Social Media Strategy Review: Tata AIG General Insurance

As a general insurance service provider, Tata AIG’s social media content strategy is facing a rough time trying to encompass all its offerings in its communication. And in that process, it is coming up short big time.

Moreover, having a very miniscule social media presence is not helping it either. With presence on just one platform (Facebook) and no community building efforts, the brand seems to be wary of venturing out on social media.

Tata AIG on Facebook

Engagement

Tata AIG’s Facebook page has a very small community of just 2100+ people which has been growing at a slow pace of 5.6%. For a national brand this is a very tiny number. In comparison, competing insurance brands have community sizes that run into lakhs of members.

The number of people talking about the page is 115, i.e., 5.4% of the entire audience; which is a very low number of people who are engaging with the page and its communication.

On an average, Tata AIG sees 12 interactions with every post of which majority are likes and just a handful of shares. There are hardly any comments on their updates which goes to show that brand is not much conversational in its communication.

As far as engagement over the last 3 months is concerned, it has been a roller coaster ride for Tata AIG. Barring few occasional spikes, the engagement has been low all the while, which can be attributed to its weak content strategy.

In fact, the engagement has been low since the spike on 2^nd November. The last 6-7 weeks has seen very less interaction from the community. The following tip shared by the page received the maximum engagement from the community in the month of December, but again in the form of likes/shares and very few comments.

Diwali wishes by the page in November is the most popular update in the entire period of study where the post saw 21 likes and 29 shares.

The fact that creatives do have a strong impact on engagement is exhibited by the October 12^th update which saw 15 likes and 22 shares simply because the image used was interesting.

In order to spruce up the engagement, Tata AIG did try to run the #HomeSweetHome contest but it failed to create any worthwhile engagement from its audience.

Feedback on Engagement

Tata AIG needs to create content that is more conversational in nature. Asking questions and inviting opinions/suggestions is the most basic way to increase the number of comments it gets on the page.

Moreover, boosting updates to increase their reach might also help the brand to get more exposure for its updates and get more engagement. Recent algorithm updates have led to a decrease in the reach of page posts and promoting them might not be a bad idea after all.

Content Strategy 

Type of Content

The brand seems to be relying on monthly themes for its Facebook page. While the month of October was dedicated towards travel tips, safety during travelling and the best places to travel; November has been about Home powered by its #HomeSweetHome contest.

December, on the other hand saw updates on automobile care and safety tips (#WinterSafetyTips) for driving.

As discussed above, there are no conversational updates that manage to entice users to comment on the page.

It is nice to see the brand avoids direct selling of its products and instead, adds value by sharing valuable information. This kind of indirect approach is what works on social media.

But a monthly theme is too long-drawn and slow to form a connect with the consumers. Focusing on only one theme for one whole month might lead to a decrease in interaction from certain sections of audience, thus lowering the engagement rate.

Weekly themes would make better sense and cover the interests of all the community members in a given month. Also, talking about insurance (without selling its offerings) will also form a better connect with users.

Frequency

Tata AIG is highly wavering with its frequency of updates. Some days it posts 2 updates, while there are several days where no content goes out at all. Even the timings are not consistent.

Consistency is a must if the brand needs to build a stronger association with its audience and occupy their mind space. Being absent from the news feed of users for a longer period will work against them.

Proper content scheduling with strict timelines is what Tata AIG should be looking at.

Type of Posts

As for the type of posts published, it is image updates all the way. There are very few text updates, nor any videos or links. The content strategy tries to leverage the potential of images since they are perceived to engage more users.

But with the rise in consumption of video content, Tata AIG must look at creating video content that people can consume and share. Also, text and link updates once in a while can be posted since they possess more reach than an image update.

Brand Personality

The brand’s personality is neutral and business-like. The tonality and content are very matter-of-fact and lack a soul.

Insurance is a sector which is usually related to care and warmth. And Tata AIG must incorporate the same in its communication in order to strike a chord with its audience. They are already sharing tips and useful information, so the job is half done. Adding a touch of empathy will work wonders for them.

Creatives

The brand is primarily reliant on the usage of stock images for its content. Although every image is relevant and in sync with the communication, it is a little off-putting to see photos of foreigners being used frequently.

For an Indian brand, images of Indian people might be more relevant to the brand’s target audience and have a better impact.

Custom Apps

Tata AIG doesn’t seem to be much excited about the use of custom apps. There is only one app called “There 4 You” which is a simple photo contest. Poorly designed and weakly conceptualized, the app lacks virality and engagement.

And no efforts were made in the last 3 months to promote it. Tata AIG needs to ideate different value-added apps that are actually useful for its audience and are engaging in nature. It can begin with something as simple as an insurance premium calculator.

