How We Used Meta Ads to Take a Local Recruiter National 🚀

From Small Business to Industry Leader: A Meta Ads Success Story

Recruitment isn’t just about posting job openings and hoping for the best. It’s about getting in front of the right people, in the right places, at the right time—and then giving them a reason to take action.

This is the story of how we took a small, local staffing agency and helped them grow into one of Australia’s most recognised recruitment brands using a highly strategic and scalable Meta Ads campaign.

If you’ve ever wondered how social media ads can transform recruitment, this one’s for you.

The Challenge: Growing a Workforce from Scratch

When we first started working with our client, they were a strong local recruiter in Perth, but their challenge was simple: how do we reach more job seekers efficiently?

The problems they were facing are familiar to any growing business:

• Limited brand awareness outside of their local area.
• Job seekers didn’t know what opportunities were out there.
• Competing with the big guys (who had massive marketing budgets).
• Expanding recruitment without blowing out advertising costs.

The solution? Smart, data-driven Meta Ads.

Our Approach: A Recruitment Strategy That Works

Rather than just throwing job ads everywhere and hoping for the best, we built a campaign that reached job seekers where they already were—online and in real life.

Geofencing: Hitting the Right Locations

One of our biggest wins was geofencing—a fancy way of saying we strategically placed ads in locations where job seekers spent time every day.

We knew that potential candidates were already visiting certain training centers, workplaces, and industry hotspots, so we geofenced those locations and made sure they saw our ads regularly.

Why this worked:

• Instead of wasting money showing ads to people who weren’t interested, we focused on those already considering career moves.
• Job seekers saw our ads repeatedly, reinforcing trust and brand recognition.
• Lower cost per lead because we were only targeting the right people.

Friendly, Engaging Ads That Nurtured Interest

Nobody likes job ads that feel like a spammy sales pitch. So, we made sure our campaigns felt like a conversation rather than a job posting.

How did we make job ads that felt genuine? By using:

• Relatable video content that introduced job opportunities in a warm, friendly way.
  
• Real employee stories to build trust and show the real benefits of applying.
  
• Soft messaging that opened up job seekers to opportunities they might not have considered before.

This approach massively increased engagement—because instead of feeling like they were being “sold” something, job seekers actually felt like these ads were speaking to them.

Retargeting: Keeping the Conversation Going

When people clicked on our ads but didn’t apply immediately, we didn’t just let them disappear into the internet void.

Instead, we:

1. Retargeted those users with new ads that highlighted more job benefits.
2. Used a drip-feed approach, showing them more details over time (instead of bombarding them upfront).
3. Drove them to a landing page where they could learn more and apply in just a few clicks.

By re-engaging with interested users, we increased applications without increasing ad spend—a win-win.

Adding Organic Social Media to the Mix: Building a Brand People Want to Work For

Running effective Meta Ads to attract job seekers was just one part of the equation. To truly convert interest into applications, we needed to make sure that when potential candidates looked up our client online, they saw more than just job ads—they saw a brand they actually wanted to work for.

That’s where organic social media came in.

Alongside our paid recruitment campaigns, we implemented a regular organic social media posting strategy that showcased:

1. Company awards & industry recognition – Positioning the business as a respected leader in the industry.
2. Team achievements & employee milestones – Creating a sense of community and long-term career potential.
3. Behind-the-scenes content & workplace culture – Highlighting what it’s like to work at the company.
4. Employee testimonials & success stories – Providing social proof from real people.

Why this worked:

• It reinforced trust – When people saw real employees enjoying their work, they were more likely to apply.
• It strengthened employer branding – The company wasn’t just hiring; it was presenting itself as a great place to build a career.
• It increased engagement & word-of-mouth recruitment – People tagged their friends in posts, spreading the message further.
• It made our paid campaigns even stronger – Candidates who saw our ads and checked out the company’s social pages felt more confident in applying.

This combination of paid advertising and organic brand-building through social media content created a powerful recruitment funnel where job seekers weren’t just seeing an ad and applying—they were actively choosing to work with a company they felt connected to.

The result? More high-quality applicants, lower recruitment costs, and a growing reputation as an employer of choice in the industry.

The Results: How We Took This Recruiter National

This strategy worked better than we ever expected—and the numbers prove it.

1. Expanded from Perth Metro to FOUR states in just two years.
2. Dropped cost per lead by over 25% through smarter targeting.
3. Increased conversion rates by over 30%, meaning more applicants for the same ad spend.
4. Ads reached millions of job seekers, ensuring the client’s brand became a well-known name across Australia.

And here’s the kicker…

The same strategy that started in one city was easily scaled across multiple states.

What started as a small-scale campaign in Perth grew into a state-wide strategy. Then we expanded it into other states, refining targeting along the way.

We didn’t just copy-paste the campaign into new areas—we used real recruitment data to find the best-performing locations and adjust targeting accordingly.

Innovation That Helped Secure Government & Corporate Tenders

The best part?

Our campaign didn’t just bring in high-quality job applicants—it also helped our client win large recruitment tenders.

Here’s how:

1. State-by-state performance tracking allowed us to prove our client’s ability to service recruitment contracts nationwide.
2. Metro vs. regional segmentation helped demonstrate workforce reach in different locations.
3. Data-backed recruitment reports became a key selling point when bidding for large tenders.

By the time our client was pitching for state and corporate staffing contracts, they had hard data proving their ability to recruit at scale—giving them a massive competitive advantage.

Key Takeaways for Business Owners

If you’re hiring (or thinking about scaling recruitment), here’s what you can learn from this case study:

💡 You don’t need to outspend competitors—you just need to outsmart them. Strategic Meta Ads can make a huge impact on recruitment without breaking the bank.

💡 Recruitment is about visibility. The more job seekers see and trust your brand, the more likely they are to apply.

💡 A great hiring funnel nurtures, not pressures. Job seekers don’t always apply immediately, so keep engaging with them until they’re ready.

💡 Scaling doesn’t have to be complicated. Start small, track performance, and expand based on what’s actually working.

💡 Data makes your business more competitive. Whether it’s hiring or winning tenders, proving your capability with real numbers makes you a stronger player.

Want to Scale Your Recruitment Efforts? Let’s Chat.

If you’re looking for more job applicants at a lower cost, we can help. Our data-driven Meta Ads recruitment strategy is proven to work at scale, whether you’re hiring in one city or across multiple states.

🚀 Let’s build your workforce together. Get in touch today!