As of May 2019, the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent, the lowest rate since December 1969. This is good news for workers, but it’s becoming a challenge for companies looking to attract new employees. More and more, it seems like there aren’t enough candidates to go around.
So how does your company step ahead of the competition and attract employees? By implementing a recruitment marketing strategy that starts with the right hook to catch potential job candidates. That hook is PPC.
PPC Defined
PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click and is one of many tools in the digital marketing tool belt. It refers to online ads that a company pays for every time a user clicks on one. This could be on social channels, search engines or webpages.
Starting a Recruitment Strategy to Attract and Retain Talent
Before you can use your website to show prospective employees how great your company is, you have to get them there first. If a job searcher is hunting for a position just like the one you’re offering, how do you make sure they find you first?
PPC can help by placing ads right in front of them. It’s a great addition to any recruitment strategy, so even if you’re already posting the position on LinkedIn or a career search website, it can be another channel to direct job seekers to your company’s site.
Here’s how to set up a PPC campaign to improve your recruitment strategy.
Find out why a killer online presence is key for recruitment marketing >>
Step One: Create PPC Ads to Promote Openings
Use paid search and paid social media advertising (PPC) to post available jobs targeted at specific demographics, interests and qualifications.
Some best practices when creating PPC campaigns are:
- Keep in mind what the audience wants. What do potential employees want out of a job? Speak to that.
- Spark their curiosity. Use emotional words and snappy sayings to help your ad stand out from the crowd.
- Simple is best. Don’t crowd your ads with words or busy images. If a user can’t tell within a few seconds what you’re trying to convey, it’s back to the drawing board.
- Include a call to action. What do you want the user to do next? Don’t make them guess. Finish with a simple directive to “Apply Here” or “Start Your Career Today.” That’s what’s known as a call to action (CTA).
Step Two: Create Landing Pages for Open Positions
PPC ads need a place for users to go. This is what’s known in marketing as a landing page.
Create dedicated landing pages for your PPC campaigns that provide specific information about the jobs being posted and allow interested candidates to request more information.
Some best practices for landing pages include:
- Don’t overcrowd the page with text. As with CTAs, make it easy for users to understand what you offer. Use bullet points when possible to simplify the message.
- Include a CTA on the page. Make it bold and colorful so the user can clearly see their next step if they wish to apply or learn more.
- Limit links on the page. You don’t want them to jump off to another one of your pages, so don’t give them multiple links to click on to other pages.
- Use video if possible. If images are worth a thousand words, videos are worth millions. If you have a video of your company that would make someone want to work there, this is a great place to share it.
You may also want to consider creating a dedicated careers page for potential candidates to learn more. Show off the most appealing aspects of the company by using video. Video can provide an inside look and answers to the most frequently asked questions. This is a page that users could find through organic search, by visiting your website or from a link to learn more placed on your PPC landing pages.
Step Three: Optimize Your PPC Recruitment Marketing Strategy
PPC isn’t a “set it and forget it” type of tactic. Continually monitor and optimize your PPC investment for optimal ROI once it’s launched.
Some things to monitor include:
- Clicks. How many people are clicking on your ad? Is it enough to justify the cost?
- Impressions. How many people are seeing your ad? If it’s not being seen, it may be time to reevaluate your target keywords.
- CTR (click-thru rate). This shows how many people click on your ad after seeing it. If people are seeing your ad but not clicking on it, reevaluate the messaging because something’s not resonating.
- CPCs (cost per click). Some keywords cost more than others to place ads for because they’re in higher demand. If you have a high cost per click, ask yourself if the leads from the ad are converting to job candidates and whether or not the cost is worth it.
Use the data available to target and retarget audiences and tweak ad copy based on high-performance keywords. The beauty of digital ads is the data that will allow you to optimize for ROI.
Is PPC really worth it? There is 1 way to know >>
Recruitment Marketing Tips for Your Business
Want more tips like this? Download our guide to find out how you can implement a digital recruitment strategy to find your next star employee.
