Southern Regional Underwriting Conference Social Media: Jumping In

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Southern Regional Underwriting
ConferenceSocial Media Jumping In Staying
AfloatJune 27, 2011Orlando, FL
Presenter Lynne McChristian Florida
Representative, Insurance Information Institute
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Social media defined

• From Wikipedia (the social media encyclopedia)
• Social media is media for social interaction,
  using highly accessible and scalable
  communication techniques. The term refers to the
  use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn
  communication into interactive dialogue.

• Highly Accessible Inexpensive, anyone can
  play.
• Scalable Starting small, then growing and
  adapting.

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How new traditional media differ
Social Media Traditional Media
Decentralized Centralized
Publically owned Privately owned
Little or no specialized skills needed Requires specific skills and training
Instantaneous, with both content and comments Usually longer production time, but this is changing
Easier to alter Permanence, such as in a magazine article
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Explosive growth and growing

• Social networking now accounts for 22 of all
  time spent online in the U.S., according to
  Nielsen Media.
• Over 302 million mobile phones in use, as of Dec.
  2010.
• Twitter averages 140 million tweets per day, as
  of March 2011.
• The number of social media users age 65 and older
  grew 100 percent throughout 2010, with one in
  four people in this age group now part of a
  social networking site.

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Evolution of social media
What it all means We talk more online than in
person.
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Social media, insurance and trust
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Trust in industries Global
How much do you trust these industries to do what
is right?
50 51 52
Source Edelman Trust Barometer, 2011
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I.I.I. Pulse Poll
Favorability attitudes toward auto and homeowners
insurers reached 60 In May 2011, the highest
rating since 2001, up from 53 a year ago.
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Trust in authority
If you heard information about a company from one
of these people, how credible would that
information be?
2011 2011
Academic/expert 70
Technical expert in the company 64
Financial/industryanalyst 53
CEO 50
NGO representative 47
Government official 43
Person like yourself 43
Regular employee 34
2009 2009
Academic/expert 62
Financial/industryanalyst 49
Person like yourself 47
NGO representative 41
Regular employee 32
CEO 31
Government official 29
Source Edelman Trust Barometer, 2011
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Trust protects reputation
When a company is distrusted
When a company is trusted
57 will believe negative information after
hearing it 1-2 times
51 will believe positive information after
hearing it 1-2 times
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Will believe positive information after hearing
it 1-2 times
Will believe negative information after hearing
it 1-2 times
Source Edelman Trust Barometer, 2011
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Repetition enhances believability
How many times, in general, do you need to hear
something about a specific company to believe
that information is likely to be true?
59 of people need to hear about it 3-5 times to
believe it.
Source Edelman Trust Barometer, 2011
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Social media means providing information
that is relevant, accessible and friendly.
And, it is a scary venture for traditional
corporations because it defies strict command
and control.
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But first.
You have to get your audiences attention. And,
before you can do that, you must determine who
they are.
Timeless Advice Be sincere, be brief, be
seated. Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Search engine go-to source
Where do you generally go first for news about a
company?
Source Edelman Trust Barometer, 2011
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I.I.I.s social media framework
www.InsuringFlorida.org
www.disasternews.iii.org
www.iii-insurancematters.org
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Much of the consumer information on the site is
also available in Spanish
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Policymakers website InsuranceMatters
Content is arranged so that material most
important to policymakers is just one or two
clicks away
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I.I.I. Disaster Newsroom Blog
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Social media provides data to help you
gauge audience interests and spot trends.
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I.I.I. Social Media Outreach Facebook
I.I.I. Facebook Page Over 400 people Like this
page Over 200 links to I.I.I. content
posted Average impressions higher for older posts
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Top Ten Content, by Pageviews May 2011
Rank Keyword Total Percent
1 Facts/Stats Auto Insurance 3,327 29.47
2 Issues Update Motorcycle Crashes 1,161 10.29
3 Article What Is Covered In A Basic Auto Policy? 1,007 8.92
4 Issues Update Cellphones and Driving 918 8.13
5 International Fact Book Country Profiles 891 7.89
6 Article What Is Auto Insurance? 877 7.77
7 Facts/Stats Home Insurance 874 7.74
8 Press Release Law Suits Bites Irresponsible Dog Owners 790 7.00
9 Issues Update Catastrophes 773 6.85
10 International Fact Book World Rankings 670 5.94
  11,288 100.00
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Top Five Videos by PageviewsMay 2011
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Top 10 Referral Sites for the I.I.I.May 2011
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Tracking users
Where Insurance Information Institute is
appearing in social media
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I.I.I. Social Media OutreachMost Viewed I.I.I.
Videos on YouTube
Source YouTube.
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Social Media Tools Tips
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This business of blogs
Blogs are an educational approach to marketing.

• Elements of blogging
• Add value.
• - Address a problem, concern or need.
• Use headlines and hooks and include links.
• Catchy titles help you stand out in the crowd.
• Using links directs users to other relevant
  content.
• Share how to tips.
• - People want to know the how rather than the
  what.
• Love the checklist.
• - List formats are easy to digest.
• Be a storyteller.
• Stories stick, and they let readers sell
  themselves.
• Comments build a sense of community.

