2023 In Review: The Lessons I’ve Learned & Marketing Predictions for 2024

By the time most of you read this, I’ll be sitting somewhere at a Christmas market with a glass of mulled wine and a view of gingerbread, raclette cheese and festive decorations!

You won’t be receiving a generic newsletter from me in your inbox with a bland Christmas message, or an impersonal e-card.?

Instead, I'm branching out with something different - can you spot some of the yachts I’ve written about through 2023 in this festive ‘tree’?

...Oceanco’s 131m AEOLUS

......Feadship & Studio De Voogts 83m DUNES

.........Heesen’s 80m GENESIS

............Golden Yacht’s 77.7m MALIA (ex O’REA)

..................Sialia Yachts’ 59 Runabout electric yacht

A few other vessels I wrote about this year include Benetti's 85m Project Life with exteriors by Espen ?ino and interiors by Francois Zuretti, 66m Alchemy a project by Vitruvius Yachts and with Team for Design – Enrico Gobbi, M/Y Symbiosis by Studio KMJ/ Kurt Merki Jr. and the head-turning design of 43.5m THIS IS IT.

My Lessons From 2023

I’ve never been a fan of New Year's Resolutions - the whole terminology is a bit of a guilt trip that people need to fix something.

Instead, I prefer to use this time of the year as an opportunity to reflect and focus on realistic goals for next year.

Here are my takeaways from 2023 :

?? CONTROLLING OUR COMMUNICATION FOOTPRINT:? The superyacht industry has been slammed this year with adverse media coverage about greenwashing, yacht fires, vandalised superyachts and irresponsible crew behaviour.

We will always be battered by viral click-bait media, however, as an industry we can remain sensitive to global opinion while taking more control of the narrative.

We have moved past the notion of putting up a yearly social media post for World Oceans Day.? CSR, sustainability and onboard safety practices are more important than ever as yachting companies reinforce their commitment to the growing issues we face.? Let’s keep highlighting the yachting brands who are committed to walking the walk.

?? IT’S OK TO CELEBRATE OUR ACHIEVEMENTS:? I recognise my worth to the yachting community as a resource for information:

• Learned and shared knowledge about social media and marketing trends.? This included over 140 free marketing posts specifically for the yachting sector with social media tips, short tutorials, AI tools, and PR advice.? No hard sell, just knowledge sharing and encouraging businesses to try fresh ideas and methods.

• 40+ business shoutouts supporting other small business owners in the yachting sector.
• Completed or attended 5 courses/webinars to stay updated with trends, knowledge and principles of luxury marketing.
• 25 social media posts and articles about yachting charities, mental health for seafarers, fundraising events or initiatives to support people in need in the local community.? In 2024, I’m aiming to continue the ways I can help make an impact on more people’s lives, and I propose that you also volunteer or get involved with maritime-related charities where you can start by asking yourself questions: How can I be useful and what can I do now? What skills, time availability or services can I offer?
• Picked up a few awards for Marketing, PR, Nautical Tourism and Top Yachting Blogs To Follow.
• Helped 2 people find new jobs by referring them to others.

???COMMUNITY MATTERS: The superyacht sector needs to release its obsession with building a gigantic pool of social media followers, and focus on supporting the clients and communities it already knows about.

I hope 2024 brings an increase in maritime cadetships for young or underprivileged people, more press coverage for yachting charities, ongoing philanthropic and research efforts by yachts and their owners, and showcases diverse stories of people working in the industry.

???SOCIAL LISTENING MATTERS: Social listening is vitally important so you can monitor your brand and improve customer service.? Customers are commenting, tagging and creating posts about their interaction with your company. ?In turn, other customers are watching your reaction.

Don’t forget customers are also leaving reviews for you on Tripadvisor, Navily (and other yachting apps), Google Reviews, and Facebook Reviews - don’t ghost them, especially the negative feedback.? Have someone managing these third-party sites so you can be proactive, responsive and follow up on leads.

?? EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION IS AT THE HEART OF BUSINESS SUCCESS:? I’ve heard horror stories this year about how some employees have been treated by large yachting companies.? Company culture is not solely about team-building days, or telling your staff they can have their birthday off ??? Likewise, some of the rude and toxic people dealing with freelance contractors are just damaging the company’s reputation.? If your company has lots of staff resign, look at WHY, there’s often a bad apple in the tree….

???BE UNIQUE:? Marketing is not just a ‘publish and go’ job - you have to be constantly monitoring customer behaviour, turning ideas into actions and taking a few risks to stand out! ? As I write this, I’m recalling some of the memorable marketing I saw this year.? Here are a couple of my picks:

• Claire H. from This Is Odyssey stays a step ahead of the pack and is on trend with everything from Barbie to Lego-inspired posts.? Keep up with her creativity at www.instagram.com/this.is.odyssey
• Intrepid Powerboats ’ ‘We’ve Built Boats The Way They Should Be’ video.? It’s dynamic to watch and the imagery is an awesome mix of behind-the-scenes and forward-thinking graphics.? I particularly loved the sliding animation swipe of the custom boats ?? I’ve not seen anyone be so brutally honest about boatbuilding. The style reminded me of a cool motorsport video.? Go watch it on Ken Clinton’s page:? https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/ken-clinton-53032a47_winning-intrepidpowerboats-intrepidboats-activity-7133082593977069568-ARK-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
• Angus Cook from TJB Superyachts - I have enjoyed his funny and quirky brokerage videos on Instagram featuring references to The Matrix, Mission Impossible or Love, Actually!? Go follow him at www.instagram.com/yachtingwithangus

Public Relations & Events

2023 has pushed marketing and advertising budgets to the limits.

When it came to events in 2023, it has been a HUGE year for me with clients and/or articles for the World AI Cannes Festival, MIPIM, MYBA Charter Show, the Superyacht Chef competition at Monaco Yacht Club, Dubai International Boat Show, YachtNeeds crew party, Palma International Boat Show, Cannes Film Festival, Monaco Grand Prix, Les Voiles d’Antibes, UHNWI Insight Summit, Cannes Yachting Festival, Monaco Yacht Show, Rugby World Cup, MIPCOM, Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show to name a few.

One of the biggest challenges this year has been communicating the expectations of public relations, especially for new clients wanting to grow their profile in the yachting sector.

I have noticed there is a big knowledge gap; specifically about timeframes, cost and media placement options.? Yachting companies seeking PR - who don’t have in-house marketing or PR experts - need more guidance for aspirational storytelling and understanding the difference between premium media placements, earned media and distribution.? It’s been a reality check for some clients about how long it can take to research, draft, edit and deliver the final results.

It’s super important to me that your content is high quality before it is rolled out and that can take time.? If you want to work with someone who takes due care and attention to get what you want, then that’s me.? If you want a copywriter who is clueless about the yachting industry or promises a quicker turnaround than I do but is focused on speed rather than top quality, I’m not that person.

Impactful, customer-attracting press coverage takes a lot of time, strategy and relevant outreach. It's not an overnight process to build your brand awareness working in tangent with journalists, photographers and editors.? This is particularly true if you're relatively unknown as a brand.

Stay tuned for more insight about getting PR in 2024!

Marketing Predictions for 2024

As marketers, we need to keep putting customers at the core of what we do.? The importance of EEAT ranking principles (Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust) will only increase.

Here's my thoughts on what should be on your radar next year:

Strategic Visibility

• If you’re reading this, then you’ve probably already read one or more of my LinkedIn posts, THANK YOU (In fact, this year my LinkedIn posts have had around 300,000 organic views).? I’m expecting to see a rise in brands discovering the benefits of being active on LinkedIn - it is still one of the most underused platforms for yachting professionals.

Generative AI

• More yachting companies will learn and leverage AI tools and technology to support their marketing and communication strategies. It’s not game over for yachting industry creatives; I’ve landed client projects this year because the companies used AI for their copy and the results weren’t on-point or emotive enough.Yachting marketers have to adapt to become hybrid content curators-creators and get comfortable with these technologies in our workflow while staying updated with ethical use, compliance and future tech.? As Search Engine Land states: "AI won’t take your job, but someone who uses AI will."

