Social Climbers is FTI Consulting’s research series which examines and compares the social media performance of some of the world’s largest sectors. In this edition we shine a spotlight on shipping, a traditionally conservative sector, known for relying on its deep relationships and trust between companies and individuals – and yet, increasingly it seems, willing to share its stories with the outside world through social media.
Looking at what is widely recognised as the world’s ten most prominent ship managers, we discovered many similarities in how the companies are presenting themselves online – with all ten active on social media, counting a combined following of over 400,000.
Whereas a few years ago we would be drawing a distinction between ship managers that were using social media and those who were not, now it is evident that some of these companies are really getting to know the ropes. They are investing more time and effort to tell their corporate stories, and those edging forward are considering the nuances of each of the different platforms and adapting their messaging as appropriate.
Our analysis ranked social media engagement by each ship manager based on three categories: presence, audience and impact. The scores for each category were combined to generate our Shipping Index on page 3, with Anglo-Eastern topping the list in performance terms and Wilhelmsen coming in at a close second.