What happens in the social media space can reach thousands, or even millions, across the globe in a short span of time. We look at what is stopping companies from embracing social media and what some insurers have done.
By Benjamin Ang
Jon Bon Jovi is dead.
Oh wait, he is still alive and rocking.
“News” of the rock star’s sudden death spread like wild fire online in December last year and tributes started pouring in. The only thing was – he was not dead. Just as quickly as the rumour spread, so too the realisation that it was a hoax. On the very day the world got wind of his “untimely death”, a picture of Bon Jovi was posted online in the evening through his Facebook page (with more than 15 million “likes” on the fan page), and Twitter (with close to half a million “followers”) to assure his fans that he was still very much alive and put the hoax to rest.
If the rock star had no social media (SM) presence, the rumour would have likely gone into overdrive and the hoax would only be exposed much later through the traditional media platforms.
So what has a celebrity’s experience got to do with an insurance company? Well, the “news” and rumours could have been about your insurance company. If an angry client today or a malicious competitor tomorrow was to complain or spread rumours to the world as its potential audience, would you have the SM presence to give your side of the story?
For Sun Life Financial, being on the various online platforms means it can be proactive and avoid having any negative sentiments fester. “We look out for SM discussions involving Sun Life. Should there be a complaint or issue from a customer, we reach out to them and respond to the issue accordingly,” said Ms Candy Yuen, Chief Distribution and Marketing Officer, Sun Life Financial Asia.
Online’s impact on bottomline
So much has been written about SM and its importance, but a question remains on the minds of most company executives – “What do all these mean to my bottomline?”
Ms Stephenie Vasko, Director of Communications for Asia at Aviva, cited her company’s “You are the Big Picture” campaign which was launched across different markets, and said: “By launching a marketing campaign across multiple markets with an emphasis on digital media, we made our marketing spend go further and achieved deeper engagement with current and prospective customers.”
But she also cautioned: “The most common mistake companies make when measuring the impact of SM is to focus on a single metric.” Instead, the best approach is to first identify the outcomes that matter and then build a holistic measurement framework around them. Often, this means having bespoke approaches for individual campaigns, she added.
Long-term commitment
“Measuring activity in social media is also much more than the number of ‘likes’ or ‘followers’; we have created performance benchmarks across our activities depending on the objectives in order to track success,” said Ms Yuen. For Sun Life, it is currently listening to its customer needs, building its presence and optimising its activities. “We are realistic that we are not going to see instant short-term gains from social media. It is a long-term commitment.”
“Swiss Re has diverse reasons for using social media and therefore diverse measures of success. In some areas, such as job ads, there would be very concrete signs of success – hiring good employees,” said Mr Wong Kwok Choi, Swiss Re’s Head of Communications, Asia. “In other areas, such as the use of the corporate Twitter account, the degree of success can be measured not only in concrete terms of how many people follow us, but also in terms of the quality of relationships we develop with our Twitter followers. We would rather have meaningful, two-way relationships than broadcast to a high number of people,” he added.
A PR disaster waiting to happen?
Another concern executives have of SM is that it is a PR disaster waiting to happen. Much has been reported of SM mishaps where comments made were deemed offensive or running afoul of regulation, with backlash coming swift from communities – both online and offline.
Mr Wong said: “As with any form of communication, there are risks but our approach is to try to mitigate those risks by sensitising colleagues to the pitfalls of social media through training and guidelines.” The reinsurer has a SM Policy in place across the organisation that offers guidance to employees on SM use and its potential impact on Swiss Re. So too, the other companies we spoke to.
“The best way to minimise the potential for social media mishaps is to ensure your approach is in keeping with regulation and underlined by integrity, respect for your community and freedom of speech,” said Ms Vasko. For example, by being responsive, offering the community something different and engaging, and being helpful and collaborative on an on-going basis, she said. “There should be no judicious or selective editing because transparency is everything.”
Not all markets are ready?
With operations in countries spanning across the world, some markets will be more ready to embrace SM than others. At Aviva, Ms Vasko said: “Our approach to social media is consistent across the world and aligned with our brand. However, our country teams have local pages specifically designed to engage people in their respective markets.” This ensures all engagement and content is relevant and meaningful, she added. Aviva has a landing page on Facebook which provides links to the pages of its operations in different countries.
Likewise, Sun Life believes that the local operations are best suited to understand how their customer communications works best. “Whilst we encourage and support the use of social media to interact with our customers, we believe that the approach varies by market and we respect that. Our approach has to be tailored to meet our customer needs in the different markets,” said Ms Yuen. Sun Life has created a social media centre of excellence which provides best practice and guidance around SM activity and interaction.
