Curiosity killed the cat, or so the saying goes. This can be especially true for those toying with social media and that have yet to develop a real strategy for handling the influx and simultaneous outpouring of information generated by this phenomenon on a minute-by-minute basis. Social media is more than reconnecting with long-lost relatives and high school classmates, today it's serious business.

In my experience, social media is user-generated content distributed through social interactions facilitated on an almost real-time basis by the Internet or other forms of electronic distribution. It all sounds innocent enough, but keep in mind as I told you above, social media is serious business. For insurance organizations and professionals, this contrast between a somewhat frivolous perception of social media and the reality of it as a business platform or tool is what makes it as dangerous as it is useful and effective.

Paying Attention
Those paying attention know that social media is not a new concept. Contrary to popular belief, social media didn't just appear on the scene when Gen X became old enough to use the Internet. Social media has been around for years, in forms you likely never identified as social media before. For example, email is a social media tool, as is AOL Instant Messenger, Internet message boards, and even Wikipedia.

It is also important to note that social media functions much like an umbrella, covering many types of tools. There are social networking sites (like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), social bookmarking tools (like Digg and Delicious), instant messaging platforms (like AOL Instant Messenger and MS Messenger) and independently guided web vehicles such as blogs. But it is the power of community that comes built into today's social-media tools that intrigue insurance organizations and businesses around the world with the promise of connections to constituents for pennies on any advertising dollar. The ability to share, react to, comment on and discuss user-generated content is very powerful, and combined with a healthy dose of curiosity, is likely what got you involved in today's social media.

Unless you are under the age of 25, you didn't grow up using these tools. But, curiosity killed the cat, right? I got hooked into Facebook to view a photo album shared by a friend. Many others start working with social media because of a personal connection as well. Don't you want to know what your 15-year old is doing on the Internet? What game is your son playing for hours on end and who are all those people he is playing with? If you really want to know, the easiest way to find out is to sign up and sign on. Once that is done, you are in the game.

Social media usage continues to grow, and in spite of reports that it's just another trend, it should be clear by now that social media is not going to dry up and disappear. New tools continue to appear and the way we use these tools continues to evolve. At this point, any insurance professional inclined to dismiss social media because it is not yet "mainstream," or because buying decisions are not made based on social media interactions is at best na?ve and at worst negligent.

Defining the Business Benefits
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, insurance organizations are traditionally conservative, preferring the hide and watch approach when it comes to new technologies, tools and ways of doing business. On the bright side, this means insurance organizations are less likely than those in other industries to invest in a risky business venture. It also means they will forfeit new business dollars by dismissing changing needs and consumer demands as simple "trends."

I'm not really "old school," but having grown up and started my career before even the Internet was popular, I admit having a hard time at first finding the business benefits of social media for insurance. The personal benefits are easily identifiable, but how does a company improve the bottom line through social media? Should that even be the goal? Nonetheless, today insurance organizations of all kinds, types and sizes are getting involved in social media and finding ways to achieve the business benefits so desired.

Agents are building lists of prospects and local communities of insurance policyholders online. Insurance companies are providing new channels for customer service and support. And even insurance technology vendors are getting in the game by providing forums and user communities, access to technical resources, and thought leadership on subjects of importance to insurance companies and other stakeholders in the process. This modest toe dip into the waters of social media has afforded the insurance industry a tantalizing glimpse into what the future may hold, and for some the vision is almost mind-boggling.

User groups and customer service alternatives aside, how long do you really think it will be before insurance companies base relationships with technology vendors at least partially on the quality of the company's online presence and its ability to deliver product via social media? Just how far out are the days when Facebook pages and online photo albums will be mined for demographic data and hazardous behavior traits that should raise your auto deductible? The answer is not long and not far. The medium itself is growing rapidly in terms of usage and capabilities.

Consider the growth in usage and popularity of professional networking site LinkedIn as a point in fact. This social network launched on May 5, 2003 by inviting approximately 350 of the founders' closest friends to "connect." It was well into 2008 before LinkedIn launched a mobile application, but according to the company Web site, LinkedIn celebrated "its sixth anniversary with 600 cupcakes and 40 million members." Today, executive recruiters recommend LinkedIn as a requisite part of any job search, and LinkedIn recommendations have become the de facto announcement that someone is looking for a job.

Your Own Toe Dip
Hopefully, I have made you seriously consider how the growth potential and sheer staying power of social media can affect your business. Now, let's talk about your first toe dip into the social media waters. The most important piece of advice I can give you is to have a plan. The plan will be different for each and every insurance organization, but it MUST exist. The privacy of policyholders, the record retention requirements of SOX, and the expectations of stakeholders in the insurance process make it imperative for you to remember that involvement in social media can lead to a good end or a bad one.

Here are some steps insurance organizations should take BEFORE getting involved on any level:

  1. Define your purpose and goals and make certain they can be mapped back to strategic corporate goals and initiatives.
  2. Identify the specific individuals, departments or functional areas that will be involved internally, and outline how much time and effort your organization is willing and able to invest.
  3. Collaboratively set strategy and learn to use your new tools while maintaining consistency in corporate messaging and branding.
  4. Implement an integrated plan that will integrate your social media tools with existing tools, departments, individuals and channels.
  5. Calculate your return on investment (ROI) not in obvious numbers of Twitter followers and Facebook friends, but by measuring success in positive customer interactions and proactive ideas gathered from social media channels.
  6. Re-evaluate and redirect on a regular basis to keep your goals within reach and your approach fresh.

Social media puts you in the hot seat, and from the first moment you dip your toe into the social media "pool," you must be ready to act. Not react, but act. You must be aware of the response you want to create, the interactions you may generate, and you must be prepared to respond and to continue pushing the right buttons to generate interactions. If done correctly, social media is not a one way street, it's a superhighway. Your posts, tweets, pings, and status updates will generate opinions in the minds of your existing and potential policyholders, agents, brokers, vendor partners and industry colleagues. By approaching social media in a strategic way, insurance organizations can make certain that curiosity doesn't kill the cat.

Jennifer Overhulse-King is the principal owner of St. Nick Media Services, a B2B PR, marketing and media services firm consulting to firms in all industries but with special areas of concentration in technology and insurance. She can be reached via email (jen@stnickmedia.com), Twitter (www.twitter.com/stnickmedia), Facebook (St. Nick Media Services), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/stnickmedia), and many more places.

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