by Kacy Seitz Senior Marketing Manager
From James Bond and the X-Files to real prisoners of war, individuals have been using invisible ink for years to create secret messages that can be revealed through light, heat and acidic reactions. As a child, you may have experimented with your own invisible ink messaging and passed around decoder pens with your friends to share in the fun. Today, as a successful insurance agent or advisor, the last thing you want is for your marketing messages to be hidden from those clients and prospects you’re trying to reach. Yet, if you haven’t developed a professional-looking, functional website filled with valuable content to serve as a foundation for your digital presence, consider your practice “invisible” to those searching online for information on your services.
There are two halves of your online reputation. There’s the half that you can control, through your website, social media messaging, linking strategy, search engine optimization (SEO) and positioning from implementing various online tools. Then there’s the half you can’t control, which comes in the form of customer reviews and feedback. In order to enhance both halves, we discussed the importance of building an accessible, informative and attractive website. Now, we’re proud to introduce you to our newest tool for making the process of creating and maintaining a great website easier than ever: our Agent Website Creator.
A FUNCTIONAL PRESENCE
Available exclusively through Creative Marketing’s Dynamic Marketing Portal (DMP), the Agent Website Creator is free for agents submitting a minimum of $1 million of annuity production, $25,000 of target life production or a combination of the two on a rotating 12-month basis. And when we say free, we mean it. As a qualified user, you will be able to create your site, maintain it and have it hosted at no cost to your business as long as you continue to meet the production requirements. Simply log in to the Creative Marketing website, click on the blue DMP button in the upper right corner and choose the Relationship Management tab. From there you’ll be able to get started by selecting the Agent Website Creator and entering our Site Wizard.
You’ll notice the simplicity right from the get-go. In three short steps, you’ll be able to design, customize and publish your site with no knowledge of HTML, experience in web coding or familiarity with programming language. You’ll be able to choose from a variety of layout and color options best suited to your brand. From there, you can add your contact information, determine what content you’d like your site to house and even create offers for visitors to download. Once the look and feel is developed, simply publish the site for the online world to see.
AN ATTRACTIVE APPEARANCE
Let’s take a deeper look at the design optionality available through this unique program. As you create your site, you’ll want to be sure that the visuals reinforce the branding guidelines you’ve already established for your practice. To ensure you have flexibility and control, you’ll have the opportunity to select from a variety of template options featuring different color variations, basic layouts and content placement. Once you’ve chosen your “theme,” you can create your website with the click of a button.
After your basic site is created, you’ll receive an email offering administrative log in instructions for full access to your administrator console. Once logged in, you’ll be automatically taken to your dashboard featuring a myriad of options for further customizing your site and adding content. Want to adjust the menu items? Simply rename them or reorder the navigation by dragging and dropping in the “Pages” section of the Content tab. Looking to switch out a photo? Choose your home page image, determine logo and bio options, customize your SEO settings, and more in the “Site Customization” section of the Settings tab. You can add or delete content as you see fit, and even upload video, post photos of yourself or your staff, and add your custom-created articles in a snap. Best of all, if at any time you need assistance or have questions, with just a phone call to your Sales Consultant we can walk you through the site design and setup process in less than an hour.
AN INFORMATIVE RESOURCE
Not only will you be able to easily modify how your site looks to the online community, you’ll be able to personalize it according to your services and the benefits of working with your practice. During the site set-up process, you’ll be asked whether you’re primarily an annuity producer, a life agent or a registered rep. Depending upon your selection, you’ll have access to a variety of professionally written, compliance-approved content that makes the most sense for your clients and prospects. But you aren’t limited to the content accessible through the Agent Website Creator. If, for example, you have access to Marketing Library, subscribe to Liberty Publishing or you work with your own copywriter, you can quickly upload custom content in the form of additional articles, posts and information.
Once you’re driving traffic to your site, you may want to provide visitors with information about upcoming events your firm will host. The program has a feature built in that will allow site traffic to RSVP on the site, submit their contact information with questions or sign up for your newsletter. There will also be a number of calculator tools to offer visitors, and a stock ticker widget registered reps may want to feature. Creative has even created downloadable offers to put on your site to encourage lead generation. Best of all, you’ll have reporting immediately accessible on the home screen of your admin dashboard so you can track visitor activity! You can even integrate your Google Analytics account for more detailed reporting information with a few clicks.
Agent Website Creator allows your personalized website to easily integrate with any social media tactics you’re executing, and can be configured to the URL of your choice. Even if you’ve already purchased a domain name through Go Daddy or Network Solutions, the integration process is seamless. Once you’re satisfied with the look and feel, you can add your website information to Google+Local and maximize the value of the other strategies we’ve shared in our Digital Marketing Series. You can go back in and make modifications as your firm grows and the content you’re looking to promote evolves. Plus, you might be amazed to find out just how good “writing in visible ink” online is for the success of your practice. For additional information and assistance getting started and getting noticed in the digital realm, call your Sales Consultant or visit www.CreativeMarketing.net/DMP.
FOR AGENT USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC. 12447 – 2012/8/21