Getting the Most out of LinkedIn and Facebook for Recruitment

by Carolyn Carter

Within the year, the Affordable Care Act will add an es­timated 32 million individuals to health insurance rolls – creating new de­mand for healthcare services and, many experts believe, a critical shortage of physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers. In this new healthcare landscape, hiring (and retaining) the right people will be more important than ever. As competition intensifies for high-caliber talent, healthcare organiza­tions are increasingly turning to social media, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, for results. Getting the most out of these channels starts with learning about their unique characteristics and tools, and deter­mining how they fit in with your organization’s brand and needs.

LinkedIn

With more than 200 million mem­bers worldwide, LinkedIn is the largest social media destination for professional networking, making it a powerful resource for employers and job seekers alike. While LinkedIn does charge employers to post jobs and even more to use its suite of Talent Solutions tools, creating a basic presence for your organization on LinkedIn is free.

The ‘Company Page’

The first step is to create a Company Page – LinkedIn’s corporate version of the individual Profile Page. Here, you can include a cover photo, status updates, and links to key services. Use your page as an opportunity to showcase your brand – and attrac­tiveness as a potential employer – by including YouTube videos about your organization, testimonials from current employees, recognition your organization or employees have received, and media coverage. A good example is Starbucks. And if your organization has a blog, add its RSS feed to your page, as health system HCA does.

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