25 Ideas for Maritime Companies on World Social Media Day
As someone working in maritime recruitment or crew planning, World Social Media Day, which is celebrated annually on June 30th, might not be something you’ve ever really given much thought to. So what’s the reason behind this blog post we hear you ask?!
What is World Social Media Day?
World Social Media Day was created to recognize the profound impact social media has on global communication and connectivity. Initiated by Mashable in 2010, this day celebrates the ways social media fosters interaction, builds communities, and facilitates the sharing of information and ideas across diverse cultures and geographies.
It's a day to acknowledge how platforms like Facebook, X (formerly known as, and still generally referred to as) Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and others have revolutionized personal and professional communication, enabling instant connections and the dissemination of news in real-time. Something that your seafarers probably greatly appreciate!
World Social Media Day also highlights the role of social media in driving social change, promoting digital literacy, and supporting businesses in reaching broader audiences. It's an opportunity for users, influencers, and companies like yours to reflect on your social media usage, celebrate its benefits, and advocate for responsible and positive engagement online.
How can social media help with maritime recruitment
If you’re a crew manager or recruitment officer, did you know that you can even use social media to help with your maritime recruitment efforts?
LinkedIn is an obvious place to hunt for seafaring candidates, but a huge number of seamen also look for work on Facebook.
And If you already post your maritime jobs with Martide we’ll be posting and promoting your vacancies on our Facebook, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram and Twitter/X feeds.
This works well for us (and therefore for our crew managers and manning agents!) - we see plenty of engagement and receive messages from interested seafarers who then create an account with us in order to apply for those jobs.
This means, too, that they’ll upload their work experience and documents and become part of our candidate database and if they’ve set their profile to public, you’ll be able to see their profile when you’re searching for suitable candidates for your jobs.
Does your shipping company or manning agency really need social media?
So if Martide is doing all the heavy lifting for you and posting YOUR jobs on OUR social media pages, why should you bother creating your own company profile?
Well in this day and age, most companies can’t afford not to be on at least one form of social media platform and creating a strong brand presence on social media has a number of benefits.
Here are just a couple of key reasons why your shipping company should leverage social media:
It will increase your brand awareness
Many potential customers research online before purchasing a service or product. Social media might seem like an unlikely platform for promoting your shipping company’s services, but it plays a crucial role in building brand awareness.
Read more: Why Your Shipping Company or Manning Agency Needs a Strong Brand
For small to medium-sized shipping companies, establishing an online presence is essential. The more people see your name and logo, the more memorable your brand becomes.
It will enhance your Google presence
When someone is interested in your shipping company, whether it's a seaman seeking a job, a potential client, or a prospective partner, the first step they usually take is to Google you.
Having an active social media presence means that your company website and social media profiles will appear in search results. This increased visibility boosts your chances of connecting with searchers.
It will boost your company's success
Many of those people or companies seeking shipping services or maritime jobs are active on social media. Promoting your services on relevant social networks can attract significant attention. Up-to-date stats are hard to find but a report from back in 2013 found that a number of shipping companies were very active on LinkedIn. And as the platform is consistently growing, it's fairly safe to assume that's still the case today.
While LinkedIn is often seen as a job-seeking platform, it is also a powerful tool for networking and establishing B2B connections. Using social media effectively can significantly enhance your company's exposure and success.
How to maintain an active social media presence in the maritime industry
However, a word to the wise; it’s all well and good signing up for a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn account, but you need to make sure you post, and post regularly. Otherwise anyone who does follow you is going to get bored pretty quickly and either unfollow or unlike your page.
Posting consistently and posting content that is relevant to your audience (i.e. other maritime companies or seafarers looking for jobs) is crucial if you want to create engagement and build on your number of followers.
As Hootsuite says in their blog post about how often to post on social media: “The answer to “how often to post to social media” varies by platform. But it will also require some testing on your own accounts.”
To dive into this a little deeper, and specifically for the maritime industry, here is a little more information to help you develop your own social media strategy.
Developing a social media strategy for maritime companies
Here we’ve listed the social media platforms you might want to consider posting on, the number of times a week you should consider posting, and a few general ideas for content and the type of posts that will work well on that platform and for its audience.
- Frequency: 3-5 times per week
- Content Ideas: Company updates, industry news, behind-the-scenes videos, and customer testimonials.
- Frequency: 2-4 times per week
- Content Ideas: Industry insights, professional achievements, job postings, and networking events.
