The Use of Social Media as a Marketing Communication Channel by the Largest Ports of the Baltic Sea Region

Social media is used by more and more organizations, including seaports, because digital communication channels are an important tool in creating the brand image and one of the ways to build good relationships with stakeholders. Despite the fact that seaports are an important factor in the economic development of individual countries – which largely affects many groups of potential stakeholders – the issues of analysing marketing communication activities carried out by seaports using social media are not sufficiently recognised. Therefore, the main objective of the article is to analyse the business use of this marketing communication channel by the largest ports in the Baltic Sea region in order to assess the potential impact of this marketing communication channel on stakeholders. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the research used the desk research method and the method of observation via the Internet (a.k.a. web-based ethnographic research, or netnography). The results show, among others, that seaport profiles that are highly active on social media have the highest number of followers for a given profile. This demonstrates that regular and systematic maintenance of one's social media accounts results in increased interest from the audience and can thus influence potential stakeholders. Publishing audience-engaging content on your accounts can raise your organisation's profile, generate more interest in the content on your website, and contribute to building trust and audience bonds with your organisation.