Half of Americans have life insurance; half do not. Is this a glass half full? Or a glass half empty?
The truth is: It doesn’t matter. We are here to help everyone who needs life insurance get coverage. But how do we move the needle? The answer is social media. But let me back up a bit.
First, we have to be laser-focused on addressing the reasons people tell us they are not buying life insurance, or more of it. That seems logical, but many companies bypass that step for marketing strategies rooted in complex internal politics.
Why People Don’t Buy
So, why are people not buying coverage? The 2024 Insurance Barometer Study, which the nonprofit Life Happens does in conjunction with LIMRA, delves into just this. I’ve worked on the study since its inception 14 years ago, and the reasons people have for not buying life insurance have stayed consistent.
- People think it’s too expensive.
- They say they have other financial priorities.
- They are not sure how much or what type to buy.
Let’s take the top reason. People think life insurance is too expensive. But, according to the study, 72% overestimate the true cost. In fact, half the population think it’s two-and-a-half times as expensive than it is. How are they estimating what it would cost? More than half (54%) say they use either “gut instinct” or “a wild guess,” according to the study.
Many admit they are not knowledgeable about life insurance (44%), and half of women say they are not (51%). Income is not a huge predictor of people being more confident about what they know: 41% of the middle market ($50K-$149K) and 39% of top income earners ($200K+) say they are not knowledgeable about life insurance.
Whatever their income level, people are not going to buy what they don’t understand and what they think they can’t afford.
There is a key step that can’t be missed, and that’s to educate them about what life insurance does, about why it is important for them, and that there is a policy (or policies) that fits their needs—and budget.
See also: Insurance Is Not a Commodity
The Importance of Social Media
The “how” of reaching people and educating them is becoming a very interesting subject. Increasingly, the focus is social media. We just released a supplement to the Barometer Study called “Reaching New Insurance Buyers,” which delves into social media usage in our industry.
This year, six in 10 people say they use social media sites when seeking information on financial or insurance products. In 2019, that figure was just two in 10.
I’ll let you sit with that information from a minute.
Now, ask yourself: What is my company doing on social media to provide this educational information about the products we sell and then turn people into customers?
I can probably guess the answer: not enough.
What’s happening with social media and our industry is a seismic shift. Over the years I’ve been doing the Barometer Study, I don’t remember any shift of this magnitude in such a short time.
To stay relevant, we need to pay attention to this shift whether we want to or not. Whether compliance wants us to do it or not. Whether our blinged-out traditional advertising campaign wants us to or not. Being set up for success means being on social media to educate and help consumers feel confident purchasing the solutions your company has.
There are a number of companies that are 100% homed in on social media, have advanced strategies, are working with influencers, and are advertising on social as well as growing their organic following. These are the folks that are going to eat your lunch.
See also: Revolutionizing Life Insurance Uptake in Younger Markets
How can you start or make some significant steps to enhance your social media? Here are some suggestions:
Make internal changes—even if they are incremental. Educate compliance. Having to follow compliance rules is no longer an excuse. How do we know? Just look at your peer companies that are doing social media well. They are working within the same legal framework you are.
Don’t keep social siloed. One of the most perplexing things I see is huge companies with one, maybe two people working on social media, but off in a dank, dark corner. I exaggerate, but not by much. The social team should be 100% integrated into your marketing strategy and team—it should be so enmeshed that you don’t make a move without questioning: How do we integrate social with this?
Just start and then be consistent. Making mistakes is fine—we all do. The beauty of social media is that it is fast-moving, and you can course-correct easily. It may take time to build a following, but as you can see from the Barometer numbers, things can also move with lightning speed.
Stop doing what doesn’t work. One of the biggest mistakes I see is using corporate social media for “vanity” postings. We all know what this is. Stop it.
Know that great educational content wins the day. At Life Happens, we’ve been doing social media for more than 15 years and know what works (and what doesn’t). We rely heavily on statistics to inform our content strategy. For example, stats showed that we had 153 times more organic engagement on Life Happens’ Facebook than the average of the biggest life insurers. Our Instagram also outpaces what companies are doing.
Celebrate success and communicate it. Remember that you have internal audiences that you will have to convert. Be the champion of your social media, articulate your wins well internally, and win ever-increasing budget to support that success.
Honestly, we as an industry make social media more complicated than it is.
Educate consumers about the products that can help them build a strong financial foundation, and then show them solutions they can afford. Do this where consumers spend time—on social media—and in a way that is engaging (think the opposite of what compliance would have you do or say). The key is to effectuate change internally to help you reach that goal. Good luck!
