The Latest News From Melon Local

Stay in the know with the latest news in digital marketing, best practices and updates from Melon Local.

4 Questions to Ask Before Granting GBP Access

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the most valuable digital assets your business owns. It’s often the first thing potential customers see when they search for your business, making it a key driver of organic calls, website visits and foot traffic. In fact, a fully optimized GBP gets

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Woman pointing to a smartphone beside the headline “New Year, New Feed” on a Melon Local social media strategy blog graphic.

How to Strategize Your Social Media for Success in 2025

Is refreshing your social media part of your 2025 resolution?  With a new year right around the corner, now’s your chance to reimagine how your business resonates across people’s feeds. From refining your content calendar to embracing cutting-edge trends, this is your moment to hit “refresh” on your social media. Let’s talk about what you need to do to ensure you’re relevant and top-of-mind in your local market! Look Back

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Melon Local team members discussing the FCC's new lead generation rule and its impact on marketing compliance and customer outreach

What to Know About the FCC’s New Lead Generation Rule

A new federal rule tightening regulations on lead generation, as well as robocalls and robotexts is set to go into effect January 27, 2025. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new rule — originally adopted in December 2023 — aims to protect consumers from scam communications by closing loopholes in the lead generation industry and strengthening text messaging regulations. According to the FCC, these changes address vulnerabilities in robotext defenses, making

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Julie Hahn, insurance agent, featured in Melon Local's Interview with an Agent series discussing business growth and marketing success

Interview with an Agent: Julie Hahn

North Carolina Insurance Agent Julie Hahn always understood the necessity of smart marketing when she opened her first agency in 2009 — whether it be through internet leads, organic search optimization or social media. Fast-forward to 2022, and Julie has opened another successful agency with a new company in the competitive Charlotte-metro area — but something was missing. She had the drive, but what she really needed was the right

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Natalie Nunez, Social Media Content Creator at Melon Local, featured in a “Melon of the Month” spotlight graphic.

Melon Spotlight: Natalie Nunez

From the moment she joined our team as a Social Media Content Creator, Natalie Nunez has been a valuable force for helping not only our agents establish and elevate their social media game, but Melon Local’s as well. Always in the know with the latest social media trends, her creative eye and knack for helping our clients stand out in their local markets have made her a truly One in

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Man using a laptop on a couch beside the headline “Harness the Power of AI” on a Melon Local blog graphic about AI in the insurance industry.

How AI Is Changing Insurance Consumer Behavior

With predictive algorithms and personalization tools, artificial intelligence (AI) is more than a buzzword. This emerging tech is redefining the behaviors and expectations of today’s digital shoppers. For business owners, staying ahead in the digital marketing space means adapting to these shifts while understanding where the industry is heading. What AI Platforms Are Leading the Way? From OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Co-Pilot, these advanced AI platforms are

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Melon Local team member sharing year-over-year marketing strategies to help insurance agents grow their business in 2025 and beyond

Year-Over-Year Strategies for 2025 and Beyond

The start of a new year is the perfect time for fresh ideas, new goals and taking note of what’s worked and what hasn’t. The truth is, reviewing  your year-over-year performance can feel like comparing apples to melons. So how can you measure success and set yourself up for a thriving 2025? Understand the Shifting Market Dynamics Competition is heating up in the insurance industry, it’s no longer enough to

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Melon Local team member explaining the FTC's new fake review rule and its impact on online reputation management and customer trust

FTC’s New Rule for Fake Reviews Officially in Effect

How New Federal Rule Affects Business Reviews In case you missed it, a federal rule banning fake reviews recently went into effect. The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new rule — originally issued in August 2024 — officially went into effect in October. According to the FTC, this new rule now holds businesses accountable for posting or purchasing fake reviews, including those from people who don’t exist or have never engaged

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David Arce, founder of Soaring Eagle, featured in a Melon Local interview discussing the 2025 Soaring Eagle Agent Study Group event

Soaring Eagle Founder Shares Excitement About 2025 Event

As the COVID-19 pandemic redefined the professional landscape in 2020, Michigan insurance agent David Arce realized a significant void in networking and educational opportunities for agents. His recognition of the need for in-person connection and shared growth among insurance agents inspired Arce to found the Soaring Eagle Agent Study Group to continue fostering agency growth. “The core of it was just about agents sharing with each other,” says Arce. “Being

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Trevor McBride, insurance agent, sharing five things he loves about working with Melon Local and its digital marketing services

5 Things I Love About Melon Local – Feat. Trevor McBride

Portland, OR-area insurance agent Trevor McBride had already been running his agency for nearly seven years before coming across Melon Local. Previously, he’d tried working with other marketing companies but didn’t quite find the fruitful partnership he needed for his digital presence. Despite only joining us in February, Trevor has grown to love Melon Local for a number of reasons, including our personalized approach to digital marketing and transformative workshops.

