SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - October 21, 2014) - Hearsay Social®, provider of the leading social business platform for the financial services industry, and Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich), a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets, today announced an expanded program empowering Zurich agents in Europe to share content with clients through social media.
At the end of 2014, Western Europe is expected to have over 178 million social networking users representing nearly two-thirds of its Internet population, according to eMarketer. As social media becomes crucial to insurance agents to connect with customers, Zurich is leading the industry by cooperating with Hearsay Social for its global social media program.
After initially kicking off its social media project in Germany, Zurich has since chosen to expand across multiple countries, including Austria, Spain, and other countries. As Zurich's global service provider, Hearsay Social is playing an instrumental role in driving agent success on social media.
"Today and over the next several years, digital technologies will become an increasingly important driving force for our thousands of agents around the world," said Monika Schulze, Global Head of Brand Marketing of Zurich Insurance Group. "Our global relationship with Hearsay Social allows us to empower our agents to excel on social networks and connect with customers."
"We are proud of the successes we have seen working with Hearsay Social in Germany, which we have now expanded to other countries in Europe. Through the social business program so far, we have been able to drive marketing," said Michael Holzapfel, Digital Strategist at Zurich Germany.
Through its social business program, Zurich agents are using Hearsay Social to compliantly share thought leadership content and build relationships with customers and prospective customers across the social networks. Sharing content helps agents stay top of mind with their customers and reach out at just the right time.
"Hearsay Social is thrilled to help build the social media program at Zurich Insurance Group," said Hearsay Social CEO Clara Shih. "We look forward to empowering Zurich's insurance agents to reach even greater successes as they expand the program across Europe."
About Zurich Insurance Group
Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With more than 55,000 employees, it provides a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services. Zurich's customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, including multinational corporations, in more than 170 countries. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com.
About Hearsay Social
Hearsay Social empowers global financial services professionals to efficiently and successfully use social media to engage with and serve clients in a compliant manner. The enterprise-ready solution helps agents and advisors quickly and easily move beyond yesterday's relationship building tactics and to get found and strengthen relationships with social media. Tens of thousands of financial services professionals worldwide use Hearsay Social every day to hear and respond to everything their customers and prospects are saying on top social networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google+. The Hearsay Social platform boosts advisor and agent productivity while enabling brand integrity and compliance for even the most regulated industries.
Hearsay Social, an Efma Associate Partner, LIMRA Elite Strategic partner and SIFMA strategic partner, has raised $51M from Sequoia Capital, NEA, and top executives from Facebook, Twitter, and Google, and is headquartered in Silicon Valley with dedicated local presences in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, Toronto, and London.
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