A Digital Marketing Audit of Old Mutual Zimbabwe , Zimnat, and First Mutual

In this series, I randomly picked three major insurance companies in Zimbabwe – Old Mutual ZW , Zimnat and First Mutual Holdings Limited – to analyze their digital marketing efforts from a surface level. It was quite an intriguing exercise.

LinkedIn :

Firstly, I checked these companies' social media presence. Their main focus seems to be LinkedIn. Old Mutual leads with 45,917 followers, while First Mutual has the least. However, despite having the most followers, Old Mutual only made 35 LinkedIn posts from November to February, compared to Zimnat's 95 and First Mutual's 55. The average likes per post were 31, 26, and 58 for Old Mutual, Zimnat, and First Mutual, respectively.

While Zimnat posted the most, they have the least average likes. Interestingly, 51 of their 95 posts had 10 or less likes, indicating a need for engagement improvement. First Mutual's average of 58 likes/post piqued my interest. Most of their liked posts were job adverts, not regular marketing efforts. Of their 55 posts, 8 were job adverts with 1,478 likes, making up 45% of the page's total likes for the period. A colleague jokingly said, "First Mutual should focus more on being a job board." They should definitely work on increasing engagement for other posts as well.

Facebook:

Old Mutual shines on Facebook. From November 1, 2023, to February 7, 2024, they made 90 posts compared to Zimnat and First Mutual's 80 and 55, respectively. Zimnat continues its LinkedIn preference, while First Mutual maintains its 55-post consistency. Old Mutual also boasts the largest Facebook following at 195,000, almost triple Zimnat's.

Interestingly, all three companies struggle with Facebook engagement. While looking for posts with 200+ likes, I found only 3 from Old Mutual, 1 from Zimnat, and none from First Mutual. Zimnat's only post exceeding 200 likes was their Penzura video, which performed well across platforms.

Other Platforms:

All three companies have Twitter accounts, with Old Mutual again leading at 49,200 followers compared to First Mutual's 2,509. However, Old Mutual struggles with meaningful Twitter engagement. They also all have Instagram accounts (you likely know who leads and lags there!). Zimnat is the only one on TikTok, but with a modest 250 followers.

Content Creation:

Whoever creates Old Mutual's content deserves kudos. Their color combinations are fantastic, model images are professionally on-point, and graphics are lively. They offer a buffet of content from infographics to videos and blog posts, but need to find ways to make it more interactive and increase engagement without compromising company values.

Zimnat follows closely in content variety, but needs serious engagement improvement. Understanding their audience and the algorithm could be key. Their graphics appear slightly dull, possibly due to their frequent use of a specific green shade combined with white. Interestingly, the Penzura video pops with a different green shade, minimized light, and grey/black accents.

First Mutual needs the most work. They need to grow their following, create engaging content, and improve their graphics (which I'd rate 3.6/10 for effort and concept). They need a vigorous investment in and revamp of their social media strategy.

Websites

After diving into social media, I moved on to analyzing their websites. Domain authority (DA) was low across all three, with Zimnat holding the bottom spot at 23. To boost their DA, they need high-quality backlinks, on-page SEO optimization, and an improved overall website experience.

Website Grading Analysis:

I ran tests on site accessibility, user experience, marketing, and technology. These included popularity tests, server behavior, meta tags, and image tests. Old Mutual emerged a champion with a score of 9.6, followed by First Mutual at 8.6 and Zimnat at 7.4.

Old Mutual:

• Enable GZIP encoding on your server for faster data transfer and compression.
• Aim for an optimal text length of 700-1000 words per page (current average: 560).
• Use descriptive words or phrases in anchor text for SEO benefits.
• Define headings correctly (most are currently empty or incorrect).
• Improve weak internal link descriptions ("read here," "read more").

Strengths:

• Recent website update
• Highest organic visitors per month (~3900)
• Appropriate URLs
• Meta descriptions on all pages

First Mutual:

• Only 20% of pages have meta descriptions. Add them to all!
• Link your Twitter account to your page.
• Define headings semantically correctly.
• Fix image sizes (61% undefined).
• Improve weak internal link descriptions (6) and one missing text.

Strengths:

• Last updated December 12, 2023 (fresh and updated)
• Correct page title usage
• Only site with GZIP encoding
• Perfectly mobile-optimized
• ~840 organic visitors per month (popular)

Zimnat:

• Lowest organic visitors (~570 per month, still popular)
• Implement meaningful anchor text.
• Add alt text to image links.
• Ensure all pages have meta descriptions.
• Define headings semantically correctly (start with H1 for page summary).
• Fix missing text descriptions for 88 links.
• Add meta descriptions (currently none).
• Enable GZIP encoding.
• Optimize image formats (2) and resizing (80).

Strengths:

• Optimal text length per page (average 995 words)
• Fresh website (last updated November 2023)
• Mobile-optimized

Conclusion

My analysis reveals Old Mutual's dominance across the board. They appear to have invested heavily in their digital marketing team, and a few tweaks could elevate them to an untouchable position. Zimnat exhibits effort and dedication, excelling in traditional marketing. However, departing from uninspired imitation and embracing creative thinking could propel their social media marketing. Undoubtedly, they need to significantly improve their website. First Mutual requires a well-oiled digital marketing team. While their color scheme is pleasing, their graphics lack vibrancy and require attention. A defined strategy and budget are crucial, as their website performs well but their social media presence needs work.

Interestingly, these three companies are the first I've analyzed that take LinkedIn marketing seriously. Could it be because their target audience resides there?

https://medium.com/@mukondos2/a-digital-marketing-audit-of-old-mutual-zimnat-and-first-mutual-740d177040c0