Some Industries are Missing the Social Media Boat
As more businesses report social media assisting them in reaching out to customers, there are some companies and more specifically, industries still lagging behind.
Take for example the insurance industry.
While there has certainly been an influx of new blood in the insurance market over time, there are still many agencies that are run by “old-timers” if you will. These are primarily men who grew up and started agencies long before Al Gore supposedly invented the Internet.
To a large number of these older agency owners, they view social media like a tool that is not as important as working the phones and face-to-face contact with customers. While that argument may have some merit to it, keep in mind that many of today’s insurance agents and even some who head companies are of the Internet age and see the value in utilizing social media.
A study from American Century Investments notes that more and more financial services pros are embracing social media, and its usage.
The study noted that 86 percent of financial services professionals utilize social media, a 13 percent increase from just one year earlier. Breaking down the numbers further:
- 50 percent of those pros, including financial planners, brokers and registered investment advisers, indicated they have moderate or much experience with social media;
- 43 percent stated they regularly take part in a minimum of one medium, with approximately;
- 10 percent claim they are members of the “social media addict” category.
One interesting nugget from the study is that 21 percent of respondents indicated they use social media for customer feedback, an increase of nine percent from a year earlier.
In a study from Regus, 35 percent of U.S. companies reported having had success employing social media as part of their marketing strategy to attain new business. Interestingly, that figure is five percent the worldwide figure of businesses having successfully implemented social media in business development.
In the U.S. specifically, 28 percent of businesses have set aside a portion of their marketing budgets for social networking activities. Fifty-four percent of respondents used social networking to keep in touch with contacts, slightly less than the global average.
The survey also analyzed company size differentials and discovered that overall small companies were a tad more likely to use social networking. In the U.S. 38 percent of small businesses, compared to 27 percent of large companies, successfully discovered new customers via social networks
One interesting tidbit from the study is that 34 percent of respondents’ feel social networking will never be looked upon as a major method of connecting to customers and prospects.
Is the adoption of an integrated social media plan the norm for your business? Most industries are beginning to adopt, however it will be interesting to see how each uses it differently.
Dave Thomas is an expert writer on appointment setters and is based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs on items like call center services at Resource Nation.
cc licensed flickr photo shared by J Anand
very nice post, thanks for sharing.