Impact of Social Media on the Indian Insurance Industry

Living in the digital era words such as like, comment, tweet, share and subscribe have become more of a trend. In no time, social media has become an indispensable part of our lives.  Thanks to social media for making our lives easy. There was a time when the information flow was unidirectional. However, things have changed for the better. Today, customers are not reliant exclusively on the company for any information on the specific product and services.

Social media has become a beneficial medium, which is not just constrained to seeking information besides you have access to feedback and suggestions. Digitalization has made the customer the king in all possible ways. Social media has become one platform delivering satisfaction at each progression.

Why Social Media?

Social media is not limited to a specific region or country. In terms of reach, frequency, usability, immediacy, interactivity, quality, etc. social media is ruling the market by operating a dialogic transmission system.

With the growing popularity & acceptance of the media by people, business companies have started harnessing the potential of these platforms.  Social media facilitate the development of online social networks by bringing together a group of people who share the same likings/thoughts/ political view & so on. Today, a majority of the population is using social media, which has made it a powerful tool bolstering customer interaction and engagement.

Prominent Social Media Platforms

Here are some prominent social media platforms leveraged by the customers, which are as follows:

• Twitter: This is a platform with a wider reach to self-express your experience/thoughts in limited characters.
• Facebook: This is a platform where you can seek information simultaneously can also provide information in your circle.
• YouTube: A platform, which provides you with the videos of the product, you are looking for. Moreover, you can also leave your video expressing your reviews on a company’s product or its services.
• Blogs: A platform where you can share your experiences and views as well as read the experiences and get information.

Customer Engagement through Social Media

Customer engagement happens when the customer interacts directly with the brand or the company. This is one of the best ways to get feedback. Moreover, it strengthens the relationship and gives a sense of empowerment to the customers, which is beneficial for the company in the long run. This way the brand is also able to create goodwill in the eyes of the customer creating brand loyalty.

Social media plays a significant role in shaping the decision of a customer as the platform has given the options of reviews, suggestions and ratings helping the customer to form an opinion about buying the product. With the use of social media, the brands can reach their target consumers and share across information, identify potential customers, promote content, etc. to garner the maximum attention of the customers.

Social Media Influencing the Indian Insurance Industry

Social media is a good place to understand the behaviour of customers. In the following manner, social media has been influencing insurance companies:

• Audience: Social media involves people and when you have an existing network of people by default, you have a potential market. The insurance company to get information can dig deeper and get insights straight from the customers itself. This way will enable the insurer to make a profitable decision.
• Engage: It is of prime importance to engage with the customers. To keep the insurance company on the minds of the customers, the insurance companyneeds to have a good rapport with the customers. The insurance companies may float open contests to get the audiences close to them.
• Instant communication: Interacting on social media is instant and not at all a costly affair. The insurance companies’ have now started addressing the customer queries on social media platform itself.
• Customer Base: As the customer commitment increments and the complaint redressal time diminishes it lays a tremendous effect at the forefront of customer’s thoughts because of which he/she gives best ratings, reviews and in this manner become a positive promoter via social media platforms.
• Cost-Effective: Social media is perceptive in both monetary terms as well as time. Any policy related information could easily be put up on the social media account of the company. Putting up an advertisement on a traditional media platform is an expensive affair in comparison to social media. Moreover, the insurers can get a database of the customer from all walks of life and cater to them personalized insurance plans.

Use of Social Media in Insurance

Using social media is a new development in the industry of insurance. There reinsurance companies who have indeed integrated social media as part of their marketing and communication plans.

Many companies came up with a digital campaign like #Coveredhai which highlighted the aspect that when it comes to insurance the most common question is ‘is it covered or not’ and was released during the cricket world cup fever 2019. This campaign was focused on motor insurance plan of the insurer. About this the insurance provider has shared creatives on the social media account and asking people to wonder about the scope of general insurance policies.

Another insurer has introduced a series by name #InsuranceGuide. Moreover, this insurer also consistently shares writings of its senior officials in all available platforms for wider circulation.

There are many insurance companies who have been active on the social media platforms. Understanding the need of the hour in this highly competitive world, today the insurance companies have marked their presence on various social media platforms. The number of followers and subscribers indicates the popularity and implies the efficient management of the social media handle of the insurance company.

To Conclude

Social media has proved to be a gold mine as it provides availability of user profile information. The insurance industry is customer-centric and it works based on trust. Therefore, it is important to create a brand image of the insurance company in all colours, which will lead to better services for the insurance provider and the policyholder.

Social media can be the perfect intuitive methods for brand advancement, converting loyal customers to brand advocates and improving reach in the present technology-savvy environment.