Tag: to

How to Get Your Drivers to Submit Video Testimonials

Posted on by Jake Peters

 

Video testimonials from your truck drivers can be one of the most valuable assets your company has. These testimonials are excellent sources for recruitment content and company promotions. However, they are hard to obtain. Here is how to get your drivers to submit video testimonials.

What are Video Testimonials?

Video testimonials are simply the act of sitting down with your drivers and interviewing them what it is like to work for your company. These are not scripted actors, but instead the real people who drive your trucks.

Why do you Need Video Testimonials From Your Drivers? 

Video testimonials are beneficial because they provide the most realistic view of what it is like to work for your fleet.

Sharing these testimonials will show a level of authenticity to your company that is not possible with other forms of driver recruitment advertising.

Authenticity creates a layer of trust between your company and potential drivers. This trust will help your recruiters immensely when they reach out to drivers for the first time, helping your hiring efforts.

People creating and reacting to a driver video testimonial

6 Steps to Get Your Drivers to Submit Video Testimonials 

  1. Personal Your Request

  2. Emphasize the “W.I.I.F.M” for the Driver 

  3. Provide Easy to Answer Prompts 

  4. Make the Submission as Easy as Possible 

  5. Encourage Drivers to Show off Their Personality 

  6. Utilize a Creative Agency

Personalize Your Request

Do not send an impersonal survey request… nobody likes nor responds to those. Here is an example of a bad request:

A bad example of a request for drivers to submit a video testimonial.

You’ve hand-picked the drivers you’re requesting feedback from, so treat them that way and make them feel special! 

One of the easiest ways you can personalize your request is by using the driver’s first name in the subject line. Doing this will grab their attention while looking at their email inbox and let them know this email is specifically for them.

Another thing you should do is send out the emails individually to the drivers, no email blasts. Nobody likes long email chains.

Keep in mind that if it looks like an automated message – it will get treated like on. Your drivers will either ignore it or immediately delete it.

Biggest Personalization mistake to Avoid:

Using requests or subject lines that make an employee feel like a number, not a person like,
“Driver Feedback needed”, or, “We value your feedback”

Emphasize the “W.I.I.F.M” for the Driver

Human beings are naturally selfish – and it’s no different when it comes to feedback requests. When you’re asking for a testimonial, you’re essentially saying, we want more drivers like you.

It’s a huge compliment to the drivers’ character and shows that you’re trying to better the company by hiring more drivers like them – so say that!!

In addition to flattering the driver, your company may consider including a small incentive for the feedback like a $10 gift card. If you are including an incentive you need to make that abundantly clear to the drivers.

Biggest “W.I.I.F.M” Mistake to Avoid:

Requesting a testimonial without expressing how much you value the service the driver is providing

Provide Easy to Answer Prompts 

Drivers do not want to spend hours answering long-winded questions. The longer the driver thinks it will take for them to complete the testimonial, the less likely they are to complete it.

However, do not make the prompts too simple.

The biggest mistake first-time interviewers make is asking yes or no questions, it’s important to make the questions open-ended. By asking open-ended questions you are leaving room for the drivers to be themselves and provide honest feedback. 

It’s also important to ask drivers to rephrase the questions into their answers. If you ask “what’s it like to drive for XYZ Co…” ask them to include the phase “driving for XYZ Co is dot dot dot” not just – “they give good pay and benefits”

Biggest Prompts Mistake to Avoid:

Asking close-ended, yes/no questions – they don’t make for good videos

Make the Submission as Easy as Possible

Again, thinking about W.I.I.F.M. – just like with a job application, if it’s difficult to do or takes more than 15 minutes, you can kiss your opportunity goodbye. 

Make use of video survey services, like Trade Response – this lets you send personalized questions at scale to your drivers.

Biggest Submission Mistake to Avoid:

Trying to coordinate schedules with a driver endlessly

Encourage Drivers to Show off Their Personality

At the end of the day you always have to remember that drivers are human beings, if they don’t say the answer in the most articulate way, it’s okay. It may even make your video more persuasive. 

In today’s recruiting landscape, drivers are looking for authenticity and there is nothing authentic about a perfectly scripted testimonial. So let your drivers be themselves and do not stress about perfection!

Plus, if drivers are encouraged to show off their personality, they will have more fun with the project and be more likely to submit their video.

Biggest Encouragement Mistake to Avoid

Discouraging personalized stories – or just not asking the right questions to evoke those answers

Utilize a Creative Agency

Creative agencies can turn your drivers into company spokespeople, even if they record the video from their phone. Agencies are pros – they know what questions to ask, how to ask them and how to deliver the best results.

