Being sociable: the value of networking

"Social media”, a rapidly evolving constellation of internet-based websites swirling around amidst web-based applications (ancillary programs that run on the websites), attracts a great deal of attention.

Implicit in the often murky definitions of these new tools is an interactive element; they should facilitate two-way communications and, beyond that, networked communications.
Different tools are used to reach different groups. Ports have multiple groups of stakeholders. Ports are very much industrial, interacting with carriers across modes, terminals and all manner of logistics providers. But ports are also very political, interacting with the legislators at multiple levels of government, and their staffers.

This group of stakeholders – the politicians, rather than industrial segments – is the target that ports should be looking towards when applying social media tools. Ports should not be expecting incremental cargo flows to result from a Facebook presence.

In the consumer products sphere, marketers experimenting with the new tools have indeed scored marketing victories that have generated ROI (return on investment) by reaching “customers”. For ports, “customers” (people moving cargo) make up a stakeholder group better reached by traditional marketing methods, which are typically unidirectional and outward facing, supported by a well-established marketing framework. Ports don’t have problems reaching carriers and shippers.

Ports have had problems reaching and influencing the other constellation of stakeholders – those who may ultimately decide whether to provide funding for the port or related infrastructure. Awareness of the economic vitality that goes with ports, among politicians and the citizens who elect them, is the marketing objective. One-way communications may prove ineffective in reaching these targets.

The definitions of success (and, accordingly, the appropriate measurement metrics) are also different from the consumer sphere. Social media are still at an early stage, and analytics will be amorphous, at best. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the media has promise for creative marketers.

In the United States, a recent marketing campaign by the Waterways Council Inc (WCI representing carriers, ports, local business groups and service providers to the inland water industry) offers an important lesson in targeting (using mainly “old media”). With scarce resources, and the objective of spreading the message about a significant new funding mechanism for the US inland river infrastructure, WCI president Cornel Martin decided to focus the effort “inside the Beltway”. The staff of congressional offices and administration executives were the target.

A few ports have taken early steps. The Port of Los Angeles’ pages on Facebook reveal various news items and a promotion of the annual Lobster Festival (which brings in thousands of residents) but also feature a discussion of picketing by clerical workers, during a contentious negotiation with shipping companies.

Marketing purists are quick to point out the difficulties in measuring the positives from any social media efforts. Ports have routinely used traditional market surveys to determine awareness. Yet, increasingly, marketers monitor the number of attendees at online events, or number of comments in online discussions.

As described by the WCI’s Mr Martin, an instant metric of success occurred when a high-ranking Department of Transportation decision-maker grabbed him at a meeting and said: “I saw your advertisement on TV last night.” Another victory was achieved by the WCI on YouTube, where it posted its video “Keep America Moving”. A regional magazine/website picked up the video, offering the comment (note the two-way flow): “We would be glad to link to the video and promote it in our print publication.”

Wayne McCormick, the go-to guy on shortsea shipping with his website at www.americasmarinehighways.com, attests to the new tools’ ability to get his message in front of people in high places. He says: “I’m impressed by the number of high-ranking decision-makers that utilise social networking tools.” He mentions the offices of Congressmen James Oberstar (D-Minnesota) and John Mica (R-Florida), who head up the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. If that’s not enough, Mr McCormick also reaches, and communicates with, the staff working for Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

Mr McCormick, on Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In (where Port Strategy also has an active presence), says that his Twitter feed “has enabled me to network with influential ‘industry specific’ people and organisations [that I otherwise would not have].” Such interactions, though not predictable, illustrate the ROI of social media.