Over the past decade, the method of media consumption has experienced a growing departure from television and newspaper to Social Media platforms. According to Pew Research, nearly half of all media discovery or consumption occurs on Social Media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even TikTok. It’s no wonder then, that opinions are formed or reinforced by what one sees in their feed.
While conventional thought would conclude that Social Media is a great way to communicate with external stakeholders such as customers, partners, prospects, and the like, many transportation companies are discovering new ways to leverage these platforms to keep in touch with their drivers and families. But the internal communication isn’t equally distributed across all popular social platforms.
According to a survey in 2019 by Trucker News, Facebook and YouTube are the most popular platforms in use by their drivers on a regular basis, and TikTok is gaining popularity as a more informal representation of company culture. The bottom of the list for internal communication for transportation companies include Pinterest, Twitter, and finally, LinkedIn.
Leveraging Social Media to Stay Connected
With motor carriers employing or contracting drivers on day or multi-day long-haul routes, contact points to maintain company culture, values, and passion becomes challenging. The less-visible side is the experience by family members of drivers whose experience with the carrier brand is typically secondhand from the driver. Social media engagement seeks to bridge that divide between carrier and OTR driver or carrier and driver family, reinforcing company values, adding value to the hard work of the drivers, and opportunities to better connect the transportation community. Choosing the appropriate platform for your audience matters, though. Posting on LinkedIn with your internal audience in mind will be less effective given on average less than 10% of drivers are active on LinkedIn; instead post on Facebook or Instagram, or if you have a younger driver fleet, consider engaging on TikTok. Do keep in mind these are still public channels (unless a private company group is set up), so an external audience may still encounter your content.
Using Social Media for External Audiences
Social Media can be a great source for sourcing new employees, engaging business partners, and communicating with customers. Choose the platform most appropriate with your goals, and communicate appropriately given the channel. Consider LinkedIn your professional channel, where you share company news, job postings, customer testimonials, and the like. More informal channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok can carry more of the company culture. Share driver stories and highlight employees and team successes. These are channels where you build rapport with drivers in the field and prospective drivers, which raises the reputation of the company publicly, and aids in employee retention.
Showcase Your Investment
We can’t think of a better way to showcase your investment into your drivers and company’s future than through Social Media. Grab quick photos of new tractors you purchased for the fleet, include the drivers in the photos and grab a quote. With today’s competition for qualified drivers, demonstrating the quality of equipment your company purchases just might be enough to sway that prospective driver into selecting your carrier.
When you’re in the market for a new tractor or a fleet, contact your ENGS financing representative to learn about the various semi truck loans and lease opportunities ENGS provides. The new truck or fleet you’ve been dreaming of adding to your business may not be as far off as you think.