As insurance agents venture into the realm of marketing themselves online, there is often a question of what image they should portray. Some are tempted to present what they feel is the best persona they can create without regard to the reality of their situation.

Authenticity is one of those concepts that are easy to talk about but incredibly difficult to achieve in practice. Finding authenticity in your marketing is a prolonged and concerted effort to first say who you intend to be as a company and then to follow through on that plan. Provided you're an expert in your field and an honest operator, there is no reason your marketing should not come across as authentic.

Announce the values you espouse

It's crucial for you to understand which values are most important to your brand. One way to establish your values is to identify experiences where you felt your company really succeeded. What were the values that made that success possible?

The inverse can also work. What were some times you feel your company did not live up to its own expectations? What were the values that were violated in that case?

Finally, what are the values you rely on day to day to make sure that things run smoothly in your business and your life? Identifying these values can take time and is an ever-evolving process. It is, however, the first and most significant step in achieving authenticity.

Demonstrate your expertise

One of the most important side effects of authentic marketing is the establishment of a relationship of trust. When you use your online engagement to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise, your audience will come to see you as a thought leader in your field and you'll become an influencer to those most interested in what you have to offer.

The secret to becoming an authentic thought leader in your marketing is consistently delivering valuable insights. Giving away valuable advice can sometimes be a difficult exercise for an agent. It feels a little bit like giving away the milk for free. In deciding what level of insight to use in your marketing, it can be tempting to hold back the good stuff. This is generally a mistake. There will always be proprietary information you only share with clients but as a rule, it's good to provide more valuable insight than you might feel comfortable with.

On top of the reputation-enhancing benefits of such content, valuable insights in your marketing material can also have an incredible effect on your SEO. Google has worked hard over the last decade to hone their algorithms to reward not just keyword-rich copy, but copy that authentically provides a strong user experience.

Use authentic language

Insurance agents are just like any other business when it comes to defining a brand. They need to express it well to communicate the right message to prospects and clients. It's one of the most crucial things agents can do to grow their business. The way that your brand is expressed through your marketing and advertising is your “brand voice.”

A big part of brand voice is the language that it uses to express itself. It defines your purpose, illustrates your character and makes up your tone. There are a lot of questions to answer when considering the language to use in your marketing. How these questions are answered is the process in which the rest of the brand voice elements are defined.

By establishing the type of language the brand will and won't be associated with, an agency can put finite edges on its brand voice, often an elusive concept. A cohesive voice will not only attract an agent's ideal clients but will also be a catalyst for continued engagement with existing clients.

The danger of inauthenticity

Once you've established yourself as an expert who shares important values with your audience, you must then live up to those standards. If the behavior of your agency is inconsistent with your marketing, you'll feel a backlash.

Ironically enough, marketing as a concept has an image problem. What should be an honest effort to convey a brand's benefits and values too often comes off as a snow job, some attempt to misrepresent the reality of a company. Modern consumers are incredibly savvy and have become adept at identifying incongruous marketing messages.

If there's even a suspicion of dishonesty in your marketing message, the result will be a complete loss of trust and most likely a cessation of any engagement with your brand. In extreme cases, dishonesty will be rewarded with negative online reviews that can haunt your agency for years to come.

Authenticity is not a static concept. It can take years to establish and can be destroyed with a single action. By focusing on your brand values and demonstrating your expertise you can continue to establish your authenticity for as long as it remains congruent with your actions.

Rick Fox is the president of Agency Revolution, a software company that provides an AMS-compatible automated communication platform for insurance agents. He can be reached at rfox@agencyrevolution.com.

The opinions expressed here are the writer's own.

Special Reports /

Insurance agents and online reputation management

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