Joanna Belbey is social media and compliance specialist with Actiance.

Insurance agents and carriers have long relied on in-person relationships and word of mouth to build awareness and trust with their audience, which in many cases, leads to new customers. However, when harnessed effectively, social media provides agents with an opportunity to develop and deepen personal relationships by engaging with those they may never meet face-to-face.

Over the past few years, the corporate marketing departments of insurance companies have used social media in an attempt to build awareness, trust, and find new customers. According to a report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (The Use of Social Media in Insurance), one common approach is to incentivize consumers to "like" them by donating a dollar to a worthy cause. The rationale is that by clicking the "like" button on a company Facebook page, that "like" is broadcast to their social network, and their online friends of the "liker" may be inclined to do the same. Although this may build corporate awareness, and please senior management with large numbers of "likes", it's hard to believe that this generates any significant revenues that can be measured.

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