Marketing is no easy task. There are literally dozens of platforms and ways to market a business whether you offer a service or sell products. The fact is that no form of marketing fits every type of business. For example, commercials may not work great for a small diner that is open only for breakfast and lunch. However, they would have ten times the luck with flyers than an accountant would.
Every business is different and therefore needs to be marketed different. It really comes down to the audience. If the audience buys something based on necessity, you need to consider where they go to find companies that are offering that service or product? For example, if someone wants to enroll in Medicare, where would they go for information on how to get started?
This is the question that Medicare advisors ask themselves every year as they try to establish a marketing budget. They know, that even $100 spent in the right area can land some new leads and potential clients. However, the fact is that just like with investing, the more you put in, the higher the likelihood of a solid return. For those who are focused on getting a better strategy going for open enrollment, the key is to think about how to communicate with the audience.
Marketing Strategies That Work
Time and time again, it has been proven that the most successful marketing strategies are the ones that focus on a multi-platform approach where they are found on sites and apps that the consumer uses, but also aggressively advertise in order to educate the consumer on their brand, why they are needed and more. These strategies work because they rely on the multiple platforms to bring results, either individually, or with a combination of platforms.
The concept has been utilized in marketing for years. Re-targeting is one of the most common methods where people who visit websites are shown ads that encourage them to return to the site. This is not only one of the most reliable ways to generate engagement and potential leads, but it is also an affordable strategy because it’s only based on what your current traffic rates are.
Places To Market Medicare Open Enrollment Services
Whether you are new to the game or have years of experience, you are probably focused on putting your money and time on platforms that work. You have to understand, each platform has its advantages and disadvantages for offering Medicare advisor services. You are limited based on the quality of your content and your budget in some cases. These are the top platforms we recommend marketing on for health insurance advisors based on affordability, effectiveness and the ability to create content with minimal experience:
- Google Business Listings: We begin with a free service that is also effective. That’s right, it is actually Google business listings that are ranked at our top spot for the best platform to market on. Why is that? Because with a verified address, you will be able to market your services for free in the Google maps section, meaning that if someone is looking for a Medicare advisor on the world’s largest search engine and they are in your area, your business will be viewed by them.
- Google SEO Listings: Because so many people rely on search engines for information, being ranked on page one is key. However, ads tend to be costly and also organic traffic converts higher. That’s why we rank SEO and organic listings high with the understanding that it does take a long time to get these results.
- Facebook: The world’s largest social media platform, more and more health insurance providers are increasing their social media marketing efforts thanks to unexpected success on this and other platforms. Because older audiences have become accustom to social media as a media platform, advertising to these audiences is also becoming more custom and rewarding.
- Mailers: While the digital world is providing faster and more affordable results, the truth is that some of the old-school tactics still work great. The first place to look with that is with direct mailers. These not only work, but have been proven to outperform many digital options during open enrollment.
- YouTube: The world’s second largest search engine, anyone can publish a video that provides people with information about enrolling, what to expect, questions to ask, what the costs are and more. If you can provide that information, there are people on this site looking for it and they will rely on it.
- Google PPC: The reason pay per click is not one of the more accommodating options is because of the cost. With large competitors driving up the price per click, there is little room for the smaller budget agencies to compete in this area.
- LinkedIn: Many have avoided this social media platform because it was slow to generate interest and expensive to market on. However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, many people between the ages of 55 and 65 have retired early and need to cover their gap years as far as health insurance goes. LinkedIn has become a great platform to connect with these newly retirees and educate them on what to expect with health insurance.
One mistake that we constantly see made in marketing is that people expect the consumer to take an action based on the information given. It does not matter how important the information is, if the consumer does not wish to or is unable to take an action, they will not. Managing expectations is key because without it, you could become frustrated. Sometimes, you have the right platform but the wrong type of content or simply do not have the budget needed to get enough traffic.
Consumers are hit with advertisements from literally hundreds of companies a day during this time of year. That’s from a combination of social media, email, direct mail, television, radio, visiting websites, ads in videos, billboards and more. What is going to make them take notice of your ad and especially make them act on it? That’s what you need to ask yourself when you are considering what type of content to put out there.