© Dennis M. Tomiola, 2013 – v1.1 – 25-Jun-13

A Draft Social Media Strategy for !

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Settings!DFDS‘s Annual report 2012: Communications with passengers!„DFDS puts high emphasis on informing all passengers about the various important matters of their journey. (…) Developments range from service calls prior to departure to increased social media presence that help to fulfill DFDS’ responsibility of informing passengers on all matters of importance. The approach to social media is decentralized and country specific, supported by an overarching DFDS social media guideline that ensures consistency across markets.“ (p.60)

Settings!DFDS‘s Annual report 2012: DFDS and Corporate Responsibility! „Plans for 2013/2014: Development of social media strategy“ (p.45)

Status quo!DFDS‘s decentralized Social Media Channels: Facebook-pages!•  DFDS Seaways Danmark •  DFDS Seaways UK •  DFDS Seaways Nederland •  DFDS Seaways NO •  DFDS Seaways Eesti •  DFDS Seaways Deutschland •  DFDS Seaways Sverige •  DFDS Seaways LT •  DFDS Logistics

Status quo!DFDS‘s decentralized Social Media Channels: Twitter-Channels!@ DFDS Seaways (German Channel) @ DFDS Seaways (discontinued GB-Channel) @ DFDS Seaways UK (new GB-Channel) @ DFDS Seaways (Dutch Channel) @ DFDS Seaways (Affiliate Program Channel) @ DFDS Seaways (Baltic Channel) @ DFDS Logistics (Logistics Program) @ DFDS Rotterdam (Transport News from ROT)

Status quo!DFDS‘s decentralized Social Media Channels: NO Twitter-Channel in: !

•  Danish!!•  Swedish!!•  Norwegian!

Status quo!DFDS‘s decentralized Social Media Channels: Youtube-Channels!•  DFDS Seaways (Danish, Norwegian)"

http://www.youtube.com/user/dfdsseawaysdk •  DFDS Seaways (German)"

http://www.youtube.com/user/DFDSSeawaysDE

•  DFDS Seaways (NL)"http://www.youtube.com/user/DFDSSeawaysnl

•  DFDS Seaways UK (GB)"http://www.youtube.com/user/DFDSSeawaysUK

Status quo!DFDS‘s decentralized Social Media Channels: Google+-Channels!•  DFDS Seaways Denmark (Danish)"

https://plus.google.com/106781059659827410081 •  DFDS Seaways Deutschland (German)"

https://plus.google.com/106539773614215743714 •  DFDS Seaways UK (GB)"

https://plus.google.com/101844037509437363372‎

Status quo!DFDS‘s decentralized Social Media Channels: NO DFDS-Channels on!

•  Instagram!!•  Pinterest!!•  Flipboard!

•  Tumblr!

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Case study!

Type International Airline from Scandinavia International Ferry Company from Scandinavia

Main Countries involved 3 - (DA, NO, SE) ≥10 - (DA, NO, SE, DE, GB, FR, NL, LT, RU, EE)

Homemarkets 3 - (plus the destination countries) at least 10 - (plus the cargo destinations)

Type of Company was decentralized (now more centralized) decentralized

Social Media Approach Central (from Stockholm) Decentral (from all Countries)

Social Media Channels 1 per Medium (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest)

Several per Medium („everybody does what he wants“)

Language used in Communication with Users/Passengers

mainly English (but also Danish, Norwegian, Swedish)

all involved languages

Personnel for Social Media Communication

2-3 (from 8am-10pm) (in times of crisis, an extended Social-Media-team is inforced in order to give an extended Customer Service)

many (only during local business hours) (at least one person in each country)

Case study!

Social Media is used for •  Special Offers(both local and global)

•  Traffic/Flight Information •  Customer Contact/Service •  Emergency Communication •  Getting Social with Passengers (Photos,

Videos, Quizes, etc.)

•  Special Offers(only local, country-specific)

•  Traffic/Ferry Information •  Customer Contact/Service •  very limited Emergency Communication •  Getting Social with Passengers (Photos,

Videos, Quizes, etc.)

