Anthem uses social media to connect with customers

A major health insurer is taking to social media to drum up interest and awareness for their cause; but in this case it has nothing to do with health care reform. InformationWeek reports that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Wisconsin has launched a major social media program designed to address concerns about customer service and promote a healthy lifestyle.

Through its Twitter account, Anthem is attempting to connect with patients who are experiencing customer service problems and deliver real-time solutions. This can include long hold times, customer service complaints, and complaints about cancelled coverage.

Anthem has also partnered with celebrity trainer Bob Harper from NBC’s The Biggest Loser to deliver a series of videos and postings on how to get healthy through their own YouTube channel and Facebook page.

“At Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, we understand that more teens, adults and even seniors are logging online to tweet, network, or blog about their daily activities, likes, dislikes, among other things,” said Larry Schreiber, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin. “Tools such as Twitter and Facebook provide an additional means of communicating with our members and all consumers in the communities we serve in a way that’s convenient and of interest for them.”

However, it remains to be seen how successful the pilot program will be – Anthem currently only has around 250 followers on their official Twitter and Facebook pages, with all of the Facebook forum postings coming from the company.

Facebook Mobile Reaches 65 Million

Facebook has announced that 65 million people are now using its social networking site on their mobile devices-a significant increase from only 20 million users eight months ago. What first began in 2006 as a simple mobile site in English with a few basic features has grown into a site that is available in more than 60 languages and for hundreds of mobile handsets, including Facebook for Blackberry, iPhone and Nokia.

“As we celebrate 65 million, we want you to be able to take Facebook with you wherever you go,” said Henri Moissinac in a company blog posting. “That’s why we are continuously making updates to our mobile products and working with some of the biggest names in mobile to make sure that Facebook is available on the latest devices and mobile operating systems.”

In addition to the new milestone, Facebook announced that Facebook Connect will soon be available on some of the mobile sites and applications, just as it is on the Web.

Sarah Palin’s “death panels” leads list of Twitter goofs

Sarah Palin’s post that President Barack Obama’s health care plan includes “death panels” tops a Newsweek roundup of the top gaffes committed by politicians on Twitter in 2009. Palin was quickly forced to back away from her original Twitter post on the subject after critics pointed out that the “death panels” did not exist.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger followed Palin on the list, after a video he posted featuring him wielding a giant knife to emphasize the budget cuts he felt were needed to balance the state’s budget got him into hot water. Schwarzenegger was later forced to defend himself at a press conference.

It wasn’t just Republicans who made Twitter gaffes this year. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill accidentally let on that fellow Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado was having lunch with top Washington reporters at the same time he had told a Denver radio host that he was “too busy” for an interview.

Social networking sites make up more than 20 percent of all U.S. online display ad impressions

Social networking sites accounted for more than 20 percent of all display ads viewed online in June, according to data from the comScore Ad Metrix. Among sites in the social networking category, MySpace came in at first place with 9.2 percent share of display ads while Facebook followed closely behind with 8.2 percent. Combined, both sites made up more than 80 percent of ads.

“Over the past few years, social networking has become one of the most popular online activities, accounting for a significant portion of the time Internet users spend online and the pages they consume,” said Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president. “Social networking sites now account for one out of every five ads people view online. Because the top social media sites can deliver high reach and frequency against target segments at a low cost, it appears that some advertisers are eager to use social networking sites as a new advertising delivery vehicle.”

The study also revealed that AT&T came in as the top display advertiser on social networking sites in June, with more than 2 billion ad impressions, representing 30 percent of the company’s total number of display ads during the month. Coming in at second place was Experian Interactive—a company which produced ads for educational degree programs and credit scores–with almost 1.3 billion impressions in the category. In addition, the study showed that two of the top ten advertisers on social networking sites in June delivered most of their impressions within the same category. The producer of love and celebrity quizzes, Pangea Media, delivered 90 percent of its ads on social networking sites while online gaming provider Zynga delivered 97 percent.

“As social networking sites innovate on their existing ad offerings, the category should continue to grow in ad volume, while CPMs could also increase if the sites can demonstrate a high campaign ROI,” said Hackett.

Social media marketing not impacting women

If marketers are trying to use social media to research potential female customers, a recent study suggests that they might want to rethink their tactics. The results of a study conducted by Q International show that only 25 percent of women asked said that recommendations or information found on social media sites had a significant impact on a recent purchasing decision.

This is despite the fact that more women than ever are active on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, with 75 percent of all female respondents saying they are more active at social media sites than they were a year ago. 20 percent of female respondents said they check social media sites throughout the day, while 34 percent said they check at least once a day.

“What the survey shows is the fact the tools and methodologies to advertise to consumers in the social environment are different,” said Matt Wise, CEO at Q Interactive. “A huge number of brands are missing that point. They are deferring to what they’ve used in the past, which are banners, display ads, or static newsletters, or maybe they’ve created a single video and think, ‘I’m engaged in the social environment.’”

Using Social Networking for the greater good

Social networking is most commonly used for both personal and professional gain, so it is surprising when someone uses it to help others. After much input and discussion from friends on her Facebook account, Carolee Harazard of Menlo Park was prompted to raise money for a Silicon Valley food bank, reports MercuryNews.com.

Harazard sought the advice of her Facebook friends after she helped a stranger in need at the grocery store. The stranger was a woman ahead of her in line, who realized she had lost her wallet when it came time to pay her bill. In a gesture of kindness, Harazard stepped forward to front the bill—an amount of $207.29. Later that day, after the stranger found her wallet, she wrote Harazard a check for $300, suggesting that she treat herself to a massage with the leftover cash. This is when Harazard turned to her Facebook friends. Immediately, friends suggested that she give the money to charity. And since the entire story began in a grocery store, they chose Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara. After Harazard decided to match the $93, friends began pitching in their own $93, and eventually she raised $1309.90 and almost $1,000 more in pledges.

“It’s just amazing,” said Second Harvest spokeswoman Lynn Crocker. “The money is very significant. But on a personal level, to be so generous to a stranger, and the stranger reciprocates, it just warms my heart. It shows me that the majority of people are decent and kind and loving.”

Blood bank turns to social media to spur donations

The Puget Sound Blood Center in Washington has decided to embrace social media as a way to attract new donors. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the blood bank recently completed the Tweet-up Blood Drive 2.0, its second blood drive to have been completely organized entirely through social media networks.

Since starting an online campaign earlier this summer, the blood bank already has 400 fans on Facebook and 1,200 followers on Twitter, along with several employees with popular social media sites. People can find out about blood drives on Twitter and sign up for an appointment through Facebook. Puget Sound Blood Center staff says that between 5 to 33 percent of their donors in the past three months have scheduled their appointments through social media sites, a number which should grow as schools starts their fall sessions.

“This is just one more way to reach people,” said Michael Young, the blood center’s communications director. “This is the way people are communicating today, and it’s the way people will be communicating in the future.”

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