When the U.S. Supreme Court released the ruling on gay marriage last week, it ignited a national conversation — much of which was carried out over social media. Insurers that are not active on social media may have missed a critical chance to be thought leaders in that conversation. One insurance company chose last week to launch a new campaign that underscored its support for the LGBT community and indicated how the company pioneered extending married auto insurance rates to same-sex marriages. Not knowing in advance how the court would rule, the campaign was a statement of values that may have ultimately connected.
At ISO, we track social media engagement related to insurance companies as well as emerging issues. We noticed that, for the week of June 22, the amount of engagement the related insurer experienced, as measured by Twitter mentions, was more than double the previous high in the second quarter (see below). At the same time, the sentiment of the tweets for that week was quite positive for an industry where tweets may alternately gripe of rate increases or poor claims settlement experiences. Besides asserting its values in a way that appears positively received, the related insurer may have established a strategic footprint among a given community.
When history reflects on the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, few will likely remember what insurance companies were tweeting about that week. But the social media world is one of instant gratification, and being a meaningful part of the conversation on any given day is often a win by any count. Insurers that are strategizing their campaigns and measuring what works versus what doesn’t may find themselves in the strongest position to grow market share and win loyalty in a dynamically changing market when they factor social media into that analysis.
