Twitter

• @TheGEICOGecko – 8,050 Followers & 1,236 Tweets
• @GEICO – 6,845 Followers & 2,598 Tweets

GEICO’s Twitter pages, @TheGEICOGecko and @GEICO, were so-so.  The number of followers was about a third of @StateFarm and @StateFarmNation, which is surprising because of the large Gecko following. GEICO does tweet almost every business day, mostly touching on popular marketing characters. GEICO does a nice job of intertwining their other social media pages with noticeable links that redirect followers to the GEICO Facebook and YouTube pages. As for the tweets…There is a nice mix of Gecko and recent events such as: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and shopping on Black Friday. However, they do a poor job of tweeting about current pop-culture events that connect with the average twitter demographic.

Overall, GEICO puts forth the effort on Twitter…just not to the level of State Farm Nation.

Twitter Grade:  C+

Facebook

• The GEICO Gecko – 201,080 “Likes”
• GEICO – 198,666 “Likes”
• GEICO Motorcycle – 5,002 “Likes”
• GEICO Military – 952 “Likes”

GEICO has numerous Facebook pages, many more than the four I listed above (RV, Local Office, Nascar, Careers, Caveman, Kash, and Skytyperse to name a few). Not to mention Warren Buffet has a large following of over 200K. Character appeal is overly apparent with pages dedicated to each of GEICO’s marketing personalities, with the Gecko getting the most love.

GEICO does a great job of bringing the Gecko to life. You’ll notice a lot of pictures and videos of him on Trips to New York and Buffalo.  Shots of the Gecko sightseeing at Niagara Falls…Hanging out with the Bills WR David Nelson at the Buffalo Zoo …Getting a self-portrait in Central Park…Even dancing with the Naked Cowboy in Time Square.

GEICO has a great thing going on Facebook, but again, they haven’t reach their max potential. Relying on the Gecko is working, but there is room for more.

Facebook Grade:  B

YouTube

• GEICO Channel – 16,705 Subscribers & 37,118,819 Million Uploads

GEICO has set the bar for the YouTube standard in the insurance industry.  The number of video uploads and page subscribers far exceed GEICO’s competition. The abundance of activity is a result of successful advertising through various popular characters that star in the GEICO commercials.  The Gecko is the most prominent TV personality on the YouTube page; however, Guinea Pigs, Mr. Butters and the Cockatoo, and the GEICO Question Guy make appearances.

On the top of the webpage, the Gecko is featured, in which consumers can “Follow the Gecko’s Journey.” This feature includes links to the Gecko Facebook page, the Gecko Twitter page, and  GEICO.com.

The number of subscribers, views, and uploads says it all.

YouTube Grade:  A

Overall Grade

GEICO has done a great job of leveraging the popularity of its television marketing. The Gecko is an obvious staple in GEICO marketing, but social media efforts need to be pushed further if they hope to connect with consumers on Facebook and Twitter.  GEICO is one of the best in this space…I just think they can do better.

Social Media Grade:  B+

So while back, I graded Progressive’s social media sites, but after review other companies and due to Flo’s overwhelming popularity, I have decided to re-grade.

Twitter

• @Progressive – 9,838 Followers & 4,245 Tweets
• @ask_progressive – 4,189 Followers & 817 Tweets
• @ItsFlo – 5,627 Followers (+100% from pervious blog/grade) & 605 Tweets (+ 300%)

Halloween might be the most active time of year for @ItsFlo. Various tweeters are tweeting about their Flo Halloween costumes.   Progressive is using the hash tag #dresslikeflo and have a website http://www.progressive.com/dresslikeflo.aspx dedicated to helping consumers dress like Flo. The website has a list of items needed, “how to” video streams, a link to amazon if you want to buy the official Flo costume, a live feed of Flo’s Twitter, a link to Flo’s Facebook page, and a link to get the Flo-isms mobile app.

Based on the heavy activity on @ItsFlo, I must up my grade on Progressive’s Twitter efforts. 

