We have a huge development in the use of social media in
Kenya. Young and old have embraced the use of social media to communicate with
their loved and catch up on news. For those using social media, we get more
news feed from social networks than even from news broadcasters.
Recently I went to drink up organised by Heineken heineken for their suppliers. Personally I use this kind of events for the purposes of
networking and there was bit of exchange of business cards. Out of ten people I
gave my business cards to four actually asked for my twitter handle. Of the
seven business cards I received five had their twitter handle on them.
According to one of the attendees I had a chat with; she actually told me that
people are more likely to interact with you through your twitter than give you
a phone call.
So what can social media contribute to the modern corporate?
The most common use of social media is marketing. We will
use twitter for illustrations.
Most companies nowadays engage the service of twitter users
who have a large number of followers (we
call them big wigs in Kenya). Most people check their social networks
frequently and its highly likely that your message will get to them. Some companies
pay twips (a twitter user) with large numbers to frequently post about their
products and in return get paid for such services.
Safaricom and company are have been able to build big
networks have the benefits of marketing and launching of new products since the
followers are already customers or potential customers interested in their
services.
Unfortunately, it’s a policy of some companies to engage
themselves through social media.
A while back, the social media guru and blogger Robert Alai
took it upon himself to scone companies through his social media following of
over 150, 000 followers. That’s a very large number of people to expose
yourself to, especially if it’s a negative exposure. Recently, an agitated
customer took to social media thrashing my employer and luckily someone picked
it up and looped a staff through her personal Facebook page.
Such companies have been caught napping and most recently my
employer decided to start using the social media channel for communication.
So what’s there for insurance companies?
Any company that strives to be successful must harness all
the channels of communications. Social media can be a great tool for insurance
companies in several reasons. Companies
will be able to pick up queries and respond to them as and when the same
occurs. Most tech savvy clients nowadays have resorted to social media to
channel their queries as it’s a cheaper means and efficient one. It does not
make sense for one to travel physically to the offices to have the same
sorted. A popular example will be for
customers who wish to know their current policy balances to log the query and
they will have the same sent to their registers email. If insurance companies
exploit the use of social media in client servicing, it will lead to reduced
lines and man time.
It will also lead to reduced cost in advertising and serve
as an effective way of launching products which are targeted to their current
customers or even when making announcements. Customers feel appreciated if
their company can communicate from time to time as opposed to the viral phone
calls.
Companies outsource social media managers but it will be
advisable to setup a team in house who already understand the company’s
products.
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