Lee Gientke's recent article on insurance agency blogs is a crisp set of guidelines. Worth the read...

In 2011, online advertising become the #2 media choice of marketers, based on dollars spent. Who got bumped? - print and radio. Television beware...

According to the results of a recent PIA study, independent agents have the strengths consumers are looking for:

expert advice/counseling

personal attention

ability to offer tailored protection

relationship-based customer service

Google latest search algorithm update (Panda) puts more emphasis on recently updated web content. Web sites that are rarely updated are going to have going to have a tough time showing up in queries.

One way for businesses to meet the new freshness test is to create and frequently update a business blog. Blogs have always scored well with SEO and Google’s latest change emphasizes the value of publishing quality content regularly.

According to HiveFive, content marketing is steadily climbing to the top of the marketing strategy ladder, with 82% of B2B businesses using it to generate leads, enhance brand visibility, and display a company's expertise and thought leadership.

Content marketing is the creation and publishing of original, valuable content for company web pages, blog posts, case studies, white papers, and videos.

Click here for full article.

According to Mashable.com, the two-way aspect of the Internet has changed the way consumers find, buy, and research products. Now, social media, engaging web content, blogs, podcasts, and white pagers are having more impact than billboards, TV spots, and print promotions.

Consider this:

44% of direct mail is never opened.

86% of TV viewers skip through the commercials

84% of 25-24  year olds have clicked out of a website because of an intrusive ad

Why this matters to insurance agents…

Too many independent agents are still using product-focused, outbound marketing tactics. If Mashable is right, these tactics are going to have minimal impact - because consumers simply aren’t paying attention.

Here’s the call to action…

In the 21st century, independent agents need to develop much better inbound marketing skills. That means new strategies, more engaging content, and Internet marketing software.

We can help with all three.

In case you missed it, Mark Ruquet's article is a good read. He discusses how three agencies are using apps as part of their internet marketing efforts, and branding themselves as tech-savy in the process.

You can download the article here.

Mark writes for the National Underwriter.

This is just plain fun - the music that defined Apple marketing. click here.

Mark Breading's thoughtful article on the insurance industry's ability to adapt to mobile devices is a good read. He carefully lays out where the industry is today, how we got here, and the challenges we face.

He concludes by suggesting that a fast-follower strategy probably has some merit, since we are not competing in the same circles with makers of shoes, beer, and video games - as long as we don't lag too far behind.

And to us, that's the hard part - staying close ENOUGH.

In The Analytical Insurer, Stuart Rose discusses the lengths insurers are going to to analyze every aspect of the business. Of particular interest to us are the comments on customer analytics, channel analytics, and product analytics.

So out loud we wonder, are the findings of all this analysis being shared with agents? Even better, are companies developing any joint company/agent marketing programs to take advantage of the data?