Are you a trucking company looking for qualified drivers? You may want to check out these quick tips for creating the perfect social media post to recruit truck drivers.
First, let’s look at some stats:
- The fastest growing demographic on Facebook is the 45-54 age bracket. The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is 55-64.
- The average age of a commercial truck driver is the U.S. is 55.
- The turnover rate of drivers at large truckload carriers is 92%.
So what does this all mean? It tells us trucking companies should be including social media marketing in their driver recruitment mix. But do you know the best ways to recruit drivers on social media? In a world jammed packed with technology and advertisements, it’s easy for your message to get lost if you’re not implementing best practices.
The solution: you need interesting, relevant, sharable content to catch the attention of prospective truck drivers. To improve your recruitment strategy and build brand awareness across the social web, take a look at these tips on how to make the perfect post.
Tip 1: Pass the Re-Share Test
Social media is a place where people find interesting content, and share that content with their friends who may also think it’s interesting. Your company can reach more drivers by creating shareable content.
Post content your followers just have to share. Know your audience and determine what they want to see, and give that to them. This will engage them, resulting in more shares, retweets and exposure for your brand.
Tip 2: Be Valuable
When creating social media posts, offer valuable information. Provide your audience with useful content that will answer their questions. Tell them what is happening here and now that could affect their lives. Whether it’s related to the trucking industry or just something that would engage your followers, useful and relevant content will go far.
Tip 3: Be Bold
Be bold and show others what you stand for. Now, some people may disagree and say you shouldn’t reveal opinions and what not, but that’s what real people relate to. That’s what engages people and gets them to notice you.
Showing what you stand for makes you more real and interesting. We aren’t suggesting to post on touchy subjects, but use your best judgement and don’t be afraid to be bold at times. In a professional manner, go beyond the boring, standard posts and tell the world what you’re all about.
Tip 4: Be Brief
Nobody wants to read a long paragraph of text in their Facebook News Feed. Good news is Twitter has a 140 character limit, so you really don’t have a choice there. But on the other social networks, write short and to the point. Here are some brief (literally) tips:
- Keep headlines to 50 characters
- Keep text to a 3 sentence max
- Use bullet points and short lists
- Use active voice
People are busy; when you keep your posts short, people will read them because they have the time to do so.
Tip 5: Be Visual
If there’s one tip you take away today, make it this one: always use big visuals on every post. When it comes to making an impression on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social networks, BIG graphics are key. It doesn’t take much effort to include a photo, and it makes a huge difference.
Social media users will notice your animated posts over those with purely text and/or a link. Here are best practices for incorporating visuals:
- Use bright, contrasting colors — Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are blue and white. Using images that contrast these colors and stand out.
- Use photos of pets and babies — Everyone loves them!
- Use faces and happy people — Humanize your posts. It makes your message more relatable.
Tip 6: Post Often
Your social media fans followed you for a reason and want to hear from you. Utilize those social networks you worked hard creating and post frequently (only if it’s shareable, valuable, bold, brief, and visual!) It improves your driver recruitment strategy when you keep followers informed with interesting content.
Also, you don’t want potential truck drivers visiting your Facebook or Twitter account for the first time and noticing that your last update was two weeks ago. That’s not a good first impression. Plus, if your page looks inactive they probably won’t engage with your brand.
Since truck drivers have unique work schedules, there’s no magic number for the best time of day to post to ensure your followers will see it. We suggest running some A/B tests, and looking into your social media insights to gauge when your audience is active on social media.
We hope our six quick social media tips have inspired you, and will help attract and engage qualified driver prospects. Try these strategies in your social media recruitment advertising and see if your level of post engagement improves.
With over 25 years in the industry, The Hightower Agency offers a wide variety of effective and afforable driver recruiting advertising solutions. Get in touch today!
What’s your biggest social media challenge? Comment on the Hightower Agency’s blog below!