financial services

Northwestern Mutual Beefs Up Social Media

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Northwestern Mutual has posted a video series on Facebook and YouTube that features actual customers sharing their personal insurance stories.

The goal of the videos is to show how the Milwaukee-based company can help provide financial security over a lifetime, no matter what the circumstances. The videos are part of the insurance company's "A Foundation for Life" campaign, which broke in August with TV, print and online and was created by Minneapolis-based Olson.

Through a range of educational and interactive materials, this campaign is targeted to those seeking long-term protection and flexibility as protection against market volatility, says Northwestern Mutual Marketing Vice President Conrad York.

"We aim to bring attention to the unique benefits that permanent life insurance offers," York tells Marketing Daily. "It is flexible and creates a lifelong foundation from which to manage financial risk and offers consistent, guaranteed cash value growth over time."

To publicize the videos, over 7,000 Northwestern Mutual field representatives have the option to include links to their clients via Facebook and LinkedIn status updates and traditional email. Links to the videos will also appear on field rep network office web sites.

"Our next round of communications will focus directly on the markets where the policy owners are located (Iowa and California) to help drive traffic there locally," says Northwestern Mutual Director of Corporate and Public Relations Darryll Fortune. "Early next year, we will announce a component through the Northwestern Mutual Foundation where consumers will be encouraged to view the videos."

The company currently has about 6,400 Facebook fans and will work to increase that number next year, Fortune tells Marketing Daily. "In 2010, our core focus has been to equip our financial representatives with the tools necessary to network on Facebook and LinkedIn," Fortune says. "Interacting on social networks gives our financial experts another opportunity to make an initial connection with clients and appropriately position themselves to discuss holistic financial security and planning. However, in 2011 you can expect to see increased activity on Northwestern Mutual's Facebook page, helping us to build and reinforce our brand."

In one of the three-minute videos, Dale Johnson, a retired schoolteacher in Waverly, Iowa, talks about his wife Sandy's wish to use the benefit from her Northwestern Mutual permanent life insurance policy to endow the school she taught at for many years.

In another video, Laura and Jeff Kopczynski transform a neglected residence into Cedar Montessori preschool in Glendale, Calif., due in large part to the cash value from their family's Northwestern Mutual permanent life insurance policies. A third features a couple which run a catering business in Readlyn, Iowa, and are able to purchase a home and invest in and expand their business due to their permanent life insurance.

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