Social Media – is it the “Green Eggs and Ham” of insurance, reinsurance and risk management professionals?

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Mairi

I do love Dr Seuss. From reading the books as a child to reading them to my own children, they really are a joy. One of my favourites is “Green Eggs and Ham”.

For those of you who have not had the fortune to read this kids book, it is the story is a tale of Sam who tries to persuade someone to eat green eggs and ham. “You do not like them. So you say. Try them! Try them! and you may. Try them and you may, I say.”

Well I do sometimes feel like Sam, trying to persuade the insurance, reinsurance and risk management world that social media is not the devil’s work and actually, believe it or not, is a really useful and effective communications tool. Sometimes I do, finally, get someone to taste and they don’t just like it, they love it. So, I urge you to take the time, log on to Facebook, Twitter, google for some blogs, pop in insurance, reinsurance or risk management into YouTube and see what is out there – there is a whole world of communication developing. Continue reading →

How to convince an executive to invest in social media? Speak his language.

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Mairi

I was just reading the blog post by Mike Wise on getting executives to “buy in” to social media – and it made me think to post up my thoughts on this here as it is something I deal with all the time.

I spend a lot of time with executives talking about social media. And I am often brought into board rooms to help the executives understand what social media is and look at it to see if it can help them in their particular field.

To get the “buy in” (I don’t like that word, but it fits the bill), I feel I need to look at it from their perspective. I take time to show them that there are good ways to use these things – and the four pillars – blogging, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn – are simply tools that will make it easier to communicate with other people. Just like when websites came in. Or emails became the norm. Or Blackberrys took over the insurance world. Continue reading →

The risk and rewards of Facebook

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Mairi

Part II

Risk Management

For years the insurance and reinsurance markets have been talking about Enterprise Risk Management. Well, believe it or not, these days, risk managers should be looking at not just media, and communications in general, but also taking a good hard look at social media.

Again, Facebook is high on the list of factors that could impact on reputational risk. Facebook is probably the least useful tool so far in business to business social media for insurance and reinsurance markets. Those doing it well include Insurance Journal, Travelers and of course the rather wonderful Allianz Knowledge – who astonish and amaze at every turn.

So – don’t get to “het up” about it, as we say in Scotland. Like all social media, it is not rocket science – it just takes a wee bit of time to learn and understand – and a whole lot of common sense. Just think about what you want to say and who you want to say it to – before you do anything – and don’t do anything on Facebook that does not fit in with your corporate image or guidelines.

For those new to this, have a look at the recent Business Insurance webinar on the risks associated with social media – Marsh’s Simon Barker makes a lot of sense when he talks about social media in context of enterprise risk management and also on how to react to negative comments. Continue reading →

The risk/reward of social media in insurance and reinsurance

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Mairi

Our industry deals with risk every minute of every day. So it is a little surprising to find out how little thought has gone into the risk/reward equation for insurers and reinsurers and the use of social media.

Here I’ll look at the most common risks associated with using social media in insurance and reinsurance. Continue reading →

Reinsurance and insurance social media – ones to watch in 2010…

Posted on January 8, 2010 by Mairi

As we start a new year, I though my first blog of 2010 would be a list of who to watch and listen to in the world of reinsurance and insurance in the context of social media. It is still quite a small list, and if you know of anyone I’ve missed out, please let me know and I’ll keep updating it. Continue reading →

Five key tips for using social media in the re/insurance markets

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Mairi

In the past couple of months, word about the importance of social media has definitely reached the ears of those at the top of the insurance and reinsurance markets.

Many may not understand the ins and outs of it all, but a growing band of CEOs and marketing executives are starting to dip their toes into these unknown waters – take as an example, Munich Re America, which is now on Twitter.

For those of us who are carefully trying to find the best use for social media in our part of the corporate world, helping remove scales from their eyes is a big part of our job. We come in and look to see if this would work as part of their overall PR strategy and then help work out a digital strategy. Then we can help implement it.

