3 Tips for Finding Better Social Media Hires

Social media is a powerful tool for communicating with patients, building your healthcare organization's brand, and extending its reach. This isn't kid stuff, so use care in choosing the best job candidates to fill these roles.

A common misperception among hiring managers and human resources leaders is that social media management is an ideal job for someone new to marketing or public relations, a recent college grad, or even worse—an intern.

This kind of thinking leads to bad HR moves according to Cynthia Floyd Manley, director of content strategy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "I absolutely don't think you should put an intern or entry level person in charge of your social media," she says. "There's a certain level of experience and news judgment required that is very unusual to find in people fresh out of school."

It is vital, she believes, to hire someone who is ready for a great responsibility and who will take it seriously. Social media jobs require specialized training, experience, and maturity. So before you hire your golf buddy's son who is "on Facebook 24/7" to represent your hospital or healthcare system online, review these tips:

1. Hire For Your Audience
A frequent, yet misplaced hope is that recent grads or interns are fully versed in the social media strategies and tactics a health system or hospital needs. The thinking is that these young people have a good understanding of social media and will require little training.

This assumption, however, is based on generational stereotypes. Presuming that a young person is proficient in social media for a specific industry rarely leads to good results. Likewise, presuming that middle-aged or older professionals lack social media proficiency is also a bad call.

There are older professionals who are adept with social media, just as there are twenty-somethings who readily admit that they just don't get it.

A better strategy is to select social media managers who are familiar with your target demographic. "Think about your audience," urges Manley. She says staffing with the target demographic in mind gives teams a good instinct for what would interest the audience.

Additionally, you should hire someone who is passionate and knowledgeable about healthcare—a field in which few recent graduates have much experience.

2. Don't Underestimate Experience
Speaking of experience, you should be looking for someone with a lot of it to fill this role. "Journalism experience, public relations, and community relations experience are all good fits," says Manley, who would also consider a candidate with a marketing background.

The qualified candidate is someone with impeccable writing skills, While there are plenty of so-called "digital natives" who can tweet something like, "OMG, IDC B/C YOLO-- #BFFS4EVER!!" that's not what you're looking for.

Organizations looking to hire for social media positions are entrusting these hires with their brands and giving them the power to alter how the public will perceive their organizations. What's needed is a competent individual who will be able to effectively communicate with the audience in a professional manner that provokes both engagement and interest.

And the hire must be able to react and respond professionally when an angry patient tweets something negative, when tough questions are asked publically, or in emerging situations such as weather- or crime-related crises.

"Social media is so fast-moving" says Manley. "Your social media manager will have to make judgment calls. To effectively do that, they have to understand your industry, its culture, and the political nuances involved, and that requires someone with more experience."

3. Find Motivated Self-Starters
Twitter waits for no one. The Internet doesn't close at 5:00 PM on Friday and reopen Monday morning. Whoever you hire should be comfortable with having a job that isn't a traditional nine-to-fiver.

Due to the hours and level of responsibility required, Manley urges hiring managers to recognize the demands of this job require some level of flexibility. "This is a job that can definitely be done remotely—and it can be done from just about anywhere," she says. Ten-hour days suddenly seem less grueling when those hours can be worked from home with a long lunch to break them up.

But flexibility only works if the employee is ready to work and to exercise good judgment without constant direct supervision.

While there are certainly some very responsible recent grads and new workers out there, it might be a bit much to ask someone who is just getting the hang of the business world to manage themselves the majority of the time, work evenings and weekends, and use good judgment in all communications when there's no boss around to ask for pointers.

Those who are ready for that level of responsibility will flourish in an independent environment, says Manley. In other words: Tell your golf buddy you're sorry, but you need someone with several years of work experience to manage your organization's social media, not a Facebook addict.              

Join Cynthia Floyd Manley and Lee Aase of the Mayo Clinic for a Healthleaders webcast, "Mayo Clinic & Vanderbilt Health—The New Social Media Playbook" on September 16 from 1:00 -2:30 PM ET.