Digital: Using social media to engage customers

Bike specialists and pet insurers have shown just how effective the social weapon can be. Both communities are relatively easy to engage with on social media.But the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Linked In are a double-edged sword to handle with great care.

Bikesure's head of content Matt Ware points out: "Bikesure, and to some extent pet insurance at Adrian Flux, are a great fit for social media because what works well for most social networks is image-heavy, interesting content that can engage the audience, hold its attention, and promote interactions and shares to a new audience."

The trick is to get interesting images to stand out from the crowd, such as a colourful image of the evolution of bike helmets, an infographic about licensing, or a teasing image to challenge audience participation in a quiz or competition.

Ware adds: "By getting your audience to interact, you've made social media a two-way interaction, you have embraced the social element, and can learn not only what your audience enjoys and expects from you, but get an idea of the kind of people you're engaging [to] make sure you understand your audience and customer base."

Pet owners tend to find their furry companions quite photogenic and pet insurers have really snapped up the social media opportunity such cuteness provides, as well as tapping into the emotional element.

Paul Hampshire, managing director of Markerstudy Group's ultimate insurance solutions, says his company's Paws & Claws pet brand enhances customer engagement.

He says: "The reason this is so successful is that, like us, the majority of our customers see their pets as extended members of their family. People share news and information about their pets, exchanging happy memories, nostalgia and funny stories, so there's an endless supply of content. The enormous benefit for us is that it allows us to show the human, approachable side of the business. By engaging pet lovers in conversation we can, in some circumstances, turn this community into customers."

Creating connections
The connection between pet owners and soon-to-be launched Catdogfish Insurance will be crucial, but CEO Gabrielle Hase says it is not about imagery but emotion, and creating a connection with the brand.

How pet lovers and insurers came to interact on social media is a chicken and egg situation. "Pet owners who are more socially savvy head online to get their questions answered as insurers invest heavily in these channels [and] most have dedicated social media customer service teams to answer basic queries," says Hannah Maundrell, editor-in-chief at money.co.uk. "Petplan has one of the largest social communities, with almost 11,000 Twitter followers. They regularly use this channel to communicate."

It's not just specialist insurers. Big household names have their Facebook page, Twitter handle and Linked In group.

Charlotte Moran, operations director at Aviva, says social media is central to her firm's digital first strategy. "Demand is high, with around 2500 unique interactions per month across all channels, the most popular being Twitter. But this goes beyond pure customer service as it's also a way to positively engage with customers by showing the real, human side behind the brand. It helps us understand what's important to our customers, and what's going on in their lives, using language to which they can relate."

It's also a way to positively engage with customers by showing the real, human side behind the brand." Charlotte Moran

Insurance is a complicated market and explaining it in a way that makes sense is tricky. Social media can make it easier, says Jyoti Bird, marketing and insight director for direct and retail partnerships at Axa Insurance. It allows insurers to have a dialogue with customers, while also resolving their issues in real time.

She notes: "It's a crowded market and insurers can advertise but if customers choose to communicate by liking something on a Facebook page, then companies are actively listening to an audience that is already engaged with the brand. This can be more effective than traditional advertising channels such as TV or radio, which might or might not reach a target audience, with the core brand message."

The message and the channel depend on the audience. Kirsty Plank, senior public relations executive for Covéa Insurance, explains: "Our primary customers are broker partners, and we use social media to inform, educate and update them on our business and the wider industry [primarily using] Linked In and Twitter." She adds a business-to-business insurer uses social media slightly differently than a business-to-consumer company, which might wish to target content to a more specific demographic, such as age group or lifestyle.

It's horses for courses. Carmen Whitelock, head of digital communications at RSA, explains that the insurer's Twitter audience mainly comprises journalists, brokers, business partners and suppliers, while its Facebook page is seen as ‘friends and family' - current and past employees and brand advocates: "With them we share feel-good stories. Fundraising and volunteering efforts generate the highest engagement levels for us."

Different channels
Facebook is also RSA's most popular channel for customer contact, and preferred channel to respond to customers, due to its more private nature, the ability to write longer responses and easily embed links and attachments. "Our largest social audience however, is Linked In, where we have more than 70,000 followers. It's also the biggest social media source of traffic to our website," Whitelock adds.

Gary Andrews, social media editor at Direct Line Group, also emphasises that different channels will help engage with different audiences. "It very much depends on the campaign and the brand, but demographics absolutely plays a big part. On a general level, Twitter is still the most effective channel for us for customer service, and where we have seen the most growth in the past year." He says Facebook is most effective for Churchill's audience, while Instagram is perfect for inspiring Green Flag customers "to get out in their car and take to some of Britain's most scenic roads."

