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The Ultimate Marketing Checklist For Title Agencies

This is the marketing guide you’ve been waiting for.

Marketing your title agency can sometimes feel like a beast. And if you’re trying to market while also managing your day-to-day operations, that beast can become a full-on monster—like the legendary Hydra. If you remember your Greek mythology, the hero Hercules struggled greatly when fighting that creature. Every time he cut off one head, two more would appear. Without a clear marketing strategy, it’s easy for challenges to start piling up, and campaigns may not achieve the intended results, such as a strong ROI or high client engagement.

Alliant National has created The Ultimate Marketing Checklist for Title Agencies to help you navigate these challenges efficiently. With this comprehensive guide, you’ll ensure your marketing efforts are effective and well-targeted.

1. Define your target audience:

To be effective, any marketing effort should start with a careful analysis of your target audiences by following the steps below:

☐ Identify key audiences: Determine who your primary stakeholders are, including real estate agents, homebuyers, sellers and lenders.

☐ Research pain points: Work to understand each of these audiences on a deeper level by parsing their specific needs and challenges.

☐ Build customer personas: Take this initial research and expand it into a comprehensive profile of each stakeholder group. If you need help getting started, check out our full blog on the subject.

☐ Segment messaging: The last step is to customize your messages for each audience segment.

2. Develop a strong brand identity:

Proper branding is a must for agencies seeking to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Ensure you have taken the following steps:

☐ Create a brand style guide: Establish your agency’s colors, fonts, logos, tone, and brand voice to ensure consistency across all marketing materials. This consistency helps to build recognition and trust with your audience. If you want to dig into the details of branding, review our blog here.

☐ Establish unique value propositions (UVPs): Communicate why your agency stands out. We recently authored a blog on how you can develop your UVPs by crafting a strategic messaging framework.

☐ Design professional materials: Finally, deploy your branding across collateral, including business cards, social media and email signatures. Don’t have a designer? We have tips for how you can master graphic design basics and produce high quality materials at a low cost.

3. Optimize your website:

Your website is your agency’s digital front door and is often the first impression potential clients have of your business. In the title industry, an informative, easy-to-use website is crucial for establishing trust. Follow these best practices to connect and convert visitors.

☐ Ensure mobile responsiveness: People need to be able to view your site easily across devices – including desktops, laptops, tablets and phones. Use our blog to begin optimizing your content for mobile and multi-device audiences.

☐ Implement SEO basics: Add relevant keywords, page hierarchies, ALT text and meta descriptions across your website. Refer to our blog for instructions on getting started with the basics of SEO.

☐ Add lead capture forms: Use forms to capture new leads and drive additional business.

☐ Provide valuable resources: Developing title-centric FAQs, blog posts, white papers and guides can help increase your website traffic. And even if you don’t have a lot of time, you can still try things like micro-blogging!

☐ Integrate analytics tools: Verify whether you have analytics set up to track traffic and user behavior.

4. Build your social media presence:

Social media is vital for growing brand awareness and engagement. Take the following actions to get the best results:

☐ Choose platforms: Select platforms where your audience is, which probably includes some mix of LinkedIn, Facebook and X.

☐ Develop a content strategy: Post educational, promotional and interactive content. This could encompass everything from industry insights, to case studies, to client testimonials. Use a content calendar to stay focused, and find further guidance on developing a content strategy on our blog.

☐ Get social: Remember – social media is not meant to be a bullhorn. Engage with followers by liking their posts and resharing their content. That’s the best way to build mutually beneficial relationships.

5. Establish content and email marketing programs:

Through the power of content and email marketing, you can increase your website traffic and achieve better marketing ROI. Here is how to get started.

☐ Create valuable and educational content: Write blogs and other educational content assets that your audience will find interesting, including title insurance best practices, trends and closing optimization tips.

☐ Track with a content calendar: As with social media, carefully track the development, creation and dissemination of each asset. Include dates, deadlines and communication channels.

☐ Use visuals: Make your content more visual to get higher engagement. Infographics and videos are just two examples of how to do this. For tips on building great video content, refer to our blog.

☐ Optimize for SEO: Don’t skimp out on SEO for your assets hosted on your website. That’s the best way to ensure that people who are not on your email list can find your content.

☐ Send a regular newsletter: A newsletter is a fantastic way to build long-lasting connections with your audience. Our blog can help get you started.

☐ Segment and personalize emails: Set up your email marketing software and start building out your lists. Segment your contacts to make your mailings personalized and relevant. Also, never spam people. We’ve prepared an article on why gaining consent for your email marketing is always a good idea.

6. Take advantage of events:

Industry events are an exceptional way to network, showcase your services and form valuable connections with customers or other stakeholders. Here’s how to approach events strategically.

☐ Find industry events: ALTA and state-specific title associations often host events. Industry calendars and social media groups are other great resources.

