Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – Aviva
Posted on 01. Mar, 2008 by Chi-chi Ekweozor in Social Media Strategies
This article forms part of a study on social media usage amongst FTSE 100 companies.
Each company in the FTSE 100 index was reviewed on its usage of such social media tools as RSS feeds*, blogs, online video, podcasts and social media platforms like Flickr and Facebook on its main website and on occasion, on websites of well-known subsidiary companies.
*RSS feeds are a simple way of delivering fresh versions of a website’s content to online readers automatically.
According to the Guardian.co.uk Business Glossary:
“The FTSE 100 index comprises the 100 most highly capitalised blue chip companies on the London Stock Exchange, representing approximately 81% of the UK market.”
This is how the biggest insurance group in the UK, Aviva (AV.L) measured up.
| FTSE 100 Company | RSS | Podcast | Blog | Online Video | Audio | Facebook, Flickr, etc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviva | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
………………
Online Video/Webcasts: Yes
Full Year Results Announcement, sign up required
Usage of Social Media platforms: No
(Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, del.icio.us, Twitter, Digg etc)
According to Yahoo! Finance:
“In 1998, Commercial Union and General Accident merged to form CGU. In 2000, that new group was joined by Norwich Union to create CGNU.
What does the company do?
On the one hand, it operates in the field of life assurance and pensions and on the other, in the field of insurance for homes, vehicles, accidents and fire. It also offers various financial services, namely investment fund management, brokerage and long term investment.”
Commentary:
In their own words:
“Aviva is the world’s fifth-largest insurance group and the biggest in the UK. We are the leading provider of life and pensions products in Europe and have substantial businesses elsewhere around the world.”
Aviva’s homepage includes an interesting ‘Editor’s Choice’ section featuring news highlights. Live share price information and industry news is delivered to the desktop, PDA and mobile (via www.aviva.com/mobile).
Of the ten FTSE 100 companies studied so far, Aviva is the most enthusiastic adopter of online video. You can watch French, Romanian and UK Aviva TV adverts on aviva.com as well as a collection of short films sponsored by the brand.
It may be worth investigating a more robust video delivery service provider though, the painfully slow buffering of the UK advert caused my browser to hang.
Recommendations:
- ‘Editor’s Choice’ section upgraded to Editor’s Blog – the impressively edited news and company information lovingly presented on the Aviva homepage and on the mobile site would work quite well as updates in a company blog. Aviva already knows as thing or two about blogging as it sponsors a fantastically presented blog that follows yachtswoman Dee Caffari as she prepares for the highly regarded 2008/9 Vendée Globe sailing competition. Check out the ‘messages in bottles’ from her supporters around the globe.
- Show RSS feeds on the aviva.com homepage – Aviva has an enviable collection of RSS feeds, delivering information ranging from company news to insurance industry coverage to subscribers automatically. Highlighting their availabliilty on the homepage would vastly improve their uptake.
It was a pleasure to review Aviva’s usage of social media, especially coming after an analysis of a major mining conglomerate which had absolutely none.
Aviva is certainly on the right track, it understands that online consumers want information on demand and I reckon its mobile site at www.aviva.com/mobile is probably well subscribed.
It could do more by providing a company blog covering issues related to its industry and discussing topics it champions such as its goal to “become the first insurer that is carbon neutral worldwide”.
This would certainly improve its search engine rankings (if it is concerned about such things) for key words relating to sustainability and ‘green issues’ as demonstrated by the site created by More Than to improve visibility of its eco-friendly policies at living.morethan.com.
Top marks for the ‘messages in bottles’.
………………
What do you think?
Are you a customer, employee, shareholder or stakeholder of Aviva? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this review. What would you like to see Aviva doing more of in terms of social media? More online video? A CEO blog, perhaps?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
Need any help?
Do you work for Aviva and want some insight into some of the ideas published here?
Or perhaps you look after marketing for Aviva and would like a quick chat about putting some of those recommendations into practice. Contact us.
Related posts:
- Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – Amlin
- Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – Admiral Group
- Social Media Usage amongst FTSE 100 companies – Companies 6 To 10: Antofagasta to Barclays
- Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – AMEC
- Social Media Usage in the FTSE 100: Company Profile – Alliance and Leicester
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