Why Facebook is the Strongest Platform for Healthcare Recruitment

Faceook Page Mockup

At Just R, we utilise social media in our delivery of digital attraction campaigns, with the aim of recruiting healthcare staff. We are often met with the question, why do you use Facebook as your main platform when delivering healthcare worker attraction campaigns? We know that there is a lot of stigma and misconceptions that Facebook is a dying platform with an ageing population, but this simply isn’t true. Read on to see why Facebook is the social media platform that makes sense when it comes to healthcare recruitment and digital attraction.

It is one of the ‘Big Four’ tech companies (GAFA)

First things first, Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world. In the UK alone, 48.5 million people use Facebook, compared to Instagram that has 28.85 million UK users and Twitter with 23.29 million UK users. And with Facebook’s 2021 rebrand to Meta, the platform is now a social media monopoly, also owning Instagram and Whatsapp. This means that advertisements on Facebook also run simultaneously across Instagram, reaching an even larger audience.

Despite beliefs, it isn’t ‘ageing’.

There are many misconceptions that Facebook has an ageing population and the younger generation wants nothing to do with it, but this is simply not true. 25-34 year olds make up the largest user age group on Facebook (24.3%), with Generation Z (18-24) following closely behind (18.8%). A surprise to some, 55-64 year olds only made up 10.7% of Facebook’s users. Despite the belief that Facebook is only used by the older generation, it acts as a great platform to attract the younger workforce into careers in healthcare.

Reaching passive job seekers

You might be thinking but people don’t look for jobs on Facebook. While this may be true for some, at Just R we specialise in attracting passive job seekers, making Facebook the perfect platform to do just that. In active recruitment, jobs are posted on job boards such as TRAC with the hope that candidates will find them and apply. This is especially true when it comes to traditional NHS recruitment methods. Getting strong, quality candidates to apply could take months, whereas when advertising on Facebook, you are in control of how often and how long you run recruitment campaigns for, reaching your ideal candidate a lot faster. In a recent collaboration with Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust we received 80 completed applications in less than three weeks through our digital attraction campaign on Facebook. 

Facebook also proves a great platform to create interest in and awareness of your employer brand, attracting candidates today and inspiring your potential workforce of tomorrow. The Facebook platform provides you with the tools to reach prospective candidates again and again, building on the understanding of the culture and values of your organisation ensuring you attract values aligned individuals. Afterall, it is said to take the average person seven engagements with an advertisement before acting on it.

Stockport FB Cover

Why is Facebook more effective than LinkedIn and Indeed?

Facebook users are more active than any other social media users with 2.91 billion users every month; every 20 minutes, 1 million links are shared. In comparison, LinkedIn has 610 million active users a month and Indeed has 360 million. With Facebook’s wider pool of users, you are able to reach more high-quality candidates that may have not considered you as an employer of choice prior to this, or even a career in healthcare. 

Facebook also proves the most cost effective platform, providing a greater return on investment than its competitors. Typically, LinkedIn’s cost per click is valued between £2-£6, whereas Facebook’s average is £0.78 meaning budgets are stretched a lot further and reach a wider pool of candidates for less.

What to takeaway

With our healthcare digital attraction campaigns running across Facebook, the results speak for themselves. Facebook delivers for our NHS clients time after time; we are constantly evolving our methods to ensure campaigns deliver the very best ROI. Our consistent results in driving applications to nurse, AHP, medics and entry level positions means that to us, Facebook is a no brainer when it comes to reaching and attracting healthcare workers. Here are the reasons why we use it in a nutshell…

  • Facebook is the most popular platform in the world and considered part of the ‘Big Four’ tech companies in the world
  • Facebook should be thought of as your daily local newspaper
  • Despite the misconception, Facebook is most popular with the younger generation
  • As part of Meta, ads can be simultaneously ran across Instagram too
  • You can reach and attract passive job seekers who may have not considered you before
  • You can take control of your narrative, offering you greater control over how you attract great candidates. The results speak for themselves
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