Dermatology World July 2011 : Page 25
“It’s best to start with LinkedIn when recruit-ing with social media, because the site is speci -cally based around professional networking,” Santiago said. “People tend to gravitate to it when they’re looking for jobs, and they’ve recently made it even easier to network with people outside of your contacts list.” One advantage of LinkedIn, she said, is the staggering number of professional associations represented on the site. Employers looking to hire a medical assistant, for example, can join the groups dedicated to professional medical assis-tants and publicly post their job description for a modest fee. In addition, users can customize their email noti cations to send them a message when someone posts a job opening in their desired eld. The e ect, Santiago said, is that professionals looking to hire can attract the attention of both frequent users and more passive ones. Even if one chooses not to pay for the site’s job posting service, many users are still able to nd numerous viable candidates through their personal connec-tions, as users can forward a job posting to their personal connections. From there, Santiago said, those looking to hire begin with a wealth of infor-mation at their ngertips. “When you get an interested candidate, you’re immediately able to see their professional con-tinuity of experience and other quali cations,” Santiago said. “From there, it’s easy to search out more information about their previous practices and see whether you think they’ll be a good t for the kind of work and volume your practice has.” DRAWING BOUNDARIES While social media is a powerful tool with incredible potential upside, it’s important to set boundaries between yourself and both patients and potential patients. First and foremost, readers of your posts — be they blog posts, Twitter links, or Facebook notes — need to understand that the information you post is purely informational, and no substitute for medical advice. On The Dermatol-ogy Blog , Dr. Benabio devotes a tab at the top of the page to a disclaimer that reads, in part: “The information on this blog is for educational purposes only. This site does not intend to provide any medical advice and should not be considered medical advice or counsel. If you have questions about your health, then please consult your physician. This site should not be used as a substitute for medical help. Opinions provided here are my own and do not represent the opinions of my employer or the medical societies of which I am a member.” In addition, it’s not advisable to interact with current patients through Facebook, Twitter, or other social media services on a physician-patient level, according to Kevin Smith, M.D., who regularly speaks on social media and online reputation at the Academy’s Annual and Summer meetings. Interacting with patients in these arenas, he said, can be time-consuming and possibly risky if patients decide to try to replace regular office visits with online dialogues. “There seems to be a growing body of opinion that it’s bet-ter not to get involved with patients directly on Facebook and Twitter. It can consume a lot of your time and poten-tially expose you to legal issues,” Dr. Smith said. “There’s an online forum that I visit where patients pose questions to the community and physicians can choose to respond. That’s about the only direct online method of interaction that I ever use.” EVALUATING YOUR SUCCESSES The problem with social media, for many, is that goals like community-building and word of mouth seem unquanti able. Yet Ellis contends that many of the tools that accompany sites like Twitter and Facebook allow for much more sophisticated measurement of one’s reputation than previously available. “There are tools that you can use to see the suc-cess of your message and marketing in general. With Twitter and Facebook and the like, you can start by using their built-in metrics,” Ellis said. “You can see which of your messages people respond to most and change strategy based upon that.” For Dr. Benabio, the social media experience closely mirrors what people value as professionals, and as members of a society. DERMATOLOGY WORLD // July 2011 25
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