How a local insurance agent used the power of branded content to grow his business

It’s the holy grail of branded content: An article turns into a lead and ends with a sale.

While much of branded content is about awareness and providing relevant information, we all know that when the content actually results in a lead and then a sale for the advertiser, we have hit a homerun.

I want to share how this happened for an insurance agent who advertised with one of our clients in New York and how the power of useful information and establishing the right tone with your audience can mean everything.

💼 The campaign: An expert with relationships

Since the Spring, we have been working with Alex Anderson, an insurance agent on Long Island, N.Y. on a variety of content aimed at helping consumers navigate auto and home insurance in New York.

The goal of the program was to showcase Alex’s expertise but also his desire to build real relationships with his clients.

The program, which we helped create for the Long Island Herald and their more than 20 weekly newspapers, is a customized solution that highlights a business’s expertise, products and involvement in the community.

The stories are featured in numerous places on their website and are promoted through the organization’s newsletters and social media channels. Many advertisers chose to use additional services that the media company offers to extend the reach of the content, including paid social media campaigns and programmatic display advertisements.

✍️ The content: Providing relevant local information

Alex initially signed on for a three-month campaign, meaning three stories over three months. The timing of the campaign was perfect, which started in the Spring, because insurance rates were increasing around that time for autos and homes across New York.

In that first article, we explained why that was happening and generally, what consumers could do about it. That article worked so well, we decided to dive deeper into ways you could save specifically on your auto and home insurance over the next two articles.

Those articles were successful because they were locally relevant. Of course, every one wants to save money on their insurance, but this was an issue that was really impacting people in New York and so centering on what was happening in their state specifically, made the article relevant.

Other articles we have done with Alex include:

• Renovated your home recently? This Rockville Centre insurance agent says to make sure your insurance holds up

• Should I file a claim? Local insurance agent says not making small claims can save you in the long haul

• Do you have the right home insurance to protect your family next time New York experiences a major flood?

📊 The results: Hugely popular content

The content has been a hit with readers. That first article explaining why rates were increasing ranked in the Top 10 of the most popular articles that month across the entire collection of websites that the media company owns. Other articles have seen similar results.

For Alex, the awareness has been great but getting leads has been even better. He shared that over the summer, a local woman who wasn’t in love with the relationship she had with her insurance company, reached out to him and was wondering if she was overpaying for her insurance.

“She told me that she read an article where I talked about building relationships and really getting to know my customers,” Anderson said. “It’s exactly what she was looking for.”

During his conversation with her, it became clear that he could help her. “We were able to help out and she became a customer,” Anderson said. “She even sent us a referral after becoming a customer.”

Alex sees branded content as a different and effective way of getting his message out to potential clients.

“Insurance is one of those mysterious things to people and I wanted to help provide information and advice that you could trust,” Anderson said. “I saw branded content as an effective way where I wouldn’t be in someone’s face telling them what to think or buy but to provide them information they could use when they were ready.”

📧 Let’s talk about branded content! Email david@davidarkinconsulting.com so we can talk about how we can help you today.

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Interested in learning about our branded content program?

Download this one-sheeter and contact david@davidarkinconsulting.com today.