Your media buying strategy looks solid on paper: budget allocated across multiple channels, campaigns running smoothly, applications flowing in steadily. But dig into the data, and a different story emerges—quality candidates aren't converting, cost-per-hire keeps climbing, and your best roles stay open for months.
The problem isn't your budget or your team's capabilities. Most recruitment teams make the same four media buying mistakes. Here’s how to spot (and avoid) them:
Mistake #1: Using the Same Strategy for Every Role
- The Problem: Treating all roles the same when it comes to media buying.
- Why It Matters: Social media recruiting works for 54% of marketing and sales positions, but only 30% of technical roles. Similarly, channels that work well for executive searches may fall flat for frontline hiring.
- The Fix: Build role-specific channel strategies. Technical roles often perform better on specialized job boards and developer communities, while sales roles thrive on mainstream social platforms. Track conversion rates by channel and role type to identify winning combinations.
Mistake #2: Running Ads Without Brand Context
- The Problem: Focusing solely on job postings while ignoring how your company appears across different platforms.
- Why It Matters: Candidates who click your ads will research your company more broadly. If your brand story is inconsistent or weak across touchpoints, you're losing qualified applicants before they ever apply.
- The Fix: Audit your company presence across all advertising platforms, and make sure your employer brand messaging aligns with your job ads. A candidate's journey shouldn't feel disconnected—from first ad click to final application, the experience should reinforce why they want to work for you.
Mistake #3: Making Decisions Based on Vanity Metrics
- The Problem: Optimizing for clicks and impressions instead of quality hires.
- Why It Matters: High click-through rates are insignificant if candidates don't convert to quality hires. Organizations using predictive analytics generally see better results in time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, and long-term retention.
- The Fix: Track what actually matters: quality of applicants, time to hire, and retention rates by channel. Use historical data to predict which channels will deliver the best results for specific roles. Focus your budget on channels that drive real hiring outcomes, not just traffic.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Algorithm Bias
- The Problem: Embracing new advertising technologies without considering potential bias or managing application flow effectively.
- Why It Matters: Biased targeting algorithms can limit your candidate pool and expose you to legal risks.
- The Fix: Regularly audit your targeting for potential bias. Implement systems to manage high-volume applications efficiently, and ensure your advertising practices comply with privacy regulations.
The Bottom Line: Strategic Media Buying Works
For talent teams, media buying is about developing channel strategies tailored to your specific roles, audience, and goals. By avoiding the mistakes above, you can allocate budget more strategically, improve candidate quality, and demonstrate ROI to leadership.
At Recruitics, we help the world’s best companies predict campaign success, target the right candidates efficiently, and convert job seekers into applicants.
Schedule a strategy call to see how we can help transform your talent pipeline.
