Disaster Communications: We Can Do More with Social Media
October 4, 2011 by Rick Morgan · Leave a Comment
This post is a follow-up to the #Irene #Insurance blog I wrote on August 30. That post was written during Hurricane Irene and I talked about how agents, carriers and associations were leveraging social tools to effectively connect with their customers and communicate valuable information.
Since that post, much of the East Coast has suffered significant flooding from both Irene and Tropical Storm Lee—and the companies mentioned in my earlier post along with many other firms continued to make effective use of social networking to stay in touch with their customers.
They used everything from e-newsletter and blogs to Twitter and YouTube to post information on how to contact carriers, storm updates, emergency shelters locations, road closings, office hours, FEMA info, tips on cleaning, preparing a disaster supply kit, storm surge maps, “thank you’s” to emergency responders, photos of local flooding, and insurance policy coverage information. Read more
#Irene #Insurance
August 30, 2011 by Rick Morgan · 2 Comments
I had intended to write about the importance of staying true to yourself when creating an online presence. But as I write this post, Hurricane Irene is barreling down on North Carolina and then heading toward New York City. So, instead I decided to write about how our industry has been using social networking to communicate valuable disaster-related information to their customers.
Often, I hear agents who are not yet actively participating in social networking question its value and/or its return on investment (ROI).Clearly, the use of social networking by our industry during the past couple of weeks has demonstrated that “social” is not just about ROI. During the earthquake and now the hurricane many East Coast agents, carriers and associations effectively used social networking to connect with their followers and communicate valuable information. Some examples include:
- New York agent, Ryan Hanley who created a video blog offering, “6 Hurricane Preparedness Tips for Homeowners”
- Connecticut agency The Founders Group blog posting, “Hurricane Irene is on her way – Tips for protecting your home!”
- Many Facebook posts and status updates by Connecticut agent V.F. McNeil Insurance including links to the town’s emergency preparation and a request by the governor to sign up for CT Alert Emergency Notification.
Innovation vs. Improvement
August 8, 2011 by Rick Morgan · Leave a Comment
I have been thinking a lot lately about a blog post I read a couple of months ago. The post was by Amber Naslund and she clearly articulated the distinction between improvement and innovation and makes the case for needing both. She states, “Some things we do will be rooted in long time, sound practice, but will need to be modernized or reworked a bit to adapt to the speed, culture, and communication realities that are implied by a more social business. But because social media and social business aren’t just “better marketing,” (this applies to other technologies as well) some things we do will need to be utterly and completely abandoned, reinvented, or established anew.”
To help drive home the importance of innovation, she quoted Henry Ford as saying, “If he’d asked the American people what they really wanted, they’d have said faster horses.”
I have been thinking a lot about it lately because I think our industry has a tough time making the distinction—let alone acting—on situations when innovation rather than improvement is needed. Sometimes, improvement simply is not good enough. We fail if we apply new technology to old processes. New technologies give us the chance to innovate and create new processes. Read more
Social Networking – Its Impact on Your Brand
June 21, 2011 by Rick Morgan · Leave a Comment
While it is common for people to think of their logo as their brand – it is so much more than that. Brand is everything and everything is brand. Your brand is the impression or feeling someone has about your firm and is formed and evolves from every customer touch point or interaction with your company. Brand is your storefront, your reception area, your employees, and your voicemail system. Brand includes all of your communication tools. In the digital age your brand is the user interface, content, and functionality of your website. Brand is also your Linkedin profile, your Twitter activity, and your Facebook page.
Today more than ever brand is being defined by consumers and what they think is more important or has more influence than your brand messaging. Interestingly enough, even if you are not engaged in social networking it is having an impact on your brand. In fact, not engaging in social networking may be doing great harm to your brand. Read more
Social Media and A Level Playing Field
May 3, 2011 by Rick Morgan · 7 Comments
According to the Small Business Administration, “Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all firms, they create more than half of the private nonfarm gross domestic product, and they create 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs.”
It wasn’t that long ago that the Internet was expected to be the great equalizer. That is, the Internet would provide independent agents with the ability to expand their reach and the give them the tools necessary to compete with the big boys.
As it turned out large well-funded direct writers applied slick technology and even slicker ad campaigns to buy attention and garner consumer trust. The end result was that most online sales went to a relatively small number of sites controlled by large insurance companies. Small business was simply out spent and outgunned by big business.
Social Media: Open for Business
December 14, 2010 by Rick Morgan · 1 Comment
Many continue to doubt the effectiveness of social media in the B2B space. My experience and instinct tell me this is a big mistake. Social networking can and does work in business-to-business situations..
Clearly the tools of the social Web work well with individual consumers. But they also can work and they are relevant to communicating with, marketing to, or servicing business clients.
The all-too-common excuse (‘what works in personal lines won’t work in commercial lines’) is an argument that is not only wrong–but it’s an excuse that is denying many companies the opportunity to reap the benefits of the social Web.
The truth of the matter is that whether creating a relationship with a personal lines or commercial lines customer you are doing so with individuals. All consumers want to “feel” that they know their business partners and want a relationship built on trust. Social media allows you to humanize and personalize your corporate brand.
Association Leadership, Defined
October 5, 2010 by Peter van Aartrijk · 1 Comment
Peter van Aartrijk and the late Akio Takahashi at a Big 'I' Japan convention in Tokyo.
This is a blog entry I should have written more than a year ago. Perhaps I’ve been in denial about losing such a good friend.
The photo here is me with the late Akio Takahashi. In the last several years, I’ve had the honor of talking about the U.S. Independent Agency System at seminars coordinated by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Japan. This was taken at IIABJ’s second annual convention in Tokyo, held June 2008 in a conference room of Kyoei Fire & Marine Insurance Co.
Takahashi was IIABJ’s first president. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He chaired a strong, multi-faceted brokerage, World Service Corp., based in Osaka. In all of these capacities, he was a true leader.
Takahashi died on April 5, 2009. I received the following note from his staff, which said in part: “Mr. Takahashi visited Europe and Asia in February and March, and he was looking forward to attend the IIABA meeting in U.S.A. this month. His sudden departure saddens us greatly, but we will continue to uphold his dream of changing the Japanese insurance business. We thank you for your friendship during his lifetime, and look forward to your continued friendship to his family and World Insurance Group.” Read more
Guest Blogger Pat Alexander, InsuranceEcoSystem.com Founder: ‘Brand and Message Are Inseparable’
July 26, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Pat Alexander, founder of InsuranceEcosystem.com
The Aartrijk team is pleased to welcome — for the first time — guest bloggers from in and around the insurance industry, starting this month.
To kick off this occasional series, we welcome Pat Alexander, founder of industry blog InsuranceEcosystem.com and a Brand Camp 2009 alumna.
About Pat: In 2009, she launched InsuranceEcosystem.com as a resource for the insurance industry and a way to spark more conversation about her areas of expertise in independent agencies, coaching and technology. She describes Insurance Ecosystem as a blog that “provide[s] you with communicators that don’t normally blog but have great views and information to share. Each of these individuals … [has] so much to contribute in their area of expertise.”
1. What has happened in the past year with your firm now in the area of branding? What changes or initiatives have you been working on?
After Aartrijk Brand Camp 2009, I developed a plan to redesign my primary Web site, PatAlexander.com, and give it a fresh look and to develop a blog where individuals of interest to insurance agents could blog regularly or at their whim. Developing this blog included developing a brand for it as well as an audience.