LinkedIn has become one of the top platforms for companies to post job openings and find qualified candidates. With over 722 million users worldwide, LinkedIn offers a huge talent pool for recruiters and hiring managers to tap into. Advertising open positions on LinkedIn can help attract top applicants through targeted advertising and optimized job posts.
Why Advertise Jobs on LinkedIn?
There are several key benefits to advertising open positions on LinkedIn:
- Reach a massive audience of active and passive job seekers – LinkedIn has one of the largest professional networks in the world.
- Target advertisements to specific demographics, experience levels, skills, locations, etc.
- Promote your employer brand to attract top talent.
- Ideal platform to attract mid-level and senior professionals.
- Generate quality leads and applications at a lower cost than traditional job boards.
- Analytics provide insights into advertisement and job post performance.
In today’s competitive hiring landscape, failing to advertise on LinkedIn means missing out on a huge pool of potential talent. Some of the main ways to advertise jobs on LinkedIn include boosted job posts, targeted sponsored content, and LinkedIn Recruiter.
Boosted Job Posts
Boosting a job post is one of the easiest and most effective forms of LinkedIn job advertising. It leverages the existing job post and distributes it further through sponsored updates in the LinkedIn feed. This increases views of the post beyond just your company’s followers. Some key advantages of boosted job posts:
- Broader reach beyond followers – Great for increasing post visibility.
- Flexible budget – Spend anywhere from $195 to $500+ per day depending on needs.
- Easy setup – Boost an existing post in a few clicks.
- Targeting capabilities – Target by location, experience, skills, industry, etc.
Steps to boost a job post on LinkedIn:
- Create or edit an existing job post – Include compelling copy and descriptions.
- Click “Boost this post” from the job page.
- Set the budget and duration of the campaign.
- Refine targeting based on title, industry, skills, location, etc.
- Launch campaign and monitor performance.
Tips for Successful Boosted Job Posts
- Keep copy concise but intriguing – Highlight exciting aspects of role in short copy.
- Leverage media – Posts with images/video can boost clicks by up to 98%.
- Segment targeting for best results – Test different targeting combinations.
- Monitor and optimize – Adjust targeting/budget based on performance.
- Call-to-action – Provide clear direction to apply.
- Mobile optimization – Over 90% of LinkedIn usage is on mobile.
Sponsored Content Ads
Sponsored content campaigns allow creating customized advertisements beyond just job posts. These appear in the LinkedIn feed in multiple formats like image ads, video ads, carousel ads, etc. Sponsored content enables great creativity and flexibility. Benefits include:
- Highly visual formats – Attach images, videos, presentations, etc.
- Expanded targeting options – Target by interests, group memberships, etc.
- Flexible objective – Promote brand, drive traffic, generate leads, etc.
- Detailed analytics – Track clicks, impressions, engagement, etc.
Steps to create a LinkedIn sponsored content campaign:
- From the LinkedIn Campaign Manager, select “Sponsored Content.”
- Choose an objective – Brand awareness, website visits, lead generation, etc.
- Set the budget and schedule for the campaign.
- Select a target audience based on professional details, interests, etc.
- Design creative ad formats – image, video, presentation, etc.
- Place bid for cost per click or impression.
- Review and launch campaign.
- Optimize based on performance.
Tips for Sponsored Content Ads
- Ads should look organic – Match natural posts in the feed.
- Leverage eye-catching visuals – Images, stats, logos, etc.
- Keep text simple – Generally 125-150 characters for optimal performance.
- Showcase company culture – Give a peek inside the organization.
- Segment broad audiences – Test different targeting combinations.
- A/B test multiple creatives – Experiment to find what resonates.
LinkedIn Recruiter
LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s dedicated recruitment platform offering powerful tools to identify, engage, and nurture candidates. Key features include:
- Search the full LinkedIn database, not just your network.
- Save search alerts for passive candidate sourcing.
- Filter by experience, skills, location, etc.
- Send InMail messages to people outside your network.
- Manage candidate pipeline and track interactions.
- Post jobs and advertise to LinkedIn groups.
LinkedIn Recruiter makes the hiring process more targeted and efficient. It is available in three tiers:
Plan | Features |
---|---|
Recruiter Lite | Basic search, pipeline, and InMail capabilities. |
Professional | Advanced search filters, analytics, branded career pages. |
Corporate | Pipeline management tools, interview scheduling, team collaboration. |
Many large companies invest in Corporate Recruiter for its extensive capabilities. However, the other tiers can also be great options depending on needs and budget.
Best Practices
Follow these best practices when advertising positions on LinkedIn for optimal results:
- Lead with concise copy highlighting exciting aspects of the role in the first 2 lines.
- Use high-quality images, infographics, charts, etc. to create eye-catching and informative ads.
- Segment broad target audiences into smaller groups for relevance.
- Avoid targeting by seniority alone – Layer it with skills, titles, etc.
- Retarget engaged users from other campaigns via website pixels.
- Create customized campaigns for hard-to-fill roles.
- Test different initiatives and creative – Iterate based on performance.
- Integrate with ATS for candidate tracking and streamlined workflows.
Metrics to Track
Analyze these key metrics to determine LinkedIn advertisement effectiveness:
- Impressions – Number of times ads were shown.
- Reach – Total number of unique people who saw ads.
- Clicks / CTR – Click-through-rate measures clicks generated.
- Cost per click – How much you pay each time someone clicks your ad.
- Conversions – Applicants, leads, or hires generated.
- CPA – Cost per acquisition or action, like cost per applicant.
- Bounce rate – People who left site after clicking ad.
- Page views per visit – How many pages people view after clicking.
Compare performance across different campaigns and versions to identify opportunities.
Conclusion
Advertising open positions on LinkedIn leverages their unmatched professional network and targeting capabilities. Boosted posts, sponsored content, and Recruiter allow delivering relevant messages to engage high-quality talent. To maximize results, use compelling copy, eye-catching creatives, strategic targeting, and robust analytics. Hiring the best begins with advertising positions where the talent already exists – on LinkedIn.