[:en]What is the connection between social media and insurance? You do not have to look far to see that Insurers have hugely benefitted from integrating the use of social media in their practices. Why is this? Mainly because they can access data-rich websites making it easier to market their services and calculate the risks of potential clients.
Almost unheard of just a few years ago, social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have made a major impact on the web and tech-aware companies, insurers included, were not far behind in ensuring their presence on these websites. How exactly do businesses, especially Insurers, exploit social media to their benefit?
Nowadays, what is clear is that the huge amount of information on the web could also be seen as a potential client database for insurers. Just think about the tweets, posts and pictures that allow Insurers to access data on an individual’s health and personal information.
[pullquote position=”right”]Generating data on prospective customers is not the only reason why so many insurers log on to these sites. Another reason is that a satisfied client base is in their interest.[/pullquote] In fact, as a result of social media usage, Insurers can benefit from continuously being connected to their clients as they can count on word-of-mouth promotions, personal relationships and increased visibility.
If an Insurer teams up with popular bloggers, for instance, the cooperation can also become a good marketing and advertising strategy, considering that a single post made by a well known blogger will hit a wide audience, providing therefore information related to new offers, promotions, discounts, etc.
Another way in which social media influences insurers is the new approach to in-house practices, so that recruitment can take advantage of scanning potential employee profiles. A CIO survey carried out by Celent shows that, in the next 3 years, social networks will have a great impact on marketing and recruitment.
The increased use of smart mobile devices and social networks has been creating more sophisticated consumers. Insurers are now reacting to this trend by providing consumers with a greater user experience through a variety of multi-channel devices.
In the short-term, the use of social networks in business will continue to increase giving the opportunity to interact with consumers through a variety of different functionalities. Indeed, social networks are not just a way of communicating and promoting sales. Insurers will see the bigger picture and will be able to take full advantage of these networks by integrating them into their core processes.
A Celent’s survey on social media use among Latin American Insurers showed that although about 78% of the Insurers in the region use at least one social media network, they are not exploiting it at its best; also, 53% to 65% of the interviewees have implemented the most popular networks in their practice. So, even if the increasing use of these tools is becoming clear, there still plenty of room for improvement to get the most from this so-called “Goldmine”.
Celent, “Are Insurers really embracing social media? Social media use among Latin American Insurers”, January 2016
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