Why your brokerage needs a blog — and what you should write about

Blogging isn’t dead. In fact, it may be an underrated way for brokerages to deliver expertise to their customer base, according to a market research expert speaking at the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) Convention.

Diversity is of particular interest to potential customers, said Erin Kelly, CEO of Advanced Symbolics Inc (ASI).

Brokers may be ahead of the curve when it comes to blog traffic compared to the average non-industry customers who use ASI for market research insights, said Kelly.

“When I look for our customers, you would normally see less than 5% of the content they put out there has been clicked on by their target audience when they first come to us,” Kelly told hundreds of brokers attending the IBAO convention. “In your case, it’s 13%.

“Of people who are clicking through looking for more information, 13% of the time they are clicking on a broker’s article,” said Kelly. However, she clarifies, a handful of brokers are aggregating most of the blog traffic.

What does this say about what consumers want from the broker channel? “Your customers are hungry for information from you,” Kelly explained.

A brokerage’s blog posts may also lead to more traffic to its web pages or social media channels.

“Of the ones who click on the articles…9% will go and check out the broker’s website after reading the article, 4% check their LinkedIn page — so make sure that’s up to date — and of those [who click on the articles], 33% make a second visit.”

What do customers want their brokers to blog about?

In the last six months, diversity and the insurance industry has piqued customers’ interest, according to ASI’s market research. More specifically, customers are using social media to say they want a broker who understands their diverse identity and their unique set of risks.

“Diversity is something that you should start having on your radar as something you want to be ready to talk to customers about,” Kelly explained.

“[Customers are using social media to say] ‘I am a trans[gender] woman and I’m taking hormones; how does that affect my disability insurance or life insurance? [Or] I’m a young Black man, and I’m worried that I’m going to get a higher premium. I want an insurance broker who understands that and knows how to get me a fair deal.’”

Brokers can use this market research as an opportunity to blog about their expertise in servicing diverse communities, and, ultimately, increase their customer acquisition.

“Because, if people are wondering about [diversity] and you happen to be the person publishing an article saying, ‘I am a specialist in how to get policies for trans people, [or] I’m a specialist in ethnic or racial communities who are having trouble getting fair rates and insurance,’ [customers will] trust you more.

“It might be that every broker knows how to do that, but because you said you’re that person, they trust you more.”

 

Feature image by iStock.com/Prostock-Studio