Florida Blue used Promoted Accounts and Tweets on Twitter to increase brand awareness and connect with existing and potential members. Through targeted campaigns, Florida Blue saw a 5X increase in daily brand mentions and expanded its follower base by 350%. By monitoring conversations and engaging directly with users, Florida Blue established itself as a health resource for Floridians.

1. Advertising
Promoted Accounts, Promoted Tweets
Florida Blue drives 5X increase in daily brand mentions
Health solutions company connects with existing and potential members through direct interactions on Twitter
@FLBlue CASE STUDY
CAMPAIGN TIP
Monitor search results for your
unique hashtag to track volume
of brand conversations and to
find real-time opportunities
to connect with customers.
THE CHALLENGE
Florida Blue (@FLBlue), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue
Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health solutions company that assists
10x increase in Floridians in their pursuit of health. Despite its mission to focus on people
rather than just health plans, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida found it
daily mentions challenging to connect with existing and potential members on an
of Florida Blue compared to daily brand individual level.
mentions of Blue Coss Blue Shield of
Florida the previous month When Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida re-branded itself as Florida Blue,
the company saw it as an opportunity to to fulfill its mission of connecting
with the community — it therefore sought a dynamic channel to not only
communicate its new brand but also to position itself as a local resource
for Floridians.
THE SOLUTION
To build a follower base of local health-minded consumers, @FLBlue used
Promoted Accounts to target Floridians interested in a variety of health-
related topics including fitness, diet, physicians and preventative care.
Twitter, Inc. | business.twitter.com | @TwitterAds 2012

2. Advertising
Additionally, the Florida Blue team monitored trending topics to identify
health-related conversations already taking place on Twitter. Learning
what consumers had to say about topics like yoga, running and healthy
eating provided the company with themes that it could use to create Tweet
content. In its Tweets, @FLBlue included links to drive consumers to relevant
posts on the company blog or to additional online resources. The Florida
Blue team then promoted these Tweets to the timelines of its followers and
users similar to its followers.
Expanded follower base by
350%
“Twitter’s strength is the
“Twitter’s strength is the conversation,” says Kate Warnock, Digital
conversation. Tweets provide you Marketing Specialist for Florida Blue. “Tweets provide you with information
with information about people. By about people. By learning more about your customers, you can start to
communicate with them more effectively.”
learning more about your customers,
you can start to communicate with
@FLBlue also used Promoted Tweets in search to connect with consumers
them more effectively.” actively looking for information on health. By targeting keywords like ‘diet,’
‘vegan,’ ‘cdc,’ ‘doctor’ and ‘nurse practioner’ with relevant Tweets, the
Kate Warnock,
company established itself as a resource that could provide consumers with
Digital Marketing Specialist, Florida Blue
the right content at the right time.
To further establish its reputation as a resource to Florida consumers,
@FLBlue later used the hashtag #floridaproud in an integrated campaign
(TV, radio and digital) that encouraged Floridians to tweet about what
makes them proud of their home state and local community. “The idea was
that people would see the #floridaproud hashtag and get involved,” says
Justin Freid of TPG Digital, the agency which helped with the campaign.
@FLBlue also used Promoted Tweets in timelines and Promoted Tweets in
search with terms like ‘#floridaproud’ and ‘florida blue’ to extend the reach
of the Florida Proud campaign. The conversation that unfolded around
the #floridaproud hashtag created context which the Florida Blue team
leveraged to respond directly to users and to provide them with links to the
@FLBlue blog or additional online resources. These direct interactions and
relevant information resulted in personalized experiences with existing and
potential members.
THE RESULTS
“Promoted Tweets really extended the reach of our mission and our message
beyond our follower base,” says Justin Freid of TPG Media. “We saw a
tremendous increase in conversations on Twitter around @FLBlue.”
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3. Advertising
@FLBlue received an average of 38 brand
mentions per day over the course of its
campaigns. This marked more than a 5X increase
in daily brand mentions received by Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Florida over the previous month.
Overall, it also scaled its follower base from 1,200
to 5,400 — an increase of 350%.
“As a two-way communication channel, we also
connected with our community on a personal
level,” says Sharon LaSure-Roy, Senior Manager
of Digital Engagements and Promotions at
Florida Blue.
For example, one Floridian used the #floridaproud
hashtag in a Tweet about her entry packet for an
upcoming local running event. @FLBlue found her
Tweet during a search for the hashtag and replied
to wish her good luck in the race.
“A holistic approach is incredibly important so
that we are top of mind,” says LaSure-Roy. “We
want to make sure we’re constantly showing the
value of who we are and what we can be for our
customers — whether they’re already members or
will hopefully become members.”
Twitter, Inc. | business.twitter.com | @TwitterAds 2012