3 Social Media Platforms You Aren’t Using for Recruiting, But Should Be

Come on, don’t lie … You know you browse Facebook at work :-).  Or maybe not… But if you do, rather than limiting yourself to checking your news feed on the sly, put that time to productive use! Using social media for your business can not only help enhance your brand, but it can help you to attract quality, connected physician candidates.

Get their attention by visually showing them what your health group has to offer and how you understand their needs. With a good strategy and a little time investment, you can leverage social media platforms to improve your reputation and find competitive potential physicians.

In addition to the prime business net working site, LinkedIn, the following three social media platforms are a great place to find value:

Quora

Quora.com, a question-and-answer site, is not your typical social media platform. Users can ask, answer, respond to, and “collect” questions. As a recruiter using Quora you can interact with physicians in several important ways.

You can answer questions that physicians post, thus establishing your health group as a thought leader. You can browse physicians who are interacting on the site, and thus consider them as candidates. You can also learn what the word on the street is as far as recruiting goes, what’s hot in the medical industry, and what’s important to physicians.

“[On Quora, you] ask a question and experts answer…I recently engaged in several conversations with physicians who eventually became candidates, but I did not broadcast a job opening,” says Angela Keen, manager of physician services at Straub Clinic and Hospital. “I developed friendships and privately messaged physicians to let them know I had a position open. It takes careful communication.”

Designating someone to browse and interact with physicians on Quora allows you to see physicians from a different angle. Quora will give you insight into the current discussions in the industry, including what candidates are talking about.

Facebook

Facebook isn’t just a place to post a personal or business profile or page; it’s a highly effective tool you can use to find your next physician. Your first step in recruiting via Facebook should be to review your current business page, making sure that it’s as strong as it can be. As far as content goes, here are a few tips:

• Make it clear where physicians can find your health group or hospital’s job opportunities.
• Post videos and testimonials that showcase what life is like at your organization
• Post blogs and other relevant content to show you’re in touch with the industry
• Keep your content and posts consistent with what you’re posting on your website and other platforms

While not every physician uses Facebook to browse job opportunities, you can find many who are. With a strong Facebook presence, you’ll be setting yourself up with a way for physicians to check in later in order to get a feel for your company culture.

Interact with physicians on Facebook. Follow the leaders in the medical industry, as well as patients and employees. Ask questions, post about what’s going on in the office, build up an interactive community. This will give you a solid foundation to reach out to physicians who might be good candidates.

Plus, observing how they interact on Facebook can give you insight into how they interact in the real world. But be careful not to judge: one bad Facebook post isn’t an indicator of someone’s character or professionalism.

Twitter

Donald Glover said it best: “If you’re on Twitter, what you’re saying is, ‘I’m important enough for you to care what I think.’”

With a Twitter account, you’re telling physicians that you have something to say that’s of value—perhaps about how parents can recognize health risks in their children, how nurse practitioners can make the most of their time with patients, or why physicians should look into joining their health group. In doing this, you’re not just promoting your business, but acting as a source of insight and medical knowledge.

“Rule #1 of creating an engaged community on social media—provide value,” says Lars Schmidt, founder of AmplifyTalent.com. “This applies to organizations as well as individuals. You want to be generous and provide something interesting and/or useful to your followers.”

Don’t just post about jobs; join in on the industry conversation and share how physicians at your health group see things.

Recruiting on Twitter begins by following the right accounts. Follow fellow doctors, medical schools, and research institutions. Not only will you be retweeting quality content but you’ll also be indicating that your health group is participating in medical conversation and engaging in what’s happening in the industry.

Just like on Facebook, start by interacting. Follow, tweet, retweet, and “favorite” content from physicians. Direct-message them about job opportunities and tweet questions asking about their perspective on a current topic of discussion in the healthcare industry. With these daily efforts, you’ll be constantly strengthening your brand and your connection with physicians.

If your health group doesn’t yet have a strong online presence, start one by creating an account on at least one of these platforms. It won’t take long to see how social media can give your recruiting efforts an edge.

Ready to start connecting with physicians? Have questions? Contact PhysEmp today for a free demo.

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