The Port of Long Beach (POLB) was ranked the most social port in the world in a new report released by the data company Spire on Friday, which for the first time looked at social media activity across multiple platforms.
The 2015 Social Media Re-Port compared the world’s 50 busiest ports—based on the World Shipping Council’s list—in social media activities, and how open and transparent the ports are with their local communities.
“For the average person, what goes on at container ports goes unnoticed,” the report stated. “In efforts to raise awareness of the global significance of seaports, more and more port authorities are turning to social media to educate the public.”
According to the report, 90 percent of the world’s trade is transported by sea, and in the U.S. alone, ports bring in a global total of $4.6 trillion.
Spire ranked the ports in Facebook likes, followers on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin, as well as subscribers and channel views on YouTube.
The POLB’s high marks in each of the categories propelled it to the top of the overall social ranking list.
“The Port of Long Beach finds social media to be an excellent way to engage with the community, the industry and anyone with an interest in how a major port moves this much cargo this cleanly,” POLB spokesman Lee Peterson said. “We’ve got great stories to tell and we’re honored that so many people are following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.”
The port has also recently launched the LB Bridge App, which allows for construction-related information of the Gerald Desmond Bridge as well as traffic accidents.
Long Beach ranked fourth in the most number of Facebook likes, with 15,318, behind Laem Chabang, Thailand, Metro Vancouver, Canada, and neighboring Los Angeles.
While the Port of Laem Chabang had the most number of likes, Vancouver experienced the highest level of engagement due to daily announcements, project updates, quizzes, questions and photos.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had the most Twitter followers with 31,456. Long Beach came in a distant second with 13,354 followers.
Long Beach had the most YouTube subscribers at 851, but came in second with the most channel views at 450,127. New York-New Jersey, which reportedly had 620,110 views at the time of the report, came in first.
Long Beach made it to the top of the list in Instagram followers with 2,287. The report noted the port’s use of hashtags to engage and educate the public and the amount of uploaded photos. Los Angeles and New York-New Jersey came in second and third, respectively.
Rotterdam, Netherlands had the most LinkedIn followers with 13,366, followed by New York-New Jersey; Singapore, Singapore; Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles; and Long Beach with 2,940.
The Long Beach port came in first in the most social port in the world, followed by Los Angeles and New York-New Jersey to round out the top three.
The top 10 ports for each category are listed below:
Top 10 Ports on Facebook With Most Number of Likes:
1. Laem Chabang, Thailand – 150,290 Likes
2. Metro Vancouver, Canada – 25,758 Likes
3. Los Angeles, California, USA – 19,927 Likes
4. Long Beach, California, USA – 15,318 Likes
5. Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 11,521 Likes
6. Santos, Brazil – 8,791
7. Tanjung Priok, Jakarta, Indonesia – 6,204
8. Oakland, California, USA – 5,375
9. Antwerp, Belgium – 5,264
10. Colombo, Sri Lanka – 5,110
Top 10 Ports on Twitter With the Most Followers:
1. New York-New Jersey, USA – 31,456 Followers
2. Long Beach, California, USA – 13,354 Followers
3. Los Angeles, California, USA – 11,074 Followers
4. Rotterdam, Netherlands – 8,872 Followers
5. Metro Vancouver, Canada – 8,211 Followers
6. Miami, Florida, USA – 6,431 Followers
7. Tacoma, Virginia, USA – 5,780 Followers
8. Seattle, Washington, USA – 5,680 Followers
9. Antwerp, Belgium – 5,406 Followers
10. Norfolk, Virginia, USA – 4,785 Followers
Top 10 Ports on YouTube With the Most Subscribers:
1. Long Beach, California, USA – 851 Subscribers
2. Rotterdam, Netherlands – 743 Subscribers
3. New York-New Jersey, USA – 563 Subscribers
4. Metro Vancouver, Canada – 415 Subscribers
5. Los Angeles, California, USA – 316 Subscribers
6. Antwerp, Belgium – 248 Subscribers
7. Seattle, Washington USA – 247 Subscribers
8. Everglades, Florida, USA – 141 Subscribers
9. Jacksonville, Florida, USA – 78 Subscribers
10. Houston, Texas, USA – 76 Subscribers
Top 10 Ports on YouTube With the Most Channel Views:
1. New York-New Jersey, USA -620,110 Views
2. Long Beach, California, USA -450,127 Views
3. Metro Vancouver, Canada -396,379 Views
4. Rotterdam, Netherlands -378,502 Views
5. Antwerp, Belgium – 181,058 Views
6. Los Angeles, California, USA – 103,971 Views
7. Seattle, Washington USA – 86,173 Views
8. Everglades, Florida, USA – 60,854 Views
9. Jacksonville, Florida, USA – 40,962 Views
10. Houston, Texas, USA – 15,950 Views
Top 10 Ports on Instagram With the Most Followers:
1. Long Beach, California, USA – 2,287 Followers
2. Los Angeles, California, USA – 1,560 Followers
3. New York-New Jersey, USA – 625 Followers
4. Metro Vancouver, Canada – 451 Followers
5. Jebel Ali, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 410 Followers
6. Antwerp, Belgium – 334 Followers
7. Laem Chabang, Thailand – 315 Followers
8. Norfolk, Virginia, USA – 269 Followers
9. Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia – 235 Followers
10. Baltimore, Maryland, USA – 222 Followers
Top 10 Ports on LinkedIn With the Most Followers:
1. Rotterdam, Netherlands – 13,366 Followers
2. New York-New Jersey, USA – 11,939 Followers
3. Singapore, Singapore – 5,675 Followers
4. Seattle, Washington, USA – 4,869
5. Los Angeles, California, USA – 3,384 Followers
6. Long Beach, California, USA – 2,940 Followers
7. Metro Vancouver, Canada – 2,681 Followers
8. Houston, Texas, USA – 2,243 Followers
9. Jacksonville, Florida, USA – 1,872 Followers
10. Oakland, California, USA – 1,871 Followers
The 10 Most Social Ports in The World:
1. Long Beach, California, USA
2. Los Angeles, California, USA
3. New York-New Jersey, USA
4. Metro Vancouver, Canada
5. Antwerp, Belgium
6. Seattle, Washington, USA
7. Jacksonville, Florida, USA
8. Laem Chabang, Thailand
9. Rotterdam, Netherlands
10. Singapore, Singapore
Spire describes itself as a satellite-powered data company that monitors the world’s oceans to provide insight into maritime-related activities.
Photo by Stephanie Rivera.