Facebook fan recruitment is critical to developing recommender networks and comparing fan count has become a key part of social media bragging rights in the industry. However, a straight comparison is too simplistic; different types of Facebook page attract very diverse sets of fans each offering the insurer different benefits.
The table lists fan count for corporate Facebook pages where fans are arguably the closest to existing or prospective customers. USAA continues to lead the field which they have done month on month for a year and a half. This lead narrowed and came under pressure in recent months following a highly successful recruitment campaign by Farmers with a promotion on the Farmville social game. Farmers grew their fan base from 6,200 in September 2010 to their current number of 129,000. USAA on the other hand is the social media Energizer bunny with consistent growth over 18 months without any significant campaign blimps. State Farm, another consistent recruiter, has had double-digit monthly growth for over a year. A year ago, they were celebrating reaching 10,000 fans and now stand at over 60,000.
| Insurer | Fan Count | Average Monthly Growth | New Monthly Conversations |
| USAA | 137339 | 4% | 25 |
| Farmers Insurance | 129136 | 3% | 5 |
| GEICO | 99713 | 7% | 12 |
| State Farm Insurance | 60240 | 28% | 24 |
| American Family | 29726 | 27% | 28 |
| Allstate | 26106 | 6% | 13 |
| Progressive Insurance | 22523 | 6% | 14 |
| Thrivent Financial | 19104 | 2% | 36 |
| 21st Century Insurance | 18600 | 8% | 17 |
| New York Life | 10069 | 47% | 29 |
| Nationwide Insurance | 8083 | 4% | 10 |
| AFLAC | 7459 | 9% | 0 |
| Northwestern Mutual Life | 6943 | 3% | 23 |
| Gerber Life | 6687 | 4% | 2 |
| Liberty Mutual Insurance | 5570 | 5% | 32 |
| MetLife | 4619 | 24% | 13 |
| Travelers Insurance | 4171 | 8% | 1 |
| Erie Insurance | 4155 | 6% | 14 |
| VALIC | 3509 | 1% | 10 |
| Esurance | 3405 | 48% | 35 |
| The Hartford | 3365 | 2% | 15 |
| Safeco | 1817 | 5% | 11 |
| Principal Financial | 1535 | 4% | 7 |
| Chubb | 1296 | 7% | 42 |
| Westfield Insurance | 1252 | 3% | 43 |
| Amica Mutual | 856 | 5% | 90 |
| Mutual of Omaha | 829 | 4% | 5 |
| Horace Mann | 763 | 3% | 21 |
| Pacific Life | 361 | 6% | 3 |
| John Hancock | 294 | 6% | 1 |
An ongoing challenge for insurers is how to start conversations that will engage fans. New conversations started by insurers average about 19 a month but with significant variation. Starting more conversations does not always correlate to fan growth and consumers have indicated that brands that ‘overstep’ their welcome are in danger of deletion. Most insurers allow fans to start conversations but there are exceptions and this group now includes Allstate, New York Life, Liberty Mutual and VALIC.
While more insurers than ever provide company Facebook pages, there are noticeable absentees represented on the platform by automatically generated community pages. Included in this list are Ameriprise, UNUM, Prudential, and Mass Mutual.
A more complete analysis is contained in the March edition of SocialEyes – The Insurers’ View of Social Media, now available FREE from:
www.customerrespect.com/socialeyes.