Finding truck drivers is difficult. There is a long list of truck driver lead sources and each platform performs differently. All of them will claim to get you the leads you need to hire drivers, but in reality, each lead source is best used in different scenarios.
Here is a comprehensive review of Meramec Solutions’ top 4 driver lead sources:
- Facebook Advertising for Truck Driver Recruiting
- Truckers Report – Find a Better Truck Driving Job
- CDLLife – The World’s Largest Truck Driving Community
- Zip Recruiter / Indeed
Facebook Advertising for Truck Driver Recruiting
The driver lead source with the largest audience is by far Facebook. 96% of all truck drivers are on Facebook. Plus, the average truck driver will spend 2 hours a day on the platform.
A proper Facebook campaign will send out enticing job ads, get truck drivers to fill out a short form, collect the driver’s information, and share it directly with you recruiters in real-time. Drivers can share their information without ever having to leave Facebook and your recruiters receive a constant stream of people to contact.
If your goal is to advertise on the platform that enables you to reach the most drivers at the highest frequency then Facebook is your platform.
But…
Driver recruiting campaigns on Facebook are not cost-efficient.
Earlier in 2021, Facebook announced new employment advertising policies to combat employment discrimination.
Why does this make Facebook campaigns inefficient?
The employment advertising policies severely restrict the amount of targeting you can do. For example, you cannot target people based on their age. Even though 18-year-olds legally cannot drive a truck, you are not allowed to exclude them from seeing your job ads.
Facebook campaigns reach the most drivers, but you have to accept a portion of your ad spend will be wasted on unqualified eyes.
Truckers Report – Find a Better Truck Driving Job
Truckers Report is a great lead source if your goal is quality AND quantity. This lead source has a vast database of driver information and a strong recurring audience of drivers interacting with the website’s content/job postings.
After giving Truckers Report your hiring requirements, job description, contact information, and any other content you want to be promoted, they start connecting you with qualified candidates.
The leads that come from Truckers Report are a combination of multi-carrier, direct, and what they refer to as “Job Advisor”. Job Advisor leads are drivers that recruiters from Truckers Report speak with directly to get them interested in the position before they apply.
It is this blend of leads that allow Truckers Report to satisfy your quantity and quality needs.
My favorite thing about TruckersReport is that when you advertise with them, they guarantee you will receive leads. If they think that your hiring needs can’t be met by Truckers Report they will be honest and let you know. This is opposed to other sources that do not promise leads, but instead, they promise to spend your ad-spend.
The only downside to Truckers Report is that they can not filter based endorsements and pre-built teams. They can send leads that have all indicated that they are willing to earn an endorsement or join a team, but they can not guarantee all leads come with the requirements.
CDLLife – The World’s Largest Truck Driving Community
CDLLife has a similar business model to Truckers Report. They write engaging content for truck drivers and have a large audience. Once drivers are on CDLLife’s website they see your job ads.
In addition to advertising on their website, CDLLife will also run display ads, email marketing, and a text messaging campaign for your company. You will receive a combination of direct and matched leads from a CDLLife campaign.
Compared to Truckers Report, CDLLife provides a little less quantity and a little more quality.
The biggest upside to CDLLife is that they can filter based on endorsements and pre-built teams. If your company requires all leads to already have certain endorsements or you only want to recruit pre-built teams then CDLLife is the best option for you.
The downside to CDLLife is that they do not guarantee leads as TruckersReport does. Because they do a lot of the marketing for you, they only guarantee that they will spend your ad-spend. There is a chance the campaign underperforms, but this rarely occurs.
Zip Recruiter / Indeed
I like to think of Zip Recruiter and Indeed as nearly identical sources. This is because they are best used in the same situation.
Zip Recruiter and Indeed are two of the world’s largest job boards. Trucking is only a small piece of their pie. They both approach trucking job openings the same way they approach openings in other industries.
These two sources will not provide much quantity. However, they both provide extremely high-quality leads. This is because the drivers you receive from these sources are applying to work for you. They are not filling out a short form or being connected by a 3rd party.
My favorite scenario to use these two sources is when I am advertising for small carriers where the owner is doing most of the recruiting. The owner does not have all day to speak to 20 leads, instead, they need a few applicants a week that have a high chance of being hired.
For larger carriers, these two sources may not be the best option. They do not provide the quantity needed to keep the recruiting pipeline full.
A Comprehensive Driver Recruiting Campaign
The best campaigns do not rely entirely on any one of these sources. For best results, you need a professional dedicated to blending all of them together.
Each source has its pros and cons. By running a campaign that blends all of the sources your company can experience more of the pros and mitigate the cons.
Interested in launching your driver recruiting campaign that makes the most of all these sources? Contact Meramec Solutions today to speak to one of our driver recruiting strategists!
