In recent years, the yachting industry has witnessed a growing trend: yachts are increasingly looking for crew with photography, videography and social media management skills. It may seem out of place to ask your Deckhand if they have experience in 'Adobe Premiere Pro' when recruiting them for the role but there are actually several good reasons for the surge in these requests.

Just look at the great work yacht like Motor Yacht Loon and Motor Yacht Gene Machine are doing. The hope is that, at one point, yachts that wish to push the limits of branding and content creation will eventually employ crew dedicated just to that.

So, what is to point of capturing these onboard moments and creating content? Well, there are many but here to name a few:

Promoting the Charter Experience

Central to the operations of a charter yacht is the delicate art of promoting the yacht and attracting guests to charter it. A strong online presence can very much increase the appeal of a yacht and serve as a portfolio for charter brokers to showcase to their clients. The more a yacht's name resonates in the online world, the more it solidifies its popularity and notability, securing better offers in return.

Iconic yachts are a common sight across social media platforms and this online fame often translates into attracting more charter guests and the ability to recruit more qualified crew members.

Building the Yacht's Reputation

Yachts often use videography to build their reputation in the industry and increase eminence and, when done well, it even helps drive up the market value in case of sale.

When up for sale, a yacht with a robust collection of visually stunning videos can attract potential buyers looking for a vessel with an established brand and market recognition. An enticing video tour of a yacht, a breathtaking time-lapse of a sunset at sea or an engaging story of a yacht's journey can all contribute to building a strong, reputable image of the yacht.

Enhanced Guest Experience

Yachts are synonymous with unforgettable moments and fun adventures. Having a videographer on board enhances the overall guest experience. This is not just the case for charter yachts. There are a lot of private yachts out there that employ deck videographers to create personalized videos of their vacation to later share with their family and friends.

Having a crew member skilled in videography ensures that these memories are captured professionally. The videographer can document the special occasions, water sports adventures and all those little special moments that occur onboard, creating a diary of the yacht's history and building an emotional connection to the yacht.

Capturing Crew Moments to Build Camaraderie

Having a person on board to capture day-to-day moments of crew, water-sports adventures, crew outings etc. is such a great bonding practice. I've recently seen a video of crew on board a yacht doing a fire drill and they had to practice getting into their fire suits as quickly as possible. To make it more engaging, they made a game out of it to compete who can do it the fastest on the 'get ready, set, go! ' mark and they filmed the experience. I thought to myself: What a great way to practice something that's important to know, while also capturing a fun moment to look back on.

Creating videos of fun times the crew spends together (and remember these people live together 24/7) is such a great way to make them feel like a part of the same team. Living on board in the way yacht crew do is very comparable to a family and you would surely expect to see pictures of your family members in your family home.

Promoting the yachting industry to the wider audience

We all have a certain responsibility to protect our industry and convey the right image. The yachting industry in particular is vulnerable to external opinions and slightly skewed portrayals so showcasing the true yacht experience, breathtaking destinations and unparalleled level of service all help to set the record straight and spread our reach among a wider audience.

Through social media platforms, the crew can share captivating videos, inspiring a new generation of yachting enthusiasts.

In conclusion...

All this makes expertise in videography, drone photography and management of the yacht's social media channels very desirable new skills.

This shift illustrates how the yachting industry is evolving to incorporate digital marketing and visual storytelling. It also redefines the traditional roles of yacht crew, adding a new dimension to their job descriptions and skill requirements.

If you are a crew member with videography skills, or a Captain or Officer looking for crew with these skills, I encourage you to get in touch with my colleagues Fiona Murray and Alex O'Connell from the Deckhand and Bosun Department. They are masters of placing highly-qualified crew on board yachts around the world and will be happy to help you on your journey.

If you are a crew member looking for work you can get in touch with Fiona and Alex by logging into your YPI CREW profile.

If you are a Captain or Officer looking for crew for your yacht, you can get in touch with Fiona and Alex by filling out the form on our website.