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Insurance Related Twitter Chats and Hashtags (#)

August 24, 2010 by admin

There are currently no insurance based chats, but we are exploring a couple options and invite others to create twitter chats about insurance. For now the chats most beneficial to helping your insurance marketing efforts are:

1. #smchat: Exploring and driving the new social media paradigm. Be ready for a discussion that’s sometimes technical but always lively.

Wednesdays 1-2:30pm

2. #smmeasure: This chat is all about measuring your social media efforts. Others share how they see their ROI and analytics.

Thursdays 12pm

3. #blogchat: This chat is all about BLOGGING. Get tips from professionals on how to make your blog better, and connect with people who have similar issues.

Sundays 8-9pm

4. #wpchat: A chat all about WordPress. Everyone has been frustrated with it before, get some quick tips and ideas!

Fridays 2pm

*All chats times are EST. See the full list of twitter chats.

Along with participating in Twitter chats, you can use #hashtags in your everyday tweets when discussing insurance, local events, or anything for that matter, and create a Twitter search to monitor the #hashtags. Likewise, by using these #hashtags, people will be able to see your tweet when searching for the terms.

You can also search for terms to make connections with like-minded Twitter users, or maybe even reach out to a prospect who is having a negative, insurance-related experience (tactfully). Geographic locations also make good #hashtags because they identify people in your area that are involved with local events or business.

Lastly, some people use hashtags to inject humor into the conversation. For example, one may tweet something like, “Listening to Backstreet Boys station on @Pandora_Radio #dontjudge,” or “Seasoned hunter mauled by bear…in his back yard #irony.”

Using multiple #hashtags in one tweet happens (#car #insurance), but it’s NOT advisable to load every single post with a bevy of #s. It gives the appearance of someone not concerned with making connections but only appearing in searches, cluttering your posts while likely driving followers away. Some popular #hashtags for the industry with no specific chat time are:

• #insurance

• #risk

• #workerscomp (Every Wednesday follow and use this #hashtag along with @WorkCompEdge for discussion of workers compensation)

• #fraud

• #actuary

• #banking

• #liability

• #health (#insurance)

• #car (#insurance)

• #life (#insurance)

• #homeowners

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National Insurance Awareness Day Shrouded in Mystery

June 28, 2010 by admin

According to several Internet sources, June 28th is National Insurance Awareness Day. Aside from a couple blog entries making reference to this notable industry date (which is also shared by Paul Bunyan Day), there does not seem to be any person or entity claiming the creative rights to the not-quite-Hallmark holiday.

A simple Google search brings back confirmation of June 28th as National Insurance Day, but the closest explanation from HolidayInsights.com states generically, “…you can be certain that insurance companies had a little something to do with the origination of this day.”

Dig a little deeper and you’ll find a California health insurance agent’s tongue-in-cheek (I think) explanation of how his office celebrates National Insurance Day, which involves lighting a candle and some other celebratory activities. In their own words, “In fact, an exotic dancer is sometimes hired to heighten the festivities, but the dance performed, the ‘Insurance Dance,’ is very protective in nature. Just watching it performed gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling all over.”

Aside from these two posts and a few press releases looking to capitalize on the date, there’s virtually nothing that would make National Insurance Day noteworthy to anyone…until now.

Firstly, anyone who has more information about the origins of National Insurance Awareness Day, please chime in the comments section. Whether you’re an insurance marketing person staking claim to its invention or just an agency that’s celebrated in the past, we’d love to know what ritualistic activities make this day special?

For planning purposes, here are some suggestions to build on for future National Insurance Awareness Day celebrations.

Offer to shred commercial partner papers and recycle for free in your office
Sponsor a safe driving course
Set up a wrecked car outside the agency with a sign, “Are you insured?”
Get a pizza place to hand out your business card w/ every slice they deliver and offer to promote them for it
Host an Insurance Awareness Day line dance
Shoot a humorous video showing how insurance is often overlooked
Have an agency rounding off contest – whoever adds the most policies, gets a paid day off
Support a local non-profit that you are passionate about and encourage locals to match
Dress like an insurance agent day – play up the stereotype, the less stylish the better
Deliver baked goods or branded schwag to VIP commercial insurance partners around town
Host an insurance agency Olympics competition
Publicly re-enact the some of the oddest insurance claims your agency has ever received
Donate employees for a “Bring your agent to work day.”
Do a publicity stunt with a partner or town (fire drill) to draw awareness to insurance
Bake an Insurance Awareness Day cake
Give away “Home/Auto Insurance for a year” to the person who can share the most inspiring insurance story
Have an insurance awareness scavenger hunt
Send out a humorous email blast notifying people of the date
Spend the entire day volunteering to call attention to the fact that insurance agents don’t just sell
Cover yourself in dollar bills & business cards and carry a megaphone around town inviting people to grab you

With a little creativity and a keen grasp of your community, the ideas are really endless. While it’s a bit late for a throwdown in 2010, our calendars are marked and we look forward to making June 28, 2011 the Insurance Awareness Day that changed the industry…

Special thanks to @Carrie_AGIns and @AlysonDelPaggio for bringing the important date to our attention.