One mistake many recruiting managers make is assuming social media, including social recruiting, is just another tool to add to an existing workflow. But social media is a strategy, not a tool. It requires forethought, planning, and dedicated implementation across the recruiting team. Social media isn’t a passive strategy, either – it requires engaging with passive candidates actively. This is critical to physician recruiting because a whopping 86% of physicians are passive candidates.

A social media strategy aims to engage active and passive candidates in a meaningful and long-term way, with a focus on positive branding and relationship management. It’s true that there are a lot of conversations (and noise) on social media, but recruiters can leverage the conversations to effectively make a meaningful impact with candidates. Here are five tips for using social media for physician recruitment.

1. Leverage information across other social media channels

Let’s start with Doximity Talent Finder. At its core, Doximity is the first directory of every physician in the country, and Doximity Talent Finder is a great tool for your social media strategy. We have a lot of physician data, and we continue to expand this data because we provide valuable resources and tools for physicians to use. Sometimes, however, a DocMail goes unanswered, and sometimes a job post may not receive an application. What recruiters can do then is leverage information across other social media channels.

Some of our most successful power users understand that Doximity Talent Finder is just one tool in the social recruiting toolbox, but you can use the tool to identify physicians across other channels. The information contained in Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Epocrates, or other healthcare-specific social media channels can help you develop a recruiting approach or campaign on another platform.  

Here’s how it might work. Let’s say the Doximity profile for a physician is sparse and you’re looking for another way to connect with that candidate. Look for them on another channel like LinkedIn or Twitter and take note of details that might be useful for your campaign. Hobbies or community involvement can help you learn how to approach and convert them. A doctor who’s active is likely to share details and posts about his community. Here’s how you communicate your due diligence in a message: “I took note on LinkedIn that you’re actively involved in your community. That’s a priority here at Organization Y. We’d love to show you how you can make a meaningful impact."

2. Integrate across channels to get referrals

Social media works best when it dovetails with other strategies, so integration across different channels is pivotal for physician recruiters. In fact, one of the greatest things about social media is how easy it is to share things! Take advantage of that. Referrals are one of your strongest recruitment tactics, and you should absolutely leverage social media for referrals. Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Encourage physicians to be active on Doximity or LinkedIn. Social recruiting does wonders for your engagement.

• Doximity is the largest professional social network of physicians. Encourage physicians to aid in your referral building by sharing jobs and forwarding DocMails.
• Ask colleagues or other staff members for contact information on physicians they know and would refer.
  

3. Use selective targeting accompanied by a value proposition

We’ll say it again: social media is an active strategy for reaching passive candidates. Use data you generate from social recruiting to define your target. For instance, top recruiters using Doximity Talent Finder focus their searches using these filters: 

• Medical school: provides strong ties to family and other vital connections
• Training location: offers insight into preferred practice type and locations
• Languages spoken: another indication of ties, and an additional skill
• Keyword specific interests and procedures: Is a candidate federally qualified? What types of additional training has he or she completed?
• Hospital affiliations
• States where candidates are licensed
• Professional titles

You don’t have to apply all of these to each search – and these searches don’t apply only to Doximity Talent Finder – but if you go beyond simple data searches like specialty and state license, and dig into deeper searches, you’ll get into a higher quality group of candidates, which means you’ll be able to connect with them on a more meaningful level. You’ll find your messages will get a higher open and response rate because you’re cutting through the clutter.  

Part of this strategy is to create a value proposition for your audience, which simply makes your outreach more relevant and personal. Here are a few examples of communication with physician candidates that cut through the clutter:

• I’m contacting you because I believe your experience in Ludington would lend itself very well to our rural family.
• I came across your profile on Doximity and noticed you attended medical school at Kansas City University. We have a strong partnership with KCU’s new medical school opening in Joplin.
• I see you’re licensed to practice in Vermont. I have an excellent Emergency Medicine opportunity in Newport that may be of interest to you or someone you know. You will be joining a caring group of colleagues providing EM services to the local community as well as the many vacationers and visitors to the area.

We also recommend you include a specific date and time to reach out and connect with the candidate. It sounds obvious, but it’s often forgotten!

4. Segment your candidate pool and create a message template for each segment!

Your candidate pool is every possible physician candidate in the country. Essential requirements for the position would include specialty, location, board certification, and state licensure. Everything beyond this is “segmentation.”

Which leads us to one burning question: If your candidates aren’t all the same, why are your messages? You’ve likely been recruited. What made something stand out for you? The best way to stand out is to go beyond the candidate’s specialty. Your message will stand out from all those generic job emails physicians receive, and your performance and reputation will improve! Segmentation has shown a 39% increase in CTR or Click-Thru Rate, and 28% of marketers report lower opt-out rates.

5. Use lists to follow up and engage candidates!

Power recruiters use lists to stay on top of candidates and follow-up with campaigns. Did you identify a list of candidates on LinkedIn? Build a list and follow up with them. Did you meet candidates at a conference? Build a list and follow up with them.

Doctors frequently complain about being swamped with messages from recruiters after posting a resume to an online job board or physician database. According to a Doximity Physician Survey, 39% of doctors are contacted by recruiters multiple times per month, and 16% say they’re contacted once per week! An average resident in their final year of training receives 51 or more solicitations a week, while 46% say they receive over 100! What’s more, most physicians say they receive recruitment messages with little-to-no value proposition. Amit Phull, M.D., Doximity’s Medical Director said this:

“The problem I’ve found with mass recruitment emails is that there’s little effort to flesh out the details of what the job actually entails. Physicians often have their feet in multiple areas and are very open to exploring new opportunities, but you have to make that first connection a high-impact one.”

Curious to learn more about how you can leverage social recruiting to find the best candidates? Check out our page on What is Social Recruiting.