Twitter Grade:  B+

Facebook

• Flo The Progressive Girl Facebook Page – 3.23M “Likes” (+0.53M)
• Progressive Facebook Page – 34,768 “Likes”
• Progressive Motorcycle – 4,538 “Likes”

Flo’s Progressive Page continues to grow and does a great job of touching consumers on Facebook.  The Flo Halloween costume in full force on the Flo The Progressive Girl Facebook page. Fans are posting pictures of their costumes and the amount of post is overwhelming.  On Twitter you saw a couple of negative tweets to #dresslikeflo, but its all positive wall post and experiences shard on Flo’s Facebook page.

Progressive’s Motorcycle Facebook Page continues to impress, but Flo takes the cake here.   

Facebook Grade: A

YouTube

• Progressive Channel – 2,597 Subscribers & 5.3 Million Uploads (+2.6M!!!)

In just 6 months, the number of uploaded videos has doubled. That alone shows the success of Progressive’s YouTube page. Classic commercials staring Flo and The Messenger are available for stream. New additions include snapshot testimonials and dress like Flo videos, as well as updated videos on safety awareness and career information. 

Again, the activity on Progressive’s YouTube page is above and beyond. I take back my previous grade.

YouTube Grade:  A

 Overall

Though I have never been a hug Flo fan, I have been pleasantly surprised with the overwhelming love for Flo during this Halloween season.  

Social Media Grade:  A

These questions are from our recent Webinar, “ The Role of Online Advertising in Bank Marketing.”

The Zappo’s example had a panel that said “Why am I seeing this ad”. Do they allow an opt out?
If someone clicks on: “Why am I seeing this ad?”, they are taken to the Web site of Criteo, the advertising technology company behind the Zappos ads, where the ads are explained. Once there, users can opt out. You can view the messaging here:  http://tinyurl.com/3t5oda7

What types of adoption rates have you seen for QR code marketing downloads, and if so, do you have any by channel (i.e. print versus digital out-of-home)?
While we don’t track adoption rates across media per se, we are seeing more QR codes used in direct mail than in previous months.

Have you noticed any of the banks using a unique online media strategy for more urgent offers? Such as a current cd rate?
Savings products – CDs and money markets – are almost always marketed based on the rate. Often a “rate booster” is used as an incentive. For example, customers would receive double interest for a period of time for deposits over a certain amount. Banks have the ability, with online media, to change the rate on a daily basis, if necessary. However, we have not picked anything up that advertises a rate that is good for one day only.

I see QR codes popping up everywhere, and they are being used in several different innovative ways. What do you see as the future of QR codes? Do you think they are going to become a significant channel? Or is this just a trend that will die down soon?
I don’t think that QR codes will fade away – instead I think they’ll increase in popularity. I think they are a useful marketing tool, but companies are still figuring out how to use them. They’re a great way to extend the message or to include information that works better online or in video, than in print. Additionally, it’s a great way for customers to save information. For example, being able to look up the nearest branch location or a phone number and saving that info in the phone. Bank of America is currently using QR codes in direct mail so customers can download its mobile banking app.

Retail is obviously a lot more mature in this space – but aren’t subject to the same compliance rigor that financial services is (i.e. 2 pages of mouse type with every direct mail piece) What are trends or approaches that you’re seeing from financial services¬ that are good ways to handle what will make compliance happy?
The trend is to use a fairly general message in the ad and then include the fine print in the landing pages.

What do you think are the most interesting marketing approaches for upmarket consumers?
Bank of America is piloting a program for its upmarket customers. It’s called Platinum Privileges and is designed for customers with combined balances of $50K+. It’s really a loyalty program – not just a reward program – that provides specialized customer service, special rates on mortgages, CDs and money market accounts, and a reward credit card. The program is currently being piloted in: Arizona, Georgia and Massachusetts.

How does Capital One Bank compare with the brands you’ve covered here?
Capital One focuses mainly on advertising the number of branches it has, or on the interest rates of its savings products. For more information, please contact us.

