It was Bill Gates who coined the phrase "content is king" as far back as 1996, when he predicted that the internet would take over everything from news to entertainment and marketing. But he also said information in this new era of communication must be “deep and extremely up to date” and that people “need an opportunity for personal involvement.”
This is advice that benefits advisors would do well to bear in mind, as one of the best ways to support clients is to communicate with them regularly and with meaningful and useful information.
While many advisors recognize the value of consistent and relevant communication with their clients, they are also conscious that they may not have the skillsets or the time to do this effectively. Their primary function is to understand the insurance needs of their clients, provide them with the coverage they require, and develop long-term relationships to develop their businesses.
In an ideal world, it would be great to create and deliver a steady stream of high-quality content for clients that adds value to the relationship, but busy advsisors can lack the expertise and time required to do this.
A complaint common to benefits advisors is that their clients only hear from them when it is time to renew. There’s no doubt about the value of keeping in regular touch with clients with information that would be useful to them – and a consistent approach is best. Advisors who stay in touch regularly with pertinent information will find their relationships growing stronger and longer lasting.
The stumbling blocks
To achieve deepened relationships, advisors face three main challenges:
- How do they produce the content?
- Where will they store it so that their teams can access it?
- How do they distribute this valuable information to clients?
To address the first problem, if you cannot create enough high-quality content in-house it is advisable to outsource content development to trusted partners. Recently, more businesses have leveraged AI-generated content to help create a steady flow of resources, but that’s not always the best course. If it's not carefully curated and edited, AI-generated content can come across as robotic and inauthentic. In addition, using AI-generated content can be risky, as it sometimes references dated or inaccurate sources. It is important to use verified, auditable and explainable sources to ensure accuracy and reliability. A trusted partner can help ensure any Gen-AI content is legit and can also help you come up with more creative, relevant and diverse content.
The second problem is that of accessible storage. Nearly every business faces the problem of placing information in locations that are inconsistent and hard to find. Many have migrated to systems such as SharePoint but still aren’t sure if it is stored correctly, that the right people have access to it and that any changes they make are easy to understand.
There should be a single and reliable source of data certainty. A centralized content management system will help ensure everyone on the team knows exactly where to find what they’re looking for.
The third challenge is how to get information across most effectively to clients. The transformation from traditional to digital marketing has opened up new channels of communication, and different ways to engage with clients. It is important you understand how your customers consume content and meet them where they are. For example, is it better to deliver information directly to their email inbox, or through a client portal where they can log in to find relevant information independently?
Typically, a multi-pronged approach is best, leveraging the same content in different ways and delivering it through different channels. For instance, a blog post or article may be reconfigured for social media posts, video and podcasts. There are also many different ways customers can engage directly with content through live events on Facebook or Instagram Lives, or live webinars with quizzes, polls, Q&A, giveaways, games, and more.
Measuring success
It’s important to understand how your customers consume content and which topics they find most interesting and useful. You can monitor activity on your website to check the number of views and time spent on each page. For social media, you can see how many followers you have, and which posts are attracting the most attention. By leveraging an email automation platform, you can monitor clicks to see exactly who is clicking on what for each send. Once you start looking, you’ll find a wealth of data to help you hone your content strategy over time.
Plan for success
The sheer number of platforms and formats available in today’s digital and social media-savvy world can be overwhelming. The solution is to have a content strategy that identifies your target audience, defines your goals, and determines your tone of voice.
A well-thought-out content strategy will help you create and successfully deliver content that is useful for your clients and will reflect well on your company. It is a worthwhile investment that will pay dividends, strengthen relationships, establish you as a thought leader, and ultimately drive business growth.
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