Everyone asks us for the silver bullet when it comes to hiring good truck drivers. Where's the best place to advertise? Should I go with Craigslist or Indeed?
These are important questions, but it’s the wrong place to start. Before you know where you’re advertising, you have to know who you’re trying to reach.
Digital advertising lets you send extremely targeted messages to the right people. No more wasted money on eyeballs that are not good fits for your job. You’ll have more quality candidates right off the bat. Before you get there, though, you need to know who you want to hire. The best way to do that is by building driver personas.
Free Download: Driver Personas Template
Your first step to finding your ideal drivers is building driver persona templates. Driver personas are your road map to digital marketing. If you already know who you’re looking for, it’s time to use one of our templates and get it all in one place. You’ll have a central location for your drivers’ demographics and psychographics. What does your ideal driver want? What is their background and family life? What are their career aspirations? What are the challenges that prevent them from reaching those goals? How can we help them get there? All of this boils down to four big questions about the driver you’re trying to hire: who, what, why, and how? Let’s take those one at a time.
Who: This answers who they are as a person. What is their background? What are their demographics? What are some common identifiers, such as demeanor and communication preferences?
What: What are their goals? What are the challenges they face? Most importantly, what can you do to help achieve their goals and address their challenges?
Why: Why does your ideal driver want (or not want) to work for your company? This is a great place to document real quotes from drivers and candidates about their goals and challenges.
How: With all of that information, you’ll answer the burning question of how to hire best-fit drivers. How should you market to your driver persona? How should you word your elevator pitch?
These questions comprise your driver persona. When you’re able to create a clear image of your ideal driver, you’ll have a much easier time reaching them with your digital marketing campaigns.
Join the Purple Cow Academy Facebook Group for Driver Recruiters
The most effective marketing strategies happen online. Billboards, TV, and radio can work to a certain extent, but it’s an inefficient spend - you’re paying for a lot of eyeballs and ears that are not truck drivers.
Use a digital marketing campaign to speak directly to your driver personas. Do your research and outsource this to an ad agency. They’ll help you cut through the noise and address the needs and challenges of your driver personas.
If you want to hire the best drivers, it’s time to build target marketing campaigns. It all starts with building driver personas. Don’t aim to please everyone because you’ll please no one.
Sign up for our newsletter
Get the latest articles on all things transportation delivered straight to your inbox.
Schedule a live demo