Way of communicating with passengers via Social Media in emergency situation

•  pro-active •  fast •  informative •  cross-medial •  Customer Center works closely together

with Social Media folks in order to give best Customer Support

•  defensive re-acting •  rather slow •  rather limited information to customers •  mostly linking to website and telling people to

call Customer Center

*See also: „Strategisk bruk av Sosiale Medier i SAS“, presentation made by Christian Kamhaug, former Head of Social Media at SAS, March 21, 2012 – http://en.slideshare.net/CKamhaug/strategisk-bruk-av-sosiale-medier-i-sas

Case study – EmCom*!DFDS‘ Communication via Social Media in an Emergency Situation Incident M/F SIRENA SEAWAYS hitting the dock in Harwich Date/Time Saturday, June 22, 2013, @12:00pm Result •  Ferry and Dock badly damaged •  489 Passengers stuck on Ferry, nobody injured •  Many Passengers stuck in Harwich and Esbjerg •  Cancelled departures from DK and GB until 28/6

*Emergency Communication!

Case study – EmCom!SAT 12:00* – M/F SIRENA SEAWAYS hits the dock SAT 13:49* – First comment from Passengers on "

GB-Facebook-page: SAT 16:37* – First re-action of DFDS on GB-Facebook

TIMELINE

*Local British Time is used!

Case study – EmCom!SAT 18:32 – Passengers asking for news via GB-FB SAT 18:45 (19:45 CEST) – First information on Danish

DFDS-Webpage SAT 20:19 – First short answer from DFDS on GB-FB

SENEST OPDATERET: 22/06/2013 kl. 19:45. For seneste opdatering om skibsinformation ring på 3342 3000 (hverdage ml. 9-17)

Case study – EmCom!SUN 11:54 (12:54 CEST) – First and only pro-active

information on Danish DFDS-FB-page

Case study – EmCom!FACEBOOK •  was not used pro-actively •  UK-Facebook reacted first after 4½ hours •  DK-Facebook reacted first after almost 23 hours

with one single active posting •  very limited information and communication "

with Passengers •  DFDS relying on Passengers taking a look on "

DFDS-websites •  no coordinated information/EmCom via Facebook

(due to decentral Social Media strategy!) TWITTER •  was not used at all!

CONCLUSIONS

Case study – EmCom!à  Passengers are angry with DFDS,

because they have to ask for information on Social Media

CONCLUSIONS

DFDS – you can do better!

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Draft Strategy!How should DFDS use Social Media?! Basically „The DFDS way“:! •  Pro-actively in Emergency Situation (to decrease

negative mentions in online conversations) •  As an addition to (not replacement of) existing

Customer Support via Phone, Chat and Mail •  Work on your Customer Support through quick

action or reaction •  Show that you care for your Customers in good

and bad times – make people feel happy, when they talk to DFDS on Social Media

Draft Strategy!How should DFDS use Social Media?! •  Establish DFDS as an active and trustworthy

company in online conversations •  Making mistakes is OK, nobody is perfect! •  Saying „I don‘t know right now“ is OK •  Ask for Peoples advice

•  Social Media is not free – spend some money and ressources on them

•  Use your Users to make DFDS even better! •  Analyse and follow-up Campaigns/Channels!

Draft Strategy!How can this be achieved?!•  Think of some centralized areas within your

Social Media Appearance (i.e. EmCom) •  Let Social Media folks across DFDS work

closer together •  Have Marketing folks (or someone who has

knowledge about this) analyse and follow up things

•  Create synergies / more similar Common Guidelines for DFDS‘ use of Social Media

à People are using Social Media – think of Social

Media as a quick way to contact Passengers, also when Call Center is not manned

DFDS Social Media Approach – if you continue decentralized

Draft Strategy!In General! •  Find your Social Media enthusiasts"

(find them in the Customer Services) •  Set one or two People in every country to work

with/on all Social Media Channels every day (have them on std-by Sat/Sun!)

