Appendix B: Local Study

Local Study

Local Survey Created to Understand Preferences and Engagement for Social Media Insurance Marketing

For our local study we used the tool of google survey. Our target audience was broad: we were looking in general to see how people feel about insurance in social media and if they would engage with it. Our survey got 78 responses, and our goal was 50 responses. We distributed this survey through approximately 300 emails. We also posted it on Facebook to over 400 people.

For our survey we used multiple choice questions. First, we wanted to gauge what age the respondent is from to see if their responses matched our research. Then we wanted to see where a person would look first when seeking out an insurance plan. Next, we asked questions to gauge the importance client and agent connection, along with the likelihood of social media use for insurance needs.

Questions and raw data from the local survey

*All the figures beside the questions were created by google forms

Age *

18-25
26-30
31-40
41-50
50+

Are you the primary policy holder of your insurance policy or policies?*

If you were in need of finding an insurance agent or company where would you look first? *

Website

Social Media
Parents or Trusted Source Recommendation
Advertisement
Other:

If you had to handle all of your insurance needs on your own policy, how confident would you be managing the information, and acquiring policy information? *

Very Confident
Somewhat Confident
Not Confident
Terrified

How important would it be for you to build a connection with your insurance agent when you are picking out a plan? *

Very Important
Important
Somewhat Important
Not Important

Do you follow your insurance company's/ broker's social media account? *

How likely would it be for you to seek out insurance information (such as contact information or basic policy information) through social media? *

Highly Likely
Likely
Somewhat Likely/ Possibly
Not at all

When questions arise, how likely would you be to contact your insurance agency through their social media account?*

Likely
Somewhat Likely/ Possibly
Not at all

What is a reason(s) that you would use your insurance company's social media platform? *

To learn about different insurance plans or coverages
Contact information for your insurance broke/ agent/ company
Insurance Tips
Other:

Figure #1: Majority of Respondents Stated They Would Use Social Media for Insurance Tips, Coverage, and Plan Information

A majority of respondents shared that they would use an insurance agencies social media website for insurance tips, insurance plans they did not know about, and coverage benefits to these plans. When looking closer at the data, the percentage of individuals who are within the 68% of respondents represent a wide range of age groups. Respondents who said they would visit the social media site for insurance tips, plans, and coverage information varied from individuals who were 18 to people 50+.

Located below Figure 2 that breaks up 68% into different age ranges. The darker bar shows the number of people who took the survey for that age range. The second bar shows how many people that took the survey voted “Yes” in being interested in using social media from an insurance broker or agency for the use of insurance plans, insurance tips, and coverage information that would be beneficial to clients. This graph is helpful because it shows that creating content that includes insurance tips, coverage benefits, and helpful plan information would reach a wide range of age groups; therefore, decreasing the variation of content creation and providing a path of where your energy in content creation needs to go to.

Figure #2: Respondents Across Age Ranges Stated Social Media Use for the Same Reasons:
Insurance Tips, Coverage, and Plan Information

Figure #3: Increase Clientele in the Future Via Good Reputation With Existing/ Current Clients

78% said most would ask their parents or someone they trust for insurance advice. This shows that trust and personal connections are crucial when choosing insurance. A smaller group, 14%, would check websites, showing some people do look online. Only 5% would pay attention to ads, and 2% would choose Brooks Insurance, use Google on their phone, or ask friends and family and search online. Personal recommendations are the biggest factor, while online and ads are less significant.

Figure #4: Over 8 in 10 Respondent Value Connection with Insurance Agent

Approximately 5% of the people in which responded that making a connection with your insurance agent is not important at all. This is a small population. About 76% of people responded that making a connection with your insurance agent is important. This shows that the majority of people value a connection with their agent so it would be important to utilize social media to build connections.