a thousand words: using photos on your insurance website

Masters of MarketingA Thousand Words: Using Photos on Your Insurance Website

Matt FarrellWebsite Coordinator

Welcome to Masters of Marketing!We will begin the webinar promptly at 12:00pm, CST.• Today we'll be talking about how you can effectively choose images for your insurance website.

• We’ll be live-tweeting this webinar. Follow along with the hashtag #MastersMktg

• If you have questions during the webinar, please use the chat window and I will answer all questions at the end.

• Join us next time on March 16th at 12pm, CST for Mastering the Promotional Email to Increase ROI hosted by AgencyBuzz Coordinator Malika James.

• SAVE THE DATE: AgentCon 2017 will be held April 20-21, 2017 at the DFW Hilton Lakes Hotel in Grapevine (same venue as last year).

• It’s FREE REGISTRATION FEBRUARY: If you register during the month of February, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a refunded Registration Fee!

Thanks for joining us today.Matt Farrell800-383-3482 x 135mfarrell@getitc.com

Why use photography?• Catch the viewers attention

• Humans are visual creatures (in general)• Some statistics:

• The brain processes visual information 60,000x faster than text – 3M Corporation, 2001• Approximately 65 percent of the population identify as visual learners. – Mind Tools, 1998

• “A Picture is worth a thousand words”• What do you do?• Who are you?• Where are you located?

Why use photography?“Located in Des Moines, IA, our agency specializes in automobile insurance to help protect your vehicle and your family.”

• What did you notice about the amount of time it took you to assess the photo on the previous slide, vs the amount of time it took you to assess the text above?• Did both options not express the same sentiment?• Which was more visually appealing?

How do you choose the best photos?1. Pay attention to

1. QUALITY1. Are these photos aesthetically pleasing?

2. BRANDING1. Do these photos represent me?

3. And RELEVANCE1. Do these photos represent my industry?

Quality Photography• Size• Make sure your photos are LARGE enough

• A photo can TYPICALLY be made smaller without losing quality.• Making a photo larger comes with a price: loss of quality

Take note of how crisp the lines are on this image.

Scaled-Up version

Note the jagged lines in this version

Why is this a problem1. Unprofessional

1. Surefire way to lose somebody’s interest2. Visually unappealing

1. CRT Television vs. 4K3. ‘Potentially’ stolen

1. This one is a little less obvious.2. Stolen thumbnail image?

Quality Photography• Color depth

• Good Contrast• Vibrant colors

• Modern Photography Techniques• HDR Photos• Motion Blur• Use of light

• Night photography• High Speed• And much much more…

Examples• Instead of using these images…

• Bad

Examples• Try these…

Branding• Make sure your image colors are consistent with

your logo• They don’t have to be the same colors, but they should

be complementary.• Do they represent your values?• If you are selling to families, then make sure your photos

are of friendly families• If your client base is made up of younger, business

minded individuals then you might want to have fast cars, younger people, etc in your photos.

Examples

Examples

Examples

Relevance • Do your photos tell your customers what you’re

trying to sell?• For example, If you sell primarily boat insurance, make

sure you’ve got boat pictures.• Can also apply to WHO you’re selling to• If you work primarily with low-income families, having

yacht and mansion photos may drive away your clients.• This applies vice-versa as well.

• If you are located in Des Moines, IA, pictures of coastal beach houses may not be appropriate

Examples

Examples

• Primarily HIGHER-income• Located in Florida• As a customer, if I start reading the body text and I see “non-standard

cases”, “low-income” and “Des Moines, IA”…I’m likely to find another agent to make sure my specific Floridian needs are taken care of.

Examples

• California• Very wealthy clientele• Classic Car insurance?

One last example

• Dallas, TX• Family oriented• Can also serve your business needs (Wide variety of customers))

Final Thought• May seem obvious…can be overlooked• Humans are VISUAL• Remember 3 tips

• Photo Quality• Branding• Relevance

Questions?

Thank You for Joining Us!• We will be posting the link to today’s recording on

our blog:http://www.getitc.com/blog/marketing/

• Join us next time (3/16 at 12pm, CST). AgencyBuzz Coordinator Malika James be presenting: Appearance is Everything: Using Effective Email Design to Win Over Your Contacts

Matt Farrell800-383-3482 x 135mfarrell@getitc.com