{"id":2709,"date":"2011-08-26T13:38:03","date_gmt":"2011-08-26T20:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/?p=2709"},"modified":"2018-01-03T12:52:04","modified_gmt":"2018-01-03T19:52:04","slug":"social-marketing-wisdom-from-the-insurance-industry-%e2%80%93-really","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/social-marketing-wisdom-from-the-insurance-industry-%e2%80%93-really\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Marketing Wisdom from the Insurance Industry \u2013 Really"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was privileged to be on a panel with some outstanding social media practitioners from the insurance industry at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loma.org\/events\/EventsDetail.aspx?eid=106\">2011 Social Media Conference for Financial Services<\/a> put on by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.limra.com\/\">LOMA LIMRA<\/a> this morning. Financial services firms &#8211; and insurance companies in general &#8211; are often seen as boring, but what these companies are doing within the confines of a heavily regulated business is anything but that. Farmers Insurance for example, hasn&#8217;t accumulated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FarmersInsurance\">2.3 million Facebook likes<\/a>\u00a0by boring people. Another example is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onesureinsurance.co.uk\/scooter-insurance\">One Sure Insurance<\/a> which is one of my favorite ones. Car insurance is very important, but if you need business insurance then go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rhinosure.co.uk\">RhinoSure.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I actually think insurance is a fascinating business, I even have the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurance4motortrade.co.uk\/\">best motor trade insurance<\/a> available for my car. It involves taking calculated risks about the unexpected. Insurance companies need to know a lot about the world around us, because their business deals with so many variables, from accidents to earthquakes to the chance of being hit by a meteor. This morning&#8217;s audience of about 100 social media practitioners truly believe in the value of new platforms to reach their customers, although they have understandable concerns about the many regulations that govern what they can say.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some notes I took away from the three speakers on my panel.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/greggweiss\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"Gregg Weiss\" src=\"https:\/\/a1.twimg.com\/profile_images\/1164738333\/gw.jpg\" alt=\"Gregg Weiss\" width=\"220\" height=\"146\" \/><\/a>Gregg Weiss (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/greggweiss\">@greggweiss<\/a>) of New York Life says the company\u2019s social media content strategy is driven by constantly asking, \u201cWhat can we do that <em>isn\u2019t<\/em> about life insurance?\u201d This was a theme that was borne out in every presentation: It&#8217;s not about the company but about what motivates customers.<\/p>\n<p>A sampling of what New York Life has done:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Partnered with the NFL on a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/newyorklife.stats.com\/fb\/protection.asp?type=overall\">protection index<\/a>\u201d of pro football teams;<\/li>\n<li>Created the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorklife.com\/nyl\/v\/index.jsp?contentId=130106&amp;vgnextoid=852508ce9125b210VgnVCM100000ac841cacRCRD&amp;cmp=EMC-WhatsNew092610&amp;att=The+Game+Of+Life+New+York+Life+Edition+Giveaway\">New York Life Game of Life<\/a> in partnership with Hasbro. The goal was to get people talking about financial stability and have a chance to win the popular board game;<\/li>\n<li>Hosted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorklife.com\/safenight\">Twitter chat about Halloween safety<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/newyorklife?sk=app_174298962590521\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-2712 alignright\" style=\"margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px;\" title=\"New York Life Protection Index\" src=\"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/New-York-Life-Protection-Index-300x196.png\" alt=\"New York Life Protection Index on Facebook\" width=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/New-York-Life-Protection-Index-300x196.png 300w, https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/New-York-Life-Protection-Index-458x300.png 458w, https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/New-York-Life-Protection-Index.png 556w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>New York Life has carefully cultivated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/newyorklife\">more than 100,000 likes on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cWe believe 60% of our Facebook fans are prospects,\u201d Weiss said.<\/p>\n<p>His best story actually had nothing to do with insurance but everything to do with using social marketing to build loyalty and word-of-mouth awareness.<\/p>\n<p>He told of buying a coffee at Dunkin\u2019 Donuts: milk, no sugar. But when he got to the office, he found the beverage was loaded with sugar. \u201cI couldn\u2019t drink it.\u201d He tweeted his dissatisfaction. Within two minutes he had a reply tweet from the head of corporate communications at Dunkin\u2019. She asked for a phone call, during which she apologized and offered a gift card, which arrived in the mail two days later. \u201cI tweeted about Dunkin\u2019 Donuts\u2019 great response,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was a huge win for them. \u201c<\/p>\n<p>His \u00a0advice to social media marketers: \u201cThink big. Everyone in this room has the power to change things at your company. That\u2019s incredibly empowering.