These four supply chain companies constantly post fresh, quality content to their social media accounts.

When it excels at social media, a company’s opportunity for growth is as vast as the web itself. Today, even small businesses can compete shoulder to shoulder with their biggest competitors if leveraging social media properly.

It is estimated that for every 5 minutes people spend online, 1 minute of that is spent on some kind of social media network. And most of your customers are on social media — statistics indicate that more than 79% of adults in the U.S. use social media each day. As the popularity of sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and company blogs continues to grow, it is vital to utilize these tools to your own marketing advantage.

When you think of social media masters, you may not think of companies in the supply chain industry. But there are a few excellent examples, and much can be learned from what they do. Here are four supply chain companies that excel at social media and the reasons why they stand out above the crowd:

1) Cerasis

Cerasis, a top freight logistics company and truckload freight broker, excels at social media because their content is fresh, posted daily, and of high quality. Simply put, they create engaging, informative content and are consistently active across all of the major social networks.

2) Kinaxis

Kinaxis, a global company offering advanced supply chain management systems to customers in a variety of discrete manufacturing industries, offers in-depth blog posts and is consistently active in social media channels such as Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.

3) Transplace

Transplace, a provider of transportation management services, posts informative articles and incites topics of conversation on Twitter several times per day. The company is active across all social media platforms, including their own YouTube channel.

4) UPS Longitudes

Longitudes is a blog with insights on the trends reshaping the global economy by United Parcel Service, a global leader in shipping. The blog also engages true thought leaders on topics ranging from trade to transportation and ecommerce to emerging markets. Posts are consistently new, innovative, and informative. Longitudes also has its own social media accounts, separate from UPS’s primary accounts, which distribute the blog’s content and engage in related discussions.

Why do these four supply chain companies excel at social media? Here are three commonalities that help these businesses rise above the rest:

Consistent daily posts and content

Having consistent, reliable, fresh social media posts is essential. The more active you are, the greater your outreach to potential new customers.

Think of it this way: search engines pick up on social media activities — like when someone shares content from your website on Twitter or Facebook, for example. Search engines use this to weigh the relevancy and validity of your website and your company. So, fresh daily or weekly content gives people a chance to read and share every time you publish a blog post, ebook, buying guide, case study, testimonial, and other interesting content to your social media accounts. Your marketing efforts reap the benefits of better search engine rankings as a result.

Engaging readers

You want readers to connect and engage with your social media posts. Every time they leave a comment or share or like a post, your social media presence — and your digital footprint — grows.

Quality content

Posting anything just for the sake of posting is not a good social media strategy. Content that is boring and basic will not help your business grow. Content needs to capture the interest of readers and engage them to read, share, and follow your business. Posts should be timely and relevant. This is what builds your following and your brand and generates new customers.

With social media you can find new customers and fans, connect with existing customers who can help spread the word about how great your product or service is, and drive more traffic to your website, which creates new avenues into the digital realm of marketing, company branding, and lead generation. The most successful companies today work daily to improve their social media content and reap the benefits of consistent, quality content marketing.

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