Maersk Line uses Social Media to get closer to customers
6 December, 2011
Maersk Line gained 13,000 facebook fans in a month. The world’s largest container shipping company is on course with its engagement in the world of social media.
Using social media may be ‘business as usual’ in most industries but, until now, shipping companies have been slow on the uptake. Maersk Line is, in fact, the first shipping company to take social media seriously.
Getting closer to customers The company began with a listening phase, trying to figure out whether engaging through social media could add value to the business.
“Initially Maersk Line wasn’t sure about social media; almost all our customers are other businesses not the general public. However, we quickly realised it was an excellent forum for discussion and a way to gauge customer needs,” says Klavs Valskov, Global Director of Communications at Maersk Line.
He continues: “Social media is an excellent way for us to tell our stories and share our news with the world. But, most of all, we’re there because we want to get closer to our customers. We envision social media as a platform that allows us to build genuine partnerships with customers and, hopefully, go on to co-create new products with them.”
An encouraging start Following successes on twitter and YouTube Maersk Line recently launched its own facebook page.
The page has led to the company sharing more news, photos and videos with a global fan base. It also features a collection of tweets by notable employees.
“The response to our presence on facebook has exceeded all our expectations,” says Mr. Valskov. “In just a month we went from 500 to 13,500 fans.”
“It is a great start, and it gives us a good tailwind. Social media could become core to Maersk Line’s engagement with the wider world.”
Maersk Line’s profiles in social media So far, Maersk Line has developed a presence on the following platforms:
