Mastering the art of communication is key to your success as a physician recruiter. Healthcare is one of the fastest growing industries in the country, but there aren’t enough skilled healthcare professionals to fill the gap. That means your competition is fierce, so you need to differentiate yourself as a recruiter. That’s where content marketing comes in.

Content marketing is important because some of the most valuable candidates are the ones who aren’t looking! You want to build visibility and trust with your candidates, and content that’s informative and engaging is a powerful tool.

A good place to start is with your employer brand, which is your opportunity  to tell potential candidates why your organization is precisely the place they want to work. Becker’s Hospital Review explains why a strong employer brand is one of the important trends to watch out for in healthcare recruiting when they explain, “Research shows organizations with strong employer brands attract twice the number of applicants per job compared to other companies. They are also 40% less likely to lose new hires after the first six months, and they enjoy a 43% decrease in cost per hire.”

Content marketing goes well beyond just job content though. “Content” is anything you publish on the internet – starting with your job posts – and including articles, website landing pages, videos, white papers, your recruiter profile, etc. When you tell your own story (or the story of the company you’re recruiting for), you set the scene for physician candidates to visualize their place in all of it and your conversations are suddenly more relatable.

Where do you start?

Great content builds your employer brand – and your personal brand as a recruiter. When you think about branding and content think about this: how do you want your candidates/audience to think about you? That’s your promise. Is your organization the kind of company physician candidates dream of working for? If it is, do some humble bragging.

Has your company done an insightful survey? Is there a white paper, or a blog article that addresses your candidates’ pain points? A well-crafted article or white paper will resonate with your candidates when it comes to making a decision of who to work with. Great content helps establish you as an expert! What’s more, great content that rings true means your candidates will be warm leads, which means that initial call will be much easier.

What if you’re not a great writer?

Try collaborating with your colleagues, your marketing department, or even candidates you’ve worked with in the past! An interview with a satisfied candidate serves as great word-of-mouth marketing. Most doctors have a good story or two to tell and in a recruiting scenario those stories can turn into powerful content that can supercharge your recruiting game. Here’s a great content marketing guide with some downloadable templates that are worth taking a look at, too.

Create a calendar and plan ahead  

When you understand what candidates want, you can start to think about how to attract them with content. In the case of physicians, they want an opportunity that will carry them into the future. How can your organization help build their career? Is your organization known for being a place where physicians are valued?

Have some reasons to create content, start with a calendar, then dig in. You don’t have to write long-winded articles. Have fun with it and get creative – but have a plan or you’ll get stuck in a rut.

Does your company have any notable events or initiatives coming up? Are there any notable healthcare holidays or dates on the horizon, e.g., National Doctor’s Day (March 30), National Hospital Week (May 12-18), Women in Medicine Month (September)? Start with some pieces that coincide with those. The power is in planning ahead.

Content marketing is a way for you to show your humanity. Create the right messages to share with your candidates, and it’s bound to help you attract top talent. Curious about how you can reach over 75% of licensed U.S. physicians with Talent Finder? See a quick demo to learn more!