In a world where ‘chatting’ with friends and family is done mostly electronically, brands are looking for new ways to engage with their clients.
Broad adoption of social media is a global phenomenon, and in an increasingly technology enabled South Africa (half of all South African’s are accessing the internet), using social media to create a two-way communication with clients is vital.
Looking for benefits
For insurers, the immediate benefits of social media are obvious and include better exposure to potential clients and higher engagement with existing clients.
Many clients may also expect certain brands to be active on social media because larger brands, such as Discovery, already have a strong presence there.
Certain demographic groups, specifically the Millennials, prefer an online and accessible relationship with their preferred insurer, rather than being cold-called or forced to follow the preferred channel of communication as in the case of larger insurers.
Creating bespoke product offerings using input from social media will become more popular in future and will also be a great differentiator in the insurance industry.
Present what you stand for
Direct insurers are dominant in the social media space. However, there are many opportunities for brokers, advisers and intermediaries to build relationships through social media with new and existing clients.
Writing articles and responses to topical and trending events that people find helpful and insightful is a great way to not only get exposure, but also to establish yourself as an expert in the field and present what your brand stands for.
Quick on the draw
Each platform has its own best-use cases. On faster moving platforms, such as Twitter, where the half-life of a tweet is 24 minutes, people are looking for real-time expert responses on topical matters (such a keynote government speech) and trending topics.
Direct insurers often have longer turnaround times to ensure compliance, so this should be used to your brand’s advantage. On Instagram, people are looking for thought-provoking and viral images, and accordingly, fostering brand ambassadors is a better approach here.
Blogs are a great resource for intermediaries as people can subscribe to a blog, but not to a website. If you use LinkedIn as a business tool, consider publishing helpful and insightful articles in specialist groups targeting potential customers, such as small business owners, instead of your potential competitors, such as brokers.
Studies have shown that the average online South African spends 2.7 hours each day on social media. And on average, each user actively uses three social media platforms. Today, it has become essential for brands to have a strong online presence, and Millennials are actively looking to be insured by companies that engage with them socially; providing them with the most convenient and user friendly experience.
Effectively using social media
For insurance brands to make the most of social media, posts should be brief and to the point, longer articles should rather be linked back to the brand’s website or blog.
Insurers and marketers should make use of Google Search Trends to stay current and to use trending phrases of the target audience. Studies have shown that the optimal number of hashtags per tweet is just two. More than two is shown to lower engagement.
We are living in a world of digital natives; the children of today are born into a world of technology and are captivated by it. These are the clients of the future, can you afford to be absent on the platform they engage with the most?
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