How to Post a Job on Facebook: An Analytical Guide for Recruiters

As a recruiter, you know there is stiff competition for highly skilled talent. With over 300 million monthly active users on LinkedIn and hundreds of niche job boards, standing out is no easy task. However, many overlook the world‘s largest professional network for sourcing candidates: Facebook.

With over 2.9 billion monthly active users spanning nearly every country, Facebook offers unprecedented reach for your open roles. Additionally, advanced targeting, built-in applicant tracking and competitive pricing makes job posts on Facebook a no brainer for savvy recruiters.

This 2600+ word guide takes an in-depth, analytical look at posting jobs on Facebook, arming recruiters with data-backed best practices.

Facebook Usage and Demographics for Global Recruitment

Before diving into specifics on how to post jobs, let‘s analyze Facebook‘s massive user base to assess candidate search and visibility potential compared to other channels.

According to Facebook‘s 2022 Q1 earnings, they averaged 2.94 billion monthly active users globally. To put that into perspective:

• Facebook‘s MAUs are larger than the population of every country on earth
• It is 4 times bigger than the world‘s largest job site, Indeed.
• There are over 600 million active users in Asia Pacific, 850 million in Europe / Canada and 260 million across Central / South America and Africa.

With such tremendous reach, posting open roles on Facebook grants you visibility across nearly every corner of the talent landscape. Even niche, highly technical roles have potential to gain targeted visibility at scale.

Now let‘s analyze Facebook‘s demographic breakdown and how that impacts your recruitment audience:

With over 54% of daily active users under the age of 35, Facebook grants substantial visibility among millennial and Gen Z talent. This allows you to tap into the next generation of your industry‘s workforce.

Compare that to networks like LinkedIn, where just 13% of members are under age 30. Facebook provides greater exposure among this key segment entering the workforce.

Additionally, Facebook possesses more balanced gender representation than some career sites. Over 36% of daily active users in the US are women, enabling you to widen your reach and nurture a diverse candidate pool.

Benchmarking Recruitment Performance on Facebook

Now that we‘ve assessed the scope of Facebook‘s talent pool, let‘s explore benchmark data to set results expectations.

According to SimpleTexting, Facebook job posts see:

• 5% higher application rate than general online job boards
• 18.5% of applicants referred by social media come from Facebook

Additionally, an iCIMS study of over 4,000 HR professionals found:

• 32% have made a hire sourced directly from Facebook
• 55% plan to leverage Facebook more to find candidates

Let‘s look at the results from some individual companies posting jobs on Facebook:

Mutual of Omaha

• Received over 1,100 applicants for 100 insurance sales posts
• Cost per applicant was 50% less than traditional job boards

WestRock

• Posted roles focused on veteran talent and filled 90% of openings
• Only paid $8.81 per applicant with Facebook job post

The massive reach and targeted visibility of Facebook jobs allows for quality application volume at efficient costs.

Now let‘s explore best practices for configuration so you can achieve similar recruitment success.

Step 1: Create an Employer Brand Profile

Posting roles on Facebook requires having a Company Page. This functions as your employer brand profile and recruitment hub on the network.

Take time to customize and enhance it to attract applicants ahead of job posts:

• Complete profile fields: Provide employer description, contact info, location, industry, etc.
• Share photos and updates: Give fans a look into your work culture and community.
• Highlight employees: Spotlight team members to showcase the people and talent behind the company.
• Publish helpful content: Whether it‘s thought leadership, trend reports or advice articles, routinely share material adding value for your target candidate segments.
• Engage visitors: Respond to comments and questions to foster relationships with potential applicants and fans.

The more followers and engagement your Company Page drives, the greater visibility and credibility it holds for when you eventually post an opening.

Step 2: Create & Configure The Job Post

When ready to publish your job, navigate to your Page and click "Jobs" from the left menu. Then select "Create Job"

As you fill out post details, tailor content and settings for maximum exposure among relevant candidates:

Job Title

• Lead with critical keywords and requirements likely recognized by candidates casually browsing.

Job Description

• Clearly outline responsibilities, must-have qualifications, and department context.
• Emphasize soft traits desired like creativity, collaboration ability or leadership potential based on company values.
• Conclude with open, welcoming tone inviting ideal candidates to apply.

Media

• Incorporate photos, graphics and video content reflecting day-to-day work realities. This builds tangible understanding of the role.
• Showcase team members and office environments to establish familiarity with the culture candidates are applying into.

Targeting

• Beyond job level and functional area, target additional demographics like education level, field of study or military experience using Facebook‘s robust filters. Fine tune these over time based on actual candidate source reporting.

Thoughtfully constructing this content provides honest transparency into the opportunity for candidates, while showcasing priorities and traits sure to resonate with ideal applicants.

With content finalized, let‘s discuss promotion tactics.

Step 3: Distribute and Promote The Post

Simply publishing your polished job post enables some passive visibility from fans and followers of your Company Page.

However, actively promoting your post is necessary to garner qualified applicants at scale.

Here are proven distribution strategies:

Share On Your Company Page

Don‘t exclusively count on organic reach. Share the post prominently from your Company Page feed as updates directly hit all current Page followers.

Share to Local & Industry Groups

Search for regional and functional Facebook Groups aligned to your opening. Become a member and share job posts to tap into these niche communities.

For example, if hiring a Social Media Manager in Chicago, share the post in Groups like "Chicago Marketers", "Social Media Professionals of Chicago" and so on.

