Rebecca Bridgen
20 Jul 2026
With Banu Kannu, Founder, Uncommon Conferences
Banu Kannu has one of the most genuinely international careers in maritime. Born in Singapore, raised across Australia and Shanghai, she spent years as Global Marketing GM at Wärtsilä before founding Uncommon Conferences — a global practice designing and facilitating unconferences and workshops for the maritime, energy, infrastructure and health sectors. She is also a Columbia Business School and London Business School executive MBA graduate and a former journalist.
Her events are deliberately different: no PowerPoints, no panels, no fireside chats. Just carefully designed, deeply human conversations that produce real outcomes. And the way she uses social media to support them is just as intentional.
In this episode, recorded at mid-year 2026, Banu and Rebecca explore what a genuine mid-year reset actually looks like for a small to medium maritime business — what to cut, what to keep, and why your events and social media strategy are not two separate things.
What we cover:
Why the mid-year reset should be about removing things from your social media plan, not adding to it — and why being brutal with your content list is an act of self-kindness
How Uncommon Conferences uses a closed LinkedIn group exclusively for SMF Fest alumni to create genuine community between events — and why the exclusivity makes it work
The before, during and after social media approach for events: how pre-event social cues set expectations, and why SMF Fest attendees consistently produce more specific, genuine post-event content than typical conference goers
Why the most powerful post-event LinkedIn content shares one specific, genuine human interaction — and why that is something AI simply cannot produce for you
How to tell the difference between marketing noise and signal worth acting on: trust your professional judgment, and lean on your collaborative partners more than you do
Three pieces of advice for any business owner wanting to turn a team meeting, webinar or client dinner into meaningful social content: be yourself, say one thing really well, and share one real human moment
Why filling your tank before the busy season hits is not a luxury — it is how you show up with the clarity and creativity your business actually needs
"Post something you'd be interested in reading. Don't post something that made you cringe yesterday just because you feel there's an invisible rulebook about how to show up on LinkedIn." — Banu Kannu, Uncommon Conferences