IASA 86TH ANNUAL EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE & BUSINESS SHOW

Beyond LinkedIn: Leveraging Social Media to Build Your Professional Brand Session Number 421

Today’s Speakers

Jennifer Overhulse, Principal Owner – St. Nick Media Services Jennifer Overhulse is the principal owner and founder of St. Nick Media Services.

She is a writer, as well as a marketing and public relations expert, with more than 20 years of journalism background and expertise. As principal owner of St. Nick Media Services, Jennifer works with companies to tailor marketing, PR, advertising and sales messages/efforts for specific target audience groups. She has recently published expert articles in leading trade publications. Additionally, Jennifer is a member of the Insurance Marketing Communications Association (IMCA), the Insurance Accounting & Systems Association (IASA) and is editor of IASA’s Interpreter.

Darin M Reffitt, Director of Demand Generation & Campaign Management Exigen Insurance Solutions @dmreffitt on Twitter

Darin Reffitt is Director of Demand Generation and Campaign Management with Exigen Insurance Solutions. Bringing over 17 years of experience in marketing and communications, his focus at Exigen is on marketing core system software to insurance companies of all sizes. He is also a volunteer with the IASA and chairs the Social Media Subcommittee, leading the efforts of the IASA to better engage with carriers, vendors, and individual members across social media platforms. He volunteers with the United Way of Delaware, is passionate about social media, and golfs, poorly.

“Power  is  a  lot  like  real  estate.  It’s  all  about  loca2on,  loca2on,  

loca2on.  The  closer  you  are  to  the  source,  the  higher  your  property  

value.”  

Today,  more  than  1/3  of  all  married  couples  in  the  U.S.  meet  online.

Canadians  spend  more  2me  online  than  anybody  else  in  the  world  –  an  average  of  45  hours  per  month!  

!  48%  of  social  media  users  check  Facebook  or  Twi7er  if  they  wake  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night  

!  23%  of  iPhone  owners  primarily  get  their  morning  news  from  Twi7er  and  Facebook  

!  49%  of  social  media  users  under  25  don’t  mind  being  interrupted  for  an  electronic  message  during  a  meal  

           Source:  Retrevo  survey  via  Mashable  

 6%  of  social  media  users  over  the  age  of  25  will  even  acknowledge  messages    during  sex…

We are officially obsessed…

Connectivity creates industry & career opportunities…

! 66% of CEOs say a lack of necessary skills is their biggest talent challenge1

! 83% say they are changing recruiting strategies to address that1

! Recruiting firms are searching not only LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, but aggregating from other professional social sites

! Example: Proformative, a professional social site for accountants

1 Source: PwC global CEO Study

…but it also comes with a price.

! 2013 CareerBuilder Study revealed that: -  39% of employers screen candidates on social media, and rising -  43% of those have found information on social media that factored

into decisions to not hire a candidate "  Provocative photos "  Inappropriate photos "  Discriminatory comments

-  19% of those have found information on social media that factored into decisions TO hire a candidate "  Displaying good communication skills "  Professional profiles

•  757  million  acLve  users  as  of  December  2013  •  Over  1  BILLION  monthly  mobile  acLve  users  as  of  March  2014  •  Average  user:  Professional  woman  in  her  mid  40s  with  at  least  a  college  degree  

and  more  than  130  friends  •  In  a  single  year,  FB  user  listened  to  62.6  million  songs  on  the  site,  equaLng  to  

more  than  210,000  YEARS  of  listening  Lme  •  Lost  more  than  10%  of  audience  between  ages  16  and  34  in  2013  

•  555  million  acLve  users  as  of  December  2013  •  Only  241  million  monthly  “acLve”  users  •  Approximately  500  million  tweets  are  sent  each  day  •  Average  user:    Woman  under  30  years  old  with  no  professional  or  college  

degree  

•  250  million  acLve  users  as  of  March  2014  •  Average  user:  Upwardly  mobile  men  and  women  over  40  with  college  and/or  

graduate  degrees  who  use  social  media  for  professional  reasons  •  More  than  277%  more  effecLve  than  FB  or  Twi7er  for  lead  gen  

Primary Social Channels

•  50  million  acLve  users  upload  more  than  5  million  photos    each  day  •  These  photos  generate  more  than  575  “likes”  and  81  “comments”  every  

SECOND  •  Over  6  months,  average  daily  Instagram  visitor  numbers  increased  by  724%  