Biggest Mistake to Avoid:

Trying to DIY the project – it wastes everyone’s time, yielding results that either aren’t good or all sound the same

In today’s age, major advertisers are running commercials using “user generated content”, meaning there was no crew, no large budget, and no hassle. The same can be done with drivers. Video testimonials can add fuel to your driver recruiting fire, igniting the hiring spree your company needs. 

How to Use Email Marketing for Driver Recruitment

Posted on by Jake Peters

A truck driver’s email inbox is one of the best places to recruit drivers. However, email marketing is not a walk in the park. Here is how to use email marketing for driver recruitment.

  • Find an ESP That Best Fits Your Needs
  • Build a Strong Email List 
  • Segment the Drivers Accordingly 
  • Keep Emails Personal and Entertaining 
  • Create a Pipeline of Top Performing Drivers 
  • Semi-Frequent Job Alerts

Email Marketing Campaign concept. Digital Inbound advertising (useful newsletter, interesting promotional material) or Outbound (cold emails, spam) advertisement business strategy.

Find an ESP That Best Fits Your Needs

ESP stands for Email Service Provider. Email service providers allow companies to send email campaigns to a list of subscribers.

At the most basic level, ESPs do two things: store email addresses and send emails.

In addition to storing email addresses and sending emails, ESPs will help you build segments, create engaging email content, and report campaign performance.

Picking the best email service provider can be a difficult decision. To effectively make the decision you need to figure out what kind of features you are looking for before looking at different ESPs.

Ask yourself:

  • How much are we willing to pay?
  • How many people need to access the ESP?
  • Do we need extensive spam filters?
  • Do we need an ESP built specifically for trucking companies?
  • Or can we use any ESP?
  • How much design help do we need?

The answers to the above questions will help determine the best ESP for your company. It is good to ask these questions so you do not end up with an ESP that has too many features or not enough.

Build a Strong Email List

Your driver recruitment email campaign is only as strong as the list you are sending the emails to. If the drivers on your list are not interacting with the emails then the emails are being wasted.

One of the best strategies to get potential drivers engaging with your emails is to get them to sign up for your emails via different lead generation methods.

These lead generation methods can include:

  • Offer a joining incentive
  • Provide a free downloadable resource
  • Registration for a free webinar.

Another strategy you can use for building your email list is creating a Facebook group for drivers and asking for emails to join the group.

Drivers signing up for your emails are interested in hearing from you. A list of willing participants is more valuable than a list that you purchase from another company.

Segment Drivers Accordingly

Groups of wooden people. The concept of market segmentation. Marketing segmentation, target audience, customer care. Market group of buyers. Customer analysis and customer relationship management

Even though your email list will be composed entirely of truck drivers, that does not mean that they will all want the same content from you.

Your campaigns will see much more engagement if you send drivers relevant content based on their preferences.

For example, if there are drivers on your email list that you have hired recently, and you don’t segment the list, then they are going to become annoyed seeing emails about job openings from the company they work for.

Common segmentation criteria for driver recruiting email include:

  • Experience level
  • Certifications
  • Location
  • Employment status
  • Activity level

Segmenting lets you provide drivers with tailor-made content which reduces your unsubscribe rates and increases open rates.

Keep Emails Personal and Entertaining 

People do not want to read cookie-cutter emails containing boring content.

Personalized emails have a 29% higher unique open rate and 41% unique click rates than non-personalized emails.

Drivers want engaging content that feels like it was personally made for them. A quick and easy way to make emails feel personalized is to use automation to address readers by their first name.

In addition to using their name, you can send birthday emails, skill-building opportunities, and industry updates for drivers with the same qualifications as the reader.

Create a Pipeline of Top Performing Drivers

As you implement email marketing into your driver recruiting strategy, you are going to hire drivers from your email list.

You need to keep tabs on the drivers you hire and measure their performance. The drivers you hire and are top performers need to be added to a special segment.

Having a pipeline filled with top-performing drivers is a huge asset for your company. Once the pipeline is built out, you will have constant communication with people you know for certain fill your driver criteria.

Even after the drivers leave your company you get to keep recruiting them and hopefully rehire them in the future.

Semi-Frequent Job Alerts

We hiring now banner job offer vector background. Hiring promotion megaphone employee illustration

The purpose of the email marketing campaign is to keep drivers engaged with your company. It is not intended to bombard drivers with your open positions.

Your first goal needs to be engagement. Once that has been established you can start sprinkling in job alerts.

However,

Make sure that the alerts you are sending match the segments you send them to. If the position you are hiring for requires certain endorsements then only send that segments of drivers you know have the necessary endorsements.

Make sure you are only sending job alerts a couple of times a month. Do not overwhelm drivers on your email list. Doing so will result in drivers unsubscribing from your emails.

Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective recruiting strategies. Once your company nails the process, you have a direct line of communication with truck drivers. Follow this guide and begin email marketing for driver recruitment.

How to Attract Truck Drivers on Social Media

Posted on by Jake Peters

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.

Everything You Need to Know About Multi-Carrier Applications

Posted on by Jake Peters

Have you ever felt like a truck driver recruiting agency took advantage of you? You were promised hundreds of qualified applicants flooding your ATS, making hiring a breeze. Instead, you spent most of your time calling truck drivers who have no interest in speaking to you. Chances are that you purchased a list of multi-carrier applications.

Multi-carrier applications can serve a purpose but are very difficult to convert into hires.

Here is everything you need to know about multi-carrier driver applicants:

  • What are Multi-Carrier Applications? 
  • How can I Tell if I am Purchasing Multi-Carrier Applications?
  • Pros and Cons to Multi-Carrier Applications

driver recruited frustrated from poor results because of multi-carrier applications

What are Multi-Carrier Applications?

Truck driver applications that have been sold to multiple different trucking companies are multi-carrier applications.

Typically these occur when a driver submits an application to a job board site and has no clue which carriers receive their application. Oftentimes the driver’s application is continuously sold to companies even after they have accepted a position.

Agencies that sell these applications make their money by selling the same applications over and over again. They sell quantity, not quality.

Multi-carrier leads are cold leads. Calling a list of multi-carrier applicants is cold calling and can lead to frustrating results.

How Can I Tell if I am Purchasing Multi-Carrier Applications? 

Any company that uses language like “driver database”, “driver pool”, or “driver list” is trying to sell you multi-carrier leads.

Recruiting agencies will tell you that they have a database of driver applicants and will match your company with drivers that meet your requirements. These are multi-carrier applicants.

Every carrier who has the same requirements as you are sold the same leads you were sold.

A good way to tell if you are being sold multi-carrier applicants is asking the sales rep what their process is for finding applicants.

If they do not find fresh applicants specifically for your company then you are talking to a company that sells multi-carrier leads.

Pros and Cons to Multi-Carrier Applications

Pros and cons to multi-carrier applications

When you unknowingly purchase multi-carrier leads it can feel like they are useless. However, there are some positives to multi-carrier applications.

Pros:

  • The applications are not expensive
  • Guaranteed high level of volume
  • All applicants meet your hiring criteria

Cons:

  • The applications are cold leads
  • Drivers may not be looking for work
  • Lower conversion rate compared to direct applications
  • Take longer to hire the driver
  • Can be frustrating to contact

If you are intentional with how you plan to use multi-carrier applicants then they can be a useful tool. For example, carriers will use multi-carrier leads mixed in with direct and referral applicants. This allows their campaign to have high quality leads and high quantity.

Multi-carrier applications are very common in the industry. These leads are popular because you can buy a lot for cheap. However, you may feel ripped off after buying these applications because of the low conversion rate.

Having a plan and mixing in these applications with your direct applications can make for an effective hiring strategy. Make sure you know when you are purchasing multi-carrier leads and have a plan for recruiting these drivers.

It is Time to be Intentional With Your Driver Recruiting

Posted on by Jake Peters

Are you intentional with your truck driver recruiting? Or are you reactive?

Intentional driver recruiting campaigns seek out drivers and interact with them at every channel possible. Reactive recruiting waits for drivers to find the job posting and respond. If you are reactive recruiting it is time that you become intentional.

Intentional recruiting is going to get drivers interacting with you more often and increase the amount of applicants you receive. Here is why you need to be intentional:

  • Reach 100% of Professional Truck Drivers
  • Market Your Company to Passive Job Seekers
  • Build Your Employer Brand
  • Focus on a Specific Demographic or Advertise to Everyone

be intentional phrase combined on vintage varnished wooden surface

Reach 100% of Professional Truck Drivers

What is the biggest problem with job posting websites? It’s that only a small percentage of drivers are on each of the websites.

In order for you to be seen on job boards, you have to pay to be at the top. But you are paying to only be seen by a very small portion of the truck drivers.

Imagine if there was a platform where you could pay to be seen by 96% of truck drivers.

That platform exists. It is called Facebook.

Not only are 96% of truck drivers on Facebook, but on average truck drivers spend 2 hours a day on the platform.

Taking an intentional approach to Facebook alone will enable you to speak directly to 96% of drivers for 2 hours every day.

Advertising on Facebook is just one platform. If you are intentional at advertising across the entire internet you will be able to reach 100% of truck drivers.

Being intentional includes social media marketing, geofencing, retargeting, content creation, and much more.

