This presentation describes the evolution of social media usage in the insurance industry. Areas covered include typical uses for insurance organizations, developing a social media policy, the dangers of social media, and some fun facts as well.
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The Evolution of
Social Media for Insurance
IASA 2010 Mid-South Chapter Annual Meeting
November 10, 2010
Louisville, KY
2. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Jennifer Overhulse-King, Principal Owner – St. Nick Media Services
Jennifer Overhulse-King is the principal owner and founder of St. Nick
Media Services. She is a writer, as well as a marketing and public
relations expert, with more than 20 years of journalism background and
expertise. Jennifer began working in the insurance industry as a
copywriter for The National Underwriter Company, and she subsequently
held various marketing leadership positions with National Underwriter,
Tech Decisions, Claims Magazine, and Florida Underwriter. As principal
owner of St. Nick Media Services, Jennifer works with clients to tailor
marketing, PR, advertising and sales messages/efforts specifically for
constituent groups important to the insurance industry. She has recently
published expert articles in Insurance & Technology, Tech Decisions,
Best’s Review, National Underwriter, Insurance Networking News, IASA’s
Interpreter and the Journal of Insurance Operations. She is a member of
the Insurance Marketing Communications Association (IMCA), the
Insurance Accounting & Systems Association (IASA) and is editor of IASA’s
Interpreter.
3. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Introduction
Q&A at the end of the session
Today’s Topic
The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
6. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Why has the insurance industry begun to embrace social media?
Keep in mind…there is not only safety, but POWER in numbers.
Facebook
Founded in February 2004, Facebook has gone from 0 to 500 million [users] in a little over six
years
People spend over 700 million minutes per month on Facebook
Average user is connected to more than 80 community pages, groups and events
Twitter
Launched in March 2006, Twitter has seen explosive growth and today more than 106 million
active accounts producing approximately 65 million tweets each day, equaling about 750
tweets sent each second
Approximately 190 million individuals visit the site monthly.
Recent estimates say the number of Twitter users increases by 300,000 each day
LinkedIn
Launched in May 2003, today LinkedIn users include more than 75 million professionals in
more than 200 countries
According to LinkedIn’s own reports, a new user joins the network every second
Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members
7. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
What is it?
Social media is…
…user-generated
content distributed
through social
interactions
facilitated on an
almost real-time
basis by the Internet
or other forms of
electronic
distribution.
What’s next? Communities, a combination of wikis, blogs and forums…
8. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
What else is it?
It’s a vehicle for electronic advertising
It’s a market research tool
It’s a customer feedback mechanism
It’s a networking platform
It’s a thought leadership forum
It’s a way to stay in touch with remote
offices or workers
It’s a relationship builder
It’s a way to stay relevant
It’s a way for smaller companies to
compete on a level playing field
It can also be…
…a great waste of
time, money and resources!
9. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
If we are willing to admit it can be a waste of time, money and
resources, what is the point of social media for my company?
Do we really need it?
The short answer is…YES!
Keep in mind…
It’s the way the next generation of consumers prefers to communicate.
Your competition is using it…
Your prospects and current customers are using it…
10. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
The insurance industry is finding new uses for social media every day…
Lead Generation
Market Research
Brand Recognition
Product Announcements
Promotions
Service Channel
Tech Support
HR/Pre-Employment Screening
Fraud Detection/Prevention
Recruiting
How is your company using social media?
How should you be using social media?
11. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Different strokes for different folks…
Agents
Community involvement
Lead generation
SALES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carriers
More effective underwriting
Pre-employment screening
Fraud detection
Product information/documentation
Vendors/Service Providers
News portal
User groups/forums
Advertising/marketing channel
12. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
How Are Your Competitors Using It?
13. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
How Are Your Competitors Using It?
14. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
How Are Your Competitors Using It?
15. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
OK, OK…so social media is
obviously the greatest
thing since sliced
bread…
Why isn’t everybody
using it?
It’s the nature of the beast…the insurance industry is
inherently risk-averse and conservative.
16. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
A Fall 2010 survey by NetProspex, an online business contact
service, found that insurance made the list of the Top 50
Industries in terms of social media savvy.
And that’s the good news…
The bad news is that insurance ranks 42nd
out of 50.
Banking, the “kissing cousin” to insurance, is #3. We’re
just ahead of debt collectors and hair salons.
Oh boy…
17. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
“Social media is like teen sex.
Everyone wants to do it.
Nobody knows how.
When it’s finally done,
there is surprise it’s not
better.”
-Avinash Kaushik,
Analytics Evangelist – Google
18. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Where do I start?
Develop a policy. Communicate it, implement it, and adapt
it along the way.
Resources:
1. Agents Council on Technology or ACT (www.iiaba.net/act)
2. Insurance Marketplace Standards Association or IMSA (www.imsaethics.org)
3. (Insert shameless self promotion here.) St. Nick Media Services
Many companies believe a policy is not necessary. If you think your
company doesn’t need a specific social media policy, consider this…
19. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
If you “legalize” it…you can regulate it!
20. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Where do I start?
Take time to gather competitive intelligence
Listen. Lurk. Learn.
Examine available options
Determine your comfort level
“Before jumping into the deep end of the pool, always dip a toe in to
test the water. If we’re talking about having children, that means get a
dog. If we’re talking about involvement in social media, that means get
a blog.”
Define your purpose and goals
Why do you want to participate in social media?
Are there hard dollar targets tied to your goals?
21. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Where do I start? (continued)
Identify internal resources
Employees/SMEs
Partners
Industry Analysts
Collaboratively set strategy
Involve the right internal groups or individuals
Decide what vehicles will you use
Decide which tools will be most effective in helping you achieve your
goals
22. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
How do I manage/maintain it?
Reinforce/Reuse Content & Messaging
Make it consistent
Take an outside in approach
Deconstruct long complicated messages
Repurpose content
Implement an integrated plan
Tie new social media efforts back to
existing tools
Pick a single starting place and own it
Build a content calendar
Recruit contributors
23. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
How do I manage/maintain it?
24. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
How do I manage/maintain it?
25. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Can I measure it?
Common measurements
# of followers
# of friends
# of fans
Positive feedback provided
Customer interactions
Oft-overlooked measurements
Upsell opportunities
Click-throughs to website or link
Referrals
Conversions
Activity/engagement level
Brand mentions
Virality (retweets, sharing
content, etc.)
26. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
What do I do with the
information I gather?
Analyze your
measurements
Test new strategies and
ideas against
benchmarks
Set new goals on a
regular basis
Keep adding to your
mix
27. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
What is the downside?
The Dangers of Social Media
28. The Dangers of Social Media
Social media can result in…
Legal implications/liability – Consult counsel (either internal or external)
for advice/insights/requirements.
Regulatory concerns/privacy – Create a review and approval process.
Unwanted friends/followers – You are pushing information out into a
public forum. You have to be prepared for even your competitors to
check you out.
Negative comments/feedback – You have to have an internal mechanism
for dealing with this quickly and effectively.
The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
29. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
The Dangers of Social Media
…but perhaps the biggest danger is inaction or lack of participation.
30. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
The Dangers of Social Media
The official Progressive Facebook page…
…with 18,439 “friends.”
31. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
The Dangers of Social Media
The unofficial Facebook page for “Flo the Progressive Girl”…
…with 889,365 “friends.”
32. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Q&A on Social Media
Jennifer Overhulse-King, Principal Owner – St.
Nick Media Services
What else would you like to know?
33. The Evolution of Social Media for Insurance
Thank you for your time!
Jennifer Overhulse-King
Principal Owner
St. Nick Media Services
15695 Glencoe-Verona Road
Verona, KY 41092
Phone: 859-803-6597
Email: jen@stnickmedia.com
www.twitter.com/stnickmedia
www.facebook.com/stnickmedia
www.linkedin.com/in/stnickmedia