LinkedIn has become a staple social media outlet for professionals across the board, and now more than ever, people are actively using this platform to share information.  One and a half million LinkedIn members are sharing content and sixty-five percent of users have increased their consumption over the past year. This drastic increase is now being called “the content revolution,” and is a phenomenon that should not go unnoticed by healthcare professionals.

The healthcare industry can take advantage of what marketers have already been doing and utilize these social media sites for digital marketing.  LinkedIn recently released their 2014 Professional Content Consumption Report which surveyed over 2,700 users about their interactions with the site.  As ninety-one percent of those surveyed list LinkedIn as their number one choice for professional content and the average user spends eight hours a week on LinkedIn, connecting with these content revolutionaries is an excellent way for healthcare professionals to network and share valuable insights and information.

Present novel information, or information that will assist in decision making. Fifty-six percent of users feel it is the easiest way to find professionally relevant content.  Posts that present new and helpful information will be viewed and shared at a higher rate.
        Use this platform to spark discussion. Fifty-one percent of users feel the main benefit of LinkedIn is the potential for sparking conversations.  Content revolutionaries will share content that they feel evokes a response, and this content is more likely to be shared across other media platforms as well.
        Ensure that sharing this content would benefit a user’s professional network. Sixty-two percent of users use LinkedIn to build relationships with colleagues or clients. Network building is one of the main draws of this platform, and content revolutionaries are likely to share information that aids in building relationships.

    Format the content so it can be easily consumed on a mobile device. Users often need information at their fingertips and forty three percent of members visit this site on their mobile device.
    Publish content that users want to share to enhance their professional brand. Some of the main benefits to using LinkedIn are that it increases member visibility, enhances a member’s professional brand reputation, and positions a member as an innovator.  Content revolutionaries are most likely to share content that fulfills these needs.

For healthcare professionals to be most effective on LinkedIn, they must deliver information that content revolutionaries are seeking. In order to ensure that content revolutionaries share and consume healthcare professional’s content, it is important to present new, timely and discussion-worthy information.

Providing content beneficial to a professional’s network or brand, as well as providing small, easily “digestible” pieces of content will help increase the likelihood that the information is shared.

– See more at: http://scottpublicrelations.com/the-content-revolution-why-linkedin-is-ideal-for-healthcare-professionals/#sthash.8j1Uflgn.dpuf

Source: scottpublicrelations.com