•  375  million  acLve  monthly  users  •  More  than  925,000  NEW  users  on  G+  each  DAY  •  Average  user:  Single,  college-­‐age  student,  typically  male,  pursuing  degrees  

in  engineering,  computer  science,  or  graphic  design  

•  70  million  acLve  users  •  Average  user:  Woman  with  some  college  between  the  ages  of  25  and  44  

who  lives  in  the  Midwest  and  loves  cooking  and  cracing  •  But  the  average  Pinterest  user  spends  approximately  1  HOUR  AND  17  

MINUTES  on  the  site  PER  VISIT  

Primary Social Channels

•  Nearly  4.5  million  hours  of  video  uploaded  each  month  •  Viewers  are  watching  more  than  6  BILLION  hours  of  home  videos,  

educaLonal  tutorials,  TV  shows,  comedy  rouLnes  and  CAT  VIDEOS  each  month  

•  YouTube  now  reaches  more  18-­‐34  year  olds  than  ANY  cable  network  

•  Launched  in  January  of  2013,  Vine  now  has  more  than  40  million  acLve  users  

•  6  second  loopable  videos  •  Record  set  on  4/15/13  when  more  than  19,667  vines  were  uploaded  

during  the  Boston  Marathon  bombing  tragedy  

•  Launched  in  September  of  2011  by  Evan  Spiegel  •  Spiegel  turned  down  a  $3  BILLION  buyout  offer  from  Facebook  founder  

Mark  Zuckerberg  in  February  of  2013    •  Approximately  30  million  acLve  US  users  –  70%  are  woman  and  32%  are  

teens  (13-­‐17)  on  mobile  phones  

Primary Social Channels

• Old  •  Sexy  Insurance  

• New  •  Agency  Tsunami  •  Market  Luminary  

• Magazines  •  Insurance  &  Technology  •  Insurance  Networking  News  •  ITA  Pro  Magazine  

Insurance Social Media Sites

Who are you online?

Photos & Art

Music

Social

Videos

Review Selling

Communication

Productivity Craft

Entertainment Dating/Meeting Professional

Presentations

News

Food Sports

Shopping/Fashion

Medical

Travel Causes

Blogging Fitness

Automotive

Education

•   Name  •   Sex  •   RelaLonship  Status  •   Family  Members  •   Hobbies/Interests  •   Address  •   Phone  Number  •   Zodiacal  Sign  •   Favorite  Movies  •   Books  You’ve  Read  •   VacaLon  Spots  You  Love  •   Kids  •   Favorite  Sports  Teams  •   PotenLal  Medical  CondiLons  •   Past  Injuries/Illnesses  •   Family  Medical  History  

•   Birthday    •   Buying  Habits  •   Elementary  School  •   Middle  School  •   High  School  •   College(s)  You  A7ended  •   Degrees  You  Hold  •   Professional  DesignaLons  •   AssociaLon/Club  AffiliaLons  •   Friends’  Names  •   Hair  Color  •   Eye  Color  •   Favorite  Color  •     Age  •   PoliLcal  AffiliaLon  •   Sexual  OrientaLon  

•   Religion  •   Pets  Names  &  Numbers  •   Medical  Alerts  •   Things  You  Collect  •   Talents  •   Current  Employer  •   Job  History  •   Criminal  Record  •   Restaurants  You  Like  •   Foods  You  Hate  •   Preferred  Airline    •   People  You  Recommend  •   Pet  Peeves  •   SupersLLons  •   Allergies  •   Car  You  Drive  

And,  most  of  this  informaLon  is  shared  willingly.  What  insurance  applicaLons  do  you  see  for  this  informaLon?  

Social Data may include intimate details about a person’s life, including:

The Social Impact: Insurance 2015

Source:  Ivans  Carrier  Study  

The Social Impact: Insurance 2015

Ignorance is NOT Bliss

“Social  media  is  like  teen  sex.  Everyone  wants  to  do  it.  Nobody  knows  how.    When  it’s  finally  done,  there  is  surprise  it’s  not  beQer.”  

Avinash  Kaushik  

AnalyLcs  Evangelist      

If  you  “legalize”  it…you  can  regulate  it!  

