We caught up with Ross Campbell, Head of Recruitment advertising at Reach.

With over 13 years experience in marketing and advertising from client, agency and publisher side, he is expertly placed to explain what makes a great recruitment campaign.

Q: What’s the magic formula for crafting a recruitment campaign that really draws in top talent?

A: Content creation should always start with understanding the target audience. The magic formula consists of a split of brand storytelling and bold creatives to stand out. If you can grab the attention of candidates and stand out from your competitors this sets you ahead of the competition. Tell potential candidates why they should come and work for you over another business, what is your USP, what do you offer to the candidate that no one else can. Make sure that your application process is simple – less clicks the better as people have become click shy as we now live in a world where one click is enough.

Q: How can businesses reach their ideal candidates effectively?

A: Your ideal candidate and the type of role you are recruiting for should determine the platforms you use to showcase your business and your vacancies. Digital ads and content marketing are a great way to reach passive job seekers and tell your company’s story, whilst attracting attention to your business as a great place to work.
Social media and LinkedIn are highly effective in reaching younger job seekers. Newspaper advertising continues to have a place in the market and should always be considered; friends and family may see print adverts and recommend family members to apply.

Q: What makes a job ad stand out?

A: The job adverts that stand out the most are the adverts that are accurate and showcase the business and the role. Always be exact with what you are offering in the role, discuss the benefits of the role, what’s required and salary expectations – from and to.

Q: We all know a good first impression counts. How can a business use their brand to attract the right people?

A: If your business has an eye-catching brand or is a big name this speaks for itself. If you are a smaller or new business you want to ensure that you can cut through the noise – making sure your brand is consistent across all sites and platforms so that when a job seeker sees your ad then visits your site they get the same feeling that has drawn them to apply. Brand consistency is huge as once you have caught the attention of a candidate you don’t want to lose them on your website.

Q: How important is social media in recruitment campaigns and how can it be used to the recruiter’s advantage?

A:Social media is huge in recruitment campaigns. You can be hyper-targeted when running social media campaigns and reach your core audience across multiple platforms. Facebook is a proven platform for the care, education and local authority sectors. LinkedIn is perfect for attracting higher-level or specialist staff.
I would recommend a multi-platform approach to recruitment to capture a broad range of applicants. Working with Reach, your business or vacancy can run alongside a trusted news brand creating brand salience, trust and prestige.

Q: In summary, what are the three key takeaways when it comes to a successful recruitment campaign?

A: Be bold, tell your business story and showcase why a respective candidate or job seeker should choose to work for your business over your competitors. Recruitment campaigns should be ongoing; when you don’t have any vacancies, you should still be working on promoting your employer brand to create demand for people to join your team.

Let the experts help

Ross and his team are available to help create your perfect recruitment campaign – providing transparent and honest guidance on how to get the very best from our suite of commercial products. They have proven experience in the art of crafting recruitment campaigns that resonate with both active and passive job seekers.

To discuss your recruitment needs, complete the short form below, and a member of the recruitment team will be in touch.