Are Your Marketing Efforts Underutilizing LinkedIn?

With a very different audience and focus from its social media brethren, LinkedIn has always been a unique challenge for healthcare marketers.

But with half a billion users (as of April 2017), LinkedIn is not a space to ignore. Putting resources behind this channel may not be easy, but it’s worth the effort to reach the large number of healthcare professionals who use it every day.

Aaron Watkins, senior director of internet strategy and digital content marketing at Johns Hopkins Medicine

“We see LinkedIn as a valuable tool for healthcare marketers because it’s the largest professional social network, with over 4 million healthcare professionals using the platform,” says Aaron Watkins, senior director of internet strategy and digital content marketing at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.

“LinkedIn allows us to establish a presence with users who may not be on other social media platforms,” adds Kelly Piccininni, talent acquisition manager for Atlanta, Georgia-based Northside Hospital. “And it has a much more in-depth targeting feature for paid promotions.”

Both Johns Hopkins Medicine and Northside Hospital have topped 20,000 followers on LinkedIn, and they see impressive engagement on the platform. With a targeted content strategy and paid promotion plan, they have seen success both in their page performance and job recruitment efforts.

Kelly Piccininni, talent acquisition manager at Northside Hospital

When it comes to LinkedIn, Piccininni says Northside focuses on “employee-centered content” that highlights staff achievements and the hospital’s culture. Facebook, on the other hand, usually features content related to patients or the community.

Northside also uses LinkedIn to post career advice content, such as job application tips.

“LinkedIn allows us to build our credibility with new audiences, such as industry thought leaders and employees,” Piccininni says. “We focus on industry news, clinical studies, employee happenings, and patient education materials.”

For Johns Hopkins, the approach is similar. The Johns Hopkins LinkedIn following is primarily made up of hospital or healthcare employees, or individuals who work in health-related research. With that in mind, they share content that focuses on innovative medical procedures, treatments, research, and new breakthroughs.

Read the full story now and learn how to leverage LinkedIn to your benefit:

How Hospitals Can Take Advantage of LinkedIn’s Unique Network

Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President