Maersk Case Study Solution

Maersk Line – B2B Social Media Case Study

Jai n i h s i R l t Pati aru i h o M g at Po rabh k n e V u sh Sa e y i r P Shah abhan g a r i Ch m an d a P Arjun

Q1 Why do you think Maersk Line was so successful in social media? What do you think are Maersk Line’s key drivers of success

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

Ranking social media channels from least to most corporate

Breaking the notion of Maersk being a boring and conservative company

Develop Content

Segment

4 target audiences:

4 key areas of focus:

• • • •

• • • •

Fans Customers Experts Employees

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.

Social media platforms plotted as per user preference

From least corporate to most corporate

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

Fans, employees, experts, trade press, shipping professionals, customers

Create engagement through stories and visuals in a conversational way

Share news with the industry, humanize the brand and interact publicly with the various stakeholders

Platform suitable for general audience and raising brand awareness

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

Customers, shipping professionals, experts and journalists

Share business related news, to get closer to customers informing them, listening to them and discussing with them

For business news, interacting candidly with users about innovation, leadership and business, Hangouts with press

Most corporate platform suitable for communication with customers

Platform used for getting quick ideas from users

How does Maersk stack up Channels for video sharing Focused on functionality, not reach(35 videos, 16 subscribers) Fans

16337 subscriptions

Fans

Primary video channel for uploading all videos for internal viewing(restricted) and external viewing

Supplementary video channel where all business units had their albums

Proved superior to company’s own ability to broadcast videos with relevant functionality

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

Flickr 491 followers

Fans and press

Inspiring people around the world to take photos of Maersk vessels and containers

Used for functionality more than building a community

Maersk Line was one of the strongest brands on the platform, gave brand recognition and engagement, kept product and services top-of-mind

Used for uploading high-res photos and grouping them into categories

How does Maersk stack up Dedicated channels for visuals

1225 followers

Fans and blog readers

Employees

Pinning images on specific boards, to engage a large audience by pinning images in blog posts by the company

Sharing stories, opportunity for employees to blog, post stories or articles, which can be then shared

Not a primary focus for the company

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 calculation? Why or why not?

1500% ROI??????? For every wall post made public, an impression is made on a fan. – Virtue Group

68% customers feel social media efforts improved perceptions of Maersk Line. – Q4 2012 survey

1 million fans

600,000 FB fans in 2012 2 posts daily

$5 per 1000 views Benchmark, not targets

4x engagement than average B2B Only 22% fans were actual customers

“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.”

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

68000 Fb Likes 6821 Twitter Followers

5825 Fb Likes 15546 LinkedIn followers

How Competitors will react? Competitors may stick to the traditional approach for the short run

Current Industry View

Proven Measurabl e Impact Find Impact difficult to measure

They continue to believe that the traditional and low profile container line industry does not require social media programs

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 Maersk

Possible competitors Game plan Build 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?

Future Challenges 4 key tailwinds shape the future of social media

Redefining real-time marketing

Companies focusing on the right time to engage the right clients rather than rapid response

Greater Information Density

Cutting through background noise to capture limited consumer attention will be a challenge

Content Marketing will continue to grow

Visual Web

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

Implication of trends Maersk can ride the tailwinds of change

Redefining realtime marketing

Share relevant content with the right audiences on the right platforms

Greater Information Density

Content Marketing will continue to grow

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

Visual Web

Keeping abreast of changes in social media and implementing technologies to engage consumers eg. CRM and digital marketing tools

Q6 What should Maersk Line do next? What areas should the company focus on and why?

Focus Areas Augmenting social media marketing in overall business External

Internal

Role Maersk Position

Employee Employee Usage Usage

Communicatio Communicatio n n

Sales Sales

Build Employee Engagement

Develop brand awareness

Generation of leads

Employees as content generators

Wide reach across social media

Content not directed towards lead generation

Customer Customer Service Service Conversation with customer Lack of focus on customer service

Maersk needs to develop its social media efforts to have a significant impact on growth

Compass Campaign Insights and best practices sharing will foster growth Thought Thought Leadership Leadership Information Information source source Value Value Creation Creation

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 Maersk publishes technical insights and information on industry best practices on LinkedIn

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