Using LinkedIn to Grow Your Expedite Business
As the political season ramps up, chances are your Facebook feed has become more of a source of stress and anxiety than it is a useful resource to help you learn, grow, and build your business.
If that's the case for you, consider spending more time on LinkedIn. While there are occasional political posts, the vast majority of LinkedIn content is centered around business and career topics and conversations. Here are a couple of ways you can use the platform to grow your knowledge, network, and, ultimately, your bottom line.
#1. Grow your knowledge.
Follow hashtags to find valuable and timely content on trucking industry news and trends, business tips, and career advice.
Click on any of the links below, and it will open a newsfeed dedicated to that hashtag. If you find the content useful, simply click the "Follow" button at the top of the page to automatically include that content in your usual LinkedIn newsfeed.
- #logistics: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/logistics/
- #trucking: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/trucking/
- #truckers: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/truckers/
- #truckingindustry: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/truckingindustry/
- #freight: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/freight/
- #transportation: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/transportation/
- #expedite: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/expedite/
- #trucks: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/trucks/
- #supplychain: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/supplychain/
- #supplychainmanagement: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/supplychainmanagement/
- #logisticscompany: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/logisticscompany/
You can also find smart industry experts to follow on LinkedIn. A good starting point is to check out these folks who consistently create useful content for the trucking and expedite markets on LinkedIn:
- Cassandra Gaines, a transportation attorney with Gaines Law Group. She has an entertaining weekly show on LinkedIn every Friday at 2 pm CST called "MadGaines Live." Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madgaines/
- Nicole Glenn, owner of Candor Expedite, a freight brokerage company. She shares a lot of inspirational and useful business and trucking content. Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolemglenn/
- Linda Caffee, expedite owner-operator with her husband Bob, who you know from ExpeditersOnline. Linda shares her EO articles and other helpful tips for expediters. Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-caffee-41a06836/
#2. Grow your network - and your business.
Try LinkedIn if you want to attract more business opportunities. But don't use it as a platform to spam all your connections with sales and driver recruiting offers. Instead, share content that you think will be interesting and bring value to people in the industry.
Many of you already do an excellent job of sharing useful content and tips in your expedited trucking Facebook groups. But the power of LinkedIn is that you can reach - and be found by - professionals outside of your direct personal network. You never know where those new connections can help take your business.
And suppose you're looking to connect directly with certain types of people in the industry. In that case, you can do searches by job title, such as fleet owner, owner operator, truck driver, driver recruiter, and so forth, to find professionals you might like to meet.
The Bottom Line
Facebook is excellent for personal interactions. But it can also be a toxic place to spend your time, especially in the heat of the political season. So, if you want to expand your network with a focus on expediting and the trucking business, consider becoming more active on LinkedIn.