Let’s face it: some brands have it easier than others when it comes to social media.
But while the Harley Davidsons and Coca-Colas of the world have a leg up, companies in “unsocial” industries (pharma, financial services, manufacturing, I’m talking to you) can still take advantage of the opportunity that social media offers.
Matthew Lehman, the Web Experience Director at Progressive Insurance, has some great suggestions for how companies in “unsocial” (and yes, sometimes downright unpopular) industries can use social media to boost customer satisfaction.
Video: Social Media in ‘Unsocial’ Industries
Matthew’s key tips:
Find Your “In”: So your target audience doesn’t want to talk about their finances online. That shouldn’t keep you from connecting. Instead, lift up above your products and services (even above your category) to find a topic that gets your target audience talking.
For Progressive, it was catastrophes. While few of us get excited about insurance, many of us have questions and concerns when natural disasters strike. To connect with customers, Progressive fields questions about catastrophe preparation and disaster response via Twitter.
- Mine Your Assets: Use social media to extend already existing content. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, think creatively about how you can leverage existing brand assets to engage with customers online. Sponsorships, cause marketing initiatives, and company folklore/tradition are three great places to start.
Progressive looked for products that people felt strongly about in order to drive engagement. For example, Progressive created a pet photo application for Facebook that built brand affinity while (subtly) increasing awareness about Progressive’s pet accident insurance offering.
- Use the Same Yardstick: When it comes to demonstrating the value of social media, stick to the tried and trodden path. Use the same language, select similar goals, and structure familiar-looking dashboards to make it easier to communicate how social media is moving the needle.
At Progressive, Net Promoter Score (NPS) rules the roost. Since all of the company’s efforts are oriented around increasing their NPS score (or the likelihood that a customer will recommend), Matthew clearly aligned social media to that metric. Matthew worked with Progressive’s social media monitoring provider to aggregate and classify comments and Tweets as “positive,” “negative,” or “neutral” – in effect, actualizing Progressive’s Net Promoter Score to give the company a more realistic picture of customer sentiment.
MLC members, check out the Council’s Social Media Showcase to see how other companies in “unsocial” industries are using social media to connect with customers. Which companies have you been most impressed with?
