For all that has been said about the promise it holds in the marketing of an insurer’s business, social media also represents a scary landscape dotted with pitfalls. The fact is, social media is a clear and present phenomenon insurers cannot ignore, and one that can improve an insurer’s livelihood if done properly. This was the message offered by two research and consulting experts at the
Karen Furtado, partner with
The initial view of social media is one of complexity, noted Fitzgerald. “There are many levels to this, with employee use to acquire and share information as well as insurer use to acquire and share information,” he said. “Carriers looking to adopt a social media strategy must consider all aspects of this complexity, defining goals and have plans in place to do damage control when necessary.”
The analysts spoke of both the push and pull of social media’s offerings, meaning that insurers can use it to garner information about potential policyholders and use it to create a social profile of sorts that can be accessed by underwriting. In this “social system environment” carriers can make informed decisions that tie back to improvements in policy administration, claims and billing. “In claims alone, social media could represent a gold mine of information,” Furtado said, “but these should be considered pieces of the bigger pie, because insurers have many tools and avenues of information to compile and consider when making decisions.”
From a push standpoint, carriers can use social media to engage potential customers. In particular, the presenters noted that baby boomers have exhibited the greatest jump in activity using social media, and now frequently use it to rate product and purchase products online. Fitzgerald noted the activity levels banks have adopted in social media, stating their customer service touch points are more frequent, making it necessary for banks to be a friendly source of information on demand. “Social media is changing the traditional assumptions about customer service,” he said, “but in our world, it’s a ‘wild, wild west’ environment right now, as insurers are really in the early stages of integrating social media tools with existing systems.”
Furtado reminded the audience that “this is not an “opt in” venture, because your employees and customers are already using it to make comments about your organization,” she said. “Your company is present on LinkedIn whether you have an official page or not. You need to be the one to define your business, make it your official message.”