Market Your Company to Passive Job Seekers

Passive job seekers are truckers who are currently employed and not pursuing a new position, however they are open to changing companies if a good opportunity comes along.

These job seekers are far more valuable than active job seekers. Active job seekers are going to be applying to multiple companies and speaking with many recruiters at one time. They know that they want to work for a new company and are playing the field.

Passive job seekers will only apply to work for your company.

Because passive seekers were not looking for a new job, the psychology behind the application completely changes. The driver goes from thinking “I need to find the best offer I can” to “I like, what this company has to say, it would be great to work for them.”

If you are focusing all of your efforts on job boards, then you are focusing entirely on active job seekers. This means that you are missing out entirely on the passive market.

Be intentional and get passive drivers to want to work for you.

Passive and Active. Text from letters of the wooden alphabet

Build Your Employer Brand

Another great thing about intentional driver recruiting is that your employer brand will grow when you are intentional.

Simply put, an employer brand is your reputation as a place to work.

How do drivers outside your company view what it is like to work for you?

If you are taking a reactive recruiting approach then your employer brand is reliant on word-of-mouth. However, taking an intentional approach means you are taking an active role in shaping how drivers view you.

The content you create and send out to truck drivers is going to mold how they view your company. This lets you control the narrative around your company instead of hoping your current drivers say positive things about their experience.

Recruit a Specific Niche or Advertise to the Masses

Is your company looking to hire from a very small niche? Or are all of your trucks full and you just want to run ads to keep your company on the mind of drivers for the future?

Intentional driver recruiting allows you to easily switch between the two. You can even target specific niches and advertise to the masses at the same time when you are intentional.

During a reactive recruitment campaign you can put the position requirements in the job description and only call qualified candidates. But, this strategy is not nearly as effective as using digital tools to advertise directly to drivers who meet your needs.

There is no way to generate widespread interest in your company with a reactive campaign. Sure, many drivers may see your job posting on a board somewhere, but that post is surrounded by other job openings.

Even if you do not have any current vacancies, generating widespread interest in your company is a good idea. Doing this will help you fill your trucks faster, earning higher profits for your company.

Driver recruiting needs to focus on both niche and mass audiences. Mass or niche market symbol. Businessman flips wooden cubes and changes words 'mass market' to 'niche market'. Beautiful white background, copy space. Business and mass or niche market concept.

Intentional driver recruiting tactics like social media marketing, geofencing, retargeting, and content creation all take time and money. It may seem like a reactive approach is the smart move. However, intentional campaigns far outperform reactive campaigns and help your company earn higher profits.

Interested in learning how your company can become intentional? Call us at (801)419-0164 or you can fill out the form on our homepage.

How to be a Great Truck Driver Recruiter

Posted on by Jake Peters

Truck driver recruiters are some of the most important people within their organizations. If they are ineffective at their job, the company will have trucks sitting “on the fence” and not on the road earning revenue. Follow these steps and you will know how to be a great truck driver recruiter.

  1. Master Your Process 
  2. Understand Social Media Marketing for Trucking Companies 
  3. Learn the Art of Persuasion 
  4. Stay Organized and Be Prepared 
  5. Stay in Touch With Potential Drivers
  6. Remain Transparent Through the Hiring Process

Truck driver recruiter grabs red wooden figure to symbolize making a new hire.

Master Your Process

You will not be able to efficiently hire truck drivers if you do not have your process mastered.

How are you going to reach out to recent applicants if you do not know where their information is kept? How can you hire a new driver if you do not know how to send them the necessary paperwork and make sure it is all properly filled out?

If you are reading this and have been working at the same company for a long period of time, this tip may feel like a waste of time. However, each company has a different process. It can be easy to overlook this step when you start a new position.

Mastering the entire process is equivalent to mastering the fundamentals of any sport.

Just like you can’t expect to lace them up on Sundays without first mastering the basics, you can not be a great driver recruiter without first mastering your hiring process.

Understand Social Media Marketing for Trucking Companies

Nearly 100% of all truck drivers in the country are members of social media. Effective social media marketing allows for your company to reach all of these drivers, build your company brand, and connect with other people in the industry.

Because social media is so effective at generating driver applicants and promoting your company, it is likely an integral part of your carrier’s strategy.

A great truck driver recruiter understands the fundamentals of social media marketing. They do this because they want to understand where the drivers are coming from, how the driver came to apply, and what is reasonably expectable from a campaign.

Even if you are not responsible for running social media campaigns, you should learn how campaigns work.

Learn the Art of Persuasion

The red figure of a person influences a crowd of people. Expressing your own opinion, turning to your side. Mastery of persuasion, propaganda, influence on the masses. Warming up the mood of the crowd

Truck driver recruiting is a sales position. The key to being successful at sales is learning how to persuade people to act.

