What? Not every agency needs a website?” That's right. I've come to believe that there might be viable alternatives.

The more I meet with agents, the more I hear about their challenges with social media. Many are complaining about the constantly changing landscape, the ever-growing demand for their time to manage this “soft-marketing stuff,” and the time and energy it takes away from selling insurance.

Many make the mistake of believing this type of marketing is so technology-based that IT should run it (mistake). Or they think to outsource the management and creation of content (bigger mistake). Or they believe they can ignore it altogether because their business is doing fine and their client base “doesn't use that stuff” (biggest mistake).

Regardless of an agency's client-base demographics, it's safe to assume those are going to change. All business is in the midst of a communications and marketing convergence. This revolution is driven by how consumers want and expect to interact with the businesses from which they buy.

Because this shift is taking place in the digital world, how an agency reaches out, finds and connects to prospects is changing as well. Traditional marketing methods like the Yellow Pages and newspaper ads or direct mail no longer work the way they used to.

Wrangling outside content developers

It's challenging for a small agency to be consistently posting blogs, tweeting or updating a Facebook page, much less maintaining its own core website. For many, the tendency is to find someone you can pay to do it all for you—not entirely a bad idea.

Two concerns you should have: First, no matter who produces the content, you need to ensure that it reflects your agency's culture and brand. Second, make sure it's relevant. Too often, outsourced content comes from a stock supply, meaning the outsourcers use articles and posts for a number of their agency clients.

I recommend clients mix in content that is specific to their agency. This can be accomplished by including items about community-related activities in which an agency is engaged. If you choose to use an outside contractor to supply content, don't think it absolves you of the responsibility to help plan out the content strategy and to be certain it fits into your agency's focus; it doesn't.

The key: Getting (and staying) engaged

I began this column with the blasphemous statement that “not every agency needs a website,” and I believe that. I'll go further and say that not every agency should have a site. For far too many agencies, it can do more harm than good: Lacking an understanding and a solid strategy for your online presence can be deadly to your business.

Some agency owners think presenting a site with nothing more than an online brochure is enough—or that displaying Twitter or Facebook buttons on that site means they're “on” social media, even if they only post once a month.

The problem with this mistaken approach to websites goes back to two things: consumer expectations and what your competition is doing. Consumers want to do business with companies that let them control the relationship; that provide the interfaces of “where, when and how” of their choosing. If your agency requires clients to call you when they need to make simple changes or want to check on a claim, you'll lose them to agencies that let them do it online.

The adage “if you're not moving forward, you're falling behind” relates to the best of marketing strategies when it comes to being online. If you are not in a state of perpetual process improvement, you can be certain your competition is.

So don't choose to host a website frivolously: Be engaged with it. Be sure to make it interactive, full of dynamic content that is relevant to your agency and your markets—and keep the content fresh. Point your social-media activities back to your site, but don't take on more than you can chew. Too many plates spinning in the air isn't going to work if you can't keep them spinning.

With the right approach, everyone should have a website.

Special Reports /

Agents: Do You Really Need a Website?

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