Do you find that most banks are using email and mobile for promotional or transactional messaging?
Most banks are using email and mobile for customer communications. They are much more focused in the messaging that direct mail is, for obvious reasons. We see banks using email to promote online banking and mobile banking, new features or services, or reminders that the account statement is available online. Mobile so far seems to be reserved for text messages that the customer has set-up to receive or to request information such as balance. For example, customers can set up alerts for instances when an account goes below a certain amount, a deposit is made, an automatic debit is made, etc. Currently Bank of America is allowing customers to text the bank to download its mobile banking app.

What programs have worked best for regional banks, in your research/experience? How do they differ from national banks?
Regional banks utilized the targeting capabilities to a greater degree than the national banks, to ensure they reach potential customers only in their footprint. To a large degree the strategies are similar. The regional banks are slightly more likely to advertise based on free checking, no ATM fees or better service.

What are financial institutions doing in marketing on Facebook and Twitter?
Financial institutions have been somewhat slow to embrace Facebook, although there are some good examples. Chase moved its Community Giving program to Facebook, and it seems to be successful.

Citibank has been using its Wall Street Journal ads to promote its presence on Facebook. The bank is offering exclusive content for its Facebook fans, and the ability to redeem ThankYou points for merchandise. The page has 164,000 “likes” to date, and the page has been available since November 2010.

American Express has a promotion on Facebook called “Link! Like! Love!” which provides members offers based on their Facebook “likes.” Customers choose the deals they “love” and then use their American Express card at the store or online. Customers get the savings through “statement credits” that are reflected on their next statement.
Banks use Twitter to promote events, products, and to respond to customer service issues.

For more information on either of these topics, please contact us.

Do you see a difference in the marketing strategy between banks and credit unions?
Yes, credit unions are more likely to advertise their free services, lower fees and better customer service. We also see them advertise online banking and mobile apps, perhaps in an attempt to communicate that they offer all the services the large banks do.

What is the proper mix of display and search online advertising? 60/40 Display/Search?
I’m not sure there is a general proper mix. I think it’s a matter of evaluating conversion rates and determining which performs better.

Mobile app or Mobile site… which is more important?
I think a mobile app is more important. They are easier to use and offer functionality that a mobile website can’t provide – such as remote deposit and ATM locator.

What advertising tactics seem to be successful in driving new accounts?
Cash incentives are included in almost all direct marketing across all banks, which indicates that they are successful in driving new accounts. In addition, we see banks advertise their online and mobile banking capabilities because these are functions that customers have grown to rely on and expect. As consumers are exposed to more and more media, an integrated message is important so the whole campaign works together and the messaging builds upon previous messages.

After attending a handful of insurance conferences over the past year, there is a ton of buzz surrounding social media and how companies can maximize marketing efforts through these channels. I am having a hard time figuring out why companies think this is the future of marketing. I for one have no interest in tweeting and/or facebooking about my insurance experiences, unless, it’s to complain. YouTube on the other hand is somewhat intriguing with comical commercials from Allstate’s Mayhem and the assortment of GEICO characters.

Progressive, State Farm, GEICO, and Allstate are leaders not only in the insurance industry, but all are innovators in the marketing world. With developing characters like Flo, Mayham, Gecko’s, Cavemen, and LeBron, all four of these carriers have been active on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

As I embark on my 5th year of competitive intelligence analysis and consulting in the insurance industry, I have watched these channels develop, and though I am only one opinion, my demographic is the intended audience of such marketing efforts.

I plan on digging into some of these major P&C insurer’s social media pages/channels and giving my two cents. Are these channels affective? Is the content relevant? Do people follow these companies? What are consumers saying? These are some of the questions I would like to address.
First up…Progressive

Everyone can find something to complain about when it comes to airlines these days. But one area where they seem to be excelling is their social networking skills. JetBlue must have a lot to say because they are the most followed airline on Twitter, and with over 1.6 million followers, people seem to be listening. In fact, JetBlue saw so much action on Twitter that it started an entirely new account dedicated solely to selling unsold seats at the last minute, @JetBlueCheeps.