Customer Service

Tata AIG’s Facebook page sees 8-10 complaints in a month which are mostly about policy renewals. Going by the tone of aggrieved customers, the brand seems to be slack with its work.

But what worsens is the fact that it takes a good 2-3 days to respond to these wall updates.

Such a late reaction can either be attributed to the lack of technology, or lack of intent. In our opinion, technology is what seems to be lacking because once the complaint has been noticed, the brand does seem intent on getting it resolved.

What I also noticed is the fact that there are no indications on whether the issues were resolved or not; which can prove negative for a brand. If an individual comes across these supposedly unresolved complaints, he/she might decide against going with Tata AIG.

Moreover, the responses from Tata AIG’s customer support team is templatic and lacks any form of human emotions. The encircled response in the screenshot above is just a template that has been their response to most of the complaints posted on their wall. Lack of empathy and warmth is plainly visible here.

Feedback on Customer Support

1. While it’s acceptable for a financial brand to take the issue offline and resolve it over phone, email or in-person, it is equally important to come back to the Facebook page and acknowledge the resolution there as well. This goes to show that the brand has successfully handled the complaints and delighted its customers.
2. First response is what Tata AIG should focus upon and address immediately. The more time it takes to pacify the aggrieved customer, the more agitated he/she will become. Deploying a tool which continuously monitors wall updates will improve the response rate and help pacify customers at the earliest.
3. A humane touch in interacting with consumers will go a long way in resolving issues and generating positivity on social media. Personalizing responses and avoidance of template will help Tata AIG immensely.

Tata AIG on Twitter

As surprising as it sounds, Tata AIG has no significant presence on Twitter. There is one Twitter account with the handle @tataaiggeneral but it has been inactive for more than 3 years. Also, the official website doesn’t link to any Twitter account.

Presence on Twitter - Imperative

Twitter has seen tremendous growth in the last couple of years and is now an imperative part of every brand’s social media strategy. The platform is vocal and highly engaging than Facebook. And brands have seen more success in going viral on Twitter as compared to Facebook

Hashtag contests, conversational approach, customer support are some of the basic ways Tata AIG should begin with on Twitter. But having no presence whatsoever on Twitter is a big mistake.

In the last 30 days, Twitter saw 115 mentions for “Tata AIG” which went unheard and un-responded. These mentions ranged from queries to complaints to generic mentions. If Tata AIG had been listening to all these conversations and had an active Twitter channel, it could have leveraged it to its benefit.

As you can see below, there are negative tweets about the brand’s service on Twitter which are falling on deaf ears. The brand has failed to address their issues which will lead to more grievance.

Moreover, the ripple effects of these tweets has ensured that the followers of these people now have a negative perception about Tata AIG. If only Tata AIG had addressed to these tweets in a timely manner and delighted the consumer, the situation could have been different.

Following is another instance which Tata AIG could have worked in its favour. An instance where a user is recommending Tata AIG’s services to another user, the brand should have jumped in the conversation and worked towards converting the user into a customer. But thanks to its inactivity, it failed to acquire a new customer.

The opportunity cost lost by Tata AIG’s inactivity on Twitter is very serious and it seriously needs to work towards having an active presence on one of the most vociferous social media platforms in the world.

You never know when an innocuous snowballs into a serious PR crisis.

Way forward for Tata AIG

Increase Reach

Tata AIG needs to build its community on Facebook and work towards having a presence on Twitter. Building a community will ensure that it has an audience which will listen to its communication and spread it within their network as well. Increasing reach is the most crucial aspect Tata AIG should aim at.

Monitoring

Being in the insurance sector, Tata AIG can’t escape consumer complaints and queries. As more and more people become vocal on social media and avoid IVRS calls, Tata AIG needs to make the shift as well. It needs to constantly monitor social media on chatter about itself and immediately address any complaint/query that comes its way. First response should be swift.

Content Strategy

The content strategy needs slight tweaks here and there. Tonality, usage of proper creatives and weekly themes is what will help them engage more users. On Twitter, it needs to start tweeting actively and engage finance experts, as well as its target audience in meaningful conversations.

Expert Opinion

Riding in on a century-long legacy generated by the Tata Group, Tata AIG falls short of recreating the warmth and trust that Tata has effortlessly managed over the years.

Tata AIG has a ready audience as far as the Indian terrain is concerned and all they need to do is tap into it with ease and effective communication that does not come across as automated.

While they do manage to hit a chord with their informative content strategy they could go a step further and maintain a more approachable outlook on social media platforms.

It is rather short-sighted for a brand to not be participating in conversations about it. In a fast-paced world it could prove to be a make or break point for maintaining stature and gaining direct sales.

Expert View by Rajiv Dingra Founder & CEO of WATConsult – An Award Winning Digital & Social Media Agency.

Analytics Support: Konnect Social