How Insurance Agencies Turn Reviews Into Real Credibility

Tired of saying “we’re honest” and getting crickets? We go straight at the trust problem insurance agencies face on ad-saturated feeds and show how to replace vague claims with proof people believe. Shelby breaks down practical systems for collecting Google reviews, building a steady stream of testimonials, and turning everyday client moments into visible credibility across search and social.

We start with why reviews sell you before the phone rings and how to capture them without nagging. You’ll hear simple plays that work today: QR codes at every desk linked to your Google Business Profile, clear asks at the end of a great interaction, and a standout email signature that quietly generates feedback all month. For clients without Gmail, we map alternatives—Facebook reviews, quick written quotes, and short video testimonials that add rich context to your website, landing pages, and retargeting.

Then we shift from ratings to real faces. Authentic brand presence isn’t a slogan; it’s consistent, human content. Shelby lays out an easy cadence: monthly branding photos to keep visuals fresh, team spotlights that build familiarity, light holiday posts that show culture, and quick day-in-the-life updates that make your office feel approachable. We also tackle the fear of video with a clear directive: post anyway. Short vertical clips answering common coverage questions prove expertise, travel well across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and Facebook, and gradually form a living FAQ that warms up every lead.

Walk away with two moves to implement today: print and deploy review QR codes with a one-sentence ask, and set a simple content plan—one selfie supporting a local business, one staff spotlight, one 60-second explainer, and one community or holiday post. Do these consistently and your presence shifts from noise to signal, from promises to proof. If this playbook helps, share it with a colleague, subscribe for monthly tips at theinsurancemarketingplaybook.com, and leave a review so others can find us.

