Social Eyes April

SocialEyes
The Insurers’ View of Social Media

Easy Riders Are In Contents Volume 2 Number 2 | April 2012

Good Hands Easy Riders Are In Good Hands..................................................1, 3-4
The Guy With The Suitcase..............................................................1-3
It Takes a Community to Build Facebook Data Table........................................................................... 5
Dialogue Facebook Activity in February..........................................................6-7 SocialEyes is published
A recent article in PC World took issue monthly by
Twitter Data Table................................................................................ 7 The Customer Respect Group,
with the liberties Facebook takes regarding P.O. Box 266, MA 01938.
News & Updates: Around The Horn..................................................... 8 www.customerrespect.com/socialeyes
consumer privacy, with the implicit brand
endorsement available to advertisers
based on a single page “like”. The article The Guy With The Suitcase
compared Facebook to that nosy girl in Content is First and Foremost for Agents
seventh grade who wants to tell everyone
about your objects of affection, making Many carriers have struggled to build a social media strategy that includes their in-
you an unwitting and unpaid celebrity en- dependent agent distribution channels. Many agencies show limited interest in social
dorser. This advice will become common- media, and those that do prefer to develop their own brand. So what role, if any, can a
place over the next year, and as consumers carrier play?
come to realize how their identities are be- One carrier consistently promoting social media to agencies is Foremost
ing used for commercial gain, brand pages Insurance. Foremost is represented by more than 38,000 independent agen-
will find it harder to attract fans. cies (in all 50 states and the District of Columbia) providing specialty auto and
One consequence will be the growth in homeowners insurance with more than 2.7 million active policies. We sat down
special-interest initiatives that follow the with Jeff Bair, Executive Director Strategic Management–IA Operations, who
social 3Rs—resonance, relevance, and also answers to the name of “The Foremost Guy” and the star of some of the best
reach. Consumers are on social networks insurance videos on YouTube.
to connect with people like themselves, not
to buy products. Insurers need to consider Is it possible to convince agents that ‘do not get social media’?
a more community-focused approach, es- I think the population of users continues to move upward, but it probably will reach
pecially for those with a strong common a crest unless there is some dramatic change on the usability landscape. We’ve been
interest. Communities do not need to be successful convincing agents to start (several have posted on our Facebook page), and
geographic-, vocation- or belief-based: that was a prime deliverable for the suitcase launch, but over time we’ll start to focus
members just need to identify with the more on folks that are already in this space. We do have a few agents who have offered
community. With this in mind we spoke us the opportunity to do a social media intervention (and film it), so we’re working to
with Erick Laseca, community manager of schedule that as an additional attempt to get new potential users engaged.
Allstate Motorcycle.
First the facts. The Allstate Motorcycle Should you concentrate on agents that are already connected socially?
Facebook page launched just a year ago That’s our future direction. Looking at ACT’s most recent data, 31% of agents that do
and today boasts nearly 60,000 fans. not use Social Media don’t plan to start (47% plan to start between six months and a
Engagement statistics are impressive, year from now), so that’s further indication that promoting new users isn’t where the
with nearly 30,000 fan interactions in re- play will be.
sponse to company posts in the first quar-
ter of 2012. For the quarter, the rate of en- Most agency principals are not connected socially – is this a problem?
gagement exceeded Allstate’s corporate Actually, we’ve seen that usage out of the office has increased in overall acceptance,
continued on page 3 continued on page 2

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1

SocialEyes The Insurers’ View of Social Media

Foremost Insurance
continued from page 1

reading about the “how to” portions of the site. As we increase
elements like “success stories” we start to see the time on site
go up. It’s very hard to measure whether a post an agent did
actually resulted in a piece of business for us, but we’re looking
at other items we can build out to help us get closer to grabbing
this metric as well.

The Suitcase is open for all to see – is that part of the plan?
Part of our plan at the outset. The suitcase will move behind
our firewall later this year in conjunction with our launch of
ForemostProducers.com.