Southwest Airlines is the second most followed airline on Twitter. Southwest’s Twitter description reads “The LUV Airline! Planes can’t type so @christimcneill is piloting the Twitterverse! For official concerns please use the link provided.” The majority of Southwest tweets seem to be responses to customer comments, announcements or updates. For longer messages that exceed the 140-character limit, the airline provides live links to find additional information.

A recent story in USA Today described how airline tweets were actually helping to ease passenger frustrations. One customer new to flying asked where the best seat on the plane would be for his upcoming trip in order to get the best view. Southwest sought the help of one of its own pilots and advised the customer that the left side would give him a nice view of downtown San Diego and the Pacific Ocean during landing.

Twitter offers a real-time venue for customers to voice their questions or frustrations to the airlines and actually get a response. Twitter has become such an important part of the airline customer service process that JetBlue recently expanded its Twitter team, made up of 17 employees who work around the clock, to respond to messages quicker. Delta Airlines, which is also high on the Twitter follower list, is planning to increase its Twitter team from 9 to 12, according to the same USA Today article. This team will be entirely dedicated to monitoring the customer service channel, @DeltaAssist, 24 hours a day. Delta might not have the most followers, but it does post the most messages per day, around 70.

While Twitter might not be the best way to distribute important information because of its inherent brevity, it is a valuable tool to keep customers up-to-date on where to find more detailed information should an important change or update arise.

The next runner-ups in terms of Twitter followers are Virgin America and TAM Airlines, both nearing 200,000 followers.

I attended a great conference last week sponsored by BDI in New York City on “The Social Consumer”, and was quite impressed with the speakers. Many had just returned from SXSW and everyone was quite ramped up. I just thought I would share a few insights.

The keynote was Bonin Bough – the Director of Digital and Social Media for PepsiCo. He believes that we are becoming 100% digital and it is changing society without us knowing it. Digital is even rewiring our brains and can be addicting (and just to prove it there was a lot of multi-tasking – aka tweeting – going on as you might expect at this conference). He went so far as to say it is changing the course of human evolution. Basically, organizations are no longer the early adopters – individuals are – and it is producing something called “digital fitness.”

Another very interesting presentation came from Stacy Bright at Unilever. She summarized how they had developed a digital strategy for the Dove brand, particularly targeting men. She confirmed what we had suspected would happen during the rise of social media – that women would become the dominant users of the medium and that it might be more difficult to reach men this way. Unilever developed a strategy to reach these men using NCAA athletes who would tweet their endorsements of the products, as well as other content that could be of interest to this demo.
She also noted that women – and moms in particular- over-indexed for all things digital. Mommy blog sites (such as Blog Her and Babycenter) are terrific communities to participate in by offering entrepreneurial opportunities or other types of incentives.

Financial Services and social media did come up (unfortunately I didn’t note the name of the speaker here but I believe it was Paul Hernacki of Definition 6). In the FS industry, because Compliance is the enemy of social media strategy, the recommendation was made to hire a lawyer that is a hybrid between Marketing and Compliance, which would allow the person to see both sides of the coin.

I unfortunately had to step out to do a media interview and missed the last hour, but I’m looking forward to attending the next event.

Does the “punishment” fit the perceived crime?

Wikileaks has been all over the news lately. Both the site itself and its controversial director are subject of much scrutiny. After financial companies Visa and MasterCard decided to cut ties with Wikileaks, Operation Payback was launched by Wikileaks activists and aimed at slowing down or stopping web traffic on websites of companies backing away from Wikileaks. As a result, Visa’s website went down temporarily while the MasterCard’s site was down for the better part of a day. While no sensitive consumer information was released in those attacks, could that be next? Could the consumer become collateral damage of digital warfare?

The argument has been made that Operation Payback is not necessarily in defense of Wikileaks or its founder, rather a protest of perceived internet censorship. As an American, I’ve been raised with the unwavering belief in the right to free speech, even when I disagree with those who invoke that constitutional right. But, where do we draw the line?