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Telling Personal Stories
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Blogs are about personality audience
I.I.I. Blogs

• Terms Conditions
• Written by Claire Wilkinson.
• Daily blog.
• National scope.
• Audience is insurance industry professionals.
• Blog title makes sense to practitioners.
• Led to column in National Underwriter magazine.

• Straight Talk
• Written by Lynne McChristian.
• Weekly blog.
• Florida only.
• Audience is consumer.
• Blog title addresses Florida market challenges.
• Led to monthly column in Florida Underwriter
  magazine.

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Talk on Twitter
Think of it as headline news.

• 140-character limit.
• A bare-bones version of Facebook.
• A chat room for friends and contacts.
• Enables direct messaging.
• Connecting with the media.
• Helps you monitor what is going on.
• Get retweeted!

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Following the I.I.I.

• Twitter accounts
• _at_InsuringFLA
• _at_iiiorg
• _at_III_Research
• _at_Bob_Hartwig
• _at_LWorters
• _at_JeanneSalvatore
• and more

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Facts on Facebook

• Why use it?
• Feeds your content dynamically to your followers
  pages, so you can proactively push out
  information you most want them to access.
• It helps maintain a presence with customers
  during the long periods when your company may not
  be top of their minds.
• They can hear stories that remind them of the
  value insurers provide every day.
• This is your chance to re-invent relationships
  with customers and create a real dialogue and
  sense of community.

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Develop a social media strategy

• Develop an overall social media policy with
  written procedures, processes and goals.
• Remember, social media makes PEOPLE interact, not
  the company. Identify the professional talent
  within your organization who is empowered to
  engage in online chatter.
• Ask
• What do you want to achieve with social media?
• How do you get what you want?
• How are your competitors using it?
• How will you get noticed? What will you do to
  create community?

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Social Media and InsuranceInsurer Engagement
How are insurers doing in the social media space?
Source Leveraging Social Networks An In-Depth
View for Insurers, Celent, April 14, 2010.
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A sampling of insurers in the social
media mix
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• What others are
• saying.
• Reviews

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Facebook Fans Getting personal and being a
personality
Corporate Site
All business 30,893 fans
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Going with the Flo
Flo, the Progressive Girl

• Other Flo pages
• Want to dress like Flo?
• Dress like Flo for Halloween.
• Flo Fun Pack.
• Bobble-head doll.
• Screen saver.
• Ringtone.

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Promoting social causes
State Farm examples
The Youth Advisory Board is charged with helping
State Farm design and implement a 5
million-a-year signature service-learning
initiative to address important issues.
The Embrace Life Awards program honors 13 men
and women who have renewed their lives and
inspired others through their perseverance
following the loss of a spouse or parent.
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Advocacy
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Link for more background info
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Opportunities to jump into social media
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I.I.I. Pulse Poll summary
Educational opportunities

• Nearly all of American homeowners have homeowners
  insurance, but just under a third have renters
  insurance.
• Slightly less than one-half of homeowners say
  they have an inventory of their possessions to
  document losses in case of disaster.
• More than half of Americans think it is unlikely
  that their home will be destroyed by a disaster.
• 50 in the South think it is unlikely 73 in
  the Northeast.
• Only 14 of homeowners have a flood insurance
  policy.
• One in five homeowners believe their homeowners
  policy covers flood damage.

Source I.I.I. Pulse Poll, May 2011.
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Social Media and InsuranceMeasuring Success

• Perspectives on ROI.
• Financial.
• Coupons redeemed, sales, repeat customers.
• Digital.
• Improved visibility for your company in search
  engines.
• Brand.
• Online efforts improve offline branding for
  building awareness, purchase intent, preference
  and brand associations.
• Risk Management.
• Its more about reducing negative ROI than
  creating a positive ROI.

Source Augie Ray, The ROI of Social Media,
July 19, 2010
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Social media as risk management
Description Example
Estimated costs should customers create hundreds of thousands of negative impressions about product quality 50,000 of outside PR costs 100,000 extra ad media costs 50,000 extra customer service costs 100,00 lost executive time/focus 50,000 short-term sales loss 20,000 to fly advocates to facility 5,000 cash outlays (such as charities) 375,000 total for worst-case scenario
Likelihood of occurrence 20 (once every 5 years)
Percent social media assets can mitigate effects 33 (because companys rapid response team can engage advocates, reduce loss costs)
Total value of risk mitigation 375,000 x 20 x 33 25,000
Source Forrester Research, Inc.
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Tips for building an online presence

• Respond to everything.
• Go where your customers go.
• Engage in conversations.
• Acknowledge poor reviews.
• Provide useful information.
• And, one more tip

Source HelpScout.net
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Have fun!
FreeBro-stache App!
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Insurance Information Institute Online
www.iii.org www.InsuringFlorida.org

• Thank you for your timeand your attention!

Follow me _at_InsuringFLA Or contact me the
old-fashioned way at lynnem_at_iii.org.