Hiring Ads for Healthcare:
A 5 Step Process
Your skilled nursing facility or clinic has an uphill battle when it comes to combating turnover. Positions for CNAs and nurses often end up vacant and you need to fill them fast in order to keep residents cared for and business intact. So, how do you fight these vacancies quickly?
One option is to use platforms like Indeed and Monster Jobs, which are much more hiring-focused. Don’t be deceived, however. While these platforms seem like the “easy button” for hiring ads, they’re difficult platforms to use if you are trying to get quality leads.
On the other hand, we’ve seen major success in running Facebook Ads campaigns for positions at long-term care facilities, especially CNAs and nurses. However, these ads have to be done correctly, or they become a colossal waste of money. Here is a basic, 5-step template for how to run effective hiring ads for your long-term care facility.
Step 1: Decide on Who You Want
You may be saying, “oh this step is easy; I want more nurses.” However, this isn’t enough to properly plan a successful hiring ad. Think of the positions you need, but also think of the people you need. What are they like? Are they hardworking, kind, humble? Do they need to live close to your facility? Do they have 10 years of experience or do they just need a willingness to learn?
If you iron these out on the front end, you will have plenty of ammunition for the written content on your hiring ads (i.e., captions, descriptions, etc). Someone needs to see your ad and think, “this is for me, I have to apply” or “ya know, that sounds like a lot of work and expectations and I just don’t care that much.” You will weed out a lot of worthless clicks and unqualified contact form submissions by ironing this out on the front end.
Step 2: Decide on the Proposition
Giving people a reason to join your team and stay on your team is almost as important as finding the right people. If you’ve ever applied for a job from a listing, you’ve had questions around pay, benefits, and the like. That said, think beyond pay and benefits, too. Give people a reason to stop and think about applying. Don’t just say, “we offer $15/hr; apply today.”
One of the most successful ads we’ve run was for CNAs at a nursing home in Arkansas. Our campaign generated over 30 qualified applicants in just under a month by letting people know that their CNA training would be paid for if they applied for the position. Not only that, but applicants would have an opportunity to get hired by the facility after training. The ad presented a solid proposition and it won lots of good leads.
Step 3: Decide on an Ads Budget
Advertising for employment can be costly, especially with the regulations and targeting restrictions on platforms like Facebook. We recommend allocating at least $1,000 per month to your hiring ad campaigns. This budget allows for sufficient reach to make an impact. If you’re thinking that’s a lot of money, it goes quicker than you’d think. From our account data, we’ve seen an average cost per application of $50 on the high end and $20 on the low end. So, at best you can get 50 applications and at worst, you may get 20. Make sure you have ample budget to fill your hiring pool as full as you can get it to meet your needs.
Step 4: Monitor the Ads
If you want to ruin all of your good progress here, you can launch the ads and then never give them a second thought. Facebook is tricky when it comes to advertising. Sometimes, the combination of photos, text, and targeting that you launch your ads on yields wild success. Other times, it’s a total dud. You wouldn’t know if you didn’t check which is why you have to keep an eye on your ads and their progress.
You need two things to guide you here; rhythms and metrics. Your rhythms are how often you monitor the ads. You don’t have to check them multiple times per day, but check them at least every other day on perhaps a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule. On the other hand, your metrics are what you use to measure how well your ads are running in terms of industry standard data. The ones you can keep an eye on are cost per click, cost per action, and click through rate.
Step 5: Monitor the Funnel
Creating and running ads is only part of the hiring process. Equally important is managing the leads that your ads generate. Ensure that your website is optimized for receiving job applications, with an easy-to-navigate career page and a streamlined application form. Develop a follow-up process to engage with candidates promptly. This might include automated email responses, phone screenings, or scheduling interviews. A well-managed funnel ensures that potential hires don’t slip through the cracks and that you can efficiently move qualified candidates through the hiring process.
what's next?
By following these five steps, you can create effective hiring ads that attract the right talent for your long-term care organization. If this sounds like a lot of hard work, it’s because it is. Thankfully, there are companies out there that will handle this for you. We’ve run hiring ads for dozens of long-term care facilities over the years and have systems of getting good leads for these facilities. Click the contact form below to schedule a free consultation and we’d be happy to see if we’re a good fit for you!