Consistency is Key! Creating Meaningful Social Media Strategies with Cindy Crescenzo

For the second year in a row, PICA has involved Crescenzo Communications in our annual workshop, with very good reason. Their contributions to our learning have been phenomenal! While we’ve had some primers on the ins and outs of various social media mechanisms, Cindy Crescenzo joined us this year to help us understand how to use social media to our companies’ advantage. Today’s recap is brought to you by Kirsten Faherty.

“Social media is necessary in one way, shape or form. Your customers expect it or you’re shutting them up,” Cindy explains.

After all, social media is cost effective, right? And everyone is online, right? So, does one method of communicating replace another? And how do we know what works best for the communicator and the company?

Cindy broke it down for us by explaining that in order to communicate using social media, we need a purpose, plan, real voice and way to tell if it is effective.

Through a series of examples and studies, Cindy showed us how Facebook and Twitter can be used in ways that guide comments and participation, so your online communications don’t just turn into a giant complaint chat room.

The State Farm example showed us that their Facebook wall could be used for much more than general comments. “It’s a conversation, not a marketing tool,” Cindy shared. So, while it is insurance-related, it’s not blatantly saying, ‘buy our insurance…we’re the best.’ Rather, it’s showing something that State Farm believes in and the insurers commenting on the site are telling the stories for them.

A great tip that Cindy shared with is was to “use You Tube to thwart bandwidth issues.” So, instead of begging for space on your company’s intranet, reserve a You Tube channel and put your videos there.

Twitter is something that has always seemed tricky to me…how can it be taken seriously when so many individuals use it so frivolously?

Cindy advised, “Put a person behind the social media, not just your company’s name. Who is the person? Whoever is closest to the problem.” Makes total sense…let the person in your organization who is in the know and who can resolve the issue be that particular Twitter account’s voice. Brilliant!

Beyond improving and building your own company’s online presence, what can we do to better serve our agents?

Allstate provides templates for their agents to customize and even feeds useful content. The agent’s part is making it happen…they take the initiative to update the information and provide their own Twitter and Facebook information. From our Allstate example of Joe Schneider, we can see how his carrier-provided webpage complements with his more conversational Facebook page.

What about the other things we’ve all debated, like how to handle negative comments, or knowing which method is the best, or finding the time to maintain the sites? (We know firsthand about this, right, PICA? As we build this site and redesign our static site? It’s HARD to keep up with them all!) Measuring the usage through comments, hits and impact can let you know where your time is best spent and also reveal where you’re spending time and don’t need to.

Remember the Six Phases of Social Media that Cindy described? I think a lot of us are still in Phase Two: aware that it exists, but aren’t sure that it applies to our company. I like what Cindy said about this; that we should “consider the end result.” So I think we’re all ready to move on to Phase Three: experimenting with social media.

If that’s where you feel like you are, remember Cindy’s good advice to refrain from being an evangelist about communicating this way, and construct a good case for social media by tying it to and existing business objective.

For more information about Cindy’s presentation, you can click here for a limited time to view her PowerPoint and share the notes with your supervisor as you look for ways to incorporate social media into your business culture and communication plans. Please remember that Crescenzo Communications can work directly with your organization to review all of your communications and help you plan for the future.

PICA's 2011 Workshop Agenda - Let's Try Something New!

Friends,

We've finally got our plans together and we're ready to tell you the GREAT news about our 2011 Workshop Agenda.

And wow. I mean, WOW! We have had some fantastic speakers at past workshops, but this year...this year...well, just see for yourselves:

We've got:

• Louisiana's Commissioner of Insurance, Jim Donelon, to give us the scoop on insurance trends and the state of our industry
• Professor Ashley Nelson of Tulane University to talk to us about effective writing using social media
• Cindy Crescenzo to give us a crash course on using all lines social media to promote our companies the right way
• Kay Wilkins, CEO of the Southeast Louisiana Chapter Red Cross to talk about disaster preparedness and response
• An AWESOME panel of local Agents, moderated by Ted Besesparis (and yeah, you get to ask them questions about how they'd like to receive communications and what they need from our organizations!!)
• Angelyn Treutel of the Treutel Insurance Agency to revive our spirits and remind us of all the good our industry does.
• A field trip to a Habitat for Humanity site where we can literally dig in and HELP someone in need

See what I mean? This year has so much potential...this might be the GREATEST PICA WORKSHOP EVER!

The only thing that will make it better is if you are there...so, what do you think? Are you in?

Headin' to New Orleans in 2011!

Hello, PICA People!

Great news - we've got location, dates and the beginnings of a fantastic agenda for you. Here's a message from our Chairman, Patrick Faherty, (who also made the awesome logo for the conference...thanks, Patrick!)

Dear PICA Members and Friends:

Make plans now to join PICA May 16-18, 2011, for our Annual Workshop in New Orleans!

