Lead Generation For Insurance Agents: Top Strategies

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Insurance. The underlying concept is that it protects you, your house, car, spouse, family, health and any other belongings you want to safeguard. Being so important, insurance should sell itself to insurance shoppers, right?

Except, insurance lead generation is a lot more complicated. 

Because of its very nature, insurance is a monumental decision for buyers. They research and compare multiple options before settling for the best one. 

Moreover, in the UK alone, there are over 400 insurance companies and over 1,600 insurance agents & brokers. That's a lot of competition in the insurance industry. 

As insurance agents, you need help keeping up with lead generation. This blog covers how you can build a sustainable and resilient insurance lead generation system using digital platforms. 

How does digital insurance lead generation fit into your growth process? 

Source

We discuss digital strategies, particularly because insurance is changing. It's undergoing significant tech transformation, and to thrive, you need to make the most of online platforms and tools.

Here are 6 more reasons why insurance lead generation should be digital, to boost your growth: 

1. Online methods are relatively less expensive than offline or traditional insurance lead generation techniques.
2. You can run campaigns anytime and any day of the week. Insurance lead generation won't be limited to a few hours or days.  
3. The internet, coupled with recent tech improvements, has made it easier to generate leads anywhere in the world–local, national and international. 
4. Insurance lead generation is also more flexible on digital platforms, meaning you can tweak your campaigns in real-time, to improve performance. 
5. You can capture leads directly in the CRM and use them for remarketing, retargeting and nurturing campaigns. Reps do not need to sit and enter contact details into the CRM. 
6. You can leverage digital platforms and tools to communicate with leads and offer highly personalised interactions. 

Insurance lead generation on digital platforms improves the buyer experience. This gives you an upper hand over competitors if you can execute your strategies right.

7 insurance lead generation ideas for insurance agencies

Effective insurance lead generation strategies produce qualified leads with higher purchase intent. These leads move faster through the sales funnel, boosting your win rates and eventually increasing revenue.

You can set up an efficient insurance lead generation system using these 7 strategies.

1. Use content marketing to share resources & engage leads

One thing that always interests insurance leads is free educational resources that benefit them.

Start by learning your audience's needs and motivations for buying insurance products. Dig deep and then use content to familiarise them with the solutions for their needs.

You can create content on queries that customers commonly ask and dive further into niche topics. Each content piece should be unique enough to stoke intent and generate leads.

They should also offer a relevant and practical solution to your lead's problems. Remember that the problem must be related to or is the same problem your product solves. Generating leads through content marketing may take time, but leads that trust you are more likely to buy.

To refine your content marketing strategy, use the following formats. 

1. Lead magnets

A lead magnet is one of the key points of entry to your sales funnel. A lead magnet is a valuable content resource you can offer prospects in exchange for their contact information.

You can use any content piece as a lead magnet as long as it's unique and highly valuable. These could be eBooks, case studies, reports, whitepapers, masterclasses, mobile or web apps, insurance calculators and newsletters.

To easily capture the lead's contact information, use web forms or native lead generation forms.  

An example of lead magnet could be:
eBook or guide on 'The 101 to purchasing life insurance for first-time buyers'.

2. Blogs 

Blogs are usually one of the first places where businesses start creating content.

If you don't have good lead magnets in the content pipeline, start creating and posting blogs regularly. Host them on your website.

Blogs must be high-quality, SEO-ready content (we cover SEO in the following section). Plus, they must educate and entertain readers for effective insurance lead generation.

LinkedIn is a good alternative if your website is still a work in progress. You can publish your blogs as articles on the platform.

One example of a blog topic could be:
‘10 tips for choosing the right automotive insurance policy’.

3. Videos

Insurance can be a tricky and boring subject to navigate. With so many rules, regulations and processes to figure out, your audience may not always download a lead magnet or read blogs. 

Videos can make your content more interesting through audiovisuals. As much as 96% of people learn more about a service or product through explainer videos. 

Use YouTube to determine what potential customers want to learn about. Take a look at the search suggestions when you type in a query in the search box. Create videos that address these queries for better lead generation.

Source: YouTube

And if you're still unsure what topics are good, check out the top-performing videos (at least the top 5) for a given set of keywords for inspiration.

Don't limit yourself to YouTube, however. You can embed or upload videos on your website, blogs, and social media platforms.

Here’s an example of a video idea:
‘Demystifying 5 life insurance myths’.

4. Thought leadership articles 

Establishing authority in insurance for insurance lead generation can be rewarding. To do so, use thought leadership articles which you can publish on your website or social accounts.

You could also collaborate with local press publications to amplify your voice. As your insurance company grows, you may also consider national and international audiences.

