Advertising your insurance agency comes in many forms, including engaging with your community. Spring comes with plenty of great opportunities to do just that, some of which are unique to the season and others that work all year round.
Remember that engaging with the community does more than promote your agency. It also helps you form deeper connections with clients, helping to boost client loyalty. With that in mind, here are some great ways to engage your community this spring.
1. Volunteer as an Agency
Volunteering is always a great way to be involved in the community. Take it to the next level by having your insurance agency volunteer as a group. You can even make this a paid workday, so your agency staff doesn’t have to use their free time to volunteer.
Volunteering as an agency is a great way to show that your entire team is part of the community. As a bonus, you will also get some great team building, which may help hire and retain staff members. You may even notice that regularly volunteering attracts people to work for your agency, as they like your company’s ideals.
2. Hold a Community-wide Giveaway or Contest
Another great option to engage the community is to organize a giveaway or contest of some sort. This can help with brand recognition, showing you are part of the community. Get creative with the prizes, and remember that they don’t have to be directly related to your insurance agency. They can just be related to the community, such as a gift card to a local restaurant. As a bonus, awarding a local gift card will show that you support other local businesses.
You can take this to the next level and create a theme that highlights something important to the community. One example would be a drawing contest for kids to draw pictures related to caring for the environment.
3. Host an Event
Instead of a giveaway or contest, you can host a local event. This could be as simple as an open house for your insurance agency with giveaways, food, and entertainment.
Another great option is to host an event that fundraises for a local charity or one that gathers donations for local shelters or food pantries. This has the benefit of giving back to the community. At the same time, it gives people an entertaining evening and helps you with advertising.
4. Sponsor an Existing Event
You don’t have to come up with a giveaway or contest to find a way to engage with community members. You can also look at the upcoming events this spring and see what opportunities there are to sponsor them.
For example, you could supply water bottles (maybe even branded ones) for a fun run or charity race. The same would also work for charity golf tournaments.
5. Participate in Existing Events
While sponsoring a community event is a great way to be involved, showing up and attending will make a difference. Encourage your team to do the same. See if you can set up a table and engage with attendees for the best results.
6. Sponsor Local Organizations
If you can commit to doing so, consider sponsoring a local organization long-term instead of one-time event sponsorship. After all, the group you sponsor will likely list your name in publications and at events. This is a great way to stay involved and get your name out there.
7. Donate to Local Organizations
If your insurance agency can’t afford a long-term commitment like sponsoring an organization, consider a one-time donation to them instead. For example, you could sponsor the beginning-of-summer party for a local youth group.
Or just let local organizations know that you are willing to donate money or other items. Let charities and other organizations know, then choose a random one every month.
8. Teach a Class on Insurance (or Anything Else)
One of your goals when engaging with the community should be to provide value to it, and teaching a class is a great way to do this. The obvious choice for an insurance agency would be to offer free classes on understanding the intricacies of insurance or choosing policies. Or cover a topic more specific to your offerings, such as highlighting how clients can use the Jenesis client portal to see their insurance policy information.
But you can also get creative and choose more tangentially related topics. You could even partner with other local companies when doing so. For example, if you offer homeowners insurance, consider partnering with the local hardware store or a local contractor to teach basic home repairs. Agencies selling auto insurance could do something similar but partner with a local mechanic or auto parts store.
9. Participate in Your Local Government
It is also worthwhile to participate in your local government if you can. You can attend open meetings and talk to city leaders to offer creative ideas or other types of feedback. Attending meetings and sharing ideas will improve the community and show that you are part of it.
Conclusion
Engaging with the community is an excellent marketing strategy for any insurance agency. It helps you create stronger connections with current clients and attract future clients. You can participate in the community in many ways, from volunteering to donating to sponsoring events or organizations. You will have to decide which methods make sense for your insurance agency based on your budget, time, and community.