The United States is making more and more use of computers to test children.

The schools are making more and more use of automated testing, both to track learning and to prepare children for the big standardized tests. The children are responding. Not necessarily by buckling down and studying hard for the tests the grownups want them to ace, but by trying to seize control of the system and write quizzes of their own.

Sporcle.com, for example, gives users the ability to create quizzes about topics such as favorite bands, favorite movies and favorite sports teams. Another site, GoodReads.com, gives users a chance to create and share quizzes about their favorite books.

Consumers are using online quizzes to spark and organize conversations about the same topics they used to talk about via social media. But, because they are simply taking and sharing quizzes, not holding free-form conversations, they may face fewer chances to go wrong, and fewer restrictions, than they would if they were simply texting or tweeting.

If you're selling off-exchange major medical coverage or other types of products, such as dental insurance, could you try quiz marketing?

Here's a quiz you could take to start.

What kinds of regulators, exchange compliance people and carrier compliance people do you answer to1. What kinds of regulators, exchange compliance people and carrier compliance people do you answer to?

  1. They're all sweethearts.
  2. They're a mixed bag.
  3. They're all grumps.

If the answer is A, you might try asking them about this idea. If the answer is B or C, you could try running the idea past them but might have to stick with outreach methods more suited to their backward-looking approach, such as having a scribe use a stylus to chisel descriptions of your products onto stone tablets.

What kinds of people would be your ideal prospects2. What kinds of people would be your ideal prospects?

  1. Young people.
  2. Middle-aged people.
  3. Older people.

Here again, it seems as if A would be the answer most compatible with experimenting with quiz marketing. Middle-aged prospects may be too busy to take quizzes. Older prospects may think they have all the answers. But, on the other hand, that could be wrong. Plenty of middle-aged and older prospects have signed up for Lumosity, which is, really, a quiz system. The best approach might be to see what organizations that are good at appealing to your ideal prospects are putting in their quizzes.

What kinds of existing Web, social media and traditional marketing channels can you use to promote any quizzes3. What kinds of existing Web, social media and traditional marketing channels can you use to promote any quizzes?

  1. A website that ranks high on Google searches and generates plenty of traffic.
  2. A busy Facebook page.
  3. A Twitter account that generates plenty of favorites, replies and retweets.
  4. Posters with your Web address all around town.
  5. An entry in the telephone directory that was last updated in 1967.

Realistically, quiz marketing will probably work best for agents and brokers who can answer "yes" to A,B, C and D, and get a laugh out of E. Running a quiz is probably a good adjunct to an existing marketing campaign but not a substitute -- unless you, or someone you hire, writes the Hamlet of health insurance marketing quizzes.

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Allison Bell

Allison Bell, a senior reporter at ThinkAdvisor and BenefitsPRO, previously was an associate editor at National Underwriter Life & Health. She has a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She can be reached through X at @Think_Allison.

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