He also believes that cementing that personal connection on social media is a big plus in retaining business . “ We all know that everything ’ s not going to be perfect regarding deliveries . Even when it doesn ’ t go great , you always want to have a relationship there to fall back on . Social media posts help to reinforce those relationships , which is important . When you don ’ t have those personal connections , and something goes wrong , it ’ s much easier for them to decide to change and go to another carrier .”
Dos and Don ’ ts
Burns shares what he ’ s learned from his journey into the world of social media with some dos and don ’ ts :
Dos
• Decide on your objective first – Begin with the end in mind . What is your objective ? What are you trying to accomplish when you post ?
• Consider your audience – Ask yourself who you ’ re trying to reach and how you can add value .
• Develop a plan – Set up a content plan . Because social media is all about consistent posting , having a calendar will give you some type of cadence .
• Do your prep work – “ I spend an hour and a half a week preparing before shooting my social media videos ,” Burns says . And while he doesn ’ t do a script to keep the presentation informal , he does make sure he ’ s thoroughly versed on the topic he will tackle . “ There ’ s prep work so I can get comfortable with the material . I don ’ t just turn on the camera and wing it . I ask myself , ‘ How will I add value here ?’”
• Have an outline – “ I always have an outline that I do before I hit record ,” Burns says . “ I want to have an idea of the points I want to hit . The outline helps me stay on-task ,” he says .
• Nail down the tech stuff – “ Get your lighting and audio right ,” he advises . “ You don ’ t want it to look cheesy or tacky . You don ’ t want the video to be blurry . That doesn ’ t mean you need a lot of expensive equipment . All the stuff I ’ m doing on LinkedIn is on my iPhone . There are no special cameras right now .”
• Post Consistently – Social media is about showing up regularly . Burns suggests establishing your pattern . “ My goal is to do a weekly post . I want to be able to provide content that I hope is engaging and informative every week ,” he says .
• Keep it real – “ I try to have an element of authenticity in my posts ,” Burns says . “ I don ’ t want it to look too produced because I think that takes away some of the appeal when it looks like a commercial . We ’ re all unique ; just be yourself .”
• Do some post-production – To achieve authenticity and professionalism , there must be some post-production . “ Once I record a post , we do some post-production . We take out the ‘ umms ’ and the delays and put some upbeat music in the background ,” he says . “ I want to ensure it looks better than raw uncut video without losing spontaneity .”
• Make your social media program one person ’ s responsibility – “ One person has to own this critical function ,” he advises . “ Multiple people can be involved , but there has to be a single owner of the program . That person may or may not be the person on camera . They may be the talking head , or they may be the coordinator who ’ s responsible for you hitting the deadlines and posting .” summer 2024 I customized logistics & delivery Magazine 41