How are prospective physicians searching for their next career opportunity? Most likely by their specialty area. Some specialty and subspecialty positions are hard to fill with many health systems competing to find top talent. So, what’s the most effective way to engage doctors? No matter what specialty you are recruiting, if you dedicate time to build out niche, highly-optimized content speaking to these specific specialties, you are going to get more responses and from qualified talent. Successfully marketing your job opportunities in today’s crowded marketplace requires left of center thinking. Be creative and honest with your posts. Which in return will to set your content apart from the rest.

When marketing to doctors, it is critically important to understand their clinical or academic focus and target them using the terminology that matches their specific discipline. At Pacific Companies, our recruiters conduct an on-site profile of each practice opportunity, so when it comes to creating marketing content, they can add a more personal well-versed ad, that truly gives the physicians a clear message of what the opportunity is all about.

Social media networking is a growing phenomenon that adds a new dimension to traditional physician recruitment. This innovative approach allows recruiters to reach busy prospective candidates, through a wide variety of web-based technologies and digital applications, that “engage” participants in real-time virtual conversations. Using digital marketing with only text, is not going to set you part. You need high resolution relevant images and/or video. This is a generation where most of us would rather watch a video to learn, rather than read. Make sure your content is simple and clear and give just enough information that it makes the person curious and want to reach out to learn more.

Lastly, make sure your call-to-action (a piece of content intended to induce a viewer, reader, or listener to perform a specific act) is obvious and clear. It is important not to assume that the target audience automatically knows what is expected of them. You’ll get greater results by being clear about what the prospect needs to do to apply, learn more or get in contact with you. Keep it simple and make it easy for them to follow through on what you want them to do, each piece of marketing content should have one or no more than two call-to-actions. After your ad has been sent, it’s crucial to study your analytics! This way you will know if your marketing efforts are working for you or are a waste of time. Most every digital marketing channel has integrated analytics and a help section, so you can learn the basics in understanding how your ad is doing.

Sure, an organic social media post about a job opening may get you a few resumes, but those followers could already be watching your website for openings anyway. What about throwing a few dollars behind a Facebook, LinkedIn, or a Job Board boosted post? Boosted posts are an inexpensive way to target as narrow as industry, locations, or even job title. If you know what your ideal candidate looks like, let a boosted post help you find them and get exposure to new people that are not already connected to you. Take it a step further with a full recruitment ad campaign. You don’t need to spend a lot to get a good reach, every platform is different, but the best way to test a paid ad is to give yourself a max budget (for example $5, $10 or $20 total), set that budget in your parameters and let the application optimize your send until your budget is depleted. Then once the ad is done you can gage how it did, how many people that amount put you in front of, and if you were able to get any solid leads. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, the more exposure your job opportunity gets the better. You may get new followers that could end up applying to one of your jobs down the road.

In conclusion, remember to keep it simple, be clear, add personality and most importantly be creative! Brainstorm with friends or co-workers on catchy phrases or subject lines, find an image that takes your breath away or record a professional looking video that showcases your personality and helps your viewers get to know you. Don’t cut corners, don’t be lazy. If you aren’t feeling it in the moment, take a break and come back to it.

Digital Marketing is an incredible way to get exposure and make a placement, so put yourself out there and stand out from the rest!

-Summer Gilbert | Marketing and Branding Director | Pacific Companies