Being in the same space
While apprehension remains for some insurers on embracing SM, for those that are on it, the reason to do so can be simply summed up in two words: customer engagement. “It’s really about our customers and making it as easy as possible for them to do business with Sun Life. This is why social media is a very important part of our marketing and communications strategy,” said Ms Yuen. Customers are now demanding more information and interaction through multiple touch-points which are available anytime and anywhere. “We want to be as easy to work with for our customers, so we believe in communicating to them where they are.”
The “You are the Big Picture” campaign encapsulated Aviva’s people-centric approach to business and celebrated its customers’ individual needs and uniqueness, said Ms Vasko. “This enabled us to connect more emotionally with customers.”
“Our initial efforts in the field of social media acknowledge the importance of these emerging forms of communication. Our activities here are evidence of our desire to listen and gain a deeper understanding about new channels and their utility, and how we can make use of them to bring more benefits to our clients and meet their evolving needs,” said Mr Wong.
Mr Sean Rach, Director, Regional Marketing, Prudential Corporation Asia said: “We see social media as a part of the digital extension of our relationships with our customers. The insurance industry is centred on people and their financial needs, so using social media to listen and understand the needs of these people is a natural fit for Prudential and the
industry.”
Sustaining your fans, friends and followers
The most challenging part of social media initiatives is the “social” portion. It is tough to build communities, whether online or offline. Ms Vasko said while digital initiatives are easy to launch and implement, they are often challenging to maintain. She suggested that the key is to implement an on-going cycle of listening (to the needs of your audience), assessment (of their objectives and motivations), engagement (one-to-one/one-to-many), measurement (participation/engagement) and improvement. “Content and activities, for example must be frequent, interesting and relevant at all times – otherwise your audience will quickly lose interest. It can be a time-consuming process but it reaps substantial rewards,” she added.
SM interaction is not a “one-off” thing. Social media is here to stay, said Ms Yuen. As with any other media, there needs to be a proper sustained strategy when engaging SM and this is something Sun Life is building with its various businesses right now, she added. “Even if you have a social media strategy, these channels are ever-evolving and so must your planning. You need to be flexible in your approach and be ready to take advantage of opportunities.”
Being sociable online – what some insurers have done
Aviva
“You are the Big Picture”
YouTube channel with 535 subscribers and 130,703 video views
Aviva showcased some of the real stories of its customers, employees, strategic partners and communities. Around the world, Aviva asked individuals to send in their photos and share what matters to them most. For every image received, Aviva made a donation of £2 to Save the Children to support its Street to School. Donations will fund two new Aviva mobile learning centres run by Save the Children in India. Aviva also gave people the chance to be projected onto London’s National Theatre from 6 - 15 October last year.
Sun Life Financial
“Experience Sun Life”
In the Philippines, Sun Life Financial ran a successful “Experience Sun Life” campaign. It encouraged the sharing of “Sun Life stories”. In total, more than 1,500 “Sun Lifers” – employees, advisers, clients and friends – shared real stories and experiences related to Sun Life.
Prudential Corporation Asia
“Cha-Ching Money-Smart Kids”
Cha-Ching is a financial literacy programme for families with children aged seven to 12. The programme uses engaging, age-appropriate, musical animation to teach kids about managing money and provides a host of additional resources for parents and educators. The episodes were broadcast on Cartoon Network in seven markets (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam).
Tools such as Facebook, YouTube, mobile apps, video games, and blogger outreach were also used to bring Cha-Ching to parents and kids across Asia. “Social media has proven to be an effective way to reach out to parents to begin developing a community around the topic of interest,” said Mr Sean Rach, Director, Regional Marketing, Prudential Corporation Asia.
Great Eastern
“Live Great journey”
To help customers in their Live Great journey, Great Eastern will be providing comprehensive information and advice through its Health and Wellness portal, equipping them with tools to turn their intentions of leading a healthier life into action as well as rewarding them for leading a healthier life.
Customers can make use of online tools such as Great Eastern’s Wellness Profiling, to conduct a simple health risk assessment to determine how they fare in terms of lifestyle and what actions to take to live better. They can also download Great Eastern’s 21 Days app to help them create a new good habit over a 21-day period. The mobile App will remind them to act upon their intention on a daily basis and also help track their progress. Great Eastern has unleashed new digital capabilities, including leveraging social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Farmers Insurance
Facebook 2,358,934 likes
An online community over 2.2 million fans is a very big number for any company, said Mr Marc Zeitlin, VP of eBusiness, Farmers Insurance. Thanks to thousands of hard-core insurance agents, engaged employees and a novel interaction with players on Zynga’s FarmVille, Farmers set a new Guinness World Record for most “likes” in a 24-hour period last year. Farmville is a popular social game on Facebook.
Swiss Re
“The essential guide to reinsurance”
An ipad application, it is an in-depth guide where Swiss Re introduces the concepts of reinsurance and highlights the essential function reinsurance has in enabling progress and contributing to the stability of the economy and society. The report also draws attention to the regulatory environment in which reinsurance companies operate and highlights the key characteristics of sound risk management.