Writing a great recruitment ad means telling a good story.
And those stories can create the most amazing response in the mind of the reader - thanks to immensely powerful neurochemicals that each of us produce naturally when we engage with an arresting narrative.
Modern-day neuroscience has shown that this love for storytelling is deeply rooted in the human psyche.
When we read an interesting story, neurons in our brain fire in a way similar to those of the storyteller - a process known as “neural coupling”.
Essentially, the reader’s brain waves synchronise with the storyline - enabling the audience to imagine themselves in the narrative, there and then.
What triggers this leap from reading an engaging story to feeling very much a part of it?
Take a bow dopamine, cortisol, oxytocin and endorphins: the four chemicals that can instantly capture your audience’s attention, quickly evolve their empathy, and make them feel part of something wholesome, exciting, purposeful - or any other ‘employment proposition’ you’re looking to convey.
This neural process is proven to work through a tried and tested storytelling structure.
So how do you structure your ‘recruitment story’ in the most targeted, inspirational and inclusive way?
Throughout my copywriting career, I’ve pioneered the AIDA approach to attract talent to literally thousands of different employers, in many different sectors - and it’s a storytelling structure that will work for you too, whatever skillsets and mindsets you’re looking to engage.
Scientifically-proven to engage and convert
AIDA is an incredibly straightforward ‘structure’ to use - with four simple steps that will empower you to grab your candidate’s Attention, build their Interest, fuel their Desire for the role, and get them to Apply.
Step 1: Grab their Attention
Since the dawn of the digital era, marketeers have understood that we live in the age of the ‘permission model’ - where our brain takes somewhere between 0.4 and 0.7 of a second to give permission to engage (or not) with a message.
So how you ‘open’ your ‘conversation’ is a critical moment - and that makes the headline such a vital part of any ad, more than ever before.
Step 2: Develop their Interest
A single word has the power to pull us together or push us apart - so what you say ‘next’ in your very first paragraph is as vital as the initial attention grabbing headline.
You need to develop interest in an instant - and your words should ideally flow from the sentiment or proposition being made in your headline.
Step 3: Create Desire
The ‘Desire’ section of your ad means exactly that - creating DESIRE!
You’re looking to evoke one of the strongest emotions known to humanity - adrenaline and endorphin-laden feelings of “I must apply for that job.”
And to do that, you need to choose the minimum and most important points about the job and the skills needed - and knit them together in the most compelling way possible.
Step 4: Make a Call to Action
It’s amazing how many otherwise strong ads finish by tailing off into something weak and unengaging.
Don’t make that mistake - weave your magic spell to the very end of your ads.
Be confident and commanding - and make a call to action that provokes an immediate response!