Do you conduct any agent social media training?
We’ve not done that yet, but it’s been a topic of conversation.
regardless of age or position. In fact, in the aforementioned sur- Our “success stories” section was designed to do that at arm’s
vey, 60% of the respondents were agency principals or manage- length.
ment, so I think our challenge is more likely around continually
connecting with the community owners within an agency; com- How do you deal with providing content and training to
municating with them, providing them with content, creating agents who then use that to sell competing policies?
an environment where more agencies share ideas. We’ve faced that issue for years. We’ve had seminars focused
on need satisfaction selling, pairing features and benefits to
Will social media change how agents are recruited or best meet customer needs, and after attending, agents may use
trained? that skill set to sell a competitor’s policy. While we’re not purely
If the question is in terms of how agencies recruit new agents, altruistic, we do believe that improving the skill sets of indepen-
I think you will start to see the slightest shift in terms of a dent agents and producers will result in an improved recogni-
desired skill set, and it might not be solely in terms of social tion for us, and if we do our part delivering competitive prod-
media savvy, but maybe more in terms of a robust set of mobile ucts and outstanding claim service, we’ll win more than we lose.
and web-based skills. A well rounded use of both devices and
platforms that keeps agents continually in front of prospects and Would you collaborate with other carriers or a content distri-
customers. bution vendor as part of an industry content syndication?
Because of the space that we’re in, product-wise, creating and
One key agent-based initiative from Foremost is the “Social delivering our own content is probably the best approach at this
Media Suitcase”. This is a site containing social media success time. Also our distribution size relative to the market means
stories, “how to’s” and a steady stream of blog ideas, key dates that we already have access to provide content to almost all
and re-usable posts for major platforms. It is a great resource for independent agents. As for vendors, we have spoken to one, but
agents looking to get started and for ongoing content. Google have not moved forward with anyone yet.
“Foremost Suitcase” to take a look.
Your own Facebook page has limited activity and engage-
How do you measure the value or success of the “suitcase”? ment, why?
I think we’re still early in the game…the suitcase is only a year Our initial effort in this space was to support the Social Media
old last month, but most of our analytics are internal. We have Suitcase. We would have liked to see more posts, but initially
seen time on site go down dramatically, and usage continue to it was not only a space to start that conversation, but also our
go up. That points to more folks on content skirmishes and less laboratory. We were as new to social media as most agents were


2


Foremost Insurance Allstate Motorcycle
continued from page 2 continued from page 1

when we started, so it was our Facebook page (by a factor of five) and was three times the in-
very public space to begin dustry average.
experimenting with creating a
viable community. Next steps Mission
with the site will be to increase Before any activity commenced, three things were agreed
the number of agent “likes” upon – the mission, what success would look like, and the plan to
and start a more regular achieve that success. Of most importance was the mission – and
industry- and information- for Allstate, this was to create a forum for the motorcycle commu-
based conversation. We won’t nity where it initiated and hosted discussions about rider safety,
stop posting items we consider relevant gear, and event news. This was not just about Allstate.
to be fun or light, but we’ll start creating a more active dialogue The key word in the mission is “forum”. For the mission to
later this year. While we would appreciate more “likes”, the most succeed, a broad and active community is crucial, and this would
important thing for us is the quality of those “likes”. Are we
reaching the people that we want to reach?