•  Ensure quick responses via Social Media •  Have an „Emergency Support Team“ ready! •  Get online on the yet missing Social Media

Channels and connect the Channels with each other (i.e. Instagram w. Facebook & Twitter)

•  Create similar Guidelines to all (i.e. how you want to „talk“ to people)

Draft Strategy!DFDS on Facebook!(Customer Support / Broadcast Channel)! •  Offer an excellent and extended Customer

Support (i.e. 8-22) – have a backup person in every Customer Call Center, if something goes wrong or specific information is needed

•  Post local and DFDS-wide Offers"(you can also add other local Offers across the National webpages – i.e. DK-GB Offers might be interesting for People in the Baltic)

•  Post job vacancies •  Give travel hints for all relevant countries •  Videos & Pictures from Users and inside DFDS

Draft Strategy!DFDS on Twitter!(Customer Support / Broadcast Channel)! •  Get a DK, SE and NO Twitter-Channel! •  Perfect way to offer an quick, excellent and

extended Customer Support (i.e. 8-22) •  Post job vacancies •  Press news •  News and Campaigns

Draft Strategy!DFDS on Youtube!(Broadcast Channel)! •  Show Product Movies •  Special Offers / Adverts – „as seen on TV“ •  DFDS „Behind the Scene“ Movies (I do not know, how the Movies are produced, if on a separate national basis or one-for-all, and if you have them internally or externally produced – but, if possible, you could create some synergies here, too!)

✔  already achieved

Draft Strategy!DFDS on Google+!(Broadcast Channel)! •  Show Pictures of DFDS-ferries, Destinations,

DFDS-coworkers •  Make announcements like you would do as on

Facebook •  Mostly same content as on Facebook, but not

as detailed as on FB •  Monitor/Follow discussions/comments from

users

Draft Strategy!DFDS on Instagram!(Broadcast Channel)! •  Show Pictures of DFDS-ferries •  Pictures of Destinations •  Pictures of DFDS-coworkers •  Create Picture Contests with various topics •  Get People involved with DFDS in a Social

Way!

Draft Strategy!DFDS on Pinterest!(Broadcast Channel)! •  is not used so commonly •  Mostly Pictures/Photos as eye-catcher •  Pin to other Ferry- or Tourist/Travel-related

pages (VisitDenmark, etc.)

DFDS Social Media Approach – if you think of centralizing it

Draft Strategy!In General! •  Create a Social Media Team that works "

across the countries and on all Channels •  Set People to work with/on all Social Media

Channels every day (and have at least one person on stand-by Sat/Sun!)

•  Ensure quick responses via Social Media •  Have an „Emergency Support Team“ ready! •  Get online on the yet missing Social Media

Channels and connect the Channels with each other (i.e. Instagram w. Facebook & Twitter)

Draft Strategy!In General! •  Create Common Guidelines to be followed by

all (i.e. how you want to „talk“ to people) •  Follow the same channel-specific outlines as

mentioned earlier

•  Use Social Media more aggressive than you used it until now!

Draft Strategy!FINAL TOPICS THAT MIGHT HELP YOU TO DETERMINE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY! •  CENTRALIZED VS. DECENTRALIZED"

"Is one single Social Media Team better than several on a national basis?""(in emergency situations it might be better with one single person/team, because you can react faster to peoples need for information and do not need to have two (or more) teams doing and writing the same!)

Draft Strategy!FINAL TOPICS THAT MIGHT HELP YOU TO DETERMINE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY! •  „THE DFDS WAY“"

"Which values and attitudes does DFDS want to reflect on Social Media and in general?""How would you like to be recognized as by your Customers?""(is DFDS just a multi-national Ferry Company with no specific „home“ or does DFDS have some specific roots, i.e. does DFDS want to be recognized as a specific Danish/Scandinavian Company?)

Draft Strategy!FINAL TOPICS THAT MIGHT HELP YOU TO DETERMINE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY! •  FACE THE CONSEQUENCES"

"No matter what you decide or what way you choose for your future Social Media Strategy – all of your decisions will be noticed by your customers! They will be the first to give you „thumbs up“ or „thumbs down“

Draft Strategy!Some Expected Results of a new and improved DFDS Seaways Social Media Approach! •  More satisfied Customers"

(because of an improved Customer Support!) •  More traffic to your Websites •  A stronger brand amongst Customers •  Less negative mentions in online conversations

•  Growing passenger rates in the future?

CONTACT DETAILS! •  Dennis Tomiola, v/ Dagmar Krähmer, "

Byvangen 57, DK-3790 Hasle •  Phone: +41 76 381 58 70 •  E-Mail: dennis.tomiola@me.com •  Web: http://www.dtomiola.dk •  Twitter: www.twitter.com/dtomiola •  Instagram: www.instagram.com/dtomiola •  LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dtomiola

Thank you for listening,