Promoting Your Fleet Online With Testimonial Videos
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Truckers convinced that there are few things more powerful in marketing than a positive, video testimonial from a driver or customer are in luck.
Scores of service providers have cropped up that virtually automate the entire process of creating a video testimonial for you — including invitation, collection, editing, hosting and posting those testimonials to all the social media networks that matter to you.
That’s great news for motor carriers such as Paper Transport, which already is soliciting firsthand endorsements from its drivers.
“Our professional drivers’ video testimonials are invaluable in our recruitment efforts,” said Cory Helmle, recruiting operations manager at the fleet. “Many drivers are going to be wary due to past experiences with deceptive recruiters. But hearing directly from fellow drivers about their experiences puts them at ease.”
One of the major reasons testimonial videos from drivers and customers are so effective is due to the intense popularity of video in the digital world, according to a recent report from video marketing firm Wyzowl.
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Specifically, Wyzowl’s researchers found that 91% of businesses turned to video as a marketing tool in 2023, with 46% using testimonial videos as part of that mix.
Video marketing also has become increasingly commonplace in the trucking industry.
“Short video clips are consumed widely — especially by younger drivers,” said Jay McElroy, president of McElroy Truck Lines.
Moreover, many truckers riding the video wave agree that the medium’s ability to engender trust when it comes to first-person testimonials makes the format tough to beat.
“Testimonials let us see the faces behind the wheel and hear the real experiences,” said Molly Hane, senior manager of marketing and communications at Kenan Advantage Group.
Kaitlyn Cambria, recruitment marketing manager at NFI, also emphasized the value of driver voices.
“We find this type of marketing goes beyond a tagline by getting honest feedback from our drivers,” she said.
Indeed, even many professional driver recruitment companies, such as Right Turn Recruiting, are all-in when it comes to video testimonials from drivers.
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“We have found that by providing authentic testimonials from other drivers working at ‘XYZ carrier,’ we can bridge the trust gap,” said Nick Johnson, marketing director at the firm. “Rather than scouring the internet for information on a carrier, most drivers would prefer to hear a firsthand account from their peers.”
Many truckers using video testimonials as part of their marketing mix also say that giving driver candidates an inside peek at how a trucking company operates — from a driver’s unvarnished perspective — goes a long way toward illuminating the unique company culture behind a trucking business.
Such testimonials “help prospective employees understand what Transervice is all about,” said Mary Grippe, social media recruitment coordinator at Transervice Logistics. “People want to hear what working for a company is like from the people who work there — not just always from the people whose job it is to attract talent.”
Kara Leiterman, public relations manager at Schneider, said videos offer a glimpse into daily life at the company.
“The videos our associates create showcase the work environment, equipment and company culture,” she said.
Ron Schwartz, vice president of staffing at Penske Transportation Solutions, has had a similar experience.
Driver candidates learn from video testimonials that when you drive for Penske, you generally can be home at the end of the day, plus you can expect to interact with fun, smart and interesting people and operate the newest, best-maintained equipment, he said.
Schwartz
Sure, a Penske company brochure might make the same observations, but when those observations are validated by Penske drivers, the credibility of those assertions skyrockets, Schwartz said.
Still other trucking companies have found that the same word-of-mouth format that brings in new drivers also translates into winning the trust of potential customers.
Paper Transport’s Helmle said the company’s videos showcase “our commitment to excellence, giving potential customers insight into who we are and why they should choose Paper Transport.”
Yet another benefit: Some truckers say testimonial videos expand the number of platforms on the web and social media where they can recruit and promote — ultimately enabling them to connect with more people.
“Video testimonials allow for us to utilize additional media platforms — whether YouTube, Facebook, TikTok or X,” said Adam Saner, senior director of safety and recruiting at Titan Transfer. “With these new medias — along with job boards, Google and Indeed — we are able to cover a wide range of drivers and their preferred method of job searching.”
When it comes to accumulating a promotional library of endorsements, sometimes finding a testimonial video is as easy as visiting a driver’s social media account and unearthing promotional gold.
“Drivers who have their own social media pages are a great resource,” said Jane Jazrawy, CEO at online training firm CarriersEdge. “They are often recording their daily routine, and you can link your website or social media sites to theirs when you find a testimonial video that’s a promotional home run.”
Robby Hamby of Bridgestone Americas and Ken Eggen of Wolf River Express share how fleets should acquire the right tire monitoring tools for data collection. Tune in above or by going to RoadSigns.ttnews.com.
Of course, truckers looking to cast the widest net for endorsements will find that best-of-breed testimonial video services offer them the broadest opportunity.
With most of these services, generally all that’s required from a fleet’s driver or customer is a smartphone and a story to tell.
From there, most of these services walk the evangelist for your trucking brand through the entire video testimonial creation process — including suggestions on what they might want to say on your behalf.
Plus, the services also streamline the process for getting the video testimonial filed, approved by your company and published across the web in all the digital places where you promote.
Moreover, given the intense competition among video testimonial service providers for your dollars, truckers will find most of these services have tried in every conceivable way to make the video testimonial creation and submission process for your customers as effortless as possible.
The especially good news here: If you’re stuck on how to put together suggestions for your customers for the testimonial videos you’d like, some services offer Q&A templates you can customize for your own purposes.
In addition, many of these services also are designed to auto-interface with social media networks such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
That makes it a snap to simultaneously publish a driver or customer endorsement video you receive to all your social media properties, often in a matter of seconds.
Bottom line: It’s never been easier to get serious about soliciting — and leveraging — a library of testimonial videos for your trucking business.
And if you’re already involved in testimonial video promotion, it’s never been easier to automate much of the process that you may be engaging in manually.
Here’s a representative sampling of solutions out there:
- Widewail Invite Video: Widewail is definitely from the less-is-more camp of testimonial videos. Your driver or customer needs only a smartphone to record videos endorsing your company, service or product. Once drivers or customers accept your testimonial invitation, the Widewail service is designed to take these influencers every step of the way.
- Vocal Video: Testimonials handled by Vocal Video also require nothing more than a smartphone to submit a customer endorsement. It’s a full-featured service that highlights consumer testimonial collecting, editing, publishing and hosting. It also offers auto-polishing of videos that customers submit by combining their raw footage into multiscene productions — including motion graphics, soundtracks, subtitles and branding.
- VideoPeel: Besides offering basic collecting, editing and publishing services for your testimonial videos, Video Peel enables you to do extra editing once a customer or driver submits a video. For example, VideoPeel enables you to add your own video to the footage that drivers or customers submit. Plus, you’ll also be able to embed your company logo, some writing and some calls-to-action to driver candidates or potential customers who are viewing the video endorsement.
- Vidmonials: Offering a video testimonial service similar to Widewail, Vocal Video and Video Peel, Vidmonials takes things a step further by offering a text-to-video alternative for drivers and customers who prefer to communicate using the written word. If your customer prefers to file a testimonial in written form, Vidmonials takes things from there by auto-converting their text testimonial into a video slideshow, complete with background music.
- Testimonial Hero: Truckers looking for a more professional feel to their testimonial videos may want to opt for Testimonial Hero, which works with a company one-on-one to edit every facet of a driver or customer-provided video testimonial.
“Driver video testimonials help immensely with our driver recruiting efforts,” said Michele Vishneski, director of human resources at Penn Tank Lines. “They provide authentic insights, can build trust, and are a great way to showcase our company’s culture and benefits.”
Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan. Voice: (631) 233-9770. Email: joe@customtechadvisor.com. Web: dysartnewsfeatures.com.
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