Another alternative is publishing thought leadership articles as guest posts on industry blogs.

If you don't want to publish a full-fledged article, consider answering questions on Quora and Reddit. You not only establish your authority, but you also become part of the community.

An example of a thought leadership article may be:
'Why is retirement planning so crucial today, and what role does insurance play?'

5. Webinars

Webinars are a popular format for educating audiences and interacting with them. Another important factor is that only highly interested leads join webinars, making it very effective for insurance lead generation.

The webinar content you deliver must flow naturally and not seem promotional. Plus, it must offer practical and relevant advice.

Webinars are a constructive way to build your brand image, collect feedback, learn more about your prospect's needs and keep them coming back for more.

2. Increase visibility with SEO

Like newspaper ads and billboards for the physical world, SEO puts your brand and product front and centre in the virtual world. Naturally, the better your SEO, the more visible you are on search engines. And with better visibility comes better insurance lead generation.

Here are some ways by which you can improve your SEO ranking:

1. Use keywords

Research the keywords most relevant to your audience. Use a combination of both short and long-tail keywords for optimal results. Short keywords are branded and broad, while long-tail keywords serve natural questions and are, therefore, niche.

For better lead generation, the keywords must be integrated across all your online content, including website, blog, social media, and digital ads.

2. Update existing content 

If you've been creating content, ensure it's optimised for search. Per the latest SEO best practices, keep updating existing content regularly to rank higher.

3. Improve page speed and UX

Redesign your web pages so they load faster. Better user experience (UX) also ensures users don't leave your website quickly. Also, don't forget to make your web pages mobile-friendly.

All of these factors influence your SEO score for improved insurance lead generation.

4. Integrate SEO and content marketing efforts

You can create high-quality content that addresses the search intent by integrating SEO. This, in turn, ensures that you're following the proper SEO guidelines across platforms to improve your ranking.

5. Get backlinks

Backlinks are links from pages on other domains that link to your web page. They're one of the biggest influencers of SEO ranking, as backlinks increase the trustworthiness of your website. 

“Backlinks are, in a way, votes of confidence for your website. The quality and quantity of backlinks helps improve your website authority or trust factor.”

– Shivani Khokhani, Growth Marketer at Driftrock

Focus on getting high-quality backlinks from credible domains to improve your authority. You can get backlinks through:

• Guests posts
• Identifying and suggesting to replace broken links on other articles and sites with yours
• Producing linkable assets

3. Delight your social media audience

Social media is popular among marketers because you can use it to reach a targeted audience. And since social platforms are driven by engagement, interacting with audiences feeds the lead generation funnel for insurance lead generation.

As an insurance agent, you can create an account on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube to amplify your voice.

Source: Twitter

Here’s how you can generate insurance leads using social media: 

1. Optimise your profile and update your contact information, website link, CTA, bio section and other details. A complete profile is more credible on social media. 
2. Create quality content. Social media is engaging because viewers seek interesting content. Your content should make them want to continue reading and click on your CTA. 

Some examples of quality and engaging social media content are:

• Stories with quizzes or Q&As
• Shoppable Facebook and Instagram posts 
• Lead magnets with native lead generation forms and ads 
  
  

3. Experiment with formats to spice up your feed further. Use images, videos (short and long form), stories, carousels and infographics. 

Another way to boost your organic content reach is through social ads. Digital tools have made it possible to sync your leads coming in through social media with CRM.

You have many choices here, too. Some options popular with marketers are Facebook ads, Instagram ads, LinkedIn lead generation forms and YouTube TruView for Action (with leads as your goal).

Source: Vitality UK

While it's easy to be fun on social media, note that all your insurance lead generation posts must comply with FCA guidelines. 

Besides building your brand account, consider developing your or an influential employee's personal brand. Employees have, on average, 10 times more followers than their company's social media accounts.

A personal brand brings higher quality leads as people trust others more than brands. 

When building your personal brand, you must regularly post authoritative content, use social listening and respond to followers' comments. 

One example of personal brand content could be:
A video series covering FAQs on insurance, interviewing expert insurance agents within your company and in the industry.

4. Make the most of your website

Generally, other marketing efforts are designed to direct qualified leads to your website.

Your website must provide a better user experience than competitors with a quick loading speed, persuasive copy, clear and visible CTAs, and engaging UI. Also, use keywords across the website to optimise for SEO.

Other than the above, there's a lot more you can do with your website:

1. Custom landing pages

Host custom landing pages for each service you provide or campaign you run. Landing pages must include key information plus a lead generation form to capture prospects' details.

In the example below, the brand used the CTA 'Get Quote' to capture lead information in exchange for value.

