Why does Kela advertise?
Advertising has been a part of Kela's communications for many years and plays an important role in reaching customers. It helps raise awareness of Kela's services, supports timely and appropriate customer interactions, and ensures that benefits and services reach those who are entitled to them.
As part of our customer communications, we also use visibility that we have to pay for, specifically advertising. This helps ensure that information about changes concerning benefits and new service channels reaches our customers as effectively as possible.
In order to fulfil the statutory obligation to communicate information to its customers, Kela adapts its communications to changes in the media field and communication channels. Traditional communication tools, such as news bulletins and brochures, are no longer enough on their own, when the goal is to provide information to Kela’s various customer groups.
Advertising is one way of responding to these expectations. By means of advertising, we ensure that our messages are seen and heard and that the information is visible in the channels used by our customers.
By using channels such as social media and state-of-the-art digital advertising, we can reach customers and stakeholders that we would not be able to reach through other channels.
If we want our messages to be seen, we must be willing to pay for visibility. On social media, for instance, getting a message across to large numbers of users does not come free.
To take one example, Kela’s posts on Facebook and Instagram reach a few thousand people on average, without advertising. Even with a small advertising budget the same content can reach tens of thousands of people, sometimes over 100,000 users.
What does Kela advertise?
Online customer services are one of Kela’s most cost-effective forms of service. They save Kela money and thus also save public expenditure. When a customer visits a Kela service point in person, the cost of one visit is about 10 euros. The cost of one visit via the Kela online services is less than one euro.
For many customers, our online customer service is the easiest and most convenient way of contacting Kela. When more customers are able to handle their contacts with Kela online, we can concentrate on serving the customers that need personal guidance even better.
In addition to promoting our online services, we use advertising to reinforce information about the benefits we provide. Each year, we produce a wide range of media content for different customer groups, containing information and guidance on services Kela provides. The web publication Elämässä.fi gives our customers a voice.
Customers can contact our customer service specialists for advice on Instagram and Facebook without having to queue for our customer service number. Digital advertising supports our aim to ensure that useful content and services reach our customers.
We also advertise the Kanta services, particularly MyKanta, a service intended for the general public.
Where does Kela advertise?
The effectiveness of digital advertising is based on close and specific targeting: the information about service channels and benefits reaches the right target groups at the right time. Depending on the target group, ads may be shown on Instagram, LinkedIn, Jodel or on the websites of various media.
Each year, Kela publishes 9 guides dedicated to the different types of benefits for various life situations. They are available in Easy Finnish, Swedish and English. Depending on the target group, our advertising can also appear on the radio or in free newspapers.
One day, if and when we are able to offer citizens and decision-makers information about current Kela-related matters automatically, advertising may no longer be needed. But as long as our customers and stakeholders have to find the information themselves, we will continue to convey information using all available communication channels – including advertising.