Lead Form Ads in Recruitment: A Step-by-Step Guide to Generating High-Quality Candidate Leads

In today's competitive recruitment landscape, talent acquisition teams need to use every tool available to Next-Gen talent - top candidates dominating the market. One of the most powerful, yet underutilized, tools for driving qualified candidates to your pipeline is lead form ads. These ads are designed to capture essential candidate information directly within the platform, simplifying the process for applicants and making it easier for recruiters to generate leads.

Why use lead form ads?

• Providing seamless experience to candidates
• Reducing drop-off rate
• Attracting Next-Gen talent
• Boosting applicant inflow 

Now that you know how important leveraging lead forms is for your recruitment process, it is essential to understand how to do it in the first place.

A Step-by-Step Guide on Setting Up Your Lead Form

Step 1: Set Clear Goals and KPIs

Before creating your lead form ad, define what success looks like for your campaign. Establish clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure your ad’s performance. These might include:

• Number of leads generated
• Cost per lead (CPL)
• Lead-to-hire conversion rate
• Quality of candidates (measured by their qualifications or suitability for the role)

Having these metrics in place will help you evaluate the effectiveness of your lead form ad campaigns and optimize them accordingly.

Step 2: Choose the Right Platform

Lead form ads are available on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google Ads, each with its unique audience. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms: Ideal for recruiting white-collar professionals, with access to job titles, experience levels, and skills.
• Instagram/Facebook Lead Ads: This is the top choice for maximizing talent attraction as it ensures that even passive job seekers who scroll through social media are exposed to job opportunities.
• Google Ads Lead Extensions: Best for targeting job seekers who are actively searching for opportunities, allowing you to capture candidates' information through paid search ads.

Choose a platform that best aligns with your recruitment needs based on the types of candidates you're looking to attract.

Step 3: Create a Compelling Offer

To encourage candidates to share their information, your lead form ad needs a compelling offer. Here are some tips for crafting an irresistible proposition:

• Highlight your company’s unique benefits: Showcase why your organization is a great place to work. This could include perks, career growth opportunities, or company culture.
• Be clear about the role: Specify the job title, key responsibilities, and qualifications upfront to attract the most relevant candidates.
• Provide a valuable resource: Consider offering downloadable content, such as a company brochure, a list of career opportunities, or even a free career consultation

Step 4: Design a Simple and Mobile-Friendly Lead Form

Lead forms should be short, intuitive, and mobile-friendly. Keep in mind that many candidates will be filling out these forms on their smartphones. To improve the candidate experience and boost conversions:

• Minimize the number of fields: Only ask for essential information, such as name, email, and job title. If needed, request more details like location or qualifications later in the recruitment process.
• Use auto-fill features: On platforms like LinkedIn, use auto-fill to pre-populate form fields with candidates' profile information, reducing friction.
• Incorporate multiple-choice questions: To simplify data collection, use drop-down menus or multiple-choice options, especially for questions about job preferences or qualifications.

Step 5: Craft Engaging Visuals and Copy

Your lead form ad needs to grab attention and clearly convey your message. Use engaging copy and visuals to entice potential candidates to take action.

• Write concise and action-oriented headlines: Focus on the role and why it’s a great opportunity.
• Showcase your employer brand visually: Use high-quality images or videos that reflect your company's culture, values, and work environment.
• Include a clear call-to-action (CTA): Encourage candidates to “Apply Now,” “Join Us,” or “Learn More” to increase form submissions.

Step 6: Target the Right Audience

The effectiveness of your lead form ad heavily relies on targeting the right audience. Each platform provides powerful targeting options to help you zero in on the ideal candidates.

• LinkedIn: Target based on job title, industry, years of experience, skills, or even specific companies.
• Instagram/Facebook: Leverage demographic, interest, and behavior-based targeting to reach candidates who may not be actively looking for a job but are open to opportunities.‍
• Google Ads: Use keywords to target candidates who are actively searching for jobs, as well as demographic filters like location and age.

For better results, experiment with custom audiences such as people who have previously interacted with your company or website visitors.

Step 7: Optimize and A/B Test Your Ads

Continuous optimization is key to improving the performance of your lead form ads. Here’s how you can refine your campaigns:

• A/B test different elements: Test different headlines, visuals, form fields, and CTAs to find what resonates best with your audience.
• Monitor your KPIs: Regularly track your CPL, lead volume, and conversion rates to assess ad performance.
• Retarget: Use retargeting to show your ads to candidates who didn’t complete the form the first time. Retargeting can help you stay top-of-mind for potential hires and improve conversions.

Step 8: Follow Up With Candidates Quickly

Once you’ve collected candidate information, make sure you follow up promptly. Create a process for quick response times to ensure interested candidates stay engaged.

• Send an automated email: Acknowledge the receipt of their application or interest. Outline the next steps in the recruitment process.
• Personalize your outreach: When contacting top candidates, make sure your messages feel personalized and tailored to their background.

This follow-up step is crucial for building relationships with candidates and moving them further down your recruitment funnel

Conclusion

Leveraging lead form ads in recruitment can significantly enhance your ability to capture qualified candidates and streamline your hiring process. By choosing the right platform, creating a compelling offer, and optimizing your targeting and forms, you’ll not only drive more leads but also improve the overall quality of applicants.

Start with Lead Form Ads Easily Right Now

Still unsure whether you want to manually do all this job by yourself? At Wonderkind, we have mastered the art of Lead Form Ads via Meta, and our customers are saving not only time, but also money, all while driving leads and attracting top-talent candidates. Check out our Lead Ads if you want to step up your recruitment game.