In my opinion, speaking out against censorship is completely different from intentionally attempting to thwart businesses for making unpopular decisions. Do financial companies no longer have the right to make decisions for fear of digital retribution?

On the other hand, how about the countries governed by totalitarian rule? The internet is frequently censored in countries such as China, North Korea and Iran. Will Anonymous strike those governments too? Claiming to be absolutely against censorship cannot be applied discriminately. Either strike all or none.

Personally, I think this was a fringe group looking to make a name for itself. The concept of Wikileaks is loosely founded on the basic American rights to free speech and free press. However, exercising those rights moves into uncharted waters when the technologically proficient seek to send a message that does little more than wreak havoc with business.

So what do you think? Does the freedom of speech and expression include technological attacks on businesses?  Where do we draw the line?

I’ve blogged quite a bit recently about social networking news, so when I read an article in USAToday about Facebook’s new facial recognition feature, I just had to comment. This latest update to the social networking behemoth’s repertoire has me intrigued, nervous and a little insulted all at the same time.

According to the article in USAToday, Facebook is scheduled to release a new feature called Tag Suggestions before the end of December. Tag Suggestions, as its name quite accurately describes, will use Facebook’s own facial recognition technology to match photos not yet tagged, to similar faces in your network of friends and automatically suggest the friend you should tag in that photo. The biggest concern most users will have is the issue of privacy. Supposedly, this new feature will also include an opt-out option if you don’t want your name to show up as a possible suggestion on someone else’s photo.

I’m intrigued by this new feature mostly because it sounds like something that you see in all those legal dramas like CSI and Law and Order. I’ll be anxious to see if the technology is as accurate as what the FBI uses to catch criminals and whether Facebook will be able to identify everyone dancing the Hora in my wedding photos.

What makes me nervous is the issue of privacy. Yes, Facebook give users the ability to opt-out, but for those who don’t, what does it mean? Perhaps retailers and online marketers can hone in on a similar technology that will make their brand name pop up anytime a user sends a chat with specific key words in it. Or what if someone’s face in recognized in a photo taken in front of their car? Will auto insurance companies with Facebook pages be able to target those users? Where will Facebook draw the line?
The insult comes from the sheer fact that I take this to mean that Facebook thinks it knows my friends better than I do. In my mind, if I want to tag a friend in a photo, I would simply enter their name into the clearly labeled box.

So what do you think about the Facebook feature? Is this a privacy issue or an opportunity to ramp up connections in your social network?

I recently read an interesting article on CNN.com—“Hotels connecting dots to online reviewers” by Christopher Elliott.

It talked about how more and more hotels are trying to connect anonymous online reviews to past guests, with some hotels even rewarding past guests for positive reviews and contacting guests who wrote negative reviews. The article mentioned how some hotels were rewarding those who wrote positive reviews with things such as gift baskets or discounts, while negative reviews could “generate an e-mail inviting the guest back for a free stay or offering frequent-stayer points as on apology.”

However, some hotels are going over the edge by sending emails to encourage past customers to “reconsider” a negative review, or put a note in their files to alert staff to difficult or disgruntled customers.

Although the story didn’t shock me, I still shake my head at what some managers will do to give the “perception” that the services and accommodations provided are superior to the rest. Why not start with focusing on providing a better experience in your hotel? I say instead of bullying people after a bad experience, focus on making sure they are happy during their stay.

Has anyone ever been contacted by a hotel because of a review (positive or negative)? Tell us about your experience.

Thank you to everyone who attended my webinar yesterday on the impact social media is having on insurance marketing. If you missed the live webinar but you’d still like to download a copy of the slides and/or recording, click here.

Listeners asked a good number of thought-provoking, intelligent questions so I’ve answered them below. Please, if you think of any further questions, feel free to contact me at dhayes@mintel.com or visit www.comperemedia.com.

Where is Allstate in the flow of Social Media?

