Q2. Evaluate how Maersk Line executed on its social media plan and platforms.

Maersk Line knew exactly how they wanted to use their social media accounts. It was important for
them to rank the accounts to see which were most important and needed most attention. Knowing
exactly who their target market was another key factor to their success on social media. Maersk’s
focused on their customers, employees, and the experts in their industry. By developing content that
would be interesting to their target audience and encourage them to engage helped them to reach
goals for their digital marketing on social media.

Jonathan Wichmann is the person behind the success of Maersk Line’s social media accounts. What
he was able to do gained him the name “social media megastar”. “Social media is defined as the way
in which people interact to create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual
communities and networks.” No one thought Maersk would be successful with social media because
their consumers wouldn’t interact. Wichmann says, “When I started, as far as social goes, we were
at zero—absolute zero. People would tell me, ‘We’re not right for social media, we’re boring, no
one’s going to like us, and who will support us?’ A lot of people inside the company as well as
outside just didn’t think it would take.” Something like this may have discouraged other people but
not Wichmann. He saw this as “a really interesting task because of that and because it’s a really
conservative industry.”

In the first 11 months of updating social media, Maersk Line had gained 420,000 fans on Facebook.
This helped them to receive the Community Presence in social media award and Social Media
Campaign of the Year award. “The company’s social media program has changed the face of Maersk
Line and is an example for other B2B companies to follow.” Going forward Nina Skyum-Nielsen will
take the role of Wichmann. She was originally a part of the team and I feel she will continue to keep
Maersk Line’s social media accounts ahead of the game.