This is how we do it:

Watch what others are doing in this space. Showing examples of just how well it can be done and how it can be used is a great way of converting the uninitiated. But there are very still few out there with an implemented plan – reinsurance brokers Guy Carpenter (for blogging), US attorneys Goldberg Segalla (especially on LinkedIn)… Us folks at rein4ce… Erm. That’s it (bar a few good publications and individuals).
Working out a digital PR strategy. A lot of what is out there already is all based on business to consumer, on engaging and talking with customers, which is fine if you are Confused.com (who, by the way, spend just 10 to 15% of its PR budget on digital, which seems surprisingly low). But for the brokerages, London Market, Bermuda Market (click through and that will take you to a good PwC survey on the Bermuda Market) and other global reinsurance giants, this model does not work.
Keep it corporate – and legal. Remember the old adage of don’t put anything online that you wouldn’t want your mum to read or your boss to see. Corporate guidelines need to be set. And by having a properly run campaign, you can minimise the risk of litigation by rogue employees blogging about your company in their own time – as it ring-fences your corporate brand and identity under your own umbrella, which is controlled by you.
What is it worth? In our world, social media cannot be measured by a straightforward “ROI” as so many claim. It is much more intangible than that. But some if it can be measured – by the number of clicks on your website, by how many people log on and read your blog, by how many people follow you on Twitter, by how many mentions you get online. When helping our clients in this world, we have to show the pitfalls. There is the thorny issue of moderation – who monitors and reports what is being said. And implementing the resources required to feed an audience that is hungry for content can be costly, especially because the key point about social media in this sector is about providing quality content.
Keeping it up. Consistency is also important. Many fail to keep up with the idea once the decision has been made – you cannot set up a Twitter feed or a blog and not keep it updated. Generally, a lack of resources can stop the best laid plan in its tracks.

Mairi Mallon heads up the niche PR company rein4ce and blogs and tweets as reinsurancegirl – rein4ce is also on facebook if you’d like to join the group type in rein4ce on facebook’s search box.

From Quill, to Biro, to Mouse… to Twitter

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Mairi

This week I’ve been working on developing a social media marketing plan for one of my favourite clients, Yellowblox, an insurance communications hub.

It has been great fun, and showing the company just how easy it is to use and how it can specifically target the very niche areas of reinsurance and insurance technology it works in has been deeply satisfying.

It is great to help companies in what is a very traditional market see how effective social media can be both as a networking tool but also to build brand awareness.

Blogging is an obvious way to put yourself forward as an expert and to gain a loyal following. And the benefits of social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook with their huge user numbers are also well documented.

And while Twitter may not be for everyone, there are more and more insurance and reinsurance-related people signing up to find out what all the hype is about.

There have been many jokes about how behind the times Lloyd’s of London is when it comes to technology. But look at the way reinsurance companies have embraced the super-techie world of modelling – and even in a smaller way, who is nowadays not plugged 24/7 into their BlackBerry? And if you have learned to use your BlackBerry, you can certainly blog, Tweet and join in the conversation – it really is not that hard.

In just a few years Lloyd’s has been pulled (admittedly kicking and screaming) out of much of its “deal now, details later” culture through the use of the kind of technology that Yellowblox advocates. Many worried (and still do) that the advent of all this new technology would stop the face-to-face meetings that so characterise the London Market. That simply has not happened.

The new ways of communicating with social media also will not replace human interaction. Instead it will enhance interaction and allow us to reach a far wider audience.

From writing this blog, Tweeting and taking part in LinkedIn conversations, my company’s website has had visitors from around the world. In fact, as many people from the UK as the US regularly follow my blog, and I have a strong following in the Middle East and India. Go figure.

So, for those of you in the London Market who have not had a shot on it all yet, go lay down that quill pen, and (while the boss is not looking) log onto LinkedIn, Twitter or facebook and have a wee poke around. There is even a Lloyd’s of London page on facebook, with less than a dozen members… You’ll be amazed who you will find on there.

White noise

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Mairi

I’m going to try not to rant… but I don’t think I can help myself. I’ve been going on about the benefits of social media and how they can be used in the insurance and reinsurance markets. But to be really successful, you have to have quality – both in the content you publish and the people who follow you.

There is no point in having your website at the top of your Google ranking if when people get there and it is filled with rubbish designed purely to drive up your ranking. Continue reading →

Mairi is digitally distinct

Posted on July 20, 2009 by Mairi

Hey – I’m now digitally distinct – no surprise there, I’ve been working hard at my on-line presence. But this is fun to do, so log on and take a look.