4 Winning Strategies for Insurance Brands on Social

Social content is second nature for many brands in verticals like retail and beauty. But what about industries like insurance that aren’t known for being consumer-friendly? How can insurance companies build meaningful connections with their audiences in a business where many transactions lack a human touch? To uncover what success looks like, we took a look at how insurance brands engaged their audiences throughout 2017. The following leaderboard of brands we examined provides a quick overview of all the likes, comments and shares received during 2017. Esurance leads the pack when it comes to engagement, but what did it do to gain such popularity? This word cloud was created from all the posts Esurance published last year: The larger fonts indicate most frequently used phrases. The darker the font, the more engagement these phrases received. This reveals the first of four major success strategies for insurance brands on social. Promote DIY culture The “DIY ditty” campaign that featured the Scott brothers was a major part of Esurance’s content strategy. In this campaign, Jonathan Silver Scott and Drew Scott, from HGTV home makeover series Property Brothers, share DIY hacks and fixes for common household problems. This DIY-ethic is not limited to a single campaign. Nearly 80 percent of all of Esurance’s posts are tips and hacks that range from finding out if your tree house needs supplemental insurance coverage to creating a mini herb garden with a mason jar. Esurance isn’t the only insurance brand that experimented with DIY-heavy content. Out of the 5,797 posts published by the brands studied here, 1,033 contained DIY ideas, tips, hacks or recipes. Only about 8 percent of these posts were promoted, but they received more than 430 interactions on average. DI-why? DIY content is popular because it helps people solve problems without an overt sales agenda. The audience feels like the brand is genuinely trying to help them get their jobs done. According to Havas Media research, there’s a 71 percent correlation between how well a brand delivers personal benefits to its target audience and the effectiveness and relevance of its content. Also, with every change in the News Feed algorithm, Facebook makes it very clear: Only relevant content will get visibility. Create interactive experiences The most-shared post from last year is a great example of how a brand can create an experience for its audience: [kickout id="1"] There are three reasons why this piece of content won so much engagement: USAA joined the conversation around a holiday that is important to its audience. It used a content format (360 photos) that is new and different It used the format in a way that tells a story and transports the audience to an experience that might not be otherwise accessible. This content makes it clear to the audience where the brand’s allegiance lies. Tell compelling stories Stories—especially real stories about real people—make it easier for your audience to relate to the message you’re trying to broadcast. This highly engaging post by State Farm is a case in point: [kickout id="2"] State Farm expressed their gratitude towards first responders by highlighting the tremendous impact they have on the families they save every day. Build a brand personality Why is it that consumers associate Wendy’s with sass or Arby’s with gaming nuts? The consistent tones these brands use on social make affect how consumers perceive them. Therefore, social can play a vital role in creating a well-defined personality for your insurance brand, making it more human. This is not in-your-face advertising, but subtle suggestions you make while you deliver some entertaining content that makes them laugh. Take a look at this amazing post by Nationwide: [kickout id="3"] With a funny video, the brand reminds the audience that even star athletes like Peyton Manning have anxieties about retirement. Their retirement solutions they offer are ingrained in the messaging rather than thrust upon the audience in the end. Insurance brands that have well-known mascots maintain distinct social media profiles for them. Mascots are the old-school approach to personifying a brand. When you have a mascot that’s been around a while, people already “get” them. They know, for example, that Mayhem spells trouble. [kickout id="4"] Having exclusive social media profiles for these mascots is a genius move to capitalize on all the hard work marketers before you have put into creating them. Research shows that mascots are more effective in generating social media buzz around brands than celebrities. Did you know that Progressive got more mileage out of Flo than Nike did from LeBron James? TL: DR Insurance brands can be successful on social by: Sharing content that helps them get their jobs done. Providing unique and interactive experiences. Highlighting stories about real people doing real things makes your brand more relatable and more human. Building a brand personality that your audience can relate to and is instantly recognizable. Darsana Vijay is a social media journalist at social analytics firm Unmetric.

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4 Winning Strategies for Insurance Brands on Social

Opinion: Progressive got more mileage out of Flo than Nike did from LeBron James

Darsana Vijay

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Darsana Vijay