Digital Advertising in the Title Industry

 

By Bill Risser

Digital advertising is still new and relatively untested in the title insurance industry. Why? A few reasons come to mind. Historically, title insurance companies have done little advertising, instead relying on relationship marketing to build up relationships with referral partners. Second, digital advertising requires a skill set not usually found in industry marketing/sales departments. Finally, title companies have shied away from reaching out directly to buyers and sellers, fearing a backlash from their real estate agent, lender and attorney relationships. We will discuss this belief and question its relevancy in today’s digital world.

ALTA has embarked on an aggressive campaign to shift the messaging to the consumer. The Homebuyer Outreach Program (HOP) is ALTA’s initiative to connect with buyers and sellers and convey the value of title insurance before a purchase contract is signed. Content created by ALTA is available to ALTA members as companies begin their outreach efforts to educate future homeowners and raise brand awareness.

Digital advertising is everywhere. Ads appear on every major social network. Every Google search shows paid results (ads) along with organic search results. Retargeting allows advertisers to “follow” potential customers via cookies and pixels everywhere they go on the web. Anyone viewing an item on Amazon or any other online retailer has experienced retargeting when that product starts appearing on unrelated websites in the form of banner ads. 

How can the title insurance industry capitalize on digital advertising? This discussion will be a key component at the 2016 ALTA Annual Convention Engagement Lab - “Advertise Online Starting at $50 – REALLY!” 

There are two distinct target audiences the industry can reach out to via digital advertising - industry partners and consumers. Messaging is different for each as well as the channels to access each group. Is the advertising to direct the target audience to click through to content? Perhaps the goal is more geared to brand awareness rather than clicks.

Finally, it is important to understand the metrics of digital advertising so results can be measured. We will discuss the different ways to analyze the success of campaigns based on the desired outcome.

Bill Risser is VP of Digital Strategy for Chicago Title Agency. He can be reached at risserb@ctt.com. Risser will speak more in depth about this topic during a session titled "Advertise Online Starting at $50 – REALLY!" during ALTA's Annual Convention. Click here to register.

Comments

[William]

I must say, social media would help you more when your goal is brand awareness. People won't be clicking that all the time, but they can't prevent themselves from reading the ad.

So your caption should be really, really good.