Social Media: Time to Separate the Wheat from the Chaff

1. Social Media: Time to Separate the Wheat from the Chaff Terry Golesworthy The Customer Respect Group

2. “We are all scared to death about social media within our industry. We want to start with it. But we’re all just looking at each other, and nothing material is happening.” Insurance CEO

3. Why Not Wait? “We are all scared to death about social media within our industry. We want to start with it. But we’re all just looking at each other, and nothing material is happening.” Insurance CEO

4. Willie Sutton Rule

5. Expectations – Not Under Your Control

6. Muhtar Kent, CEO Coca Cola – October 2011 “The world of communication is evolving at a fast pace. In the past we needed premium advertising to create effective consumer impressions. Today consumers are much more empowered. You need to communicate with them.” “Five years ago social media was 3% of our total media spend. Today it’s more than 20% and growing fast.”

8. “From 1995 to 2000, the web went from something only some people used to something almost everyone used to conduct business. I view social media in the same way—we’re approaching the stage when almost everyone will have to figure out how to use it to conduct business successfully.” U.S. Financial Services CEO

9. The Age of the Customer What was once a message is now a conversation. Shoppers today find and share their own information about products, in their own way, on their own time

11. Organizations used to be able to control the conversation through marketing and advertising. Now they are just a part of a conversation they might not have even started.

12. “For the first time in my career, I feel old. People in their 20s work and think about this social stuff in a different way. We’re using it as a way of connecting with friends and socializing; the kids coming up are using it as a way of life.” - U.K. insurance industry CEO

13. Influencing a Purchase • To purchase insurance, consumers use an average of 11.7 sources of information over 3 months Google Zero Moment of Truth • Consumers trust peers Neilsen • People like to share – #1 way to share information is “a link” • Speed of Information “Engagement with the customer today isn’t just pouring a message down on their head and hoping they get wet. It really is understanding that you must be present in a conversation when they want to have it, not when you want to. — Bob Thacker, Gravitytank Strategic Advisor and former CMO of OfficeMax Social media is the plumbing

14. Industry Strategy 1.0 Recruit a Social Media Team

17. Industry Strategy 1.0 Fans – Size Counts

18. “With our Facebook fan base approaching 100,000, we’re now averaging over 125 million positive brand impressions per month—a rate of 1.5 billion per year—when our posts, advertising, and resultant fan engagements are considered.”

19. Social Media 2.0 – Turf War • Impacts on the entire company communication strategy • Brand awareness • Community development • Agent sales support • Corporate communications • Customer service • Crisis management • Consumer news update – disasters, deadlines • Market research and social analytics • Lobbying and advocacy • Customer research, including underwriting and claims • Recruitment

20. Social Media Goes Both Ways “We’re not yet comfortable that social media has matured to the point we’ll benefit more than we’ll suffer”

21. Social Media Goes Both Ways “We’re not yet comfortable that social media has matured to the point we’ll benefit more than we’ll suffer” We’re especially disappointed that this individual case eroded the trust we’ve built with our customers over the past 75 years.

22. Social Media 2.0 – Turf War • Impacts on the entire company communication strategy • Brand awareness • Community development • Agent sales support • Corporate communications • Customer service • Crisis management • Consumer news update – disasters, deadlines • Market research and social analytics • Lobbying and advocacy • Customer research, including underwriting and claims • Recruitment

23. Brand Awareness • Promotions, sweepstakes and advertising-driven recruitment • Extensive use of photos–highly visual – easy, simple to like • Fun, trivia questions, competitions, fill in the blank • Limited business content • Weak connection, limited brand loyalty or advocacy • Digital Marketing – Reach “Market entrants are young folks, and those people are watching less and less TV. That’s certainly part of our calculus, trying to get to those consumers when they’re making their initial insurance purchase.” Jon Beamer, • Exploiting the plumbing

26. Weak connection, limited brand loyalty or advocacy • Digital Marketing - Reach

28. You are an insurance company • Who will realistically like you? • Customers have personal connection with their agent not the carrier

29. Community Building • Perceived value and common bond for fans • Highly targeted and engaged community • Strong community trust • Community relevant content • Micro-marketing • CONTENT and a lot of it! • Develop environment for enhancing trust, advocates and referrals

30. Raffi’s Law

31. How much does peer advice play in buying decisions? • Why would people make decisions based on the opinions of strangers? • They don’t. They make decisions based on the opinions of people like themselves

32. Community Building

33. Hispanics Truckers Small business Pet Owners Over 50’s Teachers, Nurses Farmers

34. Strengthen the bond with our policyholders, potential policyholders, and agents and Reinforce with our agents that ACUITY is the go-to carrier for that particular market.   Facebook is one tool we use to demonstrate our knowledge, expertise, and focus which in turn has lead to an increased demand at the agency. Results Written premium up nearly 16% through the end of August.   An uptick in rate of retention.   Of course, there are many reasons which are contributing to this growth, but a successful social media strategy is certainly among the mix. 

36. The Agent Channel • Changing Consumer behavior disrupting traditional interaction • 61 percent of consumers who researched individual insurance or annuity products looked online • 69 percent sought information from agents, brokers and advisors • Agents often viewed as the most valuable and influential information source

37. Agents and Social – A Natural Fit • Social media is a relationship tool • Allow constant touch-points • Ability to show they are a valuable and influential information source Connections into the network Content distribution Indirect introduction to your customers and prospects

39. Convincing Agents

40. Joel McKinnon - Farmers 2.2 million Facebook fans Average 4,000 interactions/month 0.2 interactions per 100 fans Big Corporate Insurer – Brand 1,900 Facebook fans Facebook Interactions (July) – 4,867 270 interactions per 100 fans Authentic community member

41. Joel McKinnon - Farmers “I am a fan of personalized marketing – I need to know what is happening in every customer’s life and social media provide a stream of incredibly rich information to make that easier. My Facebook fans are customers, prospects, friends, and neighbors, and they post about events in their lives. I can now reach customers at the right time, with the right information, and not waste my or my customers’ time calling about products they don’t need.”

42. Joel McKinnon - Farmers • I need to know what is happening in every customer’s life • My fans post about events in their lives. • I can now reach customers at the right time, with the right information

43. We are a group of Farmers agents who have created a forum for us all to learn and share information that will help Agents utilize Social Media effectively • Increase Sales and Retention • Improve Customer Service • Grow Prospecting • Connect with Centers Of Influence • Gain Referrals • Build Authority as Trusted Advisor

44. Agent Support - Listening • Social Media is a stream of Life Events • New home • New car • Births • Graduations • Job changes • New teen drivers • Insurance Triggers • Sales Opportunities

45. Summary • Corral the chaos. • Understand the social media buzz that surrounds the brand - get it under control • Develop corporate strategy • Brand, customer, community and agent mix • Develop corporate personality • Target the message • Deliver the right message to the right person at the right time, equals 100 percent conversion

46. Summary • Connect the entire enterprise. • Especially important for companies such as insurance that have many agents communicating with customers “Claims-handlers and lawyers working for insurers typically operate strictly by the book, which is usually a valuable attribute for their employers. But someone in the chain of command needs to keep in mind how their actions will be perceived by the public, even when they are acting within the rules.”

47. Your Questions Terry Golesworthy terry@customerrespect.com 978-412-0019 www.customerrespect.com www.customerrespect.com/blog www.customerrespect.com/presentations/IFCA Facebook.com/customerrespect @TerryCRG http://www.linkedin.com/in/terrygo GooglePlus