How to Attract Truck Drivers on Social Media

It is no secret that truck drivers love social media. However, just because they are on social media does not mean they are easy to reach. Here is how to attract truck drivers on social media.

  1. Create Different Content for Different Platforms
  2. Utilize Groups to Reach Your Target Audience
  3. Spotlight Your Top Performing Drivers
  4. Respond Quickly to Inquiries
  5. Invite Followers to Visit Your Website

Attract Customers And Leads With Magnet. Lead Capture Concept

Create Different Content for Different Platforms

Truck driver’s behavior varies depending on the platform they are using. For example, on Facebook drivers are switching between reading, looking at photos, and watching videos. Because of this, the videos they watch are usually silent with subtitles.

TikTok on the other hand is dedicated solely to videos so drivers always have their sound on when using the platform.

Knowing how user behavior varies across platforms, you need to make content that satisfies those behaviors.

You need to be creating the following pieces of content:

  • Extensive written content
  • Short-form written content
  • Professional quality photographs
  • Infographics
  • Professional videos
  • Videos edited to be 45 seconds or less

If you want to learn more about creating content check out the Guide to Content Creation for Driver Recruitment.

Utilize Groups to Reach Your Target Audience

If you are getting started on social media it can feel quite daunting to build a following.

It can feel like a chicken and the egg situation. To get followers you need people to see your content, but for people to see your content you need followers. Seems impossible right?

Fortunately, on platforms like Facebook and Linkedin, there are thousands of groups that are built for you. All you need to do is search for the groups that have drivers in them.

Once you find the groups best suited for your company, you need to get active in the groups. Do not simply post your content and leave. Engage the drivers in conversation.

You can engage in conversations by commenting on other people’s posts, posting questions, and sharing other useful content.

Participating in the groups will get truck drivers to notice your company, and if they like you they will follow you. Eventually, they may apply to work for you.

woman hand pressing social media icon, futuristic technology

Spotlight Your Top Performing Drivers

Taking the time to spotlight your top-performing drivers accomplishes a few goals for your social media presence.

The first thing it does for you is help attract truck drivers to your account. When you spotlight your top drivers, the driver who is being celebrated will share that post with their network. Truck drivers are friends with other drivers, so drivers not following you will be exposed to your account via the spotlight post.

As more drivers start following you and seeing these spotlight posts, more drivers will want to work for you. Your company will be perceived as one that truly values its drivers. Quality truck drivers want to work for a carrier that appreciates their hard work.

In addition to attracting new CDL drivers to your company, spotlight posts keep your current employees attracted to working for you. Your drivers will want to keep working for an employer that celebrates them.

Respond Quickly to Inquiries

As you attract people to follow your social media accounts, new followers will begin reaching out to learn more about your company.

Respond to these inquiries as quickly as possible. Doing so will capitalize on the excitement from a potential driver.

Research shows that 71% of people that experience positive social care are likely to recommend the company to others. A fast and helpful response not only boosts your relationship with the driver inquiring but can help you build relationships with other drivers.

Rapid Response Clock Quick Fast Reaction 3d Illustration

Invite Followers to Your Website

Yes, it is great to build up the number of truck drivers that follow you. But you don’t want them to only follow your account, you want to hire them!

One way to begin converting followers into drivers is to invite them to visit your trucking website. At your website, drivers will begin interacting with your extended recruiting content.

Your recruiting content should share with the driver what it is like to be an employee for the company. This includes things like company culture, driver benefits/pay, type of routes offered to drivers, etc.

Getting the driver to visit your site does not guarantee an application. However, it keeps your company in the mind of drivers. When those drivers are ready for a new position they will first think to apply to your company.

Learning how to attract truck drivers on social media will significantly improve your company’s hiring efforts. Stick to these tips and you will start building up your company’s following on social media.

5 Steps to Recruiting Truck Drivers on Facebook

Over 96% of professional drivers have a Facebook account. Truck drivers love using Facebook because it enables them to stay connected with fellow drivers and loved ones while they are on the road. Because of the large number of drivers using Facebook, the platform is one of the greatest sources of driver recruits. Here are the 5 steps to recruiting truck drivers on Facebook.

 

Build Your Company Page 

The first thing you need to do before you start recruiting truck drivers is to build your company’s Facebook page. Drivers that are interested in working for you are going to search for your company on Facebook. Building a Facebook page ensures that you will be found by drivers.

Your company page needs to share the most relevant information about your company and tell the story of what it is like to work for your company.

Relevant information includes: company name, location, website, and a succinct description. Provide enough information for drivers to know who you are and become interested enough that they visit your website.

Tell the story of working for your company through your posts. Any driver celebration you conduct, company wins, driver testimonials, etc. need to be documented and posted to your page. Photos and videos are typically more effective than posts containing solely text.

Once you have your company page built you need to encourage all of your employees to follow the page. The more that people interact with your content, the more that the Facebook algorithms will blast your content out to people. This is free exposure, but you need to earn it with quality content.

Magnifying glass used to symbolize a driver recruiter looking to recruit truck drivers on Facebook.

Join the Right Groups

The Groups feature on Facebook is one of the best tools for connecting with truck drivers. There are groups dedicated to connecting drivers with recruiters across the country. Also, there are more geo focused groups to help drivers find jobs in your area. Take the time to do your research and join all groups relevant to your company.

Posting in groups enables you to reach a large amount of truck drivers for free. Because this strategy is so cost effective it is hyper competitive. Competing companies are going to be flooding the groups with their job postings.