Source: MacLeod Lorway

2. Online web forms

Online web forms are truly versatile for insurance lead generation.

Use them on your home, services and contact us pages to capture lead details. You can also add them to case studies on the website or use them within your customer chatbot. 

Source: Life Search

Some factors for generating leads via web forms are: 

• Type of insurance policy 
• Age and location
• Duration of the policy 
• Current annual income
• Personal details (name and contact information)

Check out Driftrock’s high performing landing page forms here!

3. Social proof

Social proof helps you build credibility, particularly for first-time visitors. It acts as supporting evidence for your success with previous insurance clients.

Some examples of social proof are:
Testimonials, reviews on community websites, case studies, social shares, awards won and features in a high authority press website.

5. Keep email marketing alive

Email marketing is nearly 20 years older than Google's search engine. Let that sink in. 

Email thrives because it's constantly evolving as a lead generation strategy. Even in insurance sales, email marketing is prevalent and has an average open rate of 21.36%. 

Source: Campaign Monitor

If you want to make the most of email, here’s how you can do it:

1. Build email sequences

An email sequence is a logical progression of your interaction with leads starting from when you first reach out to them. It guides new leads where you want them in the buyer journey.

For example, within health insurance, your email sequences will include:

• Name of your product
• Purpose and story behind it
• Who benefits from the product
• How do they benefit
• How leads can test your product or service
• Strong CTA

As your insurance lead generation efforts grow, sending emails may take time. Use email marketing automation tools instead to streamline the process.

2. Experiment with time and days

You could experiment with the time and days on which you send emails.

For instance, you may communicate during post-work hours when people aren't busy with other priorities. Or, you may send emails only on weekdays since people are mostly unavailable over the weekend.

It's a relatively small yet crucial tactic for improving open rates and boosting insurance lead generation.

3. Retargeting leads

Send retargeting and nurturing emails to those potential clients whose information you've collected through the website, social media or other platforms.

Also, send these emails to those who downloaded a lead magnet from you or filled out your 'contact us' form but haven't taken the conversation further.

For inactive insurance leads, you could send an exclusive discount on your services. 

4. Explore generative AI

Explore ChatGPT to craft email campaign outlines or structures and create catchy subject lines and headlines.

Source: GMass

However, ChatGPT isn't perfect. You must maintain human oversight to ensure your copy is qualitative, accurate and FCA-compliant.

6. Give PPC ads a whirl

PPC ads appear on search engines, displayed above other listings. You rank above the rest of the results, and leads can find you easily when inputting relevant keywords. 

A sought-after way to run PPC ads is via Google Lead Form Extensions. 

Using this format, you can collect lead details directly from the ad. There's also a pre-fill option available, making it much easier to gather lead information. Leads you attract here have high purchase intent, making them high quality leads. 

If your website isn't optimised yet, you can use Google Lead Form Extensions because you don't need to redirect any leads to the website. 

Plus, you can download leads directly or sync them to your CRM automatically using Driftrock. Data collected through these forms will be first-party data which is more qualitative and reliable for future campaigns. 

7. Make chatbots work for you

Chatbots are useful for attracting cold leads.

When users research insurance agencies, they have several questions and want answers almost instantaneously. Chatbots can understand the user's intent and handle these queries 24/7. They can also simultaneously hold multiple conversations, even if each follows different paths.

You can preload the chatbot with content to detect common keywords or questions and respond accordingly. 

Some use cases or examples of chatbots are:

• Answer questions that help leads choose an insurance plan

Source: Hellotars

• Provide personalised quotes
• Redirect users to the right web page or content piece based on their query
• Schedule a 1-on-1 appointment with an agent
• Share lead magnets to capture lead info

Source: Geico

And there you have it—the top 7 strategies to generate more leads for insurance agents. But should you stop here if you want to generate leads and grow your revenue?

What’s next after insurance lead generation?

Lead generation is only the first step in the sales funnel. Combine lead generation tactics with a solid lead management system to convert lead gen to cash. This creates an efficient, end-to-end sales process.

Understandably, digital transformation and automation in the insurance industry can be tricky to navigate. But there are options to optimise and scale your insurance company with the right tools, like Driftrock. 

Driftrock makes the insurance lead generation and lead management process frictionless so you can concentrate on winning strategies instead. Use our platform to:

✔ Create landing page forms

✔ Effortlessly sync native lead generation ads

✔ Validate and track leads through the funnel

✔ Demonstrate value through end-to-end reporting, and

✔ Nurture audiences with retargeting and remarketing ads

✔ Keep customer data secure 

Book a demo to learn more, or get started with our tool for free! 

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