The U.S. trucking industry is battling a persistent CDL-A driver shortage that inflates hiring costs for mid-sized fleets. While many carriers still rely on word-of-mouth, recruiting companies, or job boards, Meta ads can deliver faster, cheaper results if executed correctly.
This case study shows how Terza Trucking—starting with just 12 trucks and 150 page likes—used a driver-centric Meta strategy to double its fleet in 14 months, generate 4,410 leads, and add nearly 19k followers without a single organic post.
Executive Summary
From March 2024 to June 2025, I implemented a full-funnel Meta ads strategy for Terza Trucking, a Chicago-based company with Serbian roots. Their goal was to expand by recruiting qualified CDL-A drivers into their Rent a Truck / Lease-to-Own program — achieved entirely through paid advertising, with no organic social media activity from the client.
Key results in 14 months:
- 4,410 driver applications via Lead Generation ads (both Instant Form and Messenger form)
- 18,547 new Facebook Page Likes (client started with just 100–150 likes)
- 322,382 unique accounts reached; 1,080,700 total impressions
- Lead Ads CTR (link): 1.29%, total CTR: 3.99%
- Page Likes ads CTR: 12.11%, average CPC: $0.06
Budget averaged ~$2,400/month.
These campaigns directly supported Terza’s growth from 12 to 25 trucks — more than one new truck per month on average. That’s a growth of 108% in one year.
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The Client & Challenge
When we first connected, Terza Trucking operated a 12-truck fleet and relied entirely on word-of-mouth and traditional recruiting agencies to fill seats. They had no active ad campaigns, no content strategy, and virtually no organic presence—just around 150 Facebook page likes.
The biggest challenge?
Lead quality and cost. Despite paying significant sums to recruiting agencies, the leads they received were rarely qualified or genuinely interested. The result was low conversion, wasted time, and money that could be better invested in a long-term solution.
What Terza needed was a predictable, scalable, and cost-effective way to attract and hire qualified CDL-A drivers—without depending on third-party recruiters.
Strategy
To solve Terza’s lead quality and cost issues, we implemented a two-pronged Meta Ads strategy: first, build brand trust and visibility through emotional page engagement; then, convert that momentum into high-volume lead generation campaigns tailored to CDL-A drivers.
In addition to building brand presence, the Page Likes campaigns also served a strategic purpose: they provided strong engagement signals to Meta’s algorithm early in the account lifecycle, improving overall ad delivery and optimization across campaigns.
Brand Building through Emotional Page Likes Campaigns
- Developed driver-focused, emotionally charged visuals (e.g., “Everything you own was on a truck”)
- Crafted motivational copy to position Terza as a respectful, driver-first company
- Campaigns resulted in 18,547 Page Likes — all from ads, no client-side posts
Lead Generation Campaigns for CDL-A Drivers
Once brand credibility was established through Page Likes campaigns, we launched targeted lead generation ads designed to drive high-volume, qualified CDL-A driver applications. The results quickly demonstrated the power of a well-optimized, audience-aware strategy.
Let’s dive into numbers
- Used Instant Forms and Messenger ads, mostly single-image, but also tested video format
- Messaging emphasized clear benefits: $0 down, $650/week starting, 88% take-home pay, warranty, 2021–25 trucks
- Targeting focused broadly within the Midwest states with high CDL-A presence
Upfront filtering ensured most leads were qualified, though some may misreport.
Results Metrics
| Metric | Result |
| Driver Applications | 4,410 via lead ads |
| Facebook Page Likes | Grew from ~100–150 to 18,547 |
| Reach / Impressions | 322,382 / 1,080,700 |
| Lead Ads CTR (link) | 1.29 % |
| Lead Ads total CTR | 3.99 % |
| Page Likes ads CTR (all) | 12.11 % |
| Average CPC (all ads) | $0.06 |
| Monthly Ad Spend | ~$2,100–$3,000 |
| Fleet Growth | 12 → 25 trucks over 14 months |
Industry Benchmarks Comparison
On paper, any set of numbers can look impressive, but context is what convinces decision-makers. Below is how Terza’s Meta-ads performance stacks up against widely cited Facebook/Meta benchmarks for CPC, CTR, and—most important for trucking—cost per lead (CPL).
| KPI | Terza Trucking Campaigns | Typical Facebook/Meta Benchmarks* | Transportation / Trucking Benchmarks* |
| Average CPC (all ads) | $0.06 | $0.77 across all industries (WordStream 2024) | – |
| CTR – Lead Ads (link) | 1.29 % | 1.51 % average CTR for traffic objective (WordStream 2024) | – |
| CTR – Page-Likes Ads (all) | 12.11 % | ≈ 0.9 % average CTR, all formats (Hunch Ads cost guide 2024) | – |
| Cost per Lead (CDL-A driver) | $6.87 | $21.98 average CPL, all industries (WordStream 2024) | $588 average CPL in Transportation & Logistics (FirstPageSage) |
*Most recent publicly available benchmark studies and industry reports.
Take-away
Terza’s campaigns delivered driver leads at roughly 1/85th of the transport-sector average CPL and a CPC nearly 13× lower than the cross-industry norm, while CTRs outperformed generic Facebook benchmarks by wide margins—evidence of highly relevant creative and audience alignment.
Why this worked?
These outcomes weren’t luck; they were the product of deliberate choices in creative, targeting, and funnel design that spoke directly to CDL-A drivers and gave Meta’s algorithm the right signals to scale efficiently.
- Messaging was authentic and emotionally resonant, not generic job ads
- Creatives and copy were entirely custom-made for the trucking audience
- Broad Midwest targeting allowed Meta to optimize delivery effectively
- Page Likes campaign signaled quality to Meta’s algorithm, boosting ad account strength
Client did zero posting — every result was campaign-driven
Conclusion
In an industry where a qualified driver lead often costs $500 or more, Terza Trucking secured 4,410 CDL-A applications at just $6.87 per lead (which is great for Rent a truck/lease to own offers), doubled its Facebook following without a single organic post, and expanded its fleet from 12 to 25 trucks in only 14 months. These results came from a driver-centric creative approach, disciplined campaign structure, and continuous data-driven optimization—proof that Meta ads can deliver premium brand lift and best-in-class performance when executed with purpose.
Ready for a predictable, scalable pipeline of CDL-A drivers—without handing your budget to third-party recruiters?
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