Does LinkedIn fit in to your picture at all?
Not at this point, but we do have a new suite of products on the
horizon where there may be a better play. We also think that sites
like Manta, which are social-ish may have solid opportunities for
independent agents. Anywhere we can support creating a com-
munity, and thus creating referrals for producers, is probably an
area we will investigate. drive the content strategy and policies. The objective is not to sell
insurance, at least not directly; while the community has a passion
You have adopted the role of social media evangelist – is that for motorbikes, very few have a passion for insurance.
too big for a carrier, why not just sit back and wait?
I don’t think the problem was too big to solve, given our percep- What Does Success Look Like?
tion on the scope. We’ve always provided agents with business Success has five metrics, four of which are engagement-based:
building tools. For years we’ve had an internal site called “Grow- content “likes”, comments, shares, and community-generated
ing My Business” and this was just the next logical extension of posts. Fan count is the fifth metric, with retention just as important
that. I think there is ample opportunity to keep educating agents, as growth. An aggressive engagement strategy demands certain
but refocus on helping them discover new facilities (e.g. Pinter- risks – not easy for insurers to accept but critical in Laseca’s opin-
est), as well as ways to manage a communication plan that incor- ion. The forum allows and encourages independent contributions,
porates social media (e.g. Crowdbooster, Buffer, HootSuite). even extending that welcome to vendors that serve the commu-
nity (as long as they add value). Airbrush artists promoting loca-
What is the vision that drives the social media initiative? tions at upcoming rallies are a good example. Another act of trust
Supporting our distribution base, independent agents and is to allow and accept all user comments (with the obvious excep-
producers is a key element of our value proposition. In strategic tions of profanity or inappropriate language), letting the community
marketing, our informal mission statement is, “We think up cool police itself. Fans need to step in when comments are out of line
stuff to help producers add new and retain more customers.” or off-topic, but stepping in too early limits this involvement and
We’re supported by a very talented Corporate Communications inhibits the sense of community ownership.
group that takes the strategic ideation and translates it into a
solid creative deliverable. So, in a nutshell, that’s just what we do. Content Strategy
q A three-point guideline was agreed on before a single post that
continued on page 4


3

the message “Don’t let my motorcycle interfere with the safety of
Allstate Motorcycle your phone call” attracted over 1,300 interactions.
continued from page 3
As part of an innovative but natural extension to the content
still holds true today: strategy, Laseca has reached out to organizations and partners
hh Does this fit into the social space in a where there is a strong fan overlap. The goal is to
way that would benefit riders? enhance the value to the community as well as to
hh Is this something the community would create cross-promotional opportunities for each
find worthy to contribute their content organization. For example, Allstate will promote
to comment on, share, or like? (entirely on social media) a campaign by Victory
hh Does this demonstrate Allstate’s com- Motorcycles to offer an ambitious goal of motor-
mitment to protecting riders? bike test drives. Allstate has also created a part-
Also important was to define was the voice (straightforward, nership with J&P Cycles, a leading aftermarket motorcycle parts
slang-free, and passionate), tone (intense and sincere without arti- supplier, to provide Allstate celebrity autographed promotional
ficial emphasis), key themes (advocacy, safety, maintenance) and items, and has formed programs with the American Motorcyclist
topics (about 20, including tips, community action, news, events Association and Men’s Journal.
and road safety).
A constant flow of content is needed to keep the page fresh Recruitment
and relevant to riders from all walks of life and levels of experi- Fan base recruitment for the first six months was purely organic
ence. The enthusiast tends to be more impassioned and therefore while a content library was being developed. During this period,
more active and engaged, especially during the winter (off-season) some early fans became active, and while the identification and
months. Laseca takes care however to be responsive to requests acquisition of brand ambassadors was not orchestrated, there was
from leisure riders, firmly believing that listening to the community always the expectation that they would emerge. Allstate rewards
is vital. The mix needs to respond to the community and cannot be ambassadors with “goody” bags containing hard-to-find pro-
achieved in a vacuum or be preplanned too far in advance. motional items. Then, with content and a number of active fans,
Laseca is able to call upon a dedicated team of independent Allstate expanded the community through relevant sweepstakes
motorcycle clubs, corporate relations, and advertisement/PR and and Facebook ads. While fan count was part of the objective,
event agencies to contribute content and community advocacy ini- retention was also critical; within this tightly-defined community,
tiatives to engage the community. Facebook ads performed exceptionally well. Since those promo-
Advocacy is critical to the mission and safety is an especially tions, the community has reverted to organic growth, with a reten-
strong passion point. The ONE (Once is Never Enough) program, part tion rate of 99% in the first quarter.
of the Allstate Rider Protection Project, is an awareness campaign The dialogue between fans and Allstate is positive, and brand
to help reduce the number of motorcycle crashes involving other ambassadors frequently promote the values of Allstate a lot more
vehicles at intersections. One call to action for the program will be a actively than the company does.
newly-developed pledge program (ONE Pledge), which encourages
supporters to pledge to look twice for motorcycles at intersections, Conclusions
as well as to spread the message to one other person. The ONE Motorbikers have passion and a clear culture. This might seem
Pledge will be hosted on the Allstate’s Motorcycle Facebook page. to be an easy community to corral. Competitors, however, have
For each pledge Allstate will donate $1 to Departments of Transport fared less well. Progressive, Nationwide Insurance, and Dairyland
across the country to pay for the creation and installation of motor- Cycle have relatively stagnant Facebook pages, and GEICO has
cycle warning signs at dangerous intersections. all but abandoned its motorcycle page. As insurers review com-
Laseca also scours the Internet for relevant and appropriate con- munity-oriented social media, consideration must be given to the
tent that will engage the community. Content must always be rel- community needs and not merely promoting products. Laseca is
evant and interesting – it does not need to be about or from Allstate an advocate, but for whom? He feels that his role demands he be
– and it must emanate from reputable partners. The community has an advocate for the community to Allstate and not vice versa. The
a shared deadbeat sense of humor when considering key topics reward for success is the ability to influence a like-minded com-
such as safety. A recent graphic originating from “Bikerspost” with munity that trusts each other’s advice and recommendations. q