More details will follow, but for those working on budgets for next year:
• We’ll stay at the Royal Bourbon Hotel, located at 800 Iberville Street in the heart of the French Quarter. We’ve secured a room rate of $139, including for those who would like to check in up to two days early or stay an additional two days. Click here for more information about this property.
• Workshop rates remain flat, with Early Bird Registration set at just $400 for PICA members and $550 for non-members. We will keep Early Bird rates available until mid-March for those of you who need to pay out of your 2011 budget.
• One-way transportation costs from Louis Armstrong New Orleans Airport (MSY) are $15 on the shuttle and $29 by taxi.

Thanks to the surveys from our 2010 conference, we’ve picked some great topics for the 2011 workshop. We’re still developing a firm agenda that we’re confident you’ll enjoy, including opportunities to:
• Dig into a half-day session about how to really use social media to benefit your company and establish a credible online presence
• Hear from independent agents about their communication wish lists from insurance carriers
• Learn about how New Orleans triumphed over catastrophe and what role insurance played as the city bounced back.

This promises to be a most interesting workshop in a very interesting location. For more information, be sure to bookmark the PICA website and we look forward to seeing you in the Big Easy next May!

Thanks,
Patrick

Workshop Summary - Michael Wilder Adjusts PICA's Social Media Mindset

During our 2010 Workshop, Michael Wilder opened our eyes to the possibilities of how social media and networking could impact a business. Michael is a Learning Technologies Specialist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Past PICA Chairman Kirsten Amspaugh gives her account of Michael's time with us:

Michael Wilder opened his super-informative session by assuring us that he wasn't there to convince us one way or another about whether we should include social media as a part of a communication strategy for our companies. However, by the end of his session, I think most of us felt that in order to move our organizations forward, we needed to think long and hard about using social media effectively.

Michael describes how social media can be used to generate energy about a group or product.

Since many people look at Facebook and Twitter as places to play on the Internet, why should we consider using them as tools to promote something as serious as insurance? Michael made two great points - first, that the idea of marketing has always been to cast our nets as far and wide as we can to catch the most possible fish. Second...social media is FREE! The only investment we are required to make when using it is our time.

So, how could social media help a business? Well, it's as simple as the concept of word of mouth: user reviews of a product can influence the purchases of their friends. Social media sites give companies an opportunity to establish an approachable identity online. Users can view the preferences of people they trust or admire and then rely on friend recommendations instead of only having the "company spiel" as a source of information.

What is attractive about social media? It's immediate, selective and easy to use. It allows people - even amidst the hustle and bustle and noise - to connect with authenticity.

Michael used Zappos as a case study to show us how one company has used social media to promote its products, connect upper management to the public, and create an online identity that is personal, approachable and likeable.

One concern I had as an insurance communicator was, "Do we have an obligation to respond if someone posts a comment to our corporately sponsored social media site?" Michael says that the obligation to respond isn't there, but a marketing opportunity exists when we do. Trends in posts can reveal where we need to improve. "You're saying, 'We're going to be dedicated to improving our service'...that is the only obligation you're creating with your online presence," Michael explained.

An additional thought Michael shared is that some businesses hesitate to have an online presence because they don't want to create a place where negative comments can collect and dwell. "Just because you don't have an account doesn't mean people aren't communicating. Negativity can be revealed anyway," he explained. But when we have a specific place online for communication to happen, we do have more control because we can see the comments and do something about them, whereas without a presence, we may or may not see the comments...and we'll miss the opportunity to improve service.

You can review portions of Michael's presentation to PICA and see the video he shared with us illustrating the prevalence of social media here.

Exciting Times for PICA, Inc.

We're currently working on advertising our PICA workshop for the first time ever! We've always relied on word of mouth and repeat attendees to make the PICA workshops a success, and it's worked just fine. But as we try to bring new faces (with new ideas and enthusiasm attached to them) we're also prepared to try new things. This year, that means advertising.

What are some of your favorite insurance publications, either online or print? Go ahead and list them in the comments section and we'll consider them as we look at the best ways to promote PICA...

Thanks!

Workshop Update

Hello!

Thanks for all the great feedback and e-mails supporting our choice of location for the 2010 PICA workshop!

We have some phenomenal speakers, including Steve Crescenzo of Crescenzo Communications, Michael Wilder of UNLV, Sharon Exharos of Realty Executives and Marko Sackren of Red Rock Media Group, Inc. A fantastic group of speakers to re-energize your communication talents.

So, if you've got colleagues who have never attended one of our workshops, why not get them to come on out and give PICA a try? With topics ranging from social media to going green to publication perfection, there is something at PICA's 2010 workshop for every insurance communicator. Any minute now, the official agenda and registration sheets will be posted on our static site. (I'm too impatient to wait...so excited about this workshop that I had to put something up now!)

Plus, let's face it...it's a bargain. I mean really. You want more knowledge and your company wants to be frugal with all expenses - including education. I challenge you to find a better, more informative, fun, well-rounded conference in a great location for less than our tuition! Not possible!

I'm looking forward to seeing you in Las Vegas. If you haven't asked about working this in to your 2010 budget, now is a great time... If you have asked, register early for more savings!