“Help Wanted.” The ads for recruitment signs are everywhere. We all know how tough it is to hire the right people, especially right now. The current staffing shortage spans across many industries, with restaurants and service-oriented businesses being hit particularly hard. Unfortunately, the lack of labor is coming at the same time as many franchise brands are experiencing record growth. “If I could hire 50 more massage therapists right now, I would,” said Rene Tirado, a multi-brand franchisee who owns four Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spas in Central Florida.
The problems didn’t end with the federal unemployment benefits, as many had hoped for several reasons: Many of the unemployed are highly skilled workers who are overqualified for open jobs; many workers who were laid off during the pandemic have moved to other states or regions; and the large number of openings have raised workers’ expectations for salary and benefits.
So how can you find the employees you need and beat out the competition for the best people? Although business owners like Tirado once could simply post simple ads for recruitment with the words “now hiring” on his Facebook page. Tthe solutions are more complicated now.
Using Google PPC vs. Facebook Ads for Employee Recruitment
A Google pay-per-click (PPC) campaign might work for you. Users enter 40,000 search queries into Google every second. If they search for a job like the one you have open, you can serve them an ad so they can find you easily. These recruitment ads make sense because they are served to people who are literally searching for what you are offering. You only pay when people click and in this case, those who are interested in your job opening. You can target by location and audiences, such as people searching for a job.
Facebook used to be the least-expensive ad platform out there. Now, Facebook ads, including recruitment ads, have gotten more expensive as targeting options have declined. Facebook does offer multiple recruitment ad options: You can drive traffic to your website, landing page or link to apply; or, you can use Facebook’s in-app jobs function, which allows you to manage the entire application process within Facebook.
Using Facebook and Google HEC Ads
Building the ads, however, can get complicated – especially since both Facebook and Google have enacted new policies that limit targeting for housing, employment and credit (HEC) ads. Targeting for HEC ads were revised to prevent discrimination, and if you don’t follow the guidelines, you can bet that your ad will be declined. Also, these platforms don’t always explain exactly why an ad was declined, or how to fix it. Often, you end up having to guess what word or image flagged it just to get your ad live.
Still, if you need people, putting money into a PPC or Facebook campaign would be well worth it, because advertising works.
Get Help Recruiting Talent
The best course of action to avoid a lot of these complications is to hire an agency. Most importantly, it needs to be an agency you can trust to build your recruitment ads. Your other option is to assign the task to an internal team that is familiar with Google and Facebook. Experienced marketers can help you decide which option would be better for you. They can also help you determine if you need a combination of the two.
You have openings, and there are plenty of people who are out of work. Recruitment ads in the hands of skilled campaign managers can help you find each other.
