Recruitment social media campaigns: what hiring ads cost

Key takeaways

Recruitment social media campaign cost for a UK employer is usually a smaller project than a sales campaign. As indicative figures, a hiring campaign takes 6 to 15 hours, about £450–£1,500, plus a media budget. Real staff stories and a fast application route matter most.

• £450–£1,500 is the indicative fee for a social media hiring campaign.
• A media budget for job ads is separate.
• Real staff stories outperform generic job graphics.
• Job ads must avoid discriminatory wording.

What does a recruitment campaign include?

A social media recruitment campaign promotes one or more vacancies to likely candidates. It includes job posts, short staff videos, paid job ads, a simple application route and replies to candidate questions. Its aim is applications from suitable people, not reach.

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• Best social media platform for recruitment in the UK

How much does a recruitment campaign cost?

Planning, job posts, a few staff clips, ad set-up and candidate replies take about 6 to 15 hours, roughly £450–£1,500 at the £75–£100 an hour implied by typical UK retainers. The media budget is separate. These are indicative figures, not a GBL price list.

• Campaign planning and job posts.
• Staff video clips: indicative £110–£400 each to edit.
• Ad set-up and management.
• Media budget: separate, paid to the platform.

• Struggling to recruit staff? When outsourcing fits

What content attracts candidates?

Real staff talking about the job, a day-in-the-life clip, clear pay and hours, and honest detail about the work attract the right applicants. Generic "we're hiring" graphics with no detail attract few. Candidates want to know who they would work with and what a normal day looks like.

• Is your website putting off job candidates?

What rules apply to job ads?

Job ads must not discriminate on protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, so avoid wording such as "young" or "recent graduate" unless it can be justified. Candidate data collected through social media must be handled lawfully under UK GDPR.

• GDPR and social media marketing in the UK

When is a social hiring campaign not worth it?

It is not worth it for very specialist senior roles where candidates are found through networks and specialist recruiters, or when your application process is slow. If applicants wait a week for a reply, they will accept another offer.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see with UK trades, care and hospitality employers: job ads get views but few applications because the application route is a long form. Global Bridge Labs (GBL) pairs staff clips with a short application route and replies to candidate questions within UK business hours.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Hiring campaign checklist

Prepare these before launch.

• Role, pay and hours stated clearly.
• Staff willing to appear on camera.
• Short application route.
• Fair, non-discriminatory wording.
• Who replies to candidates, and how fast.

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Next step

Tell us the roles you are hiring for and where. We will tell you whether social media is the right channel and what a campaign costs.