The Rule of Seven - How this old advertising adage helps you sell more insurance

There’s an old adage in marketing that a prospect needs to hear your marketing message or get exposure to your brand seven times before they’re convinced to take action. In other words, repetition doesn’t just work, it’s a requirement.

This is why Geico spends more than $500 million annually, mostly to repeat their name and the phrase “15 minutes can save you 15%” (even if they often can’t save a dime). To get an idea of just how far Geico is taking this, watch this clip showing everyone one of their ads playing at once:

As an independent insurance agent, you don’t have $500 million a year to blast the airwaves with your name and message. Even if you did, media channels are so saturated with marketers blasting their message, consumers suffer from information overload. The barrage of marketing messages has become background noise. You need to take a different approach to get heard.

Enter social media.

There is hope! Social media gives insurance agents a chance to follow the rule of seven where traditional media does not. It’s an effective way for you to

• scale your message across your network,
• make sure your name is seen not just seven times, but hundreds of times, and
• get the mind-share among your prospects to have your message be seen.

Here’s how it works: start by getting connected with everybody you interact with on the major social networks. Proactively engage with every client, prospect, partner, colleague, and friend on social networks. Then, use those channels to consistently expose them to your name. This doesn’t just keep you top-of-mind, it subconsciously builds trust.

Be consistent

The most important thing is to be consistent. Set a schedule, whether it’s once a day, once a week, or once a month, and stick with it. If you drop in and out, you won’t get the exposure you need to benefit from the rule of seven.

Engage your network around their interests

The goal is to build trust and name recognition. Use these channels to share things that your customers and prospects are interested in because that’s what they will pay attention to. Know who they are, what they care about, and what they respond to. Use technology, such as AgentMethods Social, to track what your audience responds to.

Don’t push your product or message

Once you’ve succeed with building trust, your audience will be much more responsive to your insurance marketing message. Don’t push it here – save it for later, when it will be affective.

Sound like a lot of work? It is. That’s why we created The Online Concierge Service, our 100% we-do-it-for-you blogging, social media, and email newsletter service. If you want to grow your business but don’t have the time or skills required to manage your social media, we can help.

Let’s talk – schedule a 1-on-1 conversation on how you can get started.