In order to combat the competitiveness of groups you simply need to be more active than everyone else. This means doing more than posting your job ads. You need to like other people’s posts, comment, share informative content, and do your best to build relationships. Doing this will make it so that drivers look specifically for your posts.

The Science Behind Posting 

There is a common misconception with Facebook that all you need to do is post your content and all of your followers will see it. Facebook’s algorithms are far more complex than that. The algorithms build individual feeds for every user and only show them the content users will interact with.

It does not matter how many followers you have if you are posting poor quality content. Everything from font color, time of day, device optimization, and much more effect whether your posts are seen by followers. Posting is a science.

In order to perfect the science behind your posts, you need to be running A/B tests. Create different posts that are designed to test one specific variable. For example, one post may have red font and the other has blue. Publish those posts so that different drivers see them and see which perform the best.

After conducting multiple tests you will begin to figure out what post characteristics work the best. It is important to keep running tests because the algorithms are updated constantly. Also, the tests build on one another making each post better than the last.

Young boy conducting science experiments similar to the science experiments driver recruiters conduct on facebook

Facebook Paid Advertising

There is no getting around having to pay for advertising when recruiting truck drivers online. Facebook is no different. You are going to need to pay to get your recruiting advertisements in front of the eyes of drivers.

Paid advertising on Facebook is the only way to guarantee that drivers will see your job openings. The Facebook algorithms make it so that non-paid posts have a limited reach. Facebook wants your money so they have built a platform that requires you to pay them.

Paid advertising is going to ensure that professional drivers see your company every time they open Facebook. This will keep your company on their mind and when drivers go to look for a new job they will search for your company.

Consistency Is Key

The most important thing to recruiting truck drivers on Facebook is to be consistent. You will not see results if you are super active on the platform one month and then absent the next month. The longer you are consistent on the platform the stronger your brand image will be.

Tools like Hootsuite make it easier to post consistently. With Hootsuite you are able to write out multiple posts at one time and then schedule when those posts will be published. Some companies will schedule posts months out in advance and others like to take it week by week.

Considering that over 96% of company drivers have a Facebook account, of course you need to be recruiting truck drivers on the platform. Facebook is the place for you to reach potential drivers and share your company’s story in real time. Follow this guide and your company will know how to recruit truck drivers on Facebook.

How To Recruit Truck Drivers on Social Media

72% of the public uses some form of social media. No wonder carriers are focusing their recruiting efforts to social media. However, most companies are not using social media to its fullest potential. Here is how to recruit truck drivers on social media.

There are 4 areas you need to know about in order to successfully recruit on social media. You need to focus on: company profile, relevant groups, paid advertisements, and using the right platform.

Use Company Profiles to Build Your Employment Brand

Drivers will do their research before applying for your company. You want to make sure that you have a positive brand image and strong social presence .

Think of your profiles as a platform to convey the company culture to potential drivers. It is best to post a lot of images and short videos that show off everything your company does to take care of its drivers. You need to highlight happy drivers as much as possible.

Another useful strategy is to post content that increases engagement. Posts that contain questions, polls, or contests are great at generating engagement. The more engagement you can generate the better.

Finally, make sure that you are posting frequently. Tools like Hootsuite will help you post frequently. Hootsuite will enable you to plan posts out in advance and upload the posts automatically.

Interacting in Groups to Build Relationships

Social media is filled with groups designed to connect drivers and recruiters. You need to join as many groups as possible. There are groups with drivers around the country and others that are focused on specific regions.

In order to be seen, post frequently and always respond to drivers that comment on your posts. Keep in mind that there is a lot of competition in the groups so you need to set yourself apart from the competition.

Join these groups with the company’s page AND encourage recruiters to join with their personal accounts. Recruiters that use their personal accounts to engage with drivers will come off as more personable/trustworthy.

Effective posts use eye catching photos and little words. Your goal should be to generate enough interest that the driver visits your site. The website will have the information needed to sell the driver on working for your company.

Paid Advertisements Keep You on Drivers’ Minds 

Any social media campaign is incomplete without paid media. Each social media platform has its own advertising tools (Facebook ads, Linkedin ads, Twitter ads, Google ads, etc.).

The goal of paid media is to keep your company on the mind of potential drivers. Drivers spend a lot of time on social media, by advertising on social media you are meeting the drivers where they are at.

The best part of paid media is its hyper-focus. If you take the time to set up the proper settings only your desired demographic will see your ads. Hyper-focus campaigns lead to increased ROI.

For best results, your paid ads need to be eye catching. Drivers will spend hardly any time interacting with the paid ads so every millisecond counts. Create ads that burn an image into the drivers minds.

Canva is the best platform for designing advertisements. The platform makes it easy for people who have little design experience create professional quality ads.

illustration that shows how to recruit truck drivers on social media

Platforms to Use For Maximum Results

There are many platforms to use for recruiting truck drivers. Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Youtube, and Twitter are the main platforms you should focus on.

If you are determined to expand beyond those platforms Reddit, Snapchat, and TikTok are becoming more popular with drivers.

Facebook and Twitter give your company a voice. Instagram is visual so post smiling faces and quick videos. Linkedin is professional; here you will want to post company accomplishments and management philosophy. Youtube should be used to post videos of driver interviews and more in depth visuals that tell stories about how great your company is.

Instead of focusing your energy on using as many platforms as possible, focus on thriving within one or two of the platforms.

Social media is an excellent tool to recruit new drivers.You can interact with drivers directly and social media will give your company a voice. Follow this guide and successfully recruit truck drivers on social media.