Corporations hate free speech and social media because they can’t control the message.
Corporations hate free speech and social media because they can’t control the message. This reality was reinforced when I received a recent email from an insurance company I represent about what agents should and should not say during the presidential election. The email started off with a common sense approach of discussion boundaries with prospective clients.
Delegated Agent Alert
Presidential Election Discourse
Dear Agent,
Election Day – Tuesday, Nov. 6 – is just days away, and campaigns are in full swing. People everywhere are talking about politics, and as you meet with Medicare beneficiaries during this year’s Annual Election Period (AEP), people may want to engage you in those conversations.
Whether you’re at a seminar, staffing a Wal-Mart or sitting at someone’s kitchen table, any comments you make could be misinterpreted as XYZ Company’s point of view. Instead, you can remind people that XYZ Company does not endorse a candidate for president. XYZ Company believes that improving our health care system will require cooperation from both Democrats and Republicans. At XYZ Company, we have worked – and will continue to work – with both major political parties.
Several folks I have talked with that are Medicare beneficiaries are appropriately concerned about where Medicare is headed and how their benefits might change under President Obama or Mitt Romney. This particular insurer, I call XYZ Company, sells Medicare Advantage plans and is the recipient of government money on behalf of every Medicare eligible enrollment. Consequently, they don’t want to be seen either in the public perception or in the eyes of Medicare as promoting an agenda because of comments agents may make in the field.
The insurance god commands subservience
However, it was the next admonishment in the email that piqued my ire.
Follow policies and principles
You should also behave the same in an electronic or digital environment as in a physical setting. Please do not use email or other electronic means to promote personal political views. And, always keep in mind the XYZ Company Sales & Marketing Code of Ethics, which says that agents will conduct themselves with professionalism and integrity.
These are important elections, and the results will affect each of us. People are passionate about the candidates and issues they believe in – something we should celebrate and support. But, we must also remember that not everyone will share our beliefs. Bottom line: While on the job this AEP, please respect other people’s opinions, but do not share your own.
Corporate cork in my mouth?
First of all, if you have an agent that is not acting professional, you need to terminate the agreement. It is not unprofessional to give your political opinion in a respectful and polite manner. Medicare vouchers are a means of rationing care that is far more insidious than the hollow and deceptive argument that the Independent Payment Advisory Panel is a death panel. If I see a lie or misrepresentation from a politician, SuperPac or news organization, I will sure as heck use what ever social media muscle I have to reveal the truth.
Silence kills
Second, don’t tell me not to promote my own personal political views. One of the reasons I became and independent agent was to avoid having to subjugate myself to the swill of corporate marketing. I will not be a cheerleader for any company’s marketing that I think is meant to promote a skewed image of the company. There have been too many people that have been bullied by insurance companies for the sake of profit.
Not a corporate drone
Finally, don’t tell me not to share my own beliefs. I specifically set up my website and social media so people can learn who I am and what I represent as a person. I tell people to visit my website, twitter account, Facebook, Linked In, and other social media sites I maintain to learn who I am. If they are turned off by what I write or support, no harm, no foul; they don’t have to contact me. I am certain I lose as many potential clients as I gain. But I grew weary of being the “happy insurance guy” trying to appeal to the widest possible audience.
Honesty is human
It’s time for some honesty in sales. That honesty starts with corporations not trying to stifle social media free speech by employees and agents. Can you imagine if corporate marketing ran presidential campaigns? Both candidates would be indistinguishable from one another. Social media is about having conversations, providing content and free expression. Corporations are just going to have to learn that we are tired of them trying to control the message and the civil rights of Americans.