By now you have probably seen—or at least heard about— the “Epic Split” video produced by Volvo Trucks in Europe. The viral video, which had garnered more than 65 million views on YouTube by the end of 2013 despite only being released on Nov. 14, shows actor Jean-Claude Van Damme demonstrating the precision of Volvo’s dynamic steering on its FM truck models by doing a split between two moving trucks. That video followed other successful viral videos from the truck OEM that included a hamster steering a truck along a twisting mountain road and a Volvo FL model outrunning bulls in the Spanish town of Ciudad Rodrigo.
“It is quite overwhelming,” said Per Nilsson, director of public relations for the Volvo Trucks brand in Europe. “Sure, we were hoping for a success, but we didn’t expect it to be this big or come this fast. We believe the results are due to a fantastic piece of content and our communication strategy.”
How this series of videos translates into truck sales remains to be seen, but Volvo certainly thinks the value is there. And it provides lessons that could fill that never-ending vacancy in most fleets—drivers.
According to Web Marketing Today, “viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message’s exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, to millions.”
A recent example of viral marketing that I saw first-hand involved Starbucks. What started as a simple gesture of someone “paying it forward” in the drive-through lane at the Newington, CT, store on the day before Christmas led to more than 700 people within two days paying the order of the car behind them. Word of this good deed spread fast via social media, which only multiplied the acts of kindness, creating plenty of positive mentions for Starbucks—and long lines in Newington.
Web Marketing Today notes there are six elements to any successful viral marketing strategy (you don’t need to implement all of these at once): Gives away products or services; provides for effortless transfer to others; scales easily from small to very large; exploits common motivations and behaviors; utilizes existing communication networks; or takes advantage of others’ resources.
So, how can these lessons help solve the driver shortage? Fleets that have active social media campaigns (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, even Pinterest, among others) are reaching out to potential drivers one post at a time. For instance, if you are on Facebook, think about who your friends are—they are people you went to school with, people from your neighborhood, and acquaintances from work. Consider a driver: Who is he or she likely to be connected with? Other drivers, perhaps?
For all the perks you may offer to attract candidates, the best potential employees are likely to be referred by those already in your employ or influenced by the “stories” of those in your employ. In both instances, social media can help pass along the message. Before you post that next run-of-the-mill job ad on the traditional job boards, consider also incorporating a social media campaign tied to it. Allow your drivers to tell the story of working for your company and allow that message to resonate with potential drivers. The cost is minimal and the rewards can be great.
Just ask Volvo or Starbucks.
Brian Straight is Fleet Owner’ s managing editor. He can be reached at [email protected]. Join the conversation on Twitter @truckingtalk.
