IV ULUSAL LMAN KONGRES 7 8 Kasm 2019

IV. ULUSAL LİMAN KONGRESİ 7 -8 Kasım 2019 - İZMİR EVALUATION OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE IN MARINA BUSINESSES Res. Asst. Giray Yiğit Kolcubaşı – Dokuz Eylul University Res. Asst. Demir Ali Akyar – Bandirma Onyedi Eylul University

Contents • • Aim and the scope of the study Literature Review Methodology Findings, conclusions, limitations and recommendations for further study

Aim and the scope of the study • This study aims to eliminate the lack of literature related with social media usage in marina businesses and form a preliminary study in this order. • The main objective is to determine the social media effectiveness of the marinas in the Aegean Region and reveal the effects of social media usage on the marketing performance. • The social media usage of marina businesses in the Aegean Region is evaluated and the weaknesses regarding effective social media usage were revealed.

Related Previous Studies Year Authors Method Scope 2019 Caliskan and Esmer Survey - Multilevel structural equation model 134 participants from 24 Container terminals in Turkey Survey Digital marketing and social media: 170 Portuguese companies Firms face both internal and external pressures in relation with the need to participate in social media platforms Social media activities of the container terminals in Turkey for 8 months Posts with high interaction level do not contain any content related with the port services, infrastructure and superstructure, investments or success stories Atakoy Marina As a result of the adoption of relationship marketing elements by the marina management, both customer portfolio and customer satisfaction would increase 2014 2018 2015 Tiago and Verrissimo Caliskan and Esmer Pektas et. al. Content analysis Case study Findings The quality of relationship marketing with customers contribute to customer relationship performance and financial performance

Methodology of the Study • For this purpose; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram activities – The analysis of social media accounts of marina businesses in the Aegean Region is based on data extracted between 1 January 2018 and 23 August 2019. • Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews • The study was supported by qualitative data after obtaining the quantitative data -mixed approach- (Greene et al. , 2005). • Descriptive statistics of the social media accounts for 28 marinas located in the Aegean Region of Turkey. Marina Date IC Cesme 15. 08. 2019 Teos Marina 16. 08. 2019 Port Alacati 20. 08. 2019 D-Marin Turgutreis 04. 09. 2019 Contact Person General Manager Public Relations Specialist Interview Duration Face to face 105 min. Face to face 100 min. Chief of Front Office Face to face 45 min. Assistant Manager Telephone 30 min.

Findings • Most active marinas in social media networks are; Setur Marinas, D-Marin, IC Cesme and Yalikavak • Facebook and Instagram have been determined as the most commonly used channels to reach the target audience. • Linkedin and Twitter are not preferred often as a marketing channel.

MARINA FACEBOOK Followers 26. 685 2. 464 23. 558 4. 052 13. 510 25. 988 15. 630 3. 303 4. 483 2. 076 883 2. 848 5. 389 1. 409 3. 153 1. 609 65 45 Posts 322 1 604 1 467 240 737 193 151 0 68 0 33 98 91 68 2 1 Likes 60. 329 2 8. 898 9 30. 760 4. 041 11. 230 4. 143 7. 521 0 713 0 191 2. 055 6. 825 552 4 2 Comments 336 0 129 0 1. 163 46 302 117 44 0 2 0 3 50 51 2 0 0 Shares 1. 681 0 697 0 2. 478 428 1. 191 256 157 0 18 0 6 240 219 25 0 0 - - - 22 Skopea Marina Common account for Ayvalik, Altinyunus Cesme, Kusadasi, Netsel Marmaris Setur Marinas. Common account for D-Marin Turgutreis, Gocek and Didim. Common account for Marinturk Exclusive and Village Port. - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Setur Marinas* Levent Marina IC Cesme Marina Port Alacati Marina Teos Marina D-Marin* Yalikavak Marina Milta Bodrum Marina Aganlar Marina Yacht Lift Bodrum Icmeler Marti Marina Albatros Marina Marmaris Yacht Marina My Marina Yacht Club Marinturk Marinas* Ecesaray Marina Ege Yacht Oren/Milas Port Iasos Marina Gokova Oren Marina Marmaris Adakoy Marina Club Marina Gocek