Here’s an interesting prediction from Gartner:? "By 2028, brands will see more than 50% decrease in organic web traffic due to the increasing reliance on GenAI-powered search engines."

Currently, it’s relatively easy to spot low-quality AI content in the yachting sector with the repetition of similar phrases.? This is largely due to the prompts given and therefore the output is subpar. In 2024, we’ll see more yachting companies cut down on hiring human writers, or they won’t hire them at all (Good luck with that ??).

Relying solely on AI copy won’t cut it - you need to edit, tweak it and give it some personality!? Secret tip:? If you input a Google search “regenerate response - chatgpt - results - (insert a yachting term)” you will see yachting webpages with AI-generated content created manually (without using an API).? E.g. regenerate response - chatgpt - results - yacht charter ? ?? On a lot of these webpages, you can see ‘regenerate response’ has been published on the actual webpage during the copy and paste - oops!

Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) will create a shift, where users will be shown answers to their queries directly on the search results page and will be less likely to click on yachting websites in results pages. Be warned!

? If you want to stay on top of the fleet (pun intended!) in search results, here’s what you can do:

• Keep publishing helpful, unique content across multiple channels and in different formats (tap into relevant yachting topics, local information and visual assets).
• Create and share original yachting-specific reports, white papers and data-driven intelligence that artificial intelligence can’t replicate.
• Post live videos, and tutorial/informational/'How to' videos about your nautical products or services.
• Showcase customer testimonials or case studies, demonstrating your company’s products or services in real-life situations.
• Publish podcasts and webinars, which is especially good if you upload with a transcript.
• Publish regular company blogs that position you as an authority and showcase your in-depth knowledge and experience in a particular topic.

Digital Asset Optimisation

• With rapid advancements in AI and machine learning , most large language models can interpret, translate, predict and summarise written text into images.? There will be a bigger focus on contextual visuals and by optimising your digital assets this will help you appear in search results more:? superyacht photos, product videos, infographics, FAQs about your yachting business, press releases, yachting blogs etc. Take a look at this article to learn more: https://searchengineland.com/how-to-future-proof-your-digital-presence-in-the-era-of-ai-powered-search-428437

Voice-Optimised Content

• Why is no one in yachting talking about the importance of voice search? With new devices having smart voice search capabilities and a growing podcast market, if your company isn’t showing up on voice search you'll be washed out with the tide ??

Here’s why: ?

• 1 billion voice searches occur each month via mobile and voice search devices.
• Over 50% of voice searches are local ‘near me’ searches, as users ask for directions and local business information such as chandleries, marine suppliers or boat rental companies.
• 1 in 3 people in the UK and Germany and 45% in the US use voice search on their smartphones to discover information (source: Vixen Labs).

How to optimise for voice search? Here are 3 ways:

• Make sure your yachting website and/or social media bios include location-based keywords with your address. This is vital for voice search.
• Claim, optimise or create a Google My Business listing, Bing Places for Business profile (unfortunately Bing Places is not available in France) or Yelp profile.
• Encourage your customers to leave a review about your company.

In Summary

2023 has been about resilience and appreciating what I have.? My end-of-year message is one of gratitude because my work goes beyond simply paying the bills; it influences my life and those who choose to work with me, especially small businesses.

I’m so thankful for nice clients, that my immediate family are healthy and that I have positive, supportive people around me.? I’m grateful for other business owners who share their highs and lows with me as there are challenging days as a business owner, personally and professionally.

Trust in your abilities, don’t quit on your dreams, embrace change, stay curious, keep learning and never let another person tell you that you can’t be or achieve something! ? No amount of corporate brand guidelines or emojis can make that happen.

I will be taking a well-deserved break and will be off social media from today, Saturday 23rd December until Monday, January 8th.?

For now, it's time to say ‘Au Revoir' to the year 2023 and I look forward to kicking off a new year with optimism and excitement for future projects and seeing some of you in 2024.?

What lessons did you learn in 2023?? Please leave me a comment below.

You can follow my updates here:

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