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Quotable: \u201cThe VP of Social Media at New York Life is the hundreds of thousands of people who have online relationships with us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And finally, \u201cSeek a higher purpose. I hope someday to hear a story of a kid who got to go to college because a parent bought a life insurance policy from us.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Kelly Thul (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/@kellythul\">@kellythul<\/a>), State Farm.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/@kellythul\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2716\" title=\"Kelly Thul\" src=\"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Kelly-Thul.gif\" alt=\"Kelly Thul, State Farm\" width=\"109\" height=\"146\" \/><\/a>State Farm got started in social media when it set up a blog to find New Orleans-area employees and agents who couldn\u2019t be located after Hurricane Katrina. \u201cWithin 24 hours, that blog was key to our locating ever agent and employee,\u201d Thul said. Today, State Farm is all over Facebook, with pages for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/statefarm\">corporation<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StateFarmCareers\">careers<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StateFarmLatino\">Latino customers<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StateFarmBayouClassic74\">Bayou Classic<\/a> football event and an innovative youth-oriented forum called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StateFarmNation?sk=wall\">State Farm Nation<\/a>\u00a0(right), where people can &#8220;discuss life\u2019s challenges and opportunities, connect with others facing life-shaping decisions [and] find helpful tips and information.&#8221; With 1.3 million likes, it&#8217;s doing pretty well.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2711\" title=\"State Farm Nation\" src=\"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/State-Farm-Nation-273x300.png\" alt=\"State Farm Nation on Facebook\" width=\"273\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/State-Farm-Nation-273x300.png 273w, https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/State-Farm-Nation.png 292w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The insurance company\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/statefarm\">YouTube channel<\/a> has had more than five million views, many for its TV commercials. The ads have spawned parodies, but Thul says the company is pretty sanguine about them. \u201cIf people care enough to have a bit of fun with you, that\u2019s OK, as long as it isn\u2019t brutal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>State Farm evaluates social media opportunities using four criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Relevance to business strategy;<\/li>\n<li>Role clarity: who is responsible for talking and responding;<\/li>\n<li>Measurement criteria;<\/li>\n<li>Activating platforms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These four criteria provide a framework for making a rapid and relevant decision about new platforms and opportunities like Google Plus.<\/p>\n<p>Words of wisdom: \u201cPeople want to be heard. If they believe you\u2019re listening to them, they\u2019ll like you a little more.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/TheresaKaskey\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft\" title=\"Theresa Kaskey\" src=\"https:\/\/a0.twimg.com\/profile_images\/1511436621\/t1.jpg\" alt=\"Theresa Kaskey, John Hancock Financial Services\" width=\"130\" height=\"196\" \/><\/a>Theresa Kaskey (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheresaKaskey\">@TheresaKaskey<\/a>), Director of Brand Management and Strategy at the John Hancock Financial Network, joined the company without any plans to get involved in social media. John Hancock had no social media strategy at time. Today, it\u2019s 80% of what she does. There&#8217;s been a long education and adoption process, but company management is buying in, she said. John Hancock recently launched its first blog, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.johnhancockfinancialnetwork.com\/blog\">Build4Success<\/a>, and it&#8217;s posted nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/JHFNvideos?ob=5\">40 videos on YouTube<\/a>. Unlike the other two speakers on the panel, who speak primarily to consumers, John Hancock Financial Network&#8217;s audience is financial advisers.<\/p>\n<p>YouTube has been one of its early successes. \u201cWe created more than 80% of our launch content in one day,&#8221; Kaskey said. &#8220;We had a meeting of our advisers and brought them into a room one by one to talk about how they delight their customers.\u201d It\u2019s been a low-cost, high-return recruiting success.<\/p>\n<p>Words of widom: A key element of successful social media programs is \u201cIt\u2019s not about us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_WSePeXkdTs\" width=\"560\" height=\"345\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was privileged to be on a panel with some outstanding social media practitioners from the insurance industry at the 2011 Social Media Conference for Financial Services put on by LOMA LIMRA this morning. Financial services firms &#8211; and insurance &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/social-marketing-wisdom-from-the-insurance-industry-%e2%80%93-really\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[241,9,12,14,15,18,25,28,348,31],"tags":[756,394,397,393,392,396,395],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pTy95-HH","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2709"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3834,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709\/revisions\/3834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gillin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}