You rarely come across a driver applicant that has fully committed to working for your company after applying.

Drivers need to be persuaded to drive for your company.

The driver shortage has created a world where truck drivers are fielding multiple offers at once. Where the driver decides to work comes down to which company is the most persuasive.

If you want to learn how to become more persuasive as a driver recruiter check out this article:

5 TIPS FOR DRIVER RECRUITERS TO BE MORE PERSUASIVE

Stay Organized and be Prepared 

Truck driver recruiting is a constant juggling act. If you are disorganized and/or unprepared you will miss out on opportunities to hire drivers for your company.

If you are organized you will be able to manage applications coming in from multiple lead sources, keep track of all the meetings you set up, and submit the necessary paperwork for each driver.

You need to be over-prepared for each interview with individual drivers. At the start of an interview, you may think a driver applied because they are interested in a pay raise, and then find out that they had a poor experience with previous management.

If you enter the interview only prepared to discuss how drivers are paid at your company, then you won’t be fully prepared to talk about company culture. Sure you could discuss it off the top of your head, but you won’t have all the content necessary to show off your company culture.

Staying organized and being prepared will make sure that you interact with as many drivers as you can and can answer all of their questions.

Stay in Touch With Potential Drivers 

The hiring process can be lengthy, especially if a driver is applying to multiple companies. You must stay in touch with drivers that are in your hiring process.

Every day, Monday through Friday, you need to contact all of your potential drivers.

When you contact drivers you should be checking in to see if you can help them in any way. The key is to stay on the driver’s mind.

Remembering to contact drivers every day can be challenging. Using a quality ATS will help you stay organized and make it easy to contact each driver.

Wooden man shows with hand text Stay In Touch concept on wooden block

Remain Transparent Through the Hiring Process

You need to be transparent with the truck driver through the entire hiring process. Do not over-promise the good aspects of your company and hide the bad aspects.

Be upfront with the drivers about possible areas of miscommunication and elements of the job the driver may not enjoy.

It may feel counterintuitive to share negative information with the driver, however, it actually builds trust between you and the driver. The transparency establishes that you are an honest person.

This does not mean that you should focus on the negatives. Share the things about the job that the driver may not like, but then show that the positives outweigh the negatives.

Truck drivers will be more likely to believe you on how great the position is if you are honest about some of the downsides.

Truck driver recruiters are essential to every trucking company in the country. Also, the better you are at driver recruiting the more money you will make. Follow this guide and you will know how to be a great truck driver recruiter.

The Ultimate Guide to Attract Quality Truck Drivers Online

Posted on by Jake Peters

Quality truck drivers are at the highest demand they have ever been. There are simply not enough of them around. The good news is that 100% of all quality drivers can be reached online, the bad news is that more carriers than ever are competing to attract quality truck drivers.

Here is the ultimate guide to attracting QUALITY truck drivers online:

  1. Building a Strong Facebook Presence 
  2. Driver Testimonials and Creating Content for Drivers
  3. Job Board Management
  4. Champion Cunning Edge Technologies 
  5. Search Engine Optimization
  6. Geotargeting for Driver Recruitment

Quality truck driver wearing a protective mask while driving his truck.

Build a Strong Facebook Presence

96% of all adults are Facebook users. Using this statistic, it is fair to say that 96% of all quality truck drivers are Facebook users as well.

If you have not started building a presence on the social media platform you need to. Last year during 2020, the platform saw increased engagement because everyone was locked down and had nothing to do.

The first step to building a strong Facebook presence is to create your company page. As you are building your company page make sure to include all of the information required to contact you and plenty of quality images.

Once your page is built, use that page to join as many relevant groups as possible.

Take time each day to interact with all of the groups that you have joined. Do not treat the groups as a place where you only post your job ads.

You should be posting the driver content (more on that in a moment) that your company is creating, answer any questions posed by drivers, and any interesting articles.

Think of the groups as a place for you to show off your company’s personality.

In addition to building a professional company page and interacting within groups, you need to be running a continuous Facebook advertising campaign.

It may leave a sour taste in your mouth having to pay for these ads every month, however, it is necessary. Facebook makes its money from ad-revenue, so they have built their algorithms in a way that caps your audience reach on free posts.

Your Facebook ads should promote everything from available job listings, newly created content, and any company milestones.

Advertising on Facebook is a complicated task, but if it is done correctly, you can reach any quality truck driver you want at a cost-effective rate.

magnifying glass looking at Facebook for business page.

