It’s inevitable, at some point when creating your social recruitment plan a question will pop up. You know the one, the “Exactly how much is this going to cost?” question. But let’s back up for a second. Before you start thinking about how to calculate your budget, you should first ask yourself these three things.
- How much is a qualified applicant worth to you? $5? $25? $100?? Finding this figure will not only help you determine your budget, but it will also help you manage expectations if your budget has been set for you.
- How quickly does this position need to be filled? If you’re having a bit of a panic moment because a key person is moving on and you need a highly qualified candidate ASAP, the cost of finding that candidate is the least of your worries. On the other hand, if you are advertising for positions that have regular openings, you may want to keep a close eye on your budget and strategy. One thing to keep in mind, nearly half of all open positions that aren’t filled within the first 30 days are open for over 90. No pressure.
- How general or specialized are the skills needed for this job? Make a list. Be sure to include any education or certifications you’d prefer. This will help you define your ideal audience for your recruitment message.
Ready? Now that you have the answers to your questions before THE question, let’s talk options.
Facebook now has a nifty new job posting feature that allows applicants to easily apply and it’s FREE! That’s right, you can post as many positions you’d like as often as you’d like at no cost. Boom!
If you’re feeling good about Facebook ads, you may want to give the web traffic objective a whirl. Web traffic ads allow you to target your ideal applicant, which directs them to your career page. There they can learn more about you and your current open positions. You’ll want to set aside a decent budget for this. We recommend an absolute minimum budget of $10 a day, while ultimately your daily budget depends on your demographic, location, and target area.
Facebook is also a great platform to feature your company culture. Post photos and videos that give an inside look at what it’s like to be a part of your team. The idea is that the viewer would see how amazing your company is and would want to be a part of it. Don’t forget to take advantage of the post engagement ad objective to increase the visibility and reach your ideal candidates.
LinkedIn is definitely the adult in the room when it comes to social media. It’s a great platform to connect with professionals in your field or level of education. Posting a job opening is as easy as writing a catchy, yet direct update and including a link to the open position. To increase visibility, try using the sponsored content option in LinkedIn’s Campaign Manager. There you can choose your budget, location and, audience. LinkedIn may be the perfect outlet for your current position, but, it should be noted that the average advertising costs on LinkedIn can be 5 to 10 times higher than that of Facebook.
Indeed
Indeed is the place to be to reach the active job seeker and we have a couple of secrets to creating a successful Indeed post. First, be sure to write an engaging job description with a clear title, one that a job seeker would actually search. Translation: Keep the internal abbreviations and codes to a minimum. People won't search that, and your job won’t be easily found no matter how much money you throw at it. Next, reach into your wallet and grab a couple of Benjamin’s. We recommend spending at least $150-$250 per job each month. Yes. Per job. If you think about it, $150 for 30 days is only $5 a day. If your hands are tied, and you have a very small budget, consider condensing your timeline from 30 days to 7-10 days.
Craigslist
It may be a little under the radar, but Craigslist is still a solid platform for social recruiting. Depending on your location, a job can be posted for $7-$75 and will be valid for up to 45 days. Of course, you can repost, but fingers crossed that you are able to fill that position within the first 30 days. We’d hate for you to be caught in the 90+ day statistic.
Now that you’re in the know about the top social recruiting platforms, it’s time to get back to the budget. Download the Social Recruitment Budget Calculator and finally answer the big budget question.