Hampshire says Twitter is a great starting point for customers seeking immediate acknowledgement and assistance, and benefitting from the service being free and public. He adds: "It's very easy for customers to get help, knowing it can instantly be seen by the business in question. However, with insurance tweets, the sticking point is likely to be explaining the claim in less than 140 characters. Most people would agree that further assistance is probably better placed offline, either by phone or email."

Plank observes that social media isn't for everyone and many customers seek assistance via more traditional channels. "But there are benefits to customers using platforms such as Twitter when they require assistance, as the 24-hour society means some expect a tweet to be dealt with more quickly than a phone call or an email. People still expect offices to be open during specific hours but as Twitter is a 24-hour, 365-day platform, a speedy response is expected and often insisted upon."

Effectiveness in customer assistance comes from being available in whichever channel the customer favours, Andrews comments. However, last year, customer engagement specialist Eptica found UK insurers were failing to deliver a multichannel service to customers and prospects, answering just 40% of routine questions via the web, email and Twitter. Other studies have found that, while people used social networks to research insurance, few felt it helped with their final decision.

Yet timely intervention could help close the deal. Touch Commerce aims to convert online visitors into customers, using real-time customer data analytics to enhance customer experience and reduce support costs. Chief marketing officer George Skaff explains there must be service, regardless of the channel the consumer uses. "We can intervene when someone pauses while shopping for insurance, and initiate an online chat, helping to close a transaction rather than leave the basket empty."

Short-lived interactions
Insurers should avoid engaging for the sake of it.

Competitions and quizzes are part of any social marketer's toolset but these activities may create short-lived interactions. "We will run competitions, but you want to avoid a high level of entries, none of whom will interact with your brand again," Andrews warns. "If you are just producing content that has no relationship to the brand, you are not going to hit those deeper metrics."

Francesca Keefe, social & digital communications consultant with Allianz Insurance, agrees competitions rarely provide an opportunity for true engagement. She says the best technique is to have content relevant to the audience. "This, over any competitions or prizes, allows two-way dialogue between the brand and the customer."

Whitelock says the main objective of RSA's social media use is to inform audiences about what the insurer does. "We aim to do that by publishing tweets and posts that are relevant, timely, accurate and of high-quality, rather than relying on gimmicks or inducements. [But] video and animation work very well for us."

Insurance brands aren't ones people would naturally engage with, remarks Andrews, so tactics have to really work for the target audience. Insurers need to also demonstrate a genuine interest in the topic they're talking about. "You have to show you are passionate about the customer by sponsoring events like bike races or pet shows," says Craig Freeman, director of digital services at Brandformula.

Communicating on social media is not devoid of risk. Chris Smith, content and social media manager at the JRW Group, which owns Cycleplan, notes that the informal tone can make community managers forget business rules and etiquette.

"We're very careful what we say on social media from an insurance product point of view," he says. "Just because it's social media, which can be a forum for informal debate, doesn't mean you should be imprecise with your language. We've all seen examples of where brands have made headlines for the wrong reason because they've been sloppy on social media."

A window into customers' lives
The risk isn't just on the insurer's side.

Social media provides a window into customers' lives, which can reveal fraudulent claims. A crash-for-cash scam can hit the buffers if online research reveals the drivers are Facebook friends, or if a whiplash claimant tweets a picture of himself finishing a 10k race. This is actually what William Owen did - and he was ordered in June to pay Aviva's costs of £9213.

Bobby Gracey, president & CEO at Molmax Solutions, wants insurers to tap into social media to spot fraudulent claims: "A person claiming to be disabled might post an image of themselves skydiving, or a house burnt down might prompt a look at the behaviour of the claimant before and after the event."

Using social media involves pushing boundaries, and because the insurance industry is regulated, insurers have to be mindful of regulations around confidentiality, claims and political risks. There are also strict rules on promoting financial products through social media, in respect of which the Financial Conduct Authority published guidance last year.

Sophie Barnes, global group social media manager at Xchanging, a CSC company, says social media is particularly relevant at a time the insurance industry is making major efforts to modernise and digitise its operations. "Customers nowadays expect to transact most of their business online, and traditional players in the insurance industry need to be in the game if they expect to survive. The recent surge of Insurtech start-ups have understood this, and are poised to disrupt the insurance market."

Customer relationship management systems may assist here. "Insurtech, like CRM systems, are supporting insurers to deliver a human element to their customer experience," says Larry Augustin, CEO of Sugar CRM.

Insurance customers are more empowered, more social and more vocal than ever before, and insurers seen to be slow in responding to changing customer demands risk losing business.