Driver Testimonials and Creating Content for Drivers

If you speak with any quality truck driver and ask them about their experiences with recruiters, they are bound to have at least one horror story. Because the industry moves so fast and information changes rapidly, drivers feel like they are always being lied to by recruiters.

Truck drivers trust other truck drivers more than anyone else in the industry.

You need to create content that tells the story of what it is like to work for your company from the perspective of your truck drivers.

Video testimonials from your longest-tenured truck drivers are the most effective content at convincing quality drivers to apply for your company. Quality truck drivers that are researching your company want to hear from your current truck drivers.

In addition to testimonials, you should be creating “day-in-the-life-of” videos. These videos tell the story of an average day for your truck drivers.

Finally, create content that covers any driver celebrations your company throws. Quality truck drivers want to see that they will be properly appreciated if they decide to work for your company.

Job Board Management

Many carriers are hesitant to advertise their jobs on job boards because they have been burned in the past. It makes sense to be hesitant. Advertising on job boards has become more and more expensive and there is no guarantee which job board will perform the best.

However,

Job boards remain one of the best places to attract quality truck drivers.

The entirety of people you reach on job boards is active job seekers. This is opposed to reaching a mix of passive and active seekers advertising on other platforms.

The time it takes to hire an active job seeker is much shorter than the time it takes to hire a passive job seeker. This shorter time to hire means your trucks are on the road longer, earning you more money.

The most common mistake that carriers make when using job boards is spending all of their ad-spend on one board. They will place all of their eggs in one basket.

You need to have your job opening on as many job boards as possible at the start of the month. Then as the month goes on closely monitor to see which board is getting your ad the most views. Finally, allocate the majority of your ad-spend to the top-performing board for the end of the month.

Reset your ad spend at the start of the next month. The top-performing job board will change from month-to-month.

Words We Are Looking For You On Yellow Background. Job Board.

Champion Your Cunning Edge Technology

Does your company use cunning edge technology to make your company as efficient as possible? If so you need to show it off!

Quality truck drivers want to work for a company that uses new technology to make the drivers’ lives easier. They also want to work for a company that frequently gets new trucks.

An example of innovative technology making drivers’ lives easier is logistics software shortening driver routes and increasing their home time.

Driveteks has a client in Salt Lake City that runs loads to Denver every day. Instead of having their drivers make the 8-hour trip there and 8 hours back, they used their logistics software to team up with a company from Denver that runs loads to Salt Lake.

The drivers for the Salt Lake company and the Denver company meet at the halfway point, switch loads, and return home for the night. Each load gets where it needs to go, the drivers drive the same amount of miles, and everyone sleeps in their own bed.

If your company is using technology like in the example above, leasing new trucks, and/or any other new technology you need to make sure driver applicants are aware.

Quality truck drivers want to work for companies that will make their lives easier.

Search Engine Optimization

You can not expect to attract quality truck drivers to apply to work for your company if the drivers can not find you online.

Search engine optimization is the process of making your company findable on the internet. When done properly, you will rank for the search terms that drivers are looking up.

There are three corners to the SEO Triangle: content, technical, and links.

Your company website must be technically sound, have engaging content, and link to relevant sources and have backlinks to your site.

SEM Rush, Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, and Ubersuggest are all excellent tools for you to use to monitor your site’s SEO presence.

Check out the beginner’s guide to SEO if you are unfamiliar with search engine optimization.

Geotargeting for Truck Driver Recruitment

Today’s technology enables recruiters to specifically target niche demographics of potential drivers.

Geotargeting is a location-based advertising strategy. You choose a specific target location and pay to send your ads to the people within that geographical location.

Carefully placing your targets where quality drivers frequent guarantees your ads will be seen.

You should be placing your geotargets at truck stops along your routes, local CDL schools, hiring events, and even competitor truck lots.

Pushpin on map that symbolizes geofencing for truck driver recruitment

Truck driver recruiting is taking place online more than ever before. Companies are realizing that they can directly advertise to the drivers they want at a cost-effective rate. Follow this guide and your company will know how to attract quality truck drivers online.

What are your strategies for attracting quality drivers online? Comment below!

5 Tips For Driver Recruiters to be More Persuasive

Posted on by Jake Peters

At its core, truck driver recruiting is a sales position. You are selling your company to potential drivers. To effectively sell, you need to be persuasive. Here are the 5 tips for driver recruiters to be more persuasive:

  1. Cater the Value Proposition to the Specific Driver
  2. Start With Small “Yes’s” And Work Your Way Up
  3. Mirroring the Driver’s Body Language
  4. Make the Process as Easy as Possible
  5. Share the Positives and Negatives of the Position

Man writing Persuasive Techniques in a note.

