Perhaps you’re like most business owners: You want to create social media ads to attract talented job prospects and build your brand as an employer. That’s great, but how can you do that effectively when you aren’t a graphic designer or advertising pro?
Social media ads are a perfect tool for getting your brand in front of the talent you want to target, but the process of creating them can be a bit intimidating. Fortunately, there are some tips to help you master both design and strategy.
Have a Clear Goal in Mind
Don’t waste time creating unfocused ads. Take some time first to think about your goals. Are you hoping to get more applicants for a specific job or just in general? Maybe you’re trying to showcase your company culture or community involvement.
Once you know what your goal is, determine who you’re trying to target. Think about the candidates you are trying to attract:
- What is their level of education?
- How much experience do they have?
- Where are they located?
- What are their values and interests?
- What are their employment plans right now?
- How do they work?
That last question is particularly important. Are you targeting detail-oriented workers that are focused on productivity, remote workers with a freelancer mindset, or creative collaborators?
You’ll find that some platforms have better ad targeting than others. For example, with Facebook, you can target locations, interests, demographics, and connections. Twitter also has impressive targeting efforts. The platform allows advertisers to target based on a topic of conversation, events, movies and television, interests, and even keywords.
Select the Best Platforms for Your Ads
Now, you know what you’d like to accomplish and who you are targeting. Next, it’s time to pick the right platforms.
If you want to actively recruit professionals with college degrees that are currently seeking jobs, you might use promoted job ads on LinkedIn. On the other hand, maybe you would like to cast a wider net by showcasing your work culture and reaching out to people that may be interested in making an employment move when the time is right. If that’s the case, Facebook ads could be a better choice.
Choose Your Advertising Format
This part can be intimidating. Some platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, offer an array of advertising formats. You’ll have to pick the right one.
For example, with Facebook, you can choose from:
- Facebook Stories ads
- Photos
- Videos
- Collections
- Carousels
Promoted or sponsored posts on Twitter or Pinterest don’t offer all of the same features that you might see on Facebook or Instagram. Still, you can customize them according to your needs.
Of course, you can use multiple ad formats or even multiple platforms if that supports your goals. But it’s important to tailor your message and content for each format and each platform, even if you are using all of your ads as part of a single campaign.
For example, if your overall goal is to draw attention to your great benefits package, your ads might include:
- A tweet about your employees receiving 40% more paid leave than average
- Employee testimonial videos about your benefits package posted to Facebook and Instagram
- A simple text ad with an attention-grabbing background that you share on Facebook and Instagram
You can even use the same landing page for each ad to use a similar CTA.
Keep Your Branding Consistent
Your social media ads should be visually consistent. They should be instantly recognizable to someone scrolling through a feed and they should firmly tie back to your brand. You can do that by using the same color palette, fonts, and voice in your copy.
At the same time, you may want to make a few design changes to differentiate your ads from your other posts on a given platform. You can use a tool like Comparably’s Design Studio to create social media ad content using universal style elements and templates that you’ve created to ensure that all posts stay on brand.
Use Video
No matter where you advertise or who you target, video simply performs better. If you can improve your video production skills and learn the best ways to use videos for each platform you use, you’ll get better results.
Here are some general guidelines to follow:
- Use images and captions to communicate, as most videos are watched without sound
- Videos under 30 seconds in length perform better (for Instagram stories, 15 seconds is best)
- Shoot with care and edit with intention — high production values are key
You can also add to your audience’s understanding by properly captioning the video you are sharing.
Include a Clear and Compelling Call to Action
The best way to get someone to do what you want after they’ve read your ad is to simply tell them what their next step should be. Be direct.
For example, you might say something like:
- Click here to watch employee testimonial videos
- Head to our website to fill out an application
- Follow our recruiting page for job openings and more
- Watch this video to see what it’s like to work here
- Are you a good fit for our team? Take our personality survey!
Make your CTA visually compelling, as well. Add images or other features to draw attention to your call to action. You may need to do some experimenting via A/B testing. Making slight adjustments to your CTA (size, location, font, or colors) can make a big difference. Keep track of how each version performs, too, so that you can adjust your future campaigns accordingly.