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Latest Blog Posts

Black-and-white graphic featuring a man holding a microphone beside the headline “Exclusivity?” in an office setting.

What Does Exclusivity Mean in Insurance Marketing?

If you’re an insurance agent, perhaps you’ve heard the word exclusivity thrown around by different marketing agencies. Companies often tout this word as a way to make their services seem more appealing, but what exactly does exclusivity mean in the world of insurance marketing? Perhaps we should ask if it even means anything at all. Separating Hype From Reality You’ll often hear marketing agencies promise you exclusivity with major search

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Portrait of insurance agent Roy Hooker IV featured in Melon Local's Interview with an Agent series

Interview with an Agent: Roy Hooker IV

Following in his dad’s footsteps, Roy Hooker IV opened his insurance office near North Tampa in 1990 at age 23. At the time, he was one of his company’s youngest agents, but with some ambition and wisdom from his father, he’s been able to continue his family’s legacy of success in the insurance world. While the earlier half of his career was focused on traditional marketing efforts such as mailers

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Melon Local paid search specialist highlighting five warning signs that may indicate problems with a paid search marketing campaign

5 Paid Search Red Flags to Watch Out For

If you’re an insurance agent, chances are you either have a third-party company handling your leads or you’ve at least received sales emails promising astronomical numbers. However, keep in mind not all marketing agencies are equal — and in fact, some can over-promise or artificially inflate their data. In the ever-changing world of insurance marketing, finding the right partners to generate leads for your agency can be a daunting task,

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Portrait of insurance agent Sean Morton featured in Melon Local's 5 Things I Love About Melon Local interview series

5 Things I Love About Melon Local – Feat. Sean Morton

Since starting his insurance career in 2005, Sean Morton’s agency now manages over 4,500 households in Littleton, CO — located in the busy and competitive Denver Metropolitan area. If he wasn’t busy enough, he also runs his own business, SPEED Trainer Workshop, and helps oversee Team Member Trainer with several other agents across the country. However, Sean eventually realized he needed extra help with his digital marketing efforts and made

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Melon Local team members collaborating on video production and content creation for insurance marketing

10 Video-Making Strategies for Insurance Agents

In this day and age, it’s essential for insurance agents to incorporate video content into their marketing strategy. Today, 86 percent of businesses regularly use video as a marketing tool, so filming engaging and unique content should be a priority for your agency. Videos are a great way to connect with your audience and community, and they can be especially effective when used as part of a larger marketing campaign.

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Matt McCracken shares SEO strategies to help auto insurance agencies rank higher in Google search results

Melon Minute: Rank Higher for Auto Insurance on Google

If you’re an insurance agent, you may be wondering, “Why am I not ranking higher on Google for auto insurance?” The search engine considers a wide range of factors when it comes to ranking, but according to Google, it considers these three its highest priority: Relevance Distance Prominence For this blog, let’s focus on Google’s relevance factor — which is how well a Google Business Profile aligns with what someone

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Portrait of insurance agent Connie Fenner featured in Melon Local's 5 Things I Love About Melon Local interview series

5 Things I Love About Melon Local: Feat. Connie Fenner

After spending nearly 20 years working in media advertising, Connie Fenner wanted a career path that would allow more opportunities to help her community more directly. She eventually found her calling working in insurance — first as a sales rep in January 2021, and she opened her own agency in August of the same year. She currently operates her insurance agency in Chapel Hill, NC, a close-knit community best known

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Melon Local team member holding a smartphone and discussing how insurance agents can use Instagram Threads to connect with their audience

Threads by Instagram for Insurance Agents

As if there weren’t enough platforms to keep up with, Threads by Instagram recently took the social media world by storm on July 5, 2023. On its first day alone, thirty million users signed up for Threads — making the Twitter (now known as X) rival surpass ChatGPT as the fastest-growing app in history. As the app is still in its infancy, we have yet to see if it will

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Melon Local team members collaborating on Facebook advertising strategies and campaign planning for insurance agents

Facebook Advertising Strategies for Insurance Agents

It’s one thing to have an active Facebook business profile, but did you also know that it can be an effective advertising tool for your insurance agency? Whether it comes to boosting a post or you’re using Facebook Ads, you have the power to connect with your customers at the click of a button. Let’s take a look at why you should be using Facebook for advertising and how you

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