Cater the Value Proposition to the Specific Driver

Your trucking company may offer drivers routes that have them home nightly, competitive pay, and a rent-to-own partnership for drivers.

Each of these offerings is going to attract different people.

A younger driver, one without a family who hasn’t rooted down yet, may e more attracted by your company’s pay. This younger driver is not as concerned with being home nightly

On the other hand, an older driver that has young kids and is married is more than likely going to value the home time over everything else.

A truck driver with aspirations of becoming an owner-operator will want to take advantage of your rent-to-own procedure.

As the driver recruiter, you need to determine what the motivation is of the driver you are recruiting early in communication. Then cater your value proposition to that driver’s preferences.

Catering - words from wooden blocks with letters, making or serving food catering concept, top view gray background

Start With Small “Yes’s” And Work Your Way Up

Asking a truck driver to uproot their lives and start a new career with your company is a big ask. It can be daunting for the driver to say yes to such a proposition.

Instead of starting the conversation with the ‘big ask’, start by asking from small yes’s.

An example of a ‘small yes’ is, “Will you watch this video we made of our company culture?” That question is an easy task for the driver to complete and will get them to say yes.

Studies have proven that building up agreement has a lasting effect. Getting truck drivers to start saying yes in your conversation will increase your likelihood of hiring them.

Mirroring the Driver’s Body Language

The scientific term for mirroring is “limbic synchrony” and it is wired into our brain thanks to mirror neurons.

Using this technique makes the driver subconsciously feel like you are their friend because you are acting just like them.

Mirroring is the act of copying the body language of the person you are conversing with. This technique is highly effective at building trust with a person you are meeting for the first time.

If you are interviewing a potential truck driver, start by observing how they position themselves. Then slowly begin to position yourself with the same body language.

Also, mimic the truck driver’s gestures, tone of voice, and talking pace. Make sure to avoid mirroring any accents, as this can be seen as disrespectful.

A Stanford-Northwestern-INSEAD study found that people who used mirroring in a negotiation closed more deals and got better results for all parties involved.

Make the Hiring Process as Easy as Possible

Truck driver recruiters are going to be able to hire more drivers if the hiring process is quick and painless. Truck drivers are more likely to say yes to work for your company if it does not require a huge amount of effort.

This is common sense. When someone asks you to do them a favor, are you not more likely to say yes if it does not take up any of your time?

If the driver you are trying to hire has to jump through hoops, struggles to get a hold of anyone in the company, and has to submit multiple forms by hand then they are going to be less likely to work for your company.

Use online tools to help automate this process. If a driver only has to fill out their information one time that will make the process much easier. Also, make sure to remain in consistent contact with the driver throughout the hiring process.

Illustration of lightbulbs act as metaphor to show that easy gets results

Share the Positives and Negatives of the Position

Truck drivers will call baloney if you try to tell them that working for your company is all sunshine and rainbows.

And they are right to do so.

There is no such thing as a position that is all good. Your position will inevitably have some downsides.

Share the downsides with the truck driver.

Being upfront about the negatives may feel contradictory. However, it actually helps you build trust with the driver. Trust is a key piece to successfully hiring drivers.

The trick to this strategy is to always end on a positive note. Ending on a positive note tells the driver that the positives of the position outweigh the negative.

The best truck driver recruiters are master persuaders. Follow these 5 tips to become more persuasive and start hiring more drivers.

Have your own persuasive technique? Comment below!

How to Retain Truck Drivers through the Holidays

Posted on by Jake Peters

The holiday season can be a frustrating time for truck driver recruiters. Many of the drivers you hired throughout the year will leave your company to spend this time with their family. If you take the right steps you can retain your truck drivers. Follow this guide and retain your truck drivers this holiday season.

Santa Claus driving a truck. Truck driver wearing Santa Claus and smiling happy on Christmas Day. Workers in transportation and delivery business are working in celebration holidays. Merry Christmas

Offer a Significant Holiday Bonus 

Money talks, it is the oldest trick in the retention book.

It is common for truck drivers to quit their jobs right before the holiday season starts and find new work in January. The promise of a hefty holiday bonus towards the end of the holiday season would help keep drivers from leaving your company.

The holiday bonus is a motivation for drivers to stay with your company and it makes them feel valued by your company.

You must make sure the bonus you are offering is worthwhile. Drivers are more than likely not going to stick around for a $50 Amazon card. Make the bonus big enough that your truck drivers think it is worth it to keep working instead of taking time off.

Throw a Big Company Holiday Party 

A company holiday party is a fun strategy that you can use to retain truck drivers through the holiday season. Who doesn’t love to party?!

Celebrating the end of another year with a large celebration is an incentive for drivers to stay around. However, you need to make the party a great time, it cannot be a mediocre party.

