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Video?  Yes, video!  You’ve got to be kidding me, insurance agencies using video to market their agency?! YES!  An agent out of Dallas, Texas said to me this past January that I must be be nuts.  But, nope I’m not nuts at all!

Let’s never forget that we agents need to go where our prospects are and they are in the world of YouTube.

Hold on just a minute, just because you’ve never done it before and you’ve never gone into the world of YouTube, doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Nor does it mean that it shouldn’t be done. Just think back 70 years ago going before Jackie Robinson came into the world of baseball, a place where no black man had gone before. It’s time to open the mind and get out of your comfort zone and take a chance.

Let’s dive into video marketing and see what’s going on around us in the world of video.

Statistics about Video Marketing 

Despite how the insurance industry loves to hold on to “traditional” marketing methods, which by now includes the Internet (Yes, the Internet is now a traditional method of marketing in 2015), there are almost always some highly-effective methods that go unused or even unnoticed for their proven effectiveness.

Video marketing is one of those methods.

Consider the following statistics.  After reading them, tell me where our prospects are:

• YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world.  Yes, they are second only to their parent company, Google.
• 26% of internet users look for more information after viewing a video
• Video increases people’s understanding of your product/service by 74%.
• 80% of your online visitors will watch a video, while only 20% will read your content in its entirety.
• Three quarters of all business executives watch work-related videos at least once a week.
• Nearly 65% of executives surveyed said they would prefer to watch video than to read text.  I have to say, I’m one of them!
• Website visitors are 64% more likely to buy a product on an online retail site after watching a video about it.
• Three fourths of video viewers visit the business’ website after watching one of their videos.
• When videos are included in emails, your agency’s click-through rates increase by 200-300%.  Your opt out rate will also drop.
• Only 20% of website visitors read the entire page content on a website (because people are on content overload), but a whopping 80% watch videos from start to finish!  Video viewers get the whole message because they are willing to watch video versus reading it.
• More video content is uploaded every 30 days than all the content created by the everyday powerhouses of ABC, CBS and NBC in the last 30 years!
• It’s 50 times easier to get a page-one ranking on Google when you include a video on your business website.  Does your insurance agency’s website contain video?
• Video has a huge impact on your agency’s brand and its brand association by 139% and purchase intent by 97%.
• One third of all online activity is spent watching video.

Statistics came from http://www.digitalsherpa.com/blog/25-amazing-video-marketing-statistics/

Steps to your Insurance Agency’s Video Marketing Campaign

Start today!  Waiting is costing you money. You may be amazed at the stats and say “WOW, there is an amazing amount of people who love video”.  I challenge you to start now. You can be awestruck but until you act and put together a video strategy, your agency will never reap the rewards. The simple answer to the question “When do I start?” is TODAY!  Don’t wait any longer. A real simple place to help you start to make video is www.animoto.com

Hire a Social Media Marketing Coordinator. Yes, your agency needs a full time Social Media Marketing Coordinator because, let’s face it, you don’t you have time to put videos together for your agency. This takes time and a creative mind. Stick to what you are good at and hire to fill in the areas where you are not. When hiring a Social Media Marketing Coordinator, look into community colleges.  They are a great resource.  We have found there are students who are putting themselves through college and they are very hard workers.

Develop a video strategy. Like any other part of a sound business plan, a well-conceived strategy is a must and it must support your overall marketing plan. When developing your plan, please keep in mind your agency’s brand.  Video is a very strong way to get your agency’s brand across to your prospects and it is also a great tool for helping your existing clients better understand what you and your agency stands for.  This will help in your renewal numbers.

Develop an agency schedule. Create and post videos on a consistent schedule.  For example, if your agency does a quarterly newsletter make, sure you include a video every time.  It’s what people are going to expect. Does your agency have a CRM tool? If not, I would recommend you explore getting a tool that will help you push out your digital strategy. If you have questions about who to use, please contact me (Chris 860-684-5270).  I would be happy to give you 3 options.

Don’t be camera shy. You are the face of your agency and now is not the time to be camera shy.  Look straight into the camera and deliver your agency’s message. The viewers will feel as though you are looking them straight in the eyes and, at the end of the day, it will help you build trust with them. Also, you don’t need a very expensive camera.  Your smart phone is a great tool to start making your videos with.

Include a call to action plan. Make it clear how to contact you personally and/or your agency. Your call to action plan needs to be within all of your marketing, whether it’s traditional methods, digital methods or even social media marketing methods.  You need to clearly show them how to reach you and your agency.

Video has become the most powerful and effective marketing tool in the Internet world. It is a tool that independent insurance agents must add to their marketing plan.  Times have changed and our clients and/or prospects buying habits have changed too.  It’s time for us insurance agents to change with them.

Independent insurance agents may only have 30% of the market share but if we want to compete against the Lizard or Flo, we need to integrate a video marketing strategy into our marketing plans. I can assure you that, with the right video strategy, we can compete at their level without all the cost.

If you have any questions about putting a video strategy together or want to learn more about video and where to make videos please don’t hesitate to call me at 860-684-5270.

You can also email me at cparadiso@paradisoinsurance.com.  I’m here to help you and your agency.