June is Annuity Awareness Month, a campaign designed to educate  consumers about annuities and the role they play in a sound financial plan. This is an excellent time to start the conversation with clients and prospects and explain how annuities can help them reach their retirement goals.

Here are some methods you can use to engage prospects and clients during this campaign, courtesy of Insurance Agency Marketing Services.

Some consumers may not be familiar with the fundamental structure of an annuity. Successfully selling a prospect on an annuity can depend on educating them on the basics and clearly illustrating how an annuity product can fit within their retirement goals. However, you need to make a connection before starting the conversation. Try these simple methods of engagement to reach more consumers during Annuity Awareness Month.

*Social Media

Social media marketing is a necessity for agents and advisors. It makes sense then that a good portion of your Annuity Awareness Month efforts take place on social platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

One of the most effective ways to do so is by sharing articles covering how annuities work. Ideally, at least a few of these articles will be original content posted to your blog or website. But any well-written, consumer-facing pieces will work if they catch the consumer’s attention. When crafting your posts, use relevant hashtags to help boost engagement. Such as:

• #annuity
• #annuities
• #AnnuityAwareness
• #AnnuityAwarenessMonth
• #retirement
• #retirementsolutions

*Email

Take a quick look at your email distribution list. Do you have a segment of subscribers who previously expressed interest in annuities? Or maybe you already have a drip campaign going for those prospects. Now is the time to increase the volume of those campaigns. While you should avoid overdoing the email blasts, an extra message this month might be enough to get a few prospects to pick up the phone. Make sure to personalize where possible and use a strong call-to-action to make the email a little more enticing. Additionally, those of you who blast out a monthly newsletter should definitely focus on annuity education this month.

*Pick Up the Phone

Calling existing clients or even prospects who might be close to conversion is perhaps the most straight-forward and personal way to get them thinking about annuities. Start with clients who are due for a policy review or any you might need to catch up with. From there, work through your list and strike up a conversation. This is much more time- consuming than other marketing efforts, but it never hurts to reach out and say hello to your valued clients anyway. Even if they aren’t interested in annuities, this is your opportunity to chat about other products that might match their current needs.

*Additional Resources

Whitepapers, fact sheets, presentations, and other consumer-facing materials can all be very powerful and effective marketing tools. These resources are a great visual aid and, oftentimes, help consumers better understand how an annuity can benefit their situation. Emails and social media posts that offer free downloadable resources are not only more engaging, they also drive traffic to your website and can be a great way to get a prospect’s contact information. Customizing these materials to your brand and business is a subtle, yet effective way to boost your credibility and professionalism in the eyes of a potential client.