4


Facebook Data for March 2012 (sample data from pages with over 1,000 fans)
Normalized
Note: Table is sorted by Normalized Q1 2012 Normalized Weighted
Interactions in Q1 2012 (column 3). Normalized March Interactions Interactions
Category Interactions Fan Count Month Change Interactions (March) (March) Posts
Modern Woodmen of America Corporate 39.8% 1,280 6% 484 38% 119% 19
Primerica Corporate 23.1% 23,637 2% 5,100 22% 42% 38
American General Life and Accident (AGLA) Corporate 19.0% 1,791 2% 334 19% 36% 64
Chubb Corporate 18.5% 2,225 3% 479 22% 52% 76
Foremost Corporate 17.5% 5,486 77% 1,195 22% 62% 58
Allstate Motorcycle Product 16.1% 57,668 1% 9,707 17% 37% 54
Mayhem (Allstate) Mascot 15.8% 1,228,982 2% 164,563 13% 21% 18
PEMCO Corporate 11.0% 2,444 3% 238 10% 23% 60
Erie Insurance Corporate 10.8% 5,604 5% 967 17% 41% 20
Horace Mann Corporate 10.7% 3,749 7% 510 14% 24% 26
Safeco Corporate 10.2% 3,189 3% 433 14% 48% 14
California Casualty Corporate 9.7% 17,494 19% 744 4% 13% 22
Acuity–WOW Corporate 9.3% 4,608 1% 307 7% 15% 14
Metlife Corporate 8.4% 213,620 4% 16,678 8% 13% 79
Travelers Insurance Corporate 6.9% 8,991 4% 1,048 12% 40% 8
Alfa Insurance Corporate 6.6% 3,088 1% 225 7% 23% 15
Sentry Insurance Corporate 6.6% 2,151 1% 125 6% 14% 15
Mass Mutual Corporate 6.0% 29,305 0% 989 3% 7% 67
Amica Mutual Corporate 5.9% 1,872 2% 109 6% 11% 26
AXA Equitable Corporate 5.8% 2,683 1% 124 5% 6% 60
Shelter Corporate 5.5% 2,006 2% 131 7% 16% 12
Northwestern Mutual Corporate 5.5% 27,352 4% 2,420 9% 19% 31
Westfield Insurance Corporate 5.2% 1,627 2% 99 6% 9% 49
New York Life Corporate 4.9% 249,172 8% 2,557 1% 2% 28
Thrivent Financial Corporate 4.6% 74,804 24% 2,740 4% 10% 22
Ameriprise Corporate 4.3% 8,457 3% 417 5% 14% 9
InGear for Truckers–Acuity Product 4.2% 7,925 14% 252 3% 7% 10
Nationwide Insurance Corporate 4.1% 14,116 4% 1,046 7% 21% 34
Liberty Mutual Insurance Corporate 3.4% 15,695 3% 585 4% 7% 29
Allstate Corporate 3.3% 75,355 2% 3,502 5% 13% 43
Principal Financial Corporate 3.2% 2,732 3% 131 5% 11% 26
USAA Corporate 3.1% 230,723 2% 6,948 3% 7% 39
American Family Corporate 3.1% 53,331 0% 2,072 4% 10% 47
Esurance Corporate 3.0% 26,185 5% 893 3% 8% 38
State Farm Insurance Corporate 2.5% 240,194 9% 5,846 2% 6% 43
Progressive Insurance Corporate 1.8% 43,831 4% 773 2% 3% 7
Aflac Duck Corporate 1.7% 313,781 2% 3,515 1% 2% 33
Gerber Life Corporate 1.6% 38,000 13% 401 1% 1% 14
The Gecko (GEICO) Mascot 1.6% 238,244 2% 3,051 1% 2% 12


