Most industries have now cottoned on to the idea that content marketing is essential for driving success in today’s digital world.
As Content Marketing Institute research shows, engaging content encourages brand loyalty, increases organic search traffic and reduces the cost of generating leads. Interesting content is a top 3 reason for people following a brand on social media, whilst inbound marketing leads cost less than half that of an outbound marketing lead.
But what’s really interesting is the way ‘boring’ industries are capitalising on content marketing, in many cases putting ‘cooler’, more fun brands to shame. In many ways this has come about through necessity. Faced with a hugely competitive market place, financial and insurance companies have had to think of imaginative ways to generate cheaper leads, focusing on SEO rather than PPC for web traffic. And as such, they can seem a step ahead of some more traditionally content-friendly brands. Here we focus on lessons that everyone can learn from the world of insurance content marketing.
Your content strategy should be driven by your company mission
The business insurance company, Simply Business, are a great example of how an insurance company has used a content strategy to give themselves an edge. Faced with falling website traffic, they decided to brainstorm new ideas. After much discussion, one employee hit on the idea that with their company mission stating “we should be the champion for UK small businesses”, maybe it would be a good idea to develop useful content for small businesses around their most pressing concerns and frustrations? They’ve now created a hub of tips for businesses, from how to apply for loans to how to manage your inbox. The lesson is to spend time thinking about what your brand stands for. What do you want to say and how can your content reflect your brand?
Example: Simply Business
Show off your expertise
Faced with a similar situation to Simply Business, American insurance and finance specialists, The Murray Group decided to create a series of short video guides, answering questions such as ‘Are insurance agents licensed professionals?’ in an attempt to show off their expertise and build their credibility. Video is an excellent way of creating a lasting digital presence which will constantly engage new audiences.
Example: The Murray Group
Create content that intrigues
Insurance company Life Insure went to pretty extreme lengths to improve their search rankings, but it certainly worked. They created a series of content pieces on unusual but intriguing subjects related to life insurance. Morbid as it may seem, they’re most successful article was ’19 things you probably didn’t know about death’. It generated hundreds of relevant inbound links, and, most importantly, it helped Life Insure move from the 5th spot on Google for the keyword “life insurance” to the 3rd spot.
Example: Life Insure
Content that starts conversations
While the Life Insure example is rather extreme, insurance companies have shown that it is possible to have a bit of fun with sectors that could be incredibly dry and dull. Secura Insurance have become especially adept at creating fun blog posts which involve shareable content which can start conversations. Their Christmas post, ‘What would Santa’s insurance policy include?’.
Example: Secura Insurance
You can achieve great results!
Simply Business saw brilliant results as a result of their content marketing campaign. Following the Google Penguin algorithm update, a change which has certainly favoured brands with excellent content, they saw a 25% increase in weekly organic traffic. Proof that insurance content marketing can teach us all a thing or two.