9 candidatesin 5 days, for €72.
A logistics employer in the Netherlands needed a kraanmachinist (crane operator): a niche technical role with a small local talent pool. A five-day Meta Lead Ads test brought in 9 candidates at €8.02 each.
- Cost per lead
- €8.02
- Leads
- 9
- Ad spend
- €72.20
- Duration
- 5 days
the brief
One vacancy, a small pool of people who can do the job.
Crane operators are a small, specialised group, and most of them already have a job. They aren't browsing job boards, so a vacancy posted and left to wait reaches very few of them.
The goal was a quick, low-budget test: can paid social reach crane operators near the site and get them to raise their hand, at a cost per candidate that makes sense for one vacancy?
what we did
A short test, built to collect candidates with as little friction as possible.
Meta Lead Ads
Ads on Facebook and Instagram, where crane operators spend time whether they're job hunting or not.
An instant form
Candidates applied inside the app, with their details pre-filled, without a CV or a careers site to load.
Local targeting
The audience was limited to people within commuting distance of the site, for this one role.
Five days, small budget
€72.20 over five days: enough to see whether the channel works before spending more on it.
the funnel
From 4,473 times on screen to 9 candidates. Each bar is to scale.
- Impressions4,473
- Clicks (all)≈194
- Opened the form86
- Sent the form9
Clicks (all) is derived from the 4.34% CTR (all) and rounded. Opening the form is Meta's link click: with an instant form, the link is the form.
what €72.20 bought
The same budget, three ways to count it.
- per 1,000 impressions
- €16.14
- per form opened
- €0.84
- per candidate
- €8.02
Nine candidates, €8.02 each.
reach and frequency
2,336 people saw the ad, on average 1.91 times.
Impressions: 4,473
- First views (people reached) 2,336
- Repeat views 2,137
Nearly two views per person in five days is fast for a pool this small. If the same ad kept running, frequency would keep climbing: the same people seeing it again, with costs rising and fewer new candidates. That sets the plan for scaling.
what we learned
Read the numbers for what they say, and for what they don't.
(01) The channel works for this role
€8.02 per candidate for a specialised technical role, from a standing start, in five days. Paid social reached people a job posting would have missed.
(02) The ad was relevant
4.34% of impressions led to a click and 1.92% opened the form. The people who saw it engaged with it.
(03) The form did its job
One in ten people who opened the form sent it. Applying inside the app, with details filled in, keeps the drop-off low.
(04) The pool fills up fast
A frequency of 1.91 in five days is the warning sign. Scaling this exact setup would mainly show the ad to the same people again.
(05) A lead isn't a hire
A lead here is a candidate who sent their details. What counts in the end is how many are qualified, reach an interview and get hired.
what we'd do next
To scale without burning out the audience.
- Rotate in two or three new creatives before frequency reaches 3
- Widen the radius step by step and watch cost per lead per area
- Add one or two screening questions to the form to filter for certificates and experience
- Call every candidate within 24 hours, while they still remember applying
- Track each lead to interview and hire, so we optimise on hires, not form fills
all numbers
From Meta Ads Manager, 28 September to 2 October 2026.
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend | €72.20 | Total over five days |
| Leads | 9 | Candidates who sent the form |
| Cost per lead | €8.02 | Spend ÷ leads |
| Reach | 2,336 | Unique people who saw the ad |
| Impressions | 4,473 | Times the ad was on screen |
| Frequency | 1.91 | Impressions ÷ reach |
| CPM | €16.14 | Cost per 1,000 impressions |
| Link clicks | 86 | Opened the instant form |
| CPC (link) | €0.84 | Spend ÷ link clicks |
| CTR (link) | 1.92% | Link clicks ÷ impressions |
| CTR (all) | 4.34% | Any click on the ad ÷ impressions |
| Click to lead | 10.47% | Leads ÷ link clicks |
hard role to fill?
Book 30 minutes. We'll look at the vacancy and tell you honestly whether paid campaigns can fill it.