5


Facebook activity in March
test generated over 60,000 entrants to boost the fan
hh The average growth rate in March for Industry count to 80,000. The top age group for the page now
Facebook fans was 8.1%. Very large fan pages (>1 is 45-54.
million) grew at 3%, Large (100K–1million) at 8.5%, hh The normalized interaction rate for the industry is
Medium-Large (10K–100K) at 4.2%, Medium-Small 2.65%. This calculation adds the ‘likes’, ‘shares’ and
(5K–10K) at 11.1%, Small (1K–5K) at 4.2% and very comments contributed to company posts and di-
small (<1K) at 13%. Life insurers grew at 9.5%, out- vides by fan count. Across multiple industries, the
pacing P&C companies at 5.8%. expected rate is about 2% (even though that metric
hh Fan recruitment continues be a hot issue even though does not take into account shares —not supported by
engagement is now at the top of insurer priorities. Facebook APIs at present). The equivalent insurance
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans launched its rate (excluding shares) is 2.33%.
campaign “Fan it Forward” which rewards new page hh There is little variation between quarterly interaction
likes with a donation of $1 to Lutheran Services in rates compared to last month indicating maturity as
America. The goal was 15,000 new fans but that tar- pages establish set patterns. More engaged in March
get was almost reached (+24%) by the end of March, compared to their own averages were Foremost,
three weeks ahead of schedule. Northwestern Mutual, and Travelers. Less en-
hh In the top page fan-size category, the Flo fan base gaged were Mass Mutual and New York Life.
leaped 11% in the month (+368K) on the back of a hh The most engaged insurers for their size catego-
social media-driven video campaign “Best Day Ever”. ries for the first quarter were Auto-Owners (Very
Progressive created three posts featuring video to Small), Modern Woodmen (Small), Foremost
test and optimize the content for sharing. The posts (Medium-Small), Primerica (Medium Large),
were promoted in real-time based on which post was MetLife (Large), and Mayhem (Very Large). The
seeing most social traffic, a process they describe as same companies led their categories for Weighted
“viral optimization”. Interaction, which weights quality engagement
hh American Income Life Insurance Company, in its (‘shares’ and ‘comments’) five times more than a ‘like’.
goal to raise fan count to 2,500, is offering an iPad This is in line with research conducted by Edgerank
in a sweepstake for new fans. Six hundred eager fans Checker indicating the extended reach gained by
joined in the first five days (+27%). these forms of interaction.
hh California Casualty continues to offer group hh Insurers with the highest percentage of qual-
awards (schoolteacher lounge makeover) and indi- ity engagement (shares and comments) include
vidual gift cards to boost awareness of its Facebook Travelers, California Casualty, Foremost,
page within its public sector communities (+19%– Geico, Allstate and Amerprise. Insurers with the
2800 fans). lowest percentage of quality engagement include
hh In September last year 21st Century Insurance Aviva, Axa-Equitable and Gerber Life.
launched a 13-week long “Win Big Sweepstakes”. hh Facebook now publishes a monthly summary of
Visitors who “liked” 21st Century entered into a “Talking About This” (TAT). This metric covers all
drawing for various prizes including a car. The con- interactions with the page (including page likes).
Most insurers are displaying this data (with notable
MORE FACEBOOK DATA—FAN COUNT exceptions MetLife and Allstate). Obviously on
Fan count data for 180 insurers and engagement data for 80 insurers this raw number mascot pages with huge fan counts
is available monthly in Excel format. To request this data, please email
socialeyes@customerrespect.com.
dominate. This month, Flo added 360K fans so this
Following many requests, we announce a new company subscription
distorts the TAT. The TAT is normalized by dividing
it by fan count, which puts Foremost top due in part
NEW option—forIndividualdelivery and sharing$499.00
intranet with colleagues—
for $1500. licences remain at to a recruitment campaign this month.
continued on page 7