Allstate has developed its presence as well. I chose to focus on State Farm because they captured my attention with their focus on both the young and Spanish-speaking markets. Allstate actually has more followers than State Farm on their Facebook page. And Allstate is doing a good job of placing information on their page to keep followers informed about hurricane Alex.

Are social media comments posted by the public on insurer websites considered to be advertisements by insurance regulators? If the answer is yes, does it apply to all posted content or just the ones that the company might use in its advertisements?

Good question. Since social media is generally an open forum when someone says they think a product is great, it’s somewhat out of the control of the company. Yet these comments could be considered testimonials and should be restricted. I’m not aware of any rules on this. At this point I think most companies are being cautious by monitoring what is posted and may be taking down comments that are too specific.

How do companies define and manage the risks associated with SM? Most employees don’t attempt to do direct mail, for example, but many of us are on SM.

Companies are starting to develop guidelines for the use of social media. The basic rule of thumb right now is to “act professionally.” You are right, once an employee puts the company on their Facebook or Linkedin page, they will be viewed as a representative of the company and that could present problems. So they should be reminded that they should not do anything that they would not do in a presentation to clients.

Do you feel the Humana independent social media development is a good idea?

It’s a way for them to control who has access to their content. It could have the same familiarity as traditional social media tools. A drawback to limiting access is the loss of exposure to potential new clients.

Do you see social media connecting toward business offers just like direct mail does? Or avoiding “to much” of a business approach?

For now I recommend avoiding a direct sales pitch as the best approach on social media. The use of social media is still primarily entertainment and keeping connected with friends and family. But behaviors change. As the use of social media tools become more sophisticated, consumers may become more accepting of a sales message.

What tracking matrices do you see happening or being particularly effective?

The number of unique visitors, where they come from, how long they stay, and certainly if they request a quote are all important stats to capture.

How are SM efforts well suited to “going green” vs. DM?

Unless someone is printing all of the posts they write and receive, and assuming that people properly dispose of old devices, there is no doubt that social media lowers the carbon footprint of marketing.

How is State Farm leveraging Social Media at the agency level? How can they control the content from their exclusive agency force?

I see a lot of State Farm agents with their own URL listed on the direct mail piece. I’ve noticed that State Farm agents are often part of community boards and volunteer efforts. I think these same skills are easily transferred to social media behavior

How can an insurance company that markets through a business/association entity use social media?

You can help support the business/association by providing content to support their efforts to create a presence through social media tools. If the insurance company wants to maintain a behind the scenes role the best thing it can do is help make their representatives as relevant as possible. You should do all you can to help build up the social media reputation of your producers to get noticed on the internet. The best way to do this is to feed them fresh and interesting content for them to post on their site.

When do you expect Health Care reform to impact DM volumes? Early 2011 or yet this year?

I definitely think a change is going to happen this year. Medicare is going to change the mailing cycle around enrollment. But for individual health policies, I don’t think there is going to be a major change this year or next.

How costly is it to “develop your own tools”?

Developed tools can vary from an iPhone app to an entire new internet presence. The costs can range from what is required to customize a vendor’s standard product to ground up development. There is also the consideration of maintaining the new tools with current staff, additional staff or outsourcing.

Could anyone explain any best practices observed in types of direct mail (postcards, letters) and what would be a good way to using this channel in order to direct traffic to social media?

There is an easy first step. Put the fact that you have these tools available and how to get to them on the direct mail piece. I’m still surprised how seldom this information is printed on the mail piece. I think direct mail is going to remain very important, but it can also be used to drive consumers to a website and social media tools. Make the information in the mail interesting, something the recipient may want to hold onto. Not too much detail is needed. Let the details become something the consumer will be curious about and a reason they will want to visit your Facebook page or website. And if you can, incorporate some type of participation. If they can vote for a charity or personally get involved, they may spread it around to their friends.

How do you guys see companies best using Twitter?

This is why I liked the example of New York Life tweeting about the Big East Conference. This is a way of creating an event—something for people to participate in that gets them to associate your brand with an event they will remember.