Share to Your Personal Profile

Assuming connections align with the position, leverage your own professional network by sharing to your timeline. Encourage contacts in relevant fields to further distribute.

Promote Via Company Leadership

Leverage executives and team leaders by having them share job posts with their networks, adding credibility.

Boost Post

Allocating media spend towards boosting expands visibility to cold audiences matching chosen targeting parameters.

Continually share your post over time across these networks to sustain applicant volume until the position is filled.

Now let‘s explore managing inbound candidates.

Step 4: Tracking and Nurturing Applicants

As you distribute job posts, applicant volume grows quickly thanks to Facebook‘s expansive reach. Effectively tracking candidates and progressing them through hiring stages is critical.

Facebook‘s backend Jobs Manager enables simplified applicant management, providing data and tools to streamline screening and communication.

Core capabilities include:

• Application inbox organizing all submissions
• Bulk email candidates based on status
• Track application source for optimizing targeting
• Export applicant data to Excel for offline review
• Add tags like "Phone Screen" to define status
• Save applicants to shortlist for future roles

Beyond structured data points, take advantage of Facebook‘s community ecosystem to interact with applicants in meaningful ways:

Messenger Dialogue

Leverage Messenger to set up video screens, share company media or simply answer questions. These personal chats humanize your business and the application process.

Join Industry Conversations

Interact with applicants beneath the original job post as they ask questions or express interest in roles. Be responsive to publicly strengthen employer brand associations.

Send Encouraging Updates

If candidates don‘t initially get an offer, send updates if roles open later. People remember positive application experiences.

With structured tracking and proactive nurturing, you develop genuine employer-candidate relationships on Facebook to sustain talent pipelines for current and future hiring waves.

Comparing Facebook to Niche Job Sites

While Facebook offers tremendous general population reach, specialized job sites cater to focused professional communities. So what are the differences recruiters must weigh?

Industry Sites Like Dice & MedReps

Vertical job boards like Dice for tech or MedReps for pharmaceutical sales provide intensely targeted, niche talent visibility. However, Facebook allows layering in multiple parameters to narrow visibility.

For example, you can target a Sales opening to users with college degrees, sales backgrounds and medical industry experience. Combined with Facebook‘s scale, you still reach an expansive audience.

The one exception is senior executive searches better suited for niche executive recruiting sites like ExecuNet or RetainedSearch.com.

LinkedIn

With 500+ million members and robust targeting based on work history and skills, LinkedIn is formidable. However, Facebook‘s broader user base, especially among younger demographics, remains powerful for wide talent outreach.

Integrating both platforms creates an "all of the above" approach covering professionals across career stages on multiple networks.

In summary, consultants may still prefer niche sites based on singular focus and proprietary talent communities. However, Facebook flexibility and awareness suits most recruitment needs.

Continually Optimizing Performance

Like any digital channel, measure and optimize recruitment efforts over time. Facebook offers robust tracking covering every facet of your job post performance:

Analyze Application Sources

This breaks down applicants based on whether they:

• Followed your Page
• Were retargeted
• Came from shares or Group posts

Use this intel to determine most and least effective referral streams and allocate promotional efforts accordingly.

Reporting By Targeting Parameters

See which education backgrounds, majors, experience levels and more are actually applying. Refine targeting filters if volume or quality is unsatisfactory.

Benchmark Cost Per Applicant

Continuously monitor your actual cost per applicant from paid boosting to prioritize channels delivering affordable candidates.

There are dozens more metrics tied to responses, notes, sources and workflows allowing full-funnel optimization. Study them routinely to sharpen candidate targeting and job post configuration over time.

Additional Best Practices for Long-Term Success

Let‘s conclude by summarizing key recommendations for ongoing achievement sourcing and branding talent through Facebook:

Update Cover Images

Evolve visual content showcasing company culture, community outreach and team member spotlights. Keep page imagery fresh, fun and engaging.

Host Live Videos

Stream broadcasts answering hiring questions or showcasing office tours. This authentic transparency humanizes your brand.

Promote Employee Advocacy

Incentivize staff to follow, share and interact with your Company Page to boost informal reach.

Cross-Promote Content

Share blog posts, culture spotlights and leadership perspectives to your page feed. Enhance follower value.

Conduct Surveys

Poll followers for perspectives on desired jobs, workplace perks, employer branding perceptions and more. Apply insights.

Close The Loop

Notify applicants not moving forward to sustain positive candidate experiences and protect employer brand sentiment.

Stay Updated

Routinely review Facebook job features and guideline changes in their Business Resource Center. Compliance protects your access.

While mastering Facebook-specific configurations is crucial, never lose sight of broader recruitment marketing fundamentals around candidate care and community building.

Unlocking Facebook‘s Talent Potential

Thanks to unequaled global reach spanning ages and industries, Facebook holds transformative power helping brands source and attract talent.

As platforms like LinkedIn get saturated by competition, leading recruiters must expand visibility across emerging channels reaching candidates wherever they exist online.

Fortunately, as outlined in this 2600+ word guide, Facebook makes posting jobs, targeting applicants and tracking hiring workflows highly intuitive through their self-service tools.

Hopefully the array of best practices, benchmarks and capabilities covered empowers your brand to effectively unlock Facebook‘s talent potential.

By taking an analytical, optimized approach to configuration, promotion and measurement, your next hire may be just one Facebook post away.