Social media has quickly become another way for you to recruit highly skilled nurses.
LinkedIn and Facebook may be staples, but Tumblr and Instagram also are making an impact with a host of creative tools that wow potential hires.
Here are eight things you need to know to attract nurses with social media recruiting today.
1 — Create quality content
Bland content rarely impresses the audience — especially when your competitor goes all out with messaging and visuals.
The 2019 Hootsuite Social Media Trends Report suggests prioritizing visual content for better click through rates.
Just take a peek at nursing jobs posted on Twitter and it’s easy to see which healthcare organizations went the extra mile on quality infographics, compelling photos and video.
2 — Facebook groups
Are you getting the most out of social platforms like Facebook? The Hootsuite report also recommends creating a Facebook group that specifically targets a core audience, such as job seekers. The group page would attract nurses seeking employment while giving them a platform for discussion.
The idea is to let the audience start the conversation while you lightly monitor engagement — like answering questions as needed. Whether an opened or closed group, make sure to clearly identify the purpose of the group.
3 — Target by job title
Using digital tools like social media platforms is an “untapped, human resources recruiting tool,” said Tyler Ross, a former client executive at Relias.
Savvy recruiters like you who use Facebook for nurse social media recruiting probably realize Facebook changed some of the rules around how ads can be used to reach the target audience.
“With Facebook ads, you can no longer advertise by job title,” Ross said. “You can only base advertising on their interests, pages they like or groups they belong to.”
However, by using Nurse.com, he said recruiters can avoid that entire headache and take a more targeted approach.
Since we have thousands of nurses’ email addresses, Ross said recruiting campaigns are more precise. The email information allows us to advertise directly to nurses who use Facebook, he said.
“Because we have their email addresses, we know we have a guaranteed pathway to advertise to nurses,” Ross said. “Not only can we target by job title, with Nurse.com we have a lot of different specialties of nurses, so we can break it down even further — like targeting critical care nurses.”
4 — Track social media recruiting results
When using digital recruiting tools, Ross said it’s important to track results. Google Analytics allows healthcare facilities to monitor web traffic. He suggests tracking the cost per click, cost per applicant and cost per hire for each advertising channel being used.
“It may take some more set up in your applicant tracking steps, but those steps are worth taking if you want to take a digital recruiting approach and know the results,” Ross said.
5 — Timing the posts matters
The only good thing about the Monday blues — they don’t apply to job postings on social platforms. In fact, it helps drive engagement.
According to a LinkedIn report by Collin Hickey, jobs posted on Mondays perform the best, followed by Tuesday and Wednesday. The views and applications decline as the week continues, according to audience performance on LinkedIn.
Other recruiting experts suggest posting jobs just before lunch or after work — which is when employed folks typically have more time to read them.
6 — Employees help expand reach
Everyone has a friend of a friend. And some friends know just who’s hiring. Who you know can play a role in the social media recruiting game.
Ask employees to share job postings on their social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook. When employees share, the reach can only go in one direction — up.
According to LinkedIn, as a collective group, employee connections are about 10 times greater than that of the organization’s followers. (Just ask nicely because engaged employees like to help their employers succeed.)
7 — Milk the bragging rights
A striking online image helps attract talented nursing prospects. Highlight your hospital or university credentials and awards on various social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. Keep the pages up to date and use visually appealing images.
Recruiting professionals suggest creating short videos or vignette stories centered on employee experiences that highlight culture for your social media recruiting. These steps create a good first impression via digital — the second first impression happens during the face-to-face or video-based interview.
8 — Magnetize millennials with high-tech offerings
GE Healthcare used a series of content campaigns to highlight its innovative technology, including posting its medical imaging equipment on Tumblr. The company also launched campaigns through SoundCloud and Twitter to show more creative genius.
Turns out the campaigns gave the organization an image boost that appealed to tech-savvy millennials who could have easily taken jobs at companies like Google or Amazon.
Along with the high-tech makeover, GE Healthcare used its social channels as a messaging stage about the organization’s career growth opportunities.
