Maersk Line – B2B
Social Media Case Study
Rishi Jain Mohit Patil Venkat Pog aru Priyesh Sau rabh Chirag Sha h Arjun Padm anabhan
Q1
Why do you think Maersk Line was so successful in
social media? What do you think are Maersk Line’s key
Q2
Evaluate how Maersk executed on its social media plan
and platforms
Channel Specific Content Development
Delivering the right content to the right audience
Rank
Segment
Develop
Content
Ranking social media
channels from least to
most corporate
4 target audiences:
• Fans
• Customers
• Experts
• Employees
4 key areas of focus:
• Communications
• Internal Usage
• Customer Service
• Sales
Before Maersk engaged in Social Media marketing, it clearly identifies the different platforms that it wants to utilize and the purpose, audience, and focus for each platform. The rationale is to assist Maersk in setting achievable engagement goals and developing appropriate content based on four key areas of focus listed above.
Breaking the notion of
Maersk being a boring
and conservative
company
Social media platforms plotted as per user preference
How does Maersk stack up
Social Engagement Channels
1.1 million likes
1,16,000
followers
Fans including NGOs, current and potential employees, suppliers, regulatory bodies, shipping enthusiasts and fans
Create engagement through stories and visuals in a
conversational way Platform suitable for general
audience and raising brand awareness
Fans, employees, experts, trade press, shipping professionals,
customers
Share news with the industry, humanize the brand and interact
publicly with the various stakeholders
Platform suitable for quick resharing (re-tweets)
How does Maersk stack up
Channels for corporate use
1,09,882
followers
1266 followers
Customers and shipping experts
Share business related news, to get closer to customers informing them, listening to them
and discussing with them Most corporate platform suitable
for communication with customers
Customers, shipping professionals, experts and
journalists
For business news, interacting candidly with users about innovation, leadership and business, Hangouts with press Platform used for getting quick
How does Maersk stack up
Channels for video sharing
Focused on
functionality, not
reach(35 videos,
16 subscribers)
16337
subscriptions
FansPrimary video channel for uploading all videos for internal
viewing(restricted) and external viewing
Proved superior to company’s own ability to broadcast videos
with relevant functionality
Fans
Supplementary video channel where all business units had
their albums
Provided consolidation and synergy across business units
How does Maersk stack up
Dedicated channels for visuals
33734 followers
Instagram container spotters, people interested in taking photos of containers and vessels
Inspiring people around the world to take photos of Maersk
vessels and containers Maersk Line was one of the
strongest brands on the platform, gave brand recognition
and engagement, kept product and services top-of-mind
Fans and press
Used for functionality more than building a community
Used for uploading high-res photos and grouping them into
categories
Flickr
How does Maersk stack up
Dedicated channels for visuals
1225 followers
Fans and blog readers
Pinning images on specific boards, to engage a large audience by pinning images in
blog posts by the company Not a primary focus for the
company
Employees
Sharing stories, opportunity for employees to blog, post stories or articles, which can be then
shared
It is an easy-to-use blog site with extensive social capabilities
Q3
How do you think Jonathan Wichmann calculated the
1500 percent ROI on Facebook? Do you agree with his
600,000 FB fans in 2012 4x engagement than average
B2B Only 22% fans were actual
customers
For every wall post made public, an impression is made on a fan. – Virtue Group
1 million fans 2 posts daily $5 per 1000 views 68% customers feel social media
efforts improved perceptions of Maersk Line. – Q4
2012 survey
“Our ROI could be zero, or it could be
5000% depending upon your assumptions.”
“The value of one interaction can be worth more than
300,000 likes.” Benchmark,
not targets
Q4
How do you think Maersk Line’s competitors will react
to the company’s success in social media?
Global Competitors
Maersk is a clear winner in the digital space when
compared to its competitor
1.1 Mil Fb Likes
115k Twitter Followers
11000 Fb Likes
27832 LinkedIn followers
4184 Fb Likes
1205 Twitter Followers
Non Existent
6821 Twitter Followers
68000 Fb Likes
5825 Fb Likes
How Competitors will react?
Competitors may stick to the traditional approach
for the short run
They continue to believe that the traditional and low profile container line industry does not require social
media programs
Current Industry View
Proven
Measurabl
e Impact
Find
Impact
difficult to
measure
Industry Marketing Managers know the importance of social media but
find metrics difficult to implement Competitors are unlikely to catch up to Maersk in the short run
How Competitors will react?
Competitors will seek to emulate Maersk’s
success
As Digital and Social fronts become increasingly important in the B2B sphere, competitors will not sit idly by and cede control of this sphere to MaerskBuild a strong foundation
• Build a social media strategy focused team • Incorporate industry conversion instead of self promotion Launch a counter attack • Concentrate on where your users are • Share relevant industry and company news • Showcase Core Competencies
Measure the impact • Come up with metrics to measure social media performance: % of positive/negative sentiments,% reduction in support costs
Q5
What are the challenges facing Maersk Line in social
media going forward?
Redefining real-time
marketing Visual Web
Content Marketing will continue to grow Greater Information Density
Companies
focusing on the
right time to
engage the
right clients
rather than
rapid response
Cutting through
background
noise to
capture
limited
consumer
attention will
be a challenge
for companies
Companies will
continue to
prioritise
engagement
and metrics for
social media
success
Visual
platforms like
Pinterest,
Instagram and
Tumblr will
increase in
popularity as
customer
engagement
platforms
4 key tailwinds shape the future of social media
Maersk can ride the tailwinds of change
Redefining real-time marketing Visual Web Content Marketing will continue to grow Greater Information DensityShare relevant
content with the
right audiences
on the right
platforms
Achieve
consistent and
coherent brand
image for
sticky
impression
Integrate social
media marketing
with strategic
marketing efforts
and update
organizational
structure to
support
marketing
changes
Keeping
abreast of
changes in
social media and
implementing
technologies to
engage
consumers eg.
CRM and digital
marketing tools
Implication of trends
Q6
What should Maersk Line do next? What areas should
the company focus on and why?
Employee Usage
Employee Usage Customer
Service Customer Service Sales Sales Communicatio n Communicatio n
Augmenting social media marketing in overall business
Internal
External
Role
Build Employee Engagement Develop brand awareness Generation of leads Conversation with customerMaersk
Position
Employees as content generators Wide reach across social media Content not directed towards lead generation Lack of focus on customer serviceMaersk needs to develop its social media efforts to have a significant
impact on growth
Maersk needs to develop its social media efforts to have a significant
impact on growth
Maersk publishes technical insights and information on industry best practices on LinkedIn Thought Leadership Thought Leadership Value Creation Value Creation Information source Information source
Insights and best practices sharing will foster growth
Maersk is established as the go-to-shipping provider for clients with its expertise Provide insights to potential customers and optimize shipping solutions
Encouraging sharing of best practises and customer dialogue
How Maersk Compass Works
Customers engaged with technical insights and recognize the economic value proposition of working with Maersk
Sales team works with clients to propose tailor-made solutions and optimizing their shipping processes