR organization. - Brian Lock Reviews