6


Twitter Table March 2012
Facebook Activity
continued from page 6 Account Type Followers March Tweets March Change 3-Mth Change
New York Life Corporate 30,964 130 1% 33%
State Farm Nation Demographic 28,227 86 0% 0%
Removing new fan additions
USAA Corporate 27,286 118 4% 15%
from the TAT calculation leaves
Allstate Insurance Corporate 27,050 506 2% 5%
Auto-Owners, IMT Group, Erie
State Farm Insurance Corporate 21,399 384 3% 13%
Insurance, Allstate Motorcycle,
USAA and State Farm Nation top Aflac Duck Mascot 14,603 104 2% 7%

of their page size categories. Progressive Insurance Corporate 12,071 219 4% 15%
hhHorace Mann is going to re-launch The Hartford Corporate 11,969 20 3% 10%
its Facebook-based campaign to Nationwide Insurance Corporate 10,272 59 4% 16%
provide donations towards unfund- American Family Corporate 9,950 274 1% 134%
ed public school projects. The cam- Primerica Corporate 9,360 59 6% 18%
paign prompted teachers to promote
Chubb Insurance Corporate 9,166 290 5% 15%
projects on the Horace Mann page,
Travelers Insurance Corporate 9,090 28 6% 22%
which seeded lively discussions.
GEICO Corporate 8,360 17 6% 17%
Engagement rates on the page have
halved since the end of the original GEICO Gecko Mascot 8,149 12 0% 2%

campaign. Progressive - It’s Flo Mascot 7,901 95 5% 19%

hhCarriers are experiencing more Farmers Insurance Corporate 7,298 19 6% 23%
interaction with independent agents Liberty Mutual Corporate 6,972 46 6% 21%
and providing more content as a AON Corporate 5,516 34 7% 27%
result. Over 360 agents clicked ‘like’ USAA Help Help 5,459 117 3% 11%
in response to Erie Insurance asking Esurance Corporate 5,071 90 4% 51%
if they love being an agent. Grange
Progressive Help Help 5,064 70 4% 13%
Insurance posted spring agent
Zurich North America Corporate 4,786 73 9% 35%
meeting photos, much of Primerica
Transamerica Corporate 4,405 32 4% 28%
page content targets agents, and 80%
of Safeco shares are by agents. Cigna Corporate 4,295 150 4% 16%

hhMost insurers allow consum- Northwestern Mutual Corporate 3,109 114 7% 22%
ers to start new posts but there PEMCO Corporate 3,028 179 3% 5%
are still a few exceptions, includ- Safe Auto Corporate 2,796 36 5% 15%
ing Ameriprise, Northwestern Safeco Insurance Corporate 2,701 63 9% 34%
Mutual, Traveler, Shelter and AXA Equitable Corporate 2,594 63 4% 8%
VALIC.
Munich Re Corporate 2,518 30 4% 16%
hhFrom the “Only in America” depart-
Thrivent Financial Corporate 2,175 20 4% 16%
ment—Progressive’s Flo stated
SwissRe Corporate 2,156 38 14% 48%
“I am thinking of a number…go”.
MetLife Blimp Mascot 2,059 31 4% 16%
To date nearly 6,000 people have
participated even though there is Foremost Insurance Corporate 2,030 16 5% 23%

no indication whether Flo will ever The Principal Corporate 1,904 68 7% 26%
reveal her number. Mega Millions California Casualty Corporate 1,791 13 0% 0%
lottery hangover? q Westfield Insurance Corporate 1,661 46 4% 11%