☐ Prepare marketing collateral: Bring branded materials to help fully highlight your agency. Bring along business cards, brochures, newsletter sign-up sheets and more.

☐ Create a promotional plan: Take steps to promote how you are participating in an event. Read our blog for a step-by-step guide.

7. Nurture your customer relationships:

Marketing to clients you have is just as important as marketing to those you’re trying to win. Don’t miss these opportunities by taking advantage of these steps.

☐ Establish a client communication plan: Develop a mechanism to ensure a consistentstream of client communications. These touch points can be added to your content calendar as well.

☐ Celebrate milestones: Sendingpersonalized communications aroundanniversaries, birthdays or transactions is a wonderful way to reinforce relationships.

☐ Seek feedback: Offer clients the chance to share their feedback through a digital channel like an online survey.

8. Monitor and track your performance:

Finally, tracking metrics is the only way to determine marketing ROI and refine future campaigns. Here’s how to do that.

☐ Track website metrics: Become familiar with Google Analytics. Some top metrics to track include traffic, bounce rates and conversions.

☐ Assess social media engagement: Just as important as your website are your social media metrics. Here are some tips to help you learn about the most important analytics to monitor.

☐ Review email campaign data: Track every email campaign as well by looking at numbers like email open rates, click-throughs and bounce percentages.

☐ Stay current with your CRM: Understand different CRM metrics to track client behavior and streamline processes. Review the top metrics to track here, and if you don’t have a CRM yet but are considering one, our blog can help guide you.

☐ Adjust based on results: Lastly, carve out time to discuss the performance of your various marketing campaigns and adjust accordingly.

Slay the marketing monster once and for all

We hope you find this checklist helpful as you build stronger, more strategic marketing campaigns. By following these steps and referencing our blog, you’ll be well-equipped to slay the marketing monster once and for all. With the right strategy, you can take your marketing to the next level and drive real growth for your agency.

Alliant National Title Insurance Company enters into Agreement to be acquired by Dream Finders Homes

LONGMONT, CO—(October 24, 2024) Alliant National Title Insurance Company and affiliate (“Alliant National”) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Dream Finders Homes, Inc. (“DFH”) (NYSE: DFH).

Presidio Investors (“PI”) acquired Alliant National in 2018 and has been instrumental in helping the company establish robust internal processes, expand geographic reach, improve operational efficiency, and drive technology innovation.  In 2023, Alliant National created a leading fraud detection tool designed specifically to streamline the flow of a real estate transaction.  This unique solution is fully customizable for title agencies and has robust AI-enabled fraud prevention capabilities.  Meredith Moss, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, said, “Alliant National has continued to grow market share through top-tier service to title agents, backed by an innovative software platform and cutting-edge application of AI.  Dream Finders’ announcement recognizes the value created by Alliant National’s distinctive approach, which prioritizes both relationships and technology.”

Chris Puscasiu, Managing Partner of Presidio, said, “It has been an exciting six-year journey to see Alliant National dramatically increase its footprint and develop tools to scale and to assist its customers. Despite the uncertainty during the pandemic and the recent housing market challenges, the Company’s continued investment in growth enabled it to be recognized as an innovation leader in its space, as this transaction illustrates. “

The relationships developed over almost 20 years with independent title agents have facilitated this exciting transaction.  David Sinclair, President & CEO of Alliant National, said, “We are thrilled to become part of the Dream Finders ecosystem and envision an exciting future together. The collaboration of an innovative builder, strong title agency, and the Alliant National underwriting team will promote our long-term success and growth into a national real estate partner.”

The closing of this transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

Please review the related press release by Dream Finders Homes.

About Alliant National Title Insurance Company

Alliant National, based in Longmont, Colorado, is a title insurance underwriter with more than 700 independent agents in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Alliant National is focused exclusively on the success of independent agents, as the largest underwriter in the country with no direct or affiliated operations.

Graphic welcoming Aaron Figueroa and Jace Coffie

Meet Alliant National’s New Associate Agency Representatives: Jace Coffie and Aaron Figueroa

Two young professionals embark on a career in title insurance.

The title industry is all about passion and people. Those who are most successful often have a strong connection to the field and can effectively navigate the intricate web of relationships that go into every successful real estate transaction. Alliant National has long prioritized building a close-knit team of people who embody those qualities. Take two of its most recent hires as an example. Jace Coffie and Aaron Figueroa recently joined the Alliant National team as associate agency representatives. Both have strong industry ties and professional backgrounds rooted in service, preparing them well to help Alliant National’s agents grow their business.

A close connection and a commitment to service

First, let’s introduce Jace Coffie. Having grown up around the industry due to a family connection, Coffie is no stranger to the world of title insurance. When an opportunity to join the profession arose, he jumped at the chance. To Coffie, transitioning to the title insurance industry was a natural progression. “My previous professional positions have a shared theme of customer service,” he said.

