Digital Marketing: Use A Vendor Or Do The Work In-House?

By Chris Hooper

Using social media to promote retirement income planning seminars and workshops has become the next big thing for insurance and financial professionals. A few years ago, direct mail was the most effective way to attract people to prospecting events, but that’s no longer the case.

Several digital vendors have emerged and they have proven that digital marketing can compete with, and often outperform, mailers. In fact, these digital agencies have done so well that many mail houses are scrambling to compete.

As recently as three years ago, most of the prospecting events I worked on were promoted entirely through direct mail. Now, more than 80% of these campaigns are purely digital. While the mail houses are now struggling to compete in a digital landscape, I’ve found that most agents and advisors I speak with are becoming well-versed in digital marketing.

Many have tried working with purely digital vendors, some tried working with mail houses that mix in digital ads, and some are even considering using their internal team members to help them run the campaigns in-house.