Should small, and medium size insurance agencies spend money on pr releases? The inference here is that larger agencies are already investing in this important marketing activity - which is an accurate depiction. Do the large brokers know something smaller agencies do not? Pr releases, which today are also known as news releases, provide agencies with a lot of insurance agency marketing benefits. There are 2 varieties of distribution services, fee based releases and free releases. Small agencies with modest budgets and a few additional time can consider many of the free distribution services. A few of these include: - Brian Lock Reviews
PRLog
Newsvine
Newswire Today
Free Press Release
PR.com
i-Newswire
24-7
PR-Inside
There are lots of free distribution services, a few of which offer premium fee based release services. brokers and Agents which could allocate budget for more comprehensive distribution should look into fee based or subscription providers. Some the better known fee based services are:
PRWeb
PR Newswire
Marketwired
BusinessWire
Why must insurance agents use press releases to augment their insurance agency marketing initiatives?
Expand market presence - deliver a refined message to your broad target market.
Reach new markets - alert new target markets, especially verticals, of products and services.
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, search engine optimization specialists have proven that pr releases positively influence insurance agency SEO (SERPs).
Attract media attention - Properly executed, insurance agency press announcements could be given to tens of thousands of news subscribers and tens of thousands journalists and bloggers.
Increase online traffic - pr releases engages readers and directs these to see your website.
Boost social media traffic - most press release services allow readers to discuss the discharge via social media marketing.
What should agents use in their releases? Here are the common components that ought to be a part of every release:
Headline - make it relevant, short and pithy.
Summary - a fast description in the release, with greater granularity compared to the headline, enough to whet the appetite of any perspective reader.
Dateline - usually includes the discharge date and originating town of issuer.
Introduction - first paragraph in a press release, that generally gives basic solutions to the questions of who, why, where, when and what.
Body - the content from the release including background, quotations, details and metrics etc.
About - most include a brief "about" section, providing information about the corporation issuing the production, website link and other information essential to the issuer.
Media contact information - name, phone number, e-mail address, mailing address, or other contact information for the 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 business, new employees, new offices, new carrier relationships, innovative products and service announcements, new website resources, upcoming speaking engagements or trade event exhibitions, and content/video libraries are all topics which can be helped by a release. Agencies can either staff this work internally, or outsource the initiative to a proficient insurance agency marketing and PR organization. - Brian Lock Reviews