For years, digital marketers have repeated the mantra “content is king.” For search engine optimization (SEO), no single piece of the digital puzzle has more impact than content; modern search engines analyze this content with powerful algorithms to rank websites in search results. Today, content remains one of the most critical aspects of a robust digital marketing campaign. As with any online practice, however, the approaches to developing and marketing quality content have evolved. Insurance content marketing and SEO trends will shape the direction of digital marketing for the insurance industry in 2021 and beyond.
What is Content Marketing?
Before exploring the 2021 insurance content marketing trends, it can be valuable to gain a better understanding of content marketing and how it works. In simple terms, content marketing is the practice of using web content to attract new customers and to convince those individuals to take the next step, such as signing up for an email newsletter or making a purchase.
Modern content marketing focuses on developing and sharing quality content across platforms. In addition to insurance company websites, this content can be posted on social media, blogs, e-newsletters, and more. By creating impactful, informative, and relevant content, insurance marketers can provide the details needed for readers to make informed purchasing decisions.
Emerging Insurance Content Marketing Trends: Brand Authority
The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 devastated businesses around the world. Those that did survive – and many that flourished – did so by leveraging the power of online marketing. In fact, perhaps the only positive effect of the pandemic was the recognition of the immense value of comprehensive digital marketing strategies. Of course, content marketing is central to these strategies.
One of the most exciting insurance content marketing trends for 2021 is a newfound focus on brand authority. Typically, brand awareness is built on the company’s reputation and services; the brand authority trend for 2021 instead targets experts within the company. Company founders or CEOs are often the best choice for creating an “authoritative” voice for larger brands; leadership teams or groups are better-suited for smaller operations like insurance agencies or brokerage firms. To build brand authority, experts need to develop content that demonstrates their experience and understanding of a given topic. Authoritative content must:
- Go into detail about a topic, such as how professional liability insurance protects business assets.
- Showcase the products and services a company offers to its clients.
- Use industry keywords and key phrases to both demonstrate mastery of a topic and to allow search engines to accurately categorize/index the content.
- Focus on how the company and its products/services can provide specific benefits to customers.
PR Outreach: Strengthening Local Bases
Another of the emerging insurance content marketing trends for 2021 is a return to more traditional press relations (PR) techniques such as reaching out to media contacts in a specific regional area. With local SEO becoming so much more important in online searching, this PR/media outreach can have powerful and positive effects in growing business. Leverage media contacts at the local level, such as online publications and news outlets, which are often searching for local business news to share with their readers. For locally-oriented insurance businesses, this can build brand awareness. Better yet, it is free publicity – extending tight marketing budgets.
Focusing on SEO
Across industries, digital marketing is reliant on SEO to drive web users to businesses. By improving online visibility in Google searches, customers are more likely to find and to visit your website. Insurance content marketing trends must incorporate robust SEO to get the most out of this strategy. SEO trends for 2021 include:
- Optimizing keywords with keyword research – identifying keywords that Google users are searching for and including them in web content. Keywords and long-tail phrases should be incorporated into page content, titles, and meta descriptions for added punch.
- Creating an ideal customer persona – digital marketers have learned that anticipating customer needs is the key to unlocking new business. To create a customer persona, think about what a site visitor would be looking for in terms of information, images, and calls to action. Then, develop content with those items in mind.
- Monitoring performance – there are dozens of tools digital marketers can use to determine the range and effectiveness of their SEO efforts. By carefully monitoring traffic patterns and data, insights can be gleaned which help fine-tune content marketing strategies. Failure to monitor and to test content is a recipe for failure in the highly-competitive online environment.
2021 represents an exciting new time for insurance businesses. By developing content marketing strategies for the new year, agencies can leverage insurance content marketing trends to experience significant increases in web traffic and customer engagement.
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