Earlier this week, we published thoughts on the importance of a website for companies in trucking or logistics. If a website is your virtual “front door,” then your company’s LinkedIn page needs to be the “entry way.”
Let’s discuss.
Rightly or not, many logistics and transportation professionals avoid LinkedIn (pilots wear suits and ties, truckers, something else). Maybe there’s a concern of “not being professional enough,” or maybe it’s the time involved.
However, decision-makers at the shippers share none of this rationale and are both available and active on the social platform.
What and How Often to Post on LinkedIn
This may be obvious, but LinkedIn doesn’t actually share the algorithms it uses to decide what’s important, which makes it hard to know what to post and how often to post. While there is no hard-and-fast rule, the consensus is that four posts per week should be the target.
However, creating content for LinkedIn doesn’t have to be hard. During your day, you will probably hear about a customer's concern. You may run into an interesting story in the hallway. You may see an article that gets you thinking (either positively or not). You may have a role open up on your team. These are all potential posts!
Here are three (low-lift) ways to generate content for LinkedIn:
Content Curation- Make a point every week of finding one interesting article to share. It should be an article that you strongly agree with, or think is flat out wrong (you’re looking for a visceral reaction). Type out the thoughts you have, “this reporter really missed the point, I wish he had chatted about XX instead,” or “wow, she really nailed this point about YY.” Then include the link and submit the post. Content curation helps people find out what types of things you think about, and how you think about those things. It’s an easy way to find “like-minded” shippers, customers, or people. As an added benefit, there’s a chance the reporter who wrote the piece will see that you shared it, and might be likely to respond to a story pitch (more on PR in an upcoming post)
Man on the Street Videos- You know those videos where someone is walking (apparently it shows motion?) while discussing something about the industry? Of course you do… they’re everywhere. Which means that LinkedIn (and other social media sites) value them. It’s why you’ve seen them. Pick a subject that impacts your business (rising fuel costs? EV mandates? Autonomous trucks?), and share your thoughts while you walk with your phone. Be careful with this approach (physically and mentally). You don’t want to walk into something, obviously. But the more important part here is tact. Instead of “I can’t believe shippers are being so cheap with their FSC,” aim it in a more curious direction, such as, “I wish all shippers took the time to understand what fuel swings can do to a carrier’s margin.” This approach works because it asks viewers to pair a name with a face; you start to form relationships with people you’ve never met.
The How To- Take a common, complex industry challenge—such as navigating a new regulation, optimizing a specific lane, or explaining why a certain type of capacity is in high demand—and break it down into 3-4 simple, bulleted takeaways. This approach establishes you as a subject matter expert, not just someone shouting into the void. It provides tangible value to your prospects, reinforcing your brand as a resource that serves their needs. Extra bonus: when we covered SEO vs AEO and discussed the types of phrases your prospects might be searching to find you? This is the same thing.
Your Company Page vs Your Profile
Building a company following isn’t easy. Yes, you can run contests (’follow us for a chance to win XX’). You can also encourage your team to invite their network to follow the company page, either overtly (by asking every employee to invite 5 people per week) or more covertly (by including a ‘follow us on LinkedIn’ link in your email signatures).
But… Tim Cook has more followers than Apple, so Apple often uses Cook’s profile as a way to share news. You need to know which property (your company page or your profile) has the larger reach, and you need to cross-polinate (Apple shares Cook’s posts to its company page after Cook’s followers have had a chance to see them and engage). This multi-step approach helps you expand your reach and also gives you multiple opportunities to get in front of your target audiences.
The company page is also a great place to humanize your company. You can celebrate hirings and work anniversaries (once your employees tell you they’re OK with it). This is a great tool for employee engagement, and it also adds credibility to your team in the minds of prospects and customers.
If you’re still reading and have thought, “hey, wait, they said four posts, and now they’re talking about two properties,” yeah, we just doubled your homework (four personal posts, and four company posts). But the trick here is that you can share across these two pages to increase your reach, trigger more views through engagement, and save yourself some time.
The Supply Chain Cheat Code
Type your paragraph here
Logistics and supply chain professionals are generally busy, and to be fair, the industry isn’t spending every hour on social media. However, there is a commonality in when these folks spend time on LinkedIn: the weekend.
If you can frame your posts around something career-centric (‘find out what your competitors are doing to get promoted’), you can create a larger echo for every post. After all, very few companies are posting on the weekend.
Check back next week when we tackle public relations.
