SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY: THE INTENSITY AND CONTENT OF THE MARKETING ACTIVITIES

Abstract

In today's modern shipping business environment, there is a shift from traditional to digital marketing. Social media has the most significant potential for companies to reach consumers; thus, this paper aims to discover the intensity and content of the marketing activities of shipping companies through social media. Two different types of companies, the container and multi-purpose ones, are the objects of research, primarily analyzed based on the number of followers, posts, likes, comments, and shares on social media. The results show the highest intensity of Facebook usage for shipping companies. It was also discovered that shipping companies actively use Facebook, and this form of online representation is considered more precise regarding brand awareness and public engagement. The content analysis revealed that shipping companies have no intention of selling services using social media. Namely, there are limited network-building or customer relationship efforts, but activities in Corporate Social Responsibility activities, Employee Brand Management, and Sustainability increase. The paper revealed that shipping companies use digital marketing toward the internal public and employees, increasing marketing and human resource management activities. This paper opens up the possibilities of a more significant application of marketing in the shipping industry, bearing in mind the trends of digitization of maritime operational processes and supply chains.

Keywords

• social media
• marketing in shipping
• content analysis