7


Around The Horn Allstate conducted video hangouts on Gartner, in its report “10 Most Disruptive
Google Plus during the Final Four with former Technologies for P&C Insurers”, puts social
— April 2012 March madness stars talking to fans. The media in that bucket. Acknowledging
take-up was very limited due possibly to the that social data could create significant
Thanks to data made available by Facebook lack of publicity and the limited scalability of competitive advantage via an ocean of
as part of the new brand timeline, we are hangouts. consumer data, insurers content with playing
offered a few insights and as well as oddities. wait-and-see are likely going to pay for their
Twitter follower counts for the industry are
For most insurers, the city from where the patience.
growing more slowly than ever before. As
most page visitors hail also happens to be
Facebook becomes the dominant social Jackson National Life Insurance Company
the location of the home office. Employees
marketing channel, many insurers have recently announced the winners of
are obviously keen observers if not
focused Twitter on a combination of news the Jackson Social Media Challenge,
contributors to company pages. The most
feed, corporate communications, and which charged university teams with the
prominent cities for State Farm Nation and
customer service. In the past, follower growth development of a social media business plan
Mutual of Omaha’s My Aha Moment (both
has been triggered by natural disasters and for Jackson and the opportunity to win a
Jakarta, Indonesia) and Farmers Insurance
the launch last year of promoted accounts $15,000 first-place prize.
(London, UK) do raise eyebrows, as do the
and tweets.
promotional recruitment activities employed. Attensity, a provider of social analytics
Chicago is the undisputed insurance fan Social media is a natural channel to vent and applications for Social CRM, is offering a
capital as the most active city for more than insurers advertising on Rush Limbaugh’s new insurance solution to assist analysis
20% of insurers. New York and Los Angeles radio show certainly heard about it from of data gathered from a myriad of sources:
come next. both sides of the argument. Allstate and claim forms, adjuster notes and third-party
GEICO both had over 2,000 opinions on reports—including police, medical and
Also thanks to Facebook, we get a glimpse
Facebook. Progressive choose to tackle inspection reports—as well as customer
into some demographic data – the most
the issue on Twitter. On the positive side, feedback from social media, surveys, emails
active age group on industry pages are the dialogue could have been calls to the and other sources.
those between 25 and 34. Insurer pages call center whereas social media provided a
that attract younger consumers (18-24), not forum for a lively, albeit heated discussion. Almost all of the subscriber growth for
surprisingly include Flo, the Aflac Duck, State insurers in LinkedIn is coming from non-
Farm Nation and the Gecko but perhaps UNUM in the UK launched a social media employees. Employee growth over the
more surprisingly MetLife and Allstate. Staying campaign to educate consumers for the quarter was an insipid 3% whereas non-
on Allstate, Mayhem attracts the 25-34 group need for long-term disability insurance. employees subscribers grew by 19%. The
(who may appreciate the offbeat humor) but Needing consumers to drive demand low employee subscriber growth indicates
the Allstate motorcycle crowd are between with employers who need in turn to speak strong existing penetration. Aflac increased
45 and 54. Dairyland Cycle, with its posse of with brokers, the campaign aims to build non-employee subscribers by 168% in the
Harley riders also attracts the 45-54 crowd. momentum, demonstrating that others quarter and with strong growth from Farmers
already have the insurance. Starting with a (37%), State Farm (36%), and Liberty Mutual
Life insurers tend to attract older fans than moderated forum to manage comments, (35%). State Farm and Mass Mutual are the
P&C fans with Mass Mutual, Northwestern it has now extended to a Facebook page latest insurers to employ the Product and
Mutual and Thrivent Financial all appealing to (BackUpPlan) with 14,000 fans. Services tab. Liberty Mutual has the most
the 45-54 group with mixtures of insurance product recommendations with 75.
content and philanthropic activities. New York According to a report commissioned by
Life mixes material between business content Hearsay Social, a post from a local Facebook
page reaches five times the percentage of
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the 25-34 group. MetLife focuses on Peanuts fans compared to a post from a corporate Get 12 issues for just $499
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industry circle count grew by 20%for the Principal opted for Socialite from Actiance. To subscribe, just visit
month, the number of consumers connected The Principal determined that a compliance customerrespect.com/socialeyes
to insurers on Google Plus is 0.06% of that platform to monitor social media activity by
on Facebook. Allstate leads all insurers with reps in both the home office and the field was For subscription information, email
1,175, with New York Life showing strongest a requirement, before allowing those reps socialeyes@customerrespect.com
growth, up 70% at 599. access to social media. or call (978) 412.4047


8

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