Value of Public Relations
By Peter van Aartrijk, CIC

If you’re like most independent agents and brokers, you’re plugged into your community. Now it’s time to plug in your public relations machine so you can get recognition for that talented staff of yours.

I hope you have an annual customer-communications program as well as an annual advertising strategy. But your firm also should have an annual plan for working with your local or regional media: radio, TV, consumer and business newspapers, and trade journals if you specialize in specific commercial lines. And don’t forget the Web sites for these organizations – they are always in need of good content.

You can position the agency owners, the staff, and the firm itself as experts when you get yourself placed in the local media. Editorial content is three times more believable than advertising. So if you’re in an article that runs a full page, the equivalent value is three times that of a full-page ad rate. Moreover, insurance can be complicated; by telling your story to a reporter or writing your own column, there is room to explain nuances.

Here are some tips to crank up your PR machine:

• Show your people. Get your principals and staff into the media, which connects personalities and faces with your brand. Have quality photos of your staff on hand – no glamour shots, please!
• Begin by using routine announcements – new hires or promotions or new services – as a way to get your name in the news. These mentions will be small, but they’re a great start.
• Call appropriate reporters and editors to pitch business and consumer-focused story ideas to show off what you know. Start with your agency’s focus – personal and commercial lines, life/health, financial services, group benefits, e.g. – and jot down the concerns you most often hear from clients. Examples: saving money on car insurance, questions about flood coverage, business-income concerns. For each topic, think of some consumer safety tips or warnings. Use statistics from sources (e.g. iiaba.com; iii.org, ibhs.org, highwaysafety.org) of studies or facts. The insurance department and your carriers might have good information as well. Remember to credit your sources.
• Create your own news, such as an agency-sponsored community event, charitable gift or other human-interest story. You’ll get the best mileage out of sponsored events when you’re the sole or major sponsor.
• Consider the insurance implications of current events, such as extreme weather or business news. Reporters always seek a fresh angle on a big story.
• Think through your ideas for the upcoming year and note when those stories would most appeal to readers and reporters. This planning will serve as a trigger for ideas. If you have nothing for July, for example, consider safety tips for summer-related liabilities, such as fireworks, jet skis and swimming pools. Space out your pitches so you don’t bombard reporters at one time of year. For inspiration, check your target publications’ Web sites for editorial calendars, and consider special issues or special sections that might work (wedding and newlywed insurance tips for a special spring bridal issue, e.g.).
• Leverage news articles and TV or radio clips on your Web site or as reprints for your capabilities brochure and sales kit.
• Remember that you can’t entirely control the message or the timing. Learn to be patient with the media – these people have a mind of their own. Once you set yourself up as being available to the local media, they’ll keep looking for you.

PR is a great way to extend your marketing dollars. Outside of your time to create materials, it’s free.

Peter van Aartrijk (peter@Aartrijk.com) is co-founder of I-Marketing Management and has spent 20 years working with independent agents.