Editor's Note: No day is ever the same for a hard-working employee benefit consultant. For those of you who've always wondered what the competition is up to, EBA premieres a monthly feature - 'day in the life,' in which an adviser tracks one routine day. We kick-off with with Kevin Roberts, a daily user of social media. Below is a log, completed by Roberts, of one day in the life of this San Francisco-area broker.
Want to be featured in an upcoming issue of EBA yourself? Please contact Associate Editors Marli Riggs at
February 23, 2012
7:00 a.m.
I pick up my smart phone and scan my Google Alerts. I have them set up with key words on subjects I want to stay current on: health insurance, health care reform, PPACA, Medicare, Republicans + health care, Department of Insurance, HHS, SCOTUS, various carriers and medical groups. You get the idea.
7:30 a.m.
While enjoying coffee and breakfast I keep my phone next to my food. I follow some select social media experts on Facebook and scan a couple of my Twitter lists.
8:00 a.m.
I move to my laptop, open email and login to HootSuite. The ability to cross-post the same item on different networks and "batch" schedule them to post at any time of the day makes this my go-to tool.
I pick out the items I feel are newsworthy, edit to 140 characters, add hash tags (#) and schedule to my Twitter and LinkedIn profiles. A news release on the California PPO report card goes on my Facebook fan page (stuff people can use). I count 10 new Twitter followers in the last 24 hours.
9:00 a.m.
Work and emails begin. Phone calls with clients with outstanding issues and longer phone calls with carriers. I take a half hour to write my Health Underwriters president's message for the monthly newsletter, call board members and discuss marketing opportunities with sponsors. I created a LinkedIn group for our Golden Gate chapter a year ago that has more than 200 members. The rest of the morning is spent preparing for a new client meeting.
12:50 p.m.
On the BART train and I "like" (EBA associate editor) Marli D. Riggs' "Follow Me on Twitter" post on Facebook. I review my client's information while listening to "Ahead of the Wave" by the Non-Commissioned Officers, an appropriate soundtrack for the day's activity.
1:15 p.m.
Three new Twitter followers and I check in "Under the Pacific Ocean" on Foursquare as we enter the Transbay Tube.
3:00 p.m.
Client meeting goes well and I'm on foot up one of San Francisco's glorious hills. I check in on Foursquare at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel for a seminar on health care delivery and a discussion of the state exchanges. I take a photo and post it to Twitter and my Facebook page.
6:30 p.m.
I'm on foot back to BART and stop to watch the Cable Car Turnaround at Powell Street and post, of course.
7:10 p.m.
I arrive early for the board meeting for a nonprofit childcare I serve on and check in on Foursquare where I'm the 'mayor' of the venue. One of the topics tonight is the use of social media in promoting our spring fundraiser and we have a created a Facebook page to broadcast the event.
10:30 p.m.
I arrive back home and discover new music on Shazam and read an article on Twitter on how obesity is affecting children. I "favorite" the Tweet, so I can come back to it later for a blog post for my Tumblr "micro-blog" page.
11:30 p.m.
Well-needed sleep as my phone charges on the bedside table, set to silent of course.
Roberts is president and CEO of KR Benefits Insurance. He is president of the Golden Gate Association of Health Underwriters and serves on the board of the nonprofit Friends of St. Francis Childcare. He is finding ways to use social media for greater business exposure and to keep current on topics affecting clients.
