But just how engaging is Facebook really?
(Image credit: news.cnet.com).
(This blog post was originally published on Maersk Line’s intranet)
By Jonathan Wichmann, Head of Social Media, Maersk Line
People just can’t help themselves. The crowds are cheering. The media is telling the story (even the shipping press). Experts are using it as a best practice case. It’s even in the Mærsk Post.
In short, everyone (almost) I meet tells me how amazing it is.
I’m of course talking about social media.
Of course, I appreciate all this attention and enthusiasm. But we risk missing the point if we focus too hard on the numbers.
Why? Because social media is not just about being popular and getting attention. Having a lot of fans is valuable (and it means that we prioritise our social media interactions), but the real value (for the business) of social media has to do with high quality engagement.
The value of social media
In theory, the value of one interaction can be worth more than 300,000 likes on Facebook.
Let me give you an example:
On LinkedIn we’ve created a group called ‘The Shipping Circle’. Here, we’ve invited shipping experts to join discussions about the future of the industry.
Some of the members have written long and very insightful posts about what we could do next in order to remain at the top of the shipping game.
What I’m trying to say is that it is a real possibility that just one single good idea from here could turn out to be worth millions, if not billions, of dollars.
Compare this to the value of a ‘like’ on Facebook.
It’s a way of thinking
For a company like ours social media creates most value when it challenges the way we think and interact. In fact, social media is a mindset, a way of thinking and working together. It’s based on the fact that we are social animals, and that means we can only benefit from sharing our thoughts and ideas with each other.
This leads me to the most brilliant part of social media: it doesn’t discriminate. The housebound and the shy are as visible as the active and the outspoken. Even those who are not very social in real life can share their thoughts too.
Maersk Line can definitely benefit from this. Time will tell when and where.
Likes are useful, but the constant interaction of supporters is more important.
Hi Alex. Thank you for your comment. I feel a need to clarify, even though I’m sure you didn’t misunderstand: The headline is of course first and foremost meant as a provocation. However, I do believe there’s something to it, and that companies really have to be aware of the many different kinds of interaction obtainable within social media. That being said, I still do think that our Facebook page is our most important social media platform. And I don’t find it to be worthless at all… Brgds, Jonathan
Your style is so unique compared to other people I’ve read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I will just bookmark this page.