On Thursday 16 August 2012, Etana Insurance and Genasys Technologies hosted the first COVER Social Media Conference aimed at demystifying Twitter to insurance brokers.
The main aim of the conference was to help delegates from the insurance industry understand the role of Twitter in society and business and how they can leverage the power of this social network to grow the insurance industry.
Mildred Thabane and Zintle Mtyeku from Flow Communications – who also helped welcome delegates – helped create Twitter accounts for some members at the conference.
A number of Twitter experts were invited to speak at the conference including owner and editor of COVER magazine Tony van Niekerk, Mike Stopforth chief executive officer of Cerebra Communications, strategist and project manager at Flow Communications Kevin Collins and Gianluca Tucci from Etana Insurance’s brand team.
Said Collins: “What you have to understand is that these insurance brokers operate in an environment that deals with people on a face-to-face level and they are in an age where technology seems more of a challenge than a benefit.
“This conference was about easing the understanding of using Twitter by highlighting the benefits.”
Speakers at the conference emphasised the importance of being a thought leader in a certain industry. Collins added: “Most people go to their broker for advice, and Twitter is a great place for the broker as it is an aggregate point of information.”
Collins also demonstrated how social media had proved beneficial to some of Flow’s clients, including South African Tourism and Etana Insurance.
Tucci explained “the complimentary nature” that social media plays in Etana’s culture and how the company uses Twitter to “to build on existing relationships and create new ones”.
“The conference was positive and there was lively engagement from the delegates. It was definitely an Aha moment for a lot of people,” concluded Collins.
Greg Scott, one of the delegates, said: “The social media conference was fantastic. It got me questioning the ‘hunter’ logic of most sales driven companies. This is because social media is not about advertising or hunting down your next sales target.
“My perception now is that social media is about ‘farming’. Cultivating relationships and giving something back to your connectors for free, adapting to their interests and getting to know them. Social media is not about you selling your product, it’s about adapting your product so that it can sell itself.”