Producers and carriers searching for opportunities to developnew clients may find ample opportunities through social networkingover the Internet–but there are challenges agencies and companiesface as the line between social and business networking blurs, apanel of technology users recently warned.

Demonstrating the strength of the phenomenon, a “secret session”on “Twitter and Social Networking” was held late on the final dayof last month's AMS User Group National Conference in Washington,D.C.

To demonstrate the power of Web-based social networking, thesession was not listed on the AMS meeting agenda, although hintsabout it were dropped occasionally throughout the conference. Theonly way attendees found out about the meeting was either throughword of mouth or an online social network such as Facebook orTwitter.

The fact that over 60 people attended the session despite thelack of traditional publicity only underscored the strength ofsocial networking, according to April Feldt, education specialistfor AMS Users Group.

The discussion–led by Steve Anderson, an independent agencytechnology consultant–touched on two main points:

o The benefits of online social networking for generatingbusiness and providing information to customers.

o The challenges in controlling the message, as well aspotential security issues.

On the benefit side, Nibby Priest, vice president of the VaughanInsurance Agency in Henderson, Ky., spoke about how important anagency blog was.

In his example, the purpose was to get information out toclients seeking contractors to make repairs after the winter icestorms that hit the region. The electronic networking, he noted,served a dual purpose–distributing information to customers whoneeded it quickly and easily, and reinforcing the relationshipbetween client and agency.

Reinforcing that relationship, Mr. Anderson noted, also meansbeing smart and honest with your customers. As an example, he citedthe response to a question from one of Vaughan Insurance Agency'scustomers, which the agency honestly answered in its blog–that theice storms would increase premiums. However, he noted, the agencyalso pointed out that while increases might not be avoidable, theagency “can help you find more affordable coverage.”

Katie Herbst, senior marketing communications specialist forproperty-casualty marketing at Ohio-based Westfield Insurance, saidthe company asked some of its experts to begin writing a blog ontopics that agents would be interested in. Once they got started,she said, they found it easy to expand and continue the blog andhave come to love writing it.

She also noted how easy it was for the carrier's experts towrite the blogs because it is a conversation that is being carriedon with agents anyway.

When it comes to writing blogs, Cindy Adams, vice president ofinformation technology for the independent brokerage Holmes Murphy& Associates in Des Moines, Iowa, said that few bloggers startoff writing well, but as they become more experienced they expandthe blogs and become better at them.

As far as controlling the message, Ms. Herbst said anythingnegative written about the company by an employee is treated thesame way it would be in any publicly published forum.

As the company reviewed the issue of posting items over theInternet, she said, the disciplinary issues they discussed werealready in the employee handbook. She added that whatever the rulesare that the company develops, they need to promote–notdiscourage–social networking access over the Web.

A newer form of social networking is Twitter–a quick micro-blogof no more than 140 characters, Mr. Priest explained.

The benefit of Twitter, according to Mr. Anderson, is thatpeople can quickly learn about niche interests, such as the AMS“secret session” demonstrated.

On the security side, Ms. Adams warned that users should avoidputting links into the text of blogs that could lead toquestionable sites. She also recommended keeping virus softwarecurrent–although the first line of defense, she noted, is usingcommon sense.

“The line is blurring between the business and the personal,”Ms. Herbst pointed out, recommending that companies “go slow” whenstarting social networking outreach programs.

The panelists said agencies and companies need to monitorpostings and know what is being said about them, noting that Googleand Twitter have feeds that allow users to keep informed about whatis being written about their brand online.

“It is worse not to know,” said Ms. Herbst, adding that beingaware of any buzz about a company over the Internet should not beconfined to social networks.