Did you know that maritime transport accounts for 80% of international trade? It makes no wonder that it is such a lucrative industry. If you are a part of the maritime shipping industry, you probably wonder what steps you can take to expand your business and get even more clients. It's never too late to start marketing your company or to improve your already existing marketing strategy. If you want to be one of them, read this article!
Useful Services and Tools
There are many social media marketing tools for the shipping industry that you can use. Keep in mind that there are different types of tools for social media marketing. Some will help you create content, while others will help you promote your maritime shipping and supply chain business.
The most effective social media marketing strategies include using several of these tools together. It might sound like too much work, using so many different tools, but once you figure them out, you will see how convenient they are. Here are some digital marketing tools that can help you:
✅ Quick Promotion & Popularity
Some of the top social media marketing tools allow you to promote and grow your social media channels. This, as a result, builds brand recognition and awareness for your maritime shipping company. To do that, check out services such as LikesID.com, LikesAround.com, SocialBoss.org, and VideosGrow.com.
These services will boost the stats on your social media accounts, giving you a better exposure and a broader reach. They can help you build your company's online presence from scratch, or they can bring more traffic to your preexisting social media channels.
✅ Publication Planning
Posting on social media can be demanding, taking away precious time that you need to lead your maritime shipping company. Instead of having to post new content every day, you can use tools that allow you to plan and schedule your content in advance. This will allow you to focus on your business without distractions. Tools that allow you to do this are Hootsuite and Planoly.com, so why don't you give them a chance?
✅ Analytics
Another important aspect of maritime social media marketing is thorough market research, as well as the analysis of your previous efforts and results. In other words, you need to analyze the target audience and target market for maritime shipping services, as well as learn how to improve by looking at your previous marketing efforts and their results. To do that, you will need social media marketing analytics tools, such as Emplifi and Sproutsocial.
✅ Design & Photo Editing
Some of the best tools for social media marketing, such as VSCO and Сanva, can help you with the design process and photo editing. Visuals can make or break your marketing efforts, and they are basically the first impression that potential customers will get about your maritime shipping companies. That's why you shouldn't neglect this aspect of your online advertising.
✅ Video Making
Video content is one of the most converting types of content when it comes to social media for logistics companies and maritime shipping in general. Potential customers will be more likely to work with you if you post videos of how maritime shipping works, interesting facts, and shipping industry trends. Wave.video and Veed can help you create eye-catching videos, so make sure to try them out.
✅ Ideas for Content & Hashtags
You will also need to come up with captions, tags, and text posts for your social media platforms. When you don't feel particularly inspired, use AI tools for social media marketing, such as ChatGPT and Tagsfinder.com. They will write your captions and tags for you, allowing you to focus on supply chains and other aspects of your maritime shipping business.
More Social Media Marketing Tips
Apart from these tools that can help your shipping social media accounts reach their full potential, there are also some other tips you can use to stand out from other maritime logistics providers.
➥ Post Regularly and Consistently
When scheduling posts, you should schedule them so that there is a new post at least every few days. This will make your marketing more consistent, and your followers and potential new customers will start to expect and anticipate your posts. This consistency and regularity in your posts will increase the perceived value of your company and make it look reliable.
➥ Use Positive Reviews
Do you have many satisfied and long-term customers? Why don't you use their reviews of your services to your advantage? Showcase these reviews in your posts! For example, do you want to post a shipping container advertisement? You can add a review part that shows how this service has met customer expectations and even exceeded them. That will peak interest among your followers and encourage them to use your services.
➥ Work With Influencers
You probably don't see how influencer collaborations could make sense for digital marketing in the shipping industry. However, it could be a great opportunity for you to reach a broader audience. This, of course, doesn't mean you have to collaborate with worldwide influencers that have nothing to do with the maritime shipping industry.
Instead, try to find local influencers or brands/companies in logistics with large following who might be using shipping services. Offer them your services at a discounted price, and in return, they need to endorse you to their followers or other business partners. This could be beneficial for both sides, they get a discounted service, and you get the promotion.
➥ Gather Feedback and Implement It
When it comes to marketing in the shipping industry, it's not enough to just focus on positive reviews and showcase them. You should also pay attention to some less positive reviews and criticism. By showing not-so-great reviews and how you tried to improve your service by following them, you also show that you care about your customers, which is another way for you to stand out from your competition.
➥ Alternatives to Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing as well as IT tools for logistics operations streamlining are the driving force behind the digitalization in the shipping industry. However, you can also try other forms of digital marketing. For example, you can implement email marketing for existing clients, where you inform them about ongoing promotions and new deals. This is a great way to retain existing customers and motivate them to work with you even more often.
Conclusion
The logistics industry is lucrative but also challenging and competitive. That's why you need to develop some effective marketing strategies for your logistics business. The past few years have brought a massive digital transformation in the shipping industry, and you mustn't fall behind. So, ask yourself a few questions:
What kind of marketing efforts have you made to promote your business? Did you try content marketing, search engine optimization, or social media networks? If you have, was there a way to improve your marketing campaigns? If you have never tried marketing your business, why don't you start doing it now? The tools and tips from this article will show you how to do it!