Begin at the Beginning…

!  Understand your company’s social media policy -  What you may post -  Company time -  Disclaiming your posts -  Topics to avoid -  Profile requirements

General Strategies

!  Social media has become—digitally—a combination of what chamber of commerce mixers, class reunions, and conferences used to be in person

!  Networking via social channels can lead to career and professional opportunities not only directly, but via referrals from clients, former classmates, distant relatives, and digital influencers

!  Include your social media links on business cards and email signatures as allowed to make it easier to find you via various channels

!  Crosslink your social media accounts to each other

General Strategies

!  Set up Google alerts for key names and topics to listen proactively for news: -  Your Name -  Company Name -  Competitor/Influencer Names -  Client Names -  Key Unique Terms

General Strategies

!  Develop a daily routine4

!  10/10/10 rule:

Spend:

each day connecting with industry contacts

each day gathering intelligence about industry issues and events

each day establishing professional credibility

LinkedIn

!  LinkedIn is “the world’s best business networking database”

!  Your profile is your online resume -  Professional photo -  Complete background and experience -  All relevant skills and expertise

!  Ask for professional recommendations from collegues

!  Join relevant groups

-  You may join up to 50 groups -  Groups give you a place to answer questions

and demonstrate knowledge -  You can contact people in your groups even if

they aren’t direct contacts

Professional picture

Professional name

Attention-grabbing heading

Vanity URL for links

Contact info Other social media

Summary demonstrating

expertise

Experience

Twitter

!  If new, start by following key companies and industry associations – Look at who is following them

!  Search and monitor key hashtags4 – follow the people posting about those topics !  Use your profile space strategically – Use hashtags and key info in a very limited space !  Use the same photo across all social sites for easy confirmation !  “Stakehold” your handle on new sites to protect it

!  Search industry influencers geographically4 – use Twellow

Same profile picture

Describe your value

Cross-linked sites

Unique header photo

Facebook

!  Consider separate accounts for personal and business purposes

!  Join public & private groups related to your field !  Be cautious with privacies and photos

-  Remember that your profile photo and your cover photos are public !  If connecting with business colleagues in a personal account, use the List

feature to organize and ensure you’re sharing appropriately.

Google+

!  Google+ ties directly to SEO for your website and for social media !  Enables a link into YouTube, for video blogging !  An alternative to using two Facebook accounts

-  Facebook for Personal, Google+ for Business !  Allows organization by “circles”

-  Circles are like Facebook Lists -  If not already on Google+, you can start fresh with

ideal groupings -  Control who sees various posts and who you see in your feed

Blogging

!  If allowed, blog about industry trends, challenges, etc. !  Blogs can be written or video !  Platforms:

-  WordPress -  Blogger -  YouTube

SlideShare

!  Upload presentations on general educational topics to SlideShare as a PowerPoint or PDF

!  Link them to your LinkedIn and publish them via Twitter/Facebook/Google+ !  Ensure you include an author biography within your presentation and link it to your other

social media accounts

!  Be strategic with keywords to reach your target market Searching “Insurance Accounting”:

Searching “Insurance Systems”:

Searching “Insurance Technology”:

Other Sites to Consider

!  Quora: a question and answer site that enables experts to share their expertise, and which is tied to your Twitter/Facebook/G+ account

!  Pinterest serves as a great way to network around key themes and ideas; and is moving in a B2B direction

!  Instagram and YouTube can serve as ideal content generators for other sites -  Video and photos tend to gain traction over other types of

content

Lessons Learned

Tools

!  Hootsuite: social media dashboard that enables organization of social media accounts, keywords, posts, hashtags, etc.

-  Within Hootsuite you can form followers into groups4

"  Colleagues "  Customers "  Competitors (private twitter list) "  Influencers "  Consultants

!  Twellow: Twitter directory !  Topsy.com: Twitter Search Engine

Tools

!  RSS Readers37: -  Feedly -  NetVibes -  Newsblur

!  Twitter Automation/Schedulers37: -  HootSuite -  Sprout Social -  MarketMeSuite -  TweetDeck (now owned by Twitter)

!  Tools to Measure Social Influence37: -  Klout -  Kred -  PeerIndex

Final Thoughts

!  Start by listening and learning the rules of engagement -  Figure out what your audience is doing and what your opportunity is

!  Voice matters -  Building a personal brand requires a personal voice -  On social media, organizational voices are less trusted than the voices of real

people32, which carry more weight and seem more real !  The 4-1-1 Rule37

-  Published in 2009 and popularized by content marketing guru Joe Pulizzi -  For every 6 posts:

should be original posts to interesting content

may be self-serving to your own content or campaign

should be a retweet/repost of someone you’re following

IASA 86TH ANNUAL EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE & BUSINESS SHOW

Please Complete the Session Evaluation Form on the Conference App and Include Your Conference Registration ID# to be Included in a Drawing for a Free Conference Registration for the 2014 Annual Conference!

NOTE: Your Conference Registration ID# is Located at the Bottom Left Hand Corner of Your Badge.