Transcript

The Trust Problem On Ad-Heavy Feeds

Proving Honesty By Leading With Education

Why Reviews Build Real Credibility

Tactics: QR Codes At The Desk

Email Signature And Alt Reviews

Authenticity Through Team And Day-In-Life

Get On Video And Ignore Naysayers

Two Simple Action Steps

Light Holiday Content And Community

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Hey y'all, what is up? Welcome to another episode of the Insurance Marketing Playbook. I am your host, Shelby McFarlane, the one and only marketing broker that you should know. Thank you so much for tuning in again to another episode here on my almost favorite podcast. It's my second favorite podcast because I also do the Marketing Happy Hour podcast. So if you um need more tips and tricks on marketing, you can hop on over and listen to those as well. Today I want to educate you guys about insurance companies building trust online. We are all bombarded by ads, right? We're on social media, we're scrolling on Facebook, we're just trying to unwind for the day, and all we see is ad, ad, ad, ad. It's one after the other, maybe on Instagram, maybe on TikTok. Like right now, my TikTok is crazy full of ads. Um, so how do we as insurance companies stand out and build that trust online when we're on a platform that everybody is portraying themselves as somebody else? I had this conversation yesterday with somebody and I thought it was interesting. I was doing, I'm doing like their website and I'm doing the redesign, and some of the copy I put on there was like, we're honest and open communication is what we value with our clients, and then something else underneath it, like educational or something being like educational. And the lady was like, actually, everyone says that they're honest, so let's put that like towards the bottom, and then let's put educational as number one. And I was like, dude, that is such a good idea. Like, of course, everybody claims that they're honest, everyone claims that they're the best, right? But how can we prove that, especially in insurance when people have to have insurance, they hate talking about it, they don't like giving information out to anybody, they don't want you to bombard them with text or calls or anything or emails. So, how do we build that trust online? The best way to do that is going to be to collect Google reviews or testimonials. And if you need more help with your Google business profile, there is another episode that you can go and listen to after this one. I talk about how to set it up and the importance of it. But today I want to talk about collecting those Google reviews. What are ways that you can collect them? Um, a few I have helped with my clients. I printed out a QR code sticker that went directly to their Google Business profile. And I um they installed those stickers on every single desk. So whenever someone came in to make a payment or they came in to make a change or something like that, there was a QR code right there in front of them on the desk of the employee that was helping them. And they just simply asked, Hey, if you enjoyed your time with me today, please scan this while you're sitting here and um leave a Google review. Now, if they don't have a Gmail account, of course they can't leave a Google review, so you can send them to Facebook or even better, they could write you, handwrite a testimonial or do a video or something like that if they wanted, if they would be okay with that. So that's the first way that I would say you could get Google reviews is by printing out a QR code to stick on a desk and have people sign it before they or have people scan it before they leave. So you can sit there and watch them do it. Because how we're, I mean, we're all like, yeah, sure, we'll leave a review and then like we never get back to it, right? We squirrel or our phone goes off or something else happens. Another great idea to collect Google reviews is through your email signature. If you have an email signature, like through Outlook or Gmail or however you do your email with your um agency, make sure you have a link on there that says click to click to leave a Google review. Okay, great. So that's an easy way. If people are going back and forth on email, communicating with your employees or you, then they can go on there and leave a Google review as well. And of course, you've got to draw attention to it because we don't always look at every single thing in somebody's email signature. So I would definitely do that as well. Um, another way of collecting reviews is to simply just ask someone to do a photo, ask someone to do a video, something like that where you could use their words and their face so people could see the familiarity and that they're part of your community. These are great ways to get testimonials for your Google business and your agency, and it's gonna build that trust online. If we are doing anything, going anywhere, about to buy anything, heck, if I buy anything off Amazon, I'm always looking at the reviews first, and I want to see the dress on a girl, or I want to see the color of the shoe that she's wearing, or what did this accessory do to her ear? Was it sensitive? Was it not? You know, now you know the things I buy on Amazon. But anyway, so reviews are very important before people do business with you. They will sell you before they even call you. The next way we can build trust online as an insurance company is gonna be showing our authentic self. How do we do that? Have branding shoots done, post pictures on social media of you and your team. What are you guys doing after hours? Maybe you have like a, okay, well, Shelby's taking over the story today and she shows about her day, you know, like, oh, I had this many quotes I gave, I helped this many clients, I took this many phone calls. What are the real parts of your business that you can share with the outside world that's different than what your competitors are doing? And I urge you, especially the agents, you guys that are over your agency, the one that has the name on the building. I urge you to get on video, get out there, get in front of people because it will help you. I don't care if you are afraid of somebody making fun of you. I don't care if you think that people are gonna talk bad about you. You know what? You got out there and you did it, and they did it. And so a lot of people are just jealous. And so I want you to know that it is so important to get out there. Hello, if you're listening to me on here, you may be on Spotify or Apple, and you may be listening, but if this is also on YouTube, and I'm also posting this on TikTok, and I'm also posting this on Facebook and Instagram. Like, what if someone made fun of me? Okay, well, who cares? I'm out here doing my thing, I'm creating content, I'm educating you guys. I am sharing my little skill that I have in this little part of my world that with you guys, and I'm putting myself out there. If someone has anything to say about it, then that's a reflection on them. I promise you, if you put your face out there and you show people who you are, you show people your employees, you celebrate them, you celebrate your community, that is going to build trust online and make you set apart from your competition. So I want you to do two simple things today. I want you to come up with a plan on how you are going to print out QR codes, how are you gonna get extra Google reviews so that way you can prove yourself on there? And then also I want you to come up with a little strategy on okay, I could like guess go over here and take a selfie at lunch because I'm supporting a local business. Or, you know what, you're right. I'm gonna go ahead and post about their birthday. I'm gonna schedule that out. You know, just things that, you know, is it St. Patrick's Day? It's coming up, okay. Well, everyone's wearing green in the office. Great, okay. Well, let's take a picture and let's post it on St. Patrick's Day. Like it's super cute, a little corny, but also really fun because everyone else is posting pictures on that same holiday. If this helped you out at all, please share it with an insurance friend of yours or have your team listen to my podcast. You can also subscribe to an email from me every single month. You can go to the insurance marketingplaybook.com and you can do that, or hop on over to my other podcast when you get off here, the Marketing Happy Hour Podcast. I uh I share some fun things over there too. So, all right, guys, I'll catch you on the next one.