millennials from Q1 resized for websiteAided by Twitter, YouTube and other social media, insurance industry groups and executives working jointly to attract more millennials assert their initial push in February made some significant strides.

Insurance Careers Month in February involved the launch of video testimonials posted on YouTube from executives including Hamilton Insurance Group CEO Brian Duperreault, Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale and XL Catlin CEO Mike McGavick. Organizers said that the videos drew 4,500 total hits. While the number may not seem very high, Kirsten Marr, vice president of marketing at Valen Analytics – one of the recruiting effort organizers – said the videos achieved their desired purpose in advance of Phase II in the coming months.

“Since this is a new grassroots initiative largely counting on industry contribution, the first Insurance Careers Month was as much about targeting industry professionals to joint the cause as the young talent we are working to engage,” Marr said in an email statement provided to Carrier Management. “The YouTube testimonials were effective in helping us gain the support of 600 companies committed to promoting insurance online, at schools and other local venues all over the country this September” when Phase II is underway.

Twitter may be a broader indicator of how well outreach faired during Insurance Careers Month. During the month, broader CEO outreach about the industry led to 12 million Twitter impressions for Insurance Career Month, reflecting the amounts of Tweets where hashtags including #talenttuesday, #careertrifecta and #InsuranceCareersMonth flagged the P/C industry’s millennial recruiting efforts.

Phase II, which began in April, will run through August and involve younger insurance industry professionals sharing their stories on the web, in social media and at local events including job fairs, internships and volunteer programs.

Then, in September 2016, outreach efforts will focus on the new school year. Organizers want to attract millennial involvement in planning for and participating in the second annual Insurance Careers Month in February 2017.

Duperreault, one of the industry executives involved in the collective effort to attract more millennials to the insurance industry, said that attracting other young people already working for P/C companies to the recruiting process will be key.

“The best way to create communications that resonate with millennials is with the involvement of their peers,” Duperreault said in prepared remarks. “Young people already in the industry are here for a reason. They’ve discovered a career that’s stable, rewarding and limitless … And given millenials’ familiarity with social media, they’re the ambassadors whose authentic testimonials capture what it means to work in insurance and reinsurance.”

The Institutes, MyPath, Valen Analytics, The Jacobson Group, InVEST and PCI are involved in the project.