Young Adults, Men, High-Earners Top Users of Social Media for Insurance

March 12, 2010

A new survey suggests insurers looking into the use of social media for promotion and customer interaction would be smart to target young adults, men and high-income earners.

These groups are the most likely to already use social media for insurance research and communication.

Mintel Comperemedia, which provides direct marketing competitive intelligence, says it surveyed 964 insured adults.

The company asked survey respondents where they last researched insurance policies and only 4% said on a blog, online discussion group or social networking site.

However, 10% of individuals making between $75,000 and $100,000 a year, 9% of those aged 25-34 and 6% of men researched policies on social media websites. Moreover, these adults were more likely to say they posted a question on a social networking site as part of their insurance research.

“Adults under age 34, men and those earning upwards of $75,000 consistently reported more usage of and interest in social networking,” says Daniel Hayes, vice president of insurance services at Mintel Comperemedia.

“Because these individuals are already engaged in social media and because they use the Internet more for insurance research, policy management and purchasing, I’d like to see insurance companies start targeting them when creating social networking initiatives.”

Only 11% of all respondents said they follow companies on social networking websites, but 20% of 25-34s and 19% of those earning $75,000 to $100,000 said they do.

Younger adults and men are also more likely than average to say they find advertising on social networking sites useful.

When shopping for insurance, 35% of 25-to-34 year olds and 30% of those earning more than $100,000 said they prefer the Internet to an agent. This compares to 23% of all respondents.

Source: Mintel Comperemedia

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