You can throw an excellent party by allowing employees to bring their families, having the event catered, and specifically having a special moment for the children. If the kids of your drivers are looking towards your holiday party every year then the kids will convince your drivers to stay with your company.

Every year at your company party, make sure to designate some time to specifically celebrate the truck drivers in front of the entire company. You have no company without your drivers and the whole company should celebrate them.

Company throws holiday party to retain truck drivers

Provide Paid Time Off for Longest Tenured Drivers

Clearly, you do not need to worry about your longest-tenured truck drivers job-hopping. If they have stuck with your company for multiple years, it is safe to assume they have no plans for job-hopping.

Not only do these truck drivers deserve to be rewarded for their loyalty, but they are also an example for recently hired drivers. This policy will establish a company culture that says it rewards loyalty.

Giving tenured drivers paid time off is a walking example of what can happen for the new drivers if they stick with the company. The new truck drivers will be determined to stay with your company so they earn paid time off.

Extend an Abundance of Gratitude and Appreciation

At the end of the day, truck driver retention boils down to gratitude and appreciation. Truck drivers are like everyone else and want to work for a company that values them.

If you work for a carrier that is unable to afford bonuses, holiday parties, and paid time off you can still retain your drivers. Gratitude and appreciation are free to give away.

Take time out of every day this holiday season to express how much you value your drivers. Also, encourage all of your non-driving employees to do the same.

The Holiday season is a tricky season to navigate for trucking companies. An increased number of drivers begin to job hop this time of year. This adds extra stress to the truck driver recruiter. Avoid this stress by following these tips and retaining your truck drivers through the holiday season.

5 Steps to Use the Holiday Season to Win the New Year

Posted on by Jake Peters

Through the rest of the year until early January, freight demand will continually slow down and drivers will be with their families, not on the road. Truck drivers are intentionally not applying for jobs right now so they can have time off to celebrate the holidays.

Even though drivers are not looking for jobs right now does not mean you can slow down your recruiting effort. This time can be used to set yourself up for a big recruiting year next year.

Here are the 5 steps to use the holiday season to win the new year:

  1. Increase Facebook Advertising
  2. Focus More on Content Production
  3. Cutback on Geotargeting Recruitment
  4. Revise Your Trucking Recruiting Website
  5. Reflect on Previous Year to Improve for the Next

Truck driver recruiter successfully using the Holiday Season to win the new year

Increase Facebook Advertising

Drivers spending time at home, and not in a truck, means that they now have an excess of free time. A large portion of this free time will be filled by scrolling through Facebook.

The essence of digital driver recruiting is getting your company in front of the eyes of potential drivers. If drivers are spending more time on Facebook then you need to spend to get your company on Facebook more.

Drivers are making a list of potential employers and checking it twice.

Make sure your company is on that list by flooding driver feeds with your Facebook advertisements.

Focus More on Content Production

You are going to have more time on your hands during November and December because you will not be hiring as many drivers. Do not waste this time.

The extra time you have on your hands could be spent wisely working on content creation.

You should be filming driver testimonials, recording interviews with upper management, and writing about how great it is to work at your company.

Post this content on social media for drivers to see and they will be more likely to apply for your company once the new year starts. Drivers are not going to apply for companies that fail to sell them on their company culture.

Cutback on Geotargeting Recruitment 

The amount of freight being delivered during the holiday season is lower compared to the rest of the season.

Since there is less freight being delivered around the country, there will be fewer drivers on the road. The locations you are geotargeting are going to be less occupied.

Do not waste ad-spend to target locations where drivers are not going to be.

In an ideal world, you would take the money you cutback from your geotargeting budget and allocate it to your Facebook advertising budget.

Revise Your Truck Driver Recruiting Website

It is best practice to constantly revise your company website to optimize for truck driver recruiting.

You should delete outdated content from your website to make room for the new content you are creating. Also, conduct some keyword research and update your page titles and headers to boost your SEO rankings.

Finally, make sure your website is built to work well on mobile devices. More people than ever are accessing the web from a mobile device, especially drivers.

Reflect on Previous Year to Improve for the Next

Reflect on the previous year to utilize the Pareto Principle

The final thing you should do during this time is to conduct reflection sessions on what worked and did not work during the previous year.

Strategize with your colleagues about how you can all cut out the processes that were not producing results and focus on processes that do produce.

Remember the 80/20 rule. 80% of your results are produced by 20% percent of your actions. The holiday season is a great time to find the 20% of actions producing results.

Truck drivers are not applying for trucking jobs right now. The applications will pick back up in January so you need to be prepared. Follow these 5 steps to use the holiday season to win the new year.