of social media as a salesperson . “ I ’ ve seen a lot of people posting on LinkedIn that treat the media like it ’ s an ad . ‘ We ’ re great . Look what we can do !’ doesn ’ t cut it on social media . To me , that is a nonproductive use of social media ,” he says . “ I ’ ve never liked the terms of salesman or saleswoman . I believe that what you want to do isn ’ t selling ; it ’ s adding value to someone . The process should be about information and education . I want any prospect I contact to leave the interaction with a piece of knowledge that they didn ’ t have before . When that happens , I don ’ t have to sell them . They don ’ t think about me that way . They don ’ t see me as someone trying to push something down their throat . They see me as a source of information . When they need something , the first person they will think about is me . Social media is a powerful tool in that process .”
The Social Media Advantage for Final-Mile Providers
The last-mile has taken center stage in the minds of many in business today . Post-pandemic , the role of last-mile in the supply chain has garnered more attention than ever . For Burns , that makes it a topic of general interest that goes beyond shippers , making it fertile territory for social media posts . “ I think last-mile has truly become of interest to a variety of people today ,” he says . “ There ’ s a wider audience than ever for information on this topic . It might be the person receiving the package . Or the company shipping the package . It could be of interest to strategic players considering entering or purchasing a company in this space — or even potential drivers . And there ’ s not a lot of people who are seen as experts in this space . So it ’ s a huge opportunity .”
Using Social to Recruit Drivers
Using social media for driver recruitment also makes so much sense to Burns . “ Your businesses are fundamentally built upon your driver network . You don ’ t have a business without those drivers ,” he says . “ In today ’ s world , folks are competing for drivers . One of the ways to differentiate yourself is to show potential drivers how you work with those who deliver for you . Show them the training / certifications you offer . Show them doing their deliveries . Make them want to drive for you through social media . When we did onboarding at my former company , QCS Logistics , we did our best to connect them to ‘ The Why ’ of what we were doing . With social media , you can show the why . They can see someone making a life-saving delivery or bringing that bicycle on Christmas Eve to the mother ’ s house before Christmas morning . It ’ s a great way to attract and retain drivers .”
Use Social To Establish a Human Connection
Burns has spent his life in the final-mile , but he still feels the need to continue building his network through his personal LinkedIn page . And he urges others to do the same . “ Every member of your company ’ s leadership team should have their LinkedIn profile , and it should be linked to the company ’ s LinkedIn page and on their bios on your website ,” he advises .
He continually adds contacts to his connections on LinkedIn . “ I ’ m always growing my network ,” he says . “ I have a lot of relationships in the industry , but I ’ m always adding more . As that network grows , more and more people are approaching me , saying things like , ‘ I feel more comfortable talking to you now that I ’ ve seen your posts . They make me feel like there ’ s someone I can pick up the phone and talk to .’ I wish I knew about all this when I owned my own company as it ’ s clearly going a long way to cultivate feelings of connection and trust that lastmile providers need to have with their customers .”
40 customized logistics & delivery Magazine I summer 2024