- Frequency: 5-7 times per week
- Content Ideas: Real-time updates, news snippets, event announcements, and quick industry tips.
- Frequency: 3-5 times per week
- Content Ideas: Visual content like ship photos, crew life, port visits, and environmental initiatives.
- Frequency: 1-2 times per week
- Content Ideas: In-depth videos, tutorials, vessel tours, and company documentaries.
- Frequency: 3-4 times per week
- Content Ideas: Infographics, maritime-themed boards, safety tips, and industry trends.
- Frequency: 3-5 times per week
- Content Ideas: Short, engaging videos, crew challenges, maritime facts, and quick tips.
If the idea of sitting down and writing or creating posts for social media sounds like something you really, really don’t want to do, there are plenty of marketing agencies out there who offer social media content creation and scheduling as a service, although this probably won’t come cheap.
If you can find the time or you have someone on the team who would jump at the chance to be your social media person (maybe one of your Instagram or TikTok-addicted younger employees?!) you can make life easier by using a social media scheduling tool such as Buffer or Hootsuite, who we mentioned earlier.
25 ideas for social media content for maritime businesses
Finally, with World Social Media Day just around the corner, we thought we’d be generous and give you a few more ideas for posts for your maritime recruitment or crew planning departments. Twenty five ideas, to be exact.
You can thank us later when your social media accounts are blowing up - in a good way!
1. Behind-the-scenes tours: Share a video tour of a vessel, highlighting different sections and their functions.
2. Meet the crew: Introduce crew members with a brief bio and their roles on the ship.
3. Daily operations: Post about a day or week in the life at sea, showcasing various daily tasks and routines.
4. Safety drills: Share a video or images of safety drills being conducted on board.
5. Historical insights: Share interesting historical facts about maritime history or famous ships.
6. Port visits: Highlight different ports visited by the vessel with images and interesting facts about each location.
7. Environmental initiatives: Post about efforts to reduce environmental impact, such as waste management practices or fuel efficiency improvements.
8. Maritime technology: Showcase new technology or equipment being used on the ship.
9. Cargo highlights: Feature unique or interesting cargo being transported.
10. Weather challenges: Share experiences and strategies for dealing with challenging weather conditions at sea.
11. Maritime traditions: Explain and celebrate maritime traditions and ceremonies, such as the line crossing ceremony for seafarers.
12. Maintenance projects: Post about ongoing maintenance projects and why they are important for safety and efficiency.
13. Training programs: Highlight training programs and certifications that crew members undergo.
14. Wildlife encounters: Share photos or videos of marine wildlife encountered during voyages.
15. Industry news: Post updates and news relevant to the maritime industry.
16. Customer testimonials: Share testimonials and success stories from clients and partners.
17. Sustainability goals: Discuss the company’s sustainability goals and achievements.
18. Career opportunities: Announce maritime job vacancies as well as shore-based career opportunities within the company.
19. Festive celebrations: Share how the crew celebrates holidays and special occasions on board.
20. Rescue missions: Highlight any search and rescue missions or emergency assistance provided.
21. Innovative solutions: Feature innovative solutions and practices being implemented to improve operations, such as the implementation of a maritime crew management software solution.
22. Cultural highlights: Share cultural experiences from different countries and regions visited.
23. Maritime legislation: Inform followers about important maritime laws and regulations.
24. Company milestones: Celebrate company anniversaries, milestones, and significant achievements.
25. Interactive Q&A: Host a live Q&A session where followers can ask questions about seafarer life and office-based operations such as maritime recruitment and crew planning and management.
And talking of maritime crew planning and management…
At Martide we don’t offer marketing or social media content creation services - we’ll leave that to the professionals. Although we do create our own posts - and if you’re not following us already, this is where you can find, follow and like us.
But what we do do is help small to medium-sized shipping companies and manning agencies streamline their maritime recruitment and crew planning operations.
From our searchable seafarer recruitment database to advertising your maritime job vacancies (for free, no less!) to document storage, contract creation and crew planning to syncing with travel agencies and port agents, we’re an end-to-end solution for busy crew managers and manning agents.
Want to know more about how we can help YOUR company? Get in touch with us today, or request your free online demo so you can really see what we’re all about.
Eve Church
Eve is Martide's content writer, publishing regular posts on everything from our maritime recruitment and crew planning software to life at sea. Eve has been writing professionally for more than two decades, crafting everything from SEO-focused blog posts and website landing pages to magazine articles and corporate whitepapers.
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