MARINA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Setur Marinas* Levent Marina IC Cesme Marina Port Alacati Marina Teos Marina D-Marin* Yalikavak Marina Milta Bodrum Marina Aganlar Marina YL Bodrum Icmeler Marti Marina Albatros Marina Marmaris Yacht Marina My Marina Yacht Club Marinturk Marinas* Ecesaray Marina Ege Yacht Oren/Milas Port Iasos Marina Gokova Oren Marina Marmaris Adakoy Marina Club Marina Gocek TWITTER Followers Posts Likes 174 77 1. 878 526 374 25 2. 713 202 53 1. 117 218 - 0 26 152 0 16 0 507 137 4 35 7 - 0 0 76 0 41 0 1. 033 27 0 6 4 - INSTAGRAM Retweets 0 0 19 0 526 4 0 2 0 - Followers Posts Likes 1. 845 3. 374 577 6. 871 4. 182 25. 500 1. 249 2. 782 177 494 434 455 1. 513 244 613 - 305 573 36 374 230 856 129 144 54 302 55 56 135 53 135 - 91. 065 45. 645 1. 474 53. 233 9. 644 351. 223 6. 318 13. 068 747 15. 016 1. 564 1. 428 10. 968 2. 031 7. 569 - Commen ts 274 716 17 714 195 3. 994 119 182 8 149 15 16 268 53 94 -

Findings • There are marinas that do not use any of social media networks. • As a result of the data obtained, semistructured interviews were conducted with the authorities of IC Cesme Marina, Teos Marina, Port Alacatı Marina and DMarin Turgutreis marinas which have different social media usage habits.

Findings • While Linkedin is preferred to create a corporate identity, Twitter is not preferred because of its word limitation. • Professional agency vs. In-house personel • Post contents; concerts, cafes, restaurants and shops, important days, weeks and festivals • supported with photos and promotional materials from celebrities and travelers. • Marinas are more than merely serving yacht owners. Events such as; visits of celebrities, sweepstakes, competitions, festivals, concerts, barbecue parties.

Findings • The majority of marinas provide content that addresses all age groups. • Benchmarking • Inactive marinas can maintain their competitiveness through their advantages of location, price, and loyal customer mass, but may have difficulties in creating brand image and awareness.

Findings • Personal problems to be solved through direct communication; general problems are answered in a corporate style in a way that every user can see. • Financial burdens, in case of social media marketing is carried out by an agency. • Social media marketing, if used efficiently, is seen as a great opportunity for all marina businesses, whether financially strong or not. • Transactions such as booking, quoting and payments can be carried out and even many marinas may re-establish their corporate strategies through the databases obtained through social media.

Conclusions • Today, social media is a communication channel where people spend a significant part of their time and gets information. • Social media is key to create brand image, increase brand awareness and communicate with customers in the easiest way. • As harsh rivalry among marinas in Aegean Reagon forces them to use different marketing tools and the marinas have a position beyond serving only yacht owners, social media contributes to reach both potential and existing customers. • Given this reality, it is useful for marina executives to integrate social media into their marketing activities and strategies. • In the maritime field, it is observed that the academic studies on social media have been limited with seaports and there are studies barely related with the effects of social media marketing on marinas. This study is intended to be a preliminary study for future studies.

Limitations • The sample of the study consists of marina businesses in the Aegean Region. • Within the scope of the study, 4 marinas with different social media usage habits were interviewed. • Statistical analysis of social media accounts of marina businesses in the Aegean Region is based on data extracted between 1 January 2018 and 23 August 2019.

Recommendations for further studies • With a comprehensive content analysis, social media activities and shares should be examined in depth, • Different social media platforms used by marinas and their audience should also be addressed, • Views of more marinas having different social media usage habits should be reflected.

Thank you for your kind attention. Marmaris | © Mstyslav Chernov/Wiki. Commons

Resources • Caliskan, A. and Esmer, S. (2018). Social media usage patterns in port industry: implications for port promotion and public relations. Journal of ETA Maritime Science, 6(1), 61 -74. • Caliskan, A. , & Esmer, S. (2019). Does it really worth investing in relationship marketing for a port business? . Case Studies on Transport Policy, 7(2), 375 -383. • Greene, J. C. , Kreider, H. , & Mayer, E. (2005). Combining qualitative and quantitative methods in social inquiry. Research methods in the social sciences, 1, 275 -282. • Pektas, G. O. , Koralturk, G. , Alkan, G. (2015). , “Marina İşletmeciliğinde İlişkisel Pazarlama İle Marina Sakini Kavramı: Ataköy Marina Örneği”. II. Ulusal Liman Kongresi. 5 -6 November 2015. Izmir, Turkey. • Tiago, M. T. P. M. B. , & Veríssimo, J. M. C. (2014). Digital marketing and social media: Why bother? . Business horizons, 57(6), 703 -708.