Once you have identified the need and shaped the role, the next question becomes simple.
How do we get this job in front of the people we actually want?
Most organisations think they advertise.
What they actually do is post.
A vacancy appears. Someone sticks it on a couple of job boards, maybe adds a bit of sponsorship, and then waits for applications to arrive. It feels productive, but it is rarely strategic. And in many cases, it is the moment where recruitment performance quietly starts to decline.
Because posting is not advertising.
Not even close.
Advertising is intentional. It is role specific. It is built around behaviour, competition and data. And when you do it properly, it has a measurable impact on both the quality and consistency of the people you attract.
Why Posting Falls Flat
The problem with posting is simple.
Everyone else is doing it too.
Job boards are crowded. Research shows that the majority of jobseekers see the same adverts multiple times across different platforms, and visibility drops sharply within the first 48 hours. Many ads are written using the same old templates or generic wording, so they blend into a long list of similar roles that look and feel identical.
And what about the people who never visit job boards at all. In some sectors, the best talent sits almost entirely in the passive market, which means posting alone cannot reach them.
When a job post underperforms, it is easy to assume the market is quiet.
More often, the issue is visibility, message or audience.
Posting reaches whoever happens to be looking.
Advertising reaches the people who are right for the role.
Start With What Costs Nothing
I would strongly advise that you draft and follow a recruitment advertising process.
Good advertising begins long before you spend anything.
Your talent pools, previous applicants, CRM, referrals, internal mobility, organic careers site traffic and existing social channels are often where the best candidates already are.
These groups convert well because they already know something about you.
They have context.
They have history with you.
They often act faster.
Starting here not only reduces spend, it gives you a clearer sense of whether a role genuinely requires paid advertising or whether the right people are already within reach.
Step Up When the Data Tells You To
Once your existing channels have done their job, that is when you step up. Not automatically, but intentionally. You move into paid channels because the data shows you need to.
Some roles never need paid channels at all.
Others require sponsorship immediately.
Some will thrive through search.
Some will only resonate on specialist media or through targeted social campaigns.
Every role has its own level of competition and audience behaviour. Advertising works best when you respond to those realities instead of applying the same approach every time.
Match Your Approach to Your Audience
Different audiences behave differently.
People searching for care roles don’t browse in the same way as those exploring leadership, clinical or support roles. Some audiences check job boards regularly. Others look only when prompted. And many rely on reputation, word of mouth or community-based spaces rather than formal search platforms.
Insight consistently shows that candidates are far more likely to engage with roles that speak directly to their motivations, values and expectations. This is where EVP helps in a light, practical way. Not as a slogan, but as clarity on what the role offers, why people stay, and the experience someone can expect if they join.
Advertising becomes more effective when it focuses on the person you want to reach, not the process you need to complete.
Why Understanding Performance Matters More Than Spend
One of the biggest gaps in recruitment advertising is not the choice of channel.
It is the understanding of performance.
Many organisations track volume but not quality. They measure clicks/apply starts or applications but not outcomes. In some cases we have accepted that you have to get a high volume of applications in order to get some decent applications and fill vacancies.
Studies across the industry show that high application numbers rarely correlate with high-quality candidates, especially in sectors like health and social care where motivation, behaviour and values matter as much as skill.
Data should drive decisions!
If you cannot see where candidates are coming from, where they are dropping off or which ads actually lead to strong hires, then every advertising decision becomes guesswork.
Performance data reveals whether the issue is the channel, the targeting, the message, the salary or the application experience. It tells you when to stay with organic channels, when to invest, when to change platform and when to rethink the advert entirely.
Without performance understanding, recruitment becomes reactive.
With it, recruitment becomes predictable.
Outreach Is Advertising Too
Advertising is not only what you post.
It is who you reach.
A significant portion of the most capable candidates are passive. They are working, busy and not actively searching online. Passive candidates often become the highest-quality hires when approached effectively.
Reaching them through previous applicants, talent pools, local communities or proactive sourcing is still advertising. It is simply advertising done in a more direct, human way.
The strongest recruitment teams treat outreach and advertising as part of a single strategy. One strengthens the other.
Action Steps
Start with what costs nothing.
Use data to decide when to step up.
Match your approach to audience behaviour.
Draft and follow a recruitment advertising process.
Think beyond job boards for the people you truly want.
Track performance so you can improve, not repeat.
Treat outreach as part of your advertising strategy.
Advertising with intention is not about spending more.
It is about spending wisely.
Part of The Tools of Transformation Series
This article forms part of The Tools of Transformation, a practical guide created by AudienceLink to help recruitment and talent leaders rethink every stage of the hiring journey.
If you missed the earlier articles in the series, you can catch up here:
Part One:
Stop Hiring on Autopilot
https://audiencelink.co.uk/blog/stop-hiring-on-autopilot-why-every-recruitment-should-start-with-why/
Part Two:
Shaping the Role
https://audiencelink.co.uk/blog/why-role-shaping-matters
If this stage of the process is a challenge in your organisation, or if you want better structure behind how you advertise roles, the team is always happy to share insight or practical advice.
The next article in the series will explore what it takes to keep people engaged from interest through to application by creating a candidate experience that genuinely works.
