Travel nurses are constantly busy working different shift hours, having adventures, and exploring new cities. It can make getting their attention really tough. They don’t always have time to listen to voicemails or even read (let alone return) an email. Inbound marketing techniques can help recruiters break through the noise and save your recruiters’ time. Here’s how.
What is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound marketing is the practice of producing helpful and relevant content, distributing it online, and allowing qualified leads to find you through this useful info.
Inbound techniques have been gaining popularity rapidly in the past few years, largely because consumers have changed their own behavior. Many people have learned to avoid direct forms of marketing. We screen calls, delete emails without reading them, and skip ads on TV… without even thinking about it.
Your recruiters likely get frustrated playing phone tag or spending time on emails that get no response. Teams can change the way they bring in new travel nursing talent using a strong inbound methodology – and see an uptick their numbers.
Before you start creating content, it’s important to have a plan in place. Here are some of the basics for getting started.
Create a travel nurse persona
Your recruiters already have a deep understanding of their clients. Use the information to your advantage! Write down all the details you can think of about your best travel nurses:
- what their schedules are like
- what social channels they prefer
- what their goals and interests are
- what their challenges are
- where they get information
- what questions they tend to ask (a gold mine of information for creating content)
Use this information to create a semi-fictional representation of your ideal travel nurse candidate. As long as you stick to what your travel nurses want to know and are interested in, your content will attract awesome talent.
Map out the travel nurse’s journey
When you create an inbound marketing strategy, it’s critical to remember that not every nurse is in the same spot in their journey towards choosing a recruiter.
You know all about the sales funnel: fresh prospects funnel in at the top and new clients come out the bottom after some serious sales hustle. It’s a traditional view of the process, but the inbound marketing methodology fits nicely into the model.
Travel nurses might be fresh out of school, working with another agency, or between assignments. Creating content for travel nurses at every phase will help you attract more prospects.
Know your keywords
Not everyone can be an SEO expert, but creating an inbound strategy requires a basic level of understanding about what travel nurses are searching for online. Make a list of keywords and phrases that you think will attract talent. Some examples include:
- “Telling my travel nurse recruiter I don’t like my assignment”
A travel nurse searching for this phrase might already be working with an agency but is experiencing obstacles with their recruiter. Offering content focused on communicating with your recruiter will draw them to your website — and into your funnel. - “What makes a good travel nurse recruiter?”
This search term is indicative of a travel nurse looking for their first recruiter or to replace a poor one. Create content focused traits to look for in a recruiter, and you become a viable source of information for that prospect. - “Best travel nursing recruiting agencies”
This search term will help new prospects get to your site when you have social proof from current clients, a strong social media presence, and great sharable web content.
Nurture your prospects
After prospective travel nurses get to know you a little better, provide information that will grow your relationship with them. You might offer them a free eBook, email them with fresh content, or invite them to register for an upcoming webinar. Reaching out periodically will keep your agency’s name at top of mind, and let them know you’re there to help.
Plus, inbound marketing doesn’t stop, even after you gain a new travel nurse… constantly sharing information with your current nurses will keep them informed and more apt to give a referral. Inbound is a powerful tool for relationship building and maintenance.
Choose when, where, and how to share content
The internet is noisy, which makes choosing where, when, and how to share content tricky. Here are some of the best ways to catch the busy travel nursing crowd.
Blog
Your website is your #1 inbound marketing workhorse. It’s where you want all of your potential clients to sign up for your newsletter, contact you directly, and post reviews.
The best way to lead them there is to create a blog chock full of articles geared towards your persona. Remember to write articles for travel nurses that are in various steps of their journey towards choosing a recruiter. Write for nurses that:
- Don’t have a recruiter (and don’t know they need one)
- Have a recruiter (and might consider switching)
- Are unsatisfied with recruiters they have had in the past
- Already work with your agency
Writing information-rich articles is great, but remember to keep things visual, too. Use a quick (and free) tool like Canva to quickly create stunning images for your posts, and embed YouTube videos when appropriate.
The more quality content you write, the higher your chances of showing up in search results.
Downloadable content
Offer free, higher-value pieces of content in exchange for contact info. Here are some examples of downloadable content:
- eBooks
- White papers
- Webinars
- Checklists
- Slide decks
Once they download this rich content, you have permission to keep talking with them and nurturing that initial relationship.
Social Media
Between Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, it seems like there’s a new social media channel born every day. The good news is that an effective inbound strategy might only leverage one or two channels.
Facebook is the best social tool for attracting passive leads. It has nearly 1.9 billion monthly active users, making it the most popular social network worldwide.
Since travel nurses are always, well, traveling, they spend a lot of time on the platform to keep up with their personal and professional networks.
Earning your spot on a prospect’s news feed isn’t always easy. Sharing relevant content on your agency page, encouraging recruiters to share, and paying for promotion is a great start.
Facebook also hosts groups where travel nurses can network, offer support, and ask questions. Recruiters can search for groups to learn a more about the travel nursing community. It can provide great insight into the more personal side of the profession.
LinkedIn is (pretty much) all work no play. You’ll find less funny cat videos and more articles about “productivity hacks” on this network.
Travel nurses use LinkedIn to build their resume and maintain their professional presence online. Recruiters do the same but can take it a step further keeping inbound marketing in mind.
Encourage recruiters to share links to free webinars, blog articles, and relevant industry news. When travel nurses scroll through their home page and see an agency posting about things they care about, chances are high they’ll want to learn more.
Using LinkedIn for inbound in tandem with the platform’s powerful recruiting tools is a great way to generate more web traffic.
Twitter is a quick and easy way to broadcast your message to the world. Increasing your tweet frequency, sharing free content, and sharing influencer articles on Twitter will capture the attention of travel nursing talent. Make sure to use relevant #hashtags and images to increase your exposure.
Smart texting
Texting is probably the quickest and easiest way to get ahold of a busy travel nurse. Sending scheduled and personalized text messages to prospective talent seriously increases your chances the message will be read.
Use texting to share article links, send reminders about contract expirations, and send notifications about exciting new assignments. It’s a great tool for relationship building and maintenance, as it adds a personal touch to your communications.
Write it all down
Inbound marketing methodologies can definitely earn you more travel nursing leads. To get set up for success right away, write your plan down and set realistic goals. As you get used to using inbound for lead capturing, make adjustments as necessary to tailor it to your ideal nurses.
Allowing prospective talent to find your content on their own accord puts them in the driver’s seat. As long as you keep creating useful content, offering friendly advice, and building relationships with prospects, the best and brightest traveling nurses will know where to find you.
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