The second new hire is Aaron Figueroa, who also joined the team as associate agency representative. As with Coffie, the title insurance community has long been on his radar due to a family member’s experience in the field. After years of working in the service industry where he delivered exceptional customer care, he has quickly adapted to the responsibilities of his new role.

Finding a home at Alliant National

Alliant National’s unique culture has resonated deeply with both new hires. “I have always wanted to work for a company that allows you to show your full personality,” Coffie said. He’s confident a place like Alliant National is “where I want to spend my career.” Figueroa shares Coffie’s zeal as well. He specifically highlighted how “involved and caring everyone is” at Alliant National as the reason why he is so excited to further build his career with the underwriter.

Tackling their new roles

Coffie and Figueroa have begun channeling their enthusiasm into their new responsibilities. Coffie, who will support agents in Alliant National’s Great Lakes-Central West Region, stated that he loves “to learn from the ground up,” and has already taken the company’s “Agents First” outlook to heart. He hopes to contribute to that mission, saying, “I want to learn everything I can to support those around me.”

Figueroa will be supporting agents in the Southwest Region. He seconded Coffie’s sentiments, remarking that “he would like to be a sponge and absorb as much information as possible to become an asset to Alliant National.” He believes a strong Alliant National benefits agents by assuring them that “they will be taken care of,” allowing them to focus on growing their operations and strengthening their communities.

Staying in touch with what’s important

When building a team, it can be difficult to know what to prioritize. But for Alliant National, the answer is clear. Time and time again, it has seen the benefits of bringing people on board who have strong connections to the industry and a genuine commitment to serving others. By hiring Coffie and Figueroa, it has continued that valuable tradition, and Alliant National’s agents will only stand to gain.

Arrows on cubes following a flexible path.

Adapting Your Strategic Messaging Over Time

Your agency won’t always stay the same, and neither should your messaging.

Last month, we talked about how you can use tools like a SWOT analysis to build a strategic messaging framework for your business. Taking this step can be enormously important for your agency, as it allows you to unify your communications and build lasting relationships with your customer base. But what happens to that messaging framework when something about your business changes? After all, the contours of your agency won’t stay exactly the same over time, and neither should how you communicate your business’s value, services and brand. Let’s examine how you can adapt your messaging framework over time so you can ensure that it remains as current and effective as possible.

Why adapt your messaging framework?

There are many reasons why you would want to update your strategic messaging framework. New business goals, adapting to market trends, or aligning with evolving customer needs and preferences are just a few examples.

Essentially, any change in the internal or external circumstances of your organization may merit a reevaluation or full-scale rewrite of the messaging you’ve developed around your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT).

First thing’s first

Once you recognize a significant change in your business and prospects, start shifting your communications by developing a clear understanding of that change. The specifics of what this entails depend on the unique circumstances you are facing.

For instance, if something has changed with your business’s goals and objectives, you should meet with key stakeholders to understand the potential implications. Documenting these changes can help ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Of course, if the change is broader or more systemic, such as a shift in the market or in consumer behavior, you would obviously need to take a different approach. Conducting market analysis, reviewing industry reports, and assessing competitor messaging are critical to understanding shifts in your industry’s landscape.

Conduct a content audit  

After you fully understand the change your business or industry is grappling with, you can begin aligning your messaging with your company’s new reality. The first thing to do here is to conduct a content audit. Review the platforms you use to communicate your products and services. Catalog which messages need updates and determine if new messages should be created.

Refine your value propositions

The next step is to revisit the different messages you created when you were building your initial strategic framework. If you remember from our previous blog on the subject, that means reviewing each of the messages you created from your company’s SWOT analysis. Rewrite anything that no longer fits with your business’s circumstances, while adhering to the same formula. Always emphasize your strengths and reframe your weaknesses. And be sure to show how you are prepared to seize opportunities and overcome threats.

Test and test again

As with your original messaging, don’t simply write out your messaging framework and leave it at that. Instead, test out your messages with stakeholders that you respect and trust. Consider also running A/B testing to determine which messages resonate best. By taking those steps, you will gain valuable insights into whether your new messaging is ready to go and whether it speaks effectively to the changes that have occurred within your business environment.

Finalize and deploy

Armed with your newly vetted messaging, the last step is to deploy it across your various distribution channels. This is where that initial content audit will come in handy, as you will know exactly where you need to upload your new content and where you don’t. While you don’t want to rush this process, remember that time is, to some degree, of the essence. The last thing you want is to have public-facing content that is no longer accurate to your business’s current reality. Taking these steps, though, will help you move through this process with speed and efficiency. This will set you up for success and ensure your messaging remains as powerful and positive as ever.

