We Select's Bid Specialist Vivica Alfvin shares the three most important things to keep in mind during the feasibility and planning phase to ensure the best success of a social media recruitment advertising campaign. 

With lots of vacancies needing to be filled for the summer and hard-to-find top talent, at We Select we're seeing more interest than ever in social media recruitment advertising in the public sector. With an increased interest and need, the question also arises, "How do we best procure this?".

"In order to cope with the supply of skills, municipalities and regions need to continue to develop their ability to attract, recruit, develop and retain employees with the right skills and, in many cases, new skills." - Jenny Birkestad, Business Area Manager Adda Competence

1. Don't just focus on price - quality is just as important

In a contract for social media advertising, the contracting entity needs to think a little extra to find the most economically advantageous offer. Price has a direct impact on quality. Social media advertising is like a digital auction - the more advertisers who want to reach the same candidates, the more expensive it will be. This means that a campaign to attract top talent or skills shortages will need an extra high budget. Too low an advertising budget will result in low impact and a low number of applications, while a higher budget will ensure a successful recruitment. Therefore, do not base the evaluation solely on best price; instead, weight the procurement, for example 60% towards quality, and 40% towards price.

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2. Think safe and longterm

The public sector needs a reliable supplier who can deliver with certainty throughout the contract period. Therefore, set a requirement for the supplier to have a UC risk rating of at least 4. UC risk ratings indicate the likelihood of a company going bankrupt. When procuring larger requirements; also remember to set a turnover requirement to ensure that the bids you receive are from suppliers who can handle many orders. 

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3. Choose a supplier with experience in working with the public sector

From the public procurement process to strict graphic guidelines, working with the public sector is very different from working with the private sector. Require references from the supplier that show they understand your challenges and have previous experience of working with the public sector.

In summary: consider the balance between price and quality, ensure that the supplier can engage in a long and evolving relationship and that they can design attractive ads based on your graphic profile. 

Sources:

Adda Inköpscentrals website (2021-09-28), "Skills supply - the big challenge of the decade"