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Every social media platform attracts a specific demographic. LinkedIn appeals to business professionals. There are some lawyers and fewer doctors. Still, you should consider engaging it. Develop your medical practice as a business.
Connect via Your Personal Business Relationships
Using the concept that everyone in the world is related by six degrees of separation or fewer, your LinkedIn network will be comprised of those you know directly, or indirectly (i.e. colleague of a colleague) through your professional work history.
The immediate appeal of LinkedIn is to keep track of your cronies in the business world. As the usual business professional often changes jobs, or, the business changes name, you can still keep in touch with your associates though landlines, addresses and emails disappear which each change of job. While physicians rarely close a medical practice and change jobs less frequently than almost any other industry, this is a great place for your administrators to keep up with their colleagues.
Most users on LinkedIn do so to maintain their personal professional relationships. They are not looking for health information or to make a purchase. They are probably not looking for a doctor, either.
How Can Your Practice Use LinkedIn?
The best way to use this social media platform is to list your medical practice…as a business. Show off to other practices and their administrators! Tell them what a great work environment you have created. Brag about your latest technology.
Use LinkedIn to attract quality, highly motivated, personnel to your office.
Ask your administrator (or someone just as passionate about your businesss) to set up your account, or profile. It is free. List those attributes (and keywords) of your medical practice of which you are most proud; incentive plans, benefits, flexible schedules, etc. Use your best attributes to attract the best employees.
With time, you will create a network around your practice. Remember, this is about your practice, not you.
Find Your Own References
One way to use LinkedIn is to use your own network to follow-up on a potential employee for your business. No longer are you dependent upon the list of references that the applicant provides, you can go find your own. You will be able to find people you “know” that also know the applicant.
Establish a profile on LinkedIn. Ask your office personnel to do the same. Create your own network to tell your colleagues what a great business you have!