Inclusion graphic; Cut out paper people holding hands in front of fall holiday background.

Fostering Inclusivity During the Holidays and Year Round

Creating an inclusive workplace is a complex task. After all, people are anything but simple. None of us have merely one “self.” Every person is a mixture of intersecting identities that influence how people see us and, conversely, how we see them.

How, then, can a business foster an inclusive workplace, particularly around the holidays? As Stacy Stolen, HR Manager at Alliant National, explains, it requires being mindful of how our biases shape our perceptions while working toward a culture where everyone can be recognized and respected. I spoke with Stolen on the complexities of this work, what Alliant National is doing to promote inclusivity, and takeaways for agencies looking to build inclusive workplaces during the holidays and year-round.

Inclusivity begins with empathy

When asked how she defines inclusivity, Stolen said, “Simply put, inclusion and being inclusive is to have empathy,” adding that, “at a company-level, it takes developing a shared understanding that we all have our own unique experiences that occur within a society filled with inequalities.”  

Once this understanding is established, productive work can begin. “We can then start to relate and learn from others. ​This is important because empathy allows us to humanize one another and feel responsible for everyone’s safety and well-being. We can positively influence our surroundings and ensure everyone feels seen, validated, and heard – even if we don’t directly relate to everyone else’s experience,” Stolen said.

Easier said than done

What makes this easier said than done, however, are social constructs and the unconscious biases they produce. Identity composes a wide range of attributes – from race, sexuality and ethnicity to education level, family of origin and belief structures. Some of these identities, said Stolen, carry more power in the world than others. Depending on how someone identifies, they may find themselves unjustly stereotyped by the dominant power structures of society.  

Building an inclusive workplace, then, necessitates building a culture where people can feel safe and supported enough to interrogate their biases and push back on the inclination to stereotype. A first step involves simply accepting that such biases exist and that typically we have little opportunity to reconsider our ingrained beliefs. As Stolen explained, “Quite often, we interact with folks who look, feel, act like us, or have identities roughly like ours. Therefore, we can’t do anything aside from perpetuate these stereotypical beliefs about folks in other social groups. That’s because we aren’t being exposed to anything different to dismantle these inaccurate ideas. We need to break this cycle and cultivate mindfulness to expand our idea of what collective community looks like.”

It also involves seeing this work as more of a journey rather than a destination. “This work requires consistent and intentional engagement with yourself and others that you interact with daily,” said Stolen. “Just like anything else you aspire to change in yourself or in your environment, you must commit that same time and effort in showing up as an ally and advocating for necessary change.”

Taking action

So, what does this look like in practice? Stolen noted that Alliant National’s commitment to building an inclusive workplace involves investing in culture awareness training and dialogue. For example, in 2024, the company launched an internal committee dedicated to ensuring that its priorities are considered through an inclusive lens.

Stolen described how these efforts are not viewed as one-offs by the company. Instead, they are part of a continuous, holistic and ever-evolving move toward a more inclusive culture. This is an important feature of Alliant National’s larger goal of being a workplace where every employee feels comfortable bringing their authentic self to work and can:

  • Remain present even when uncomfortable;
  • Accept that we are all part of the problem and must work to change society for the better;
  • Learn how to empathize with others’ experiences that are different from their own;
  • Make mistakes while striving for a better tomorrow;
  • Educate themselves and those around them; and
  • Not expect those with the least power in society to do the brunt of the work.

How to promote inclusivity during the holidays and everyday

Holiday periods are a perfect opportunity to promote an inclusive culture, Stolen noted. For many, holidays are informed by cultural identity. It is important to be mindful around language and emphasize respect for all regardless of individual beliefs. “Just because you don’t celebrate certain holidays doesn’t mean that you are exempt from being aware and educated on holidays and religious practices that others celebrate,” Stolen observed.

Of course, there are many other ways to build inclusivity year-round, including:   

  • Researching histories of marginalized groups and investing in cultural awareness development.
  • Developing ally programs/affinity groups and creating places for folks to find community and to encourage dialogue around challenging topics.
  • Hosting “Lunch and Learns” that expand cultural humility and awareness. Alliant National, for example, recently hosted one titled, “Challenging Stereotypes and Microaggressions.”
  • Surveying your workplace to better understand understand your company’s culture better and find opportunities for improvement.

There is no time like today

Building an inclusive culture takes work; there is no doubt about it. But as the holiday season continues, there is no better time to begin nurturing greater respect, empathy and belonging in the workplace. Stolen noted that when companies commit time and resources to encouraging inclusivity, great things can happen.

“Workplaces that commit to inclusivity become more instrumental to their employees, customers and communities.”

This blog contains general information only, not intended to be relied upon as, nor a substitute for, specific professional advice. We accept no responsibility for loss occasioned to any purpose acting on or refraining from action as a result of any material on this blog.

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