Unlocking Facebook as a recruitment sourcing channel

Ever since Facebook took over the world 10 years ago, recruiters have struggled to tap it as a recruitment channel. One of the challenges for recruiters is contacting potential candidates, this has to be done via private message aka “PM”, where response rates are notoriously poor. This is particularly true for PMs received from non-connections, which are diverted to an alternate inbox that candidates are unlikely to see.

The solution: instead of reaching out to the candidate, let the candidate come to you. Facebook allows you to run very targeted advertising campaigns, by job title, by employer name, and by location, which can generate interest from thousands of potential job seekers. This can be particularly effective for volume hiring and lower skilled jobs. As recruitment blogger Tim Sackett recently explained, “some recruiters make well over six figures recruiting lower skilled positions such as technicians, truck drivers, sales people, teachers, nurses, etc.”

Once you’ve decided who to target, Facebook offers you two methods for collecting personal details, both of which we have used successfully:

• Method 1: Website Conversions where candidates click on your ad to be taken outside of Facebook to a job landing page (like this one) and asked to complete a form
• Method 2: Facebook Lead ads: where candidate sign up directly from Facebook. Forms are super easy to fill as the application data is pulled out directly from the candidate’s Facebook account. They can apply with literally just 2 taps on their mobile phone

We’ve found that Facebook Lead ads are the most cost-effective. However, they come with some challenges: advertisers only have a few small images and bullet points to describe the job, and candidates can only submit limited information (no resume upload possible). Hence, you need to take the discussion with the candidate outside of Facebook.

This is where Talkpush comes in.

Traditionally, after collecting the phone numbers of the candidates who sign up, recruiters then chase candidates one by onethem via SMS and phone calls. With Talkpush, the entire process can be done automatically. First, leads are automatically imported into a google sheet, which can then be integrated with your Talkpush campaign. Each new candidate receives an SMS, or a phone call right after he or she signs up. During this phone call, the candidates are then given more information about the job, and asked to describe their experience and suitability for the role. Don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself by signing up on this ad:

The instantaneous nature of the interaction is great for younger job seekers, whose attention spans are infamously short. We thought we’d share this powerful sourcing method with you, which is sure to remain the most cost effective sourcing method on Facebook , at least until we get chatbots to start working for your team!.

Originally published at blog.talkpush.com on June 16, 2016.