LinkedIn Tips for Healthcare Finance Leaders [PODCAST]

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LinkedIn Tips for Healthcare Finance Leaders

In this episode, Lauren Schafer, Founder of Lake House Digital Media, discusses LinkedIn Tips for healthcare finance leaders.

Highlights of this episode include:

• Why it is important for hospital finance executives to have a strong LinkedIn profile
• How a hospital finance leader can start building a LinkedIn profile
• How finance leaders can contribute to the overall marketing and social media efforts of the hospital
• Other than LinkedIn, how hospital finance leaders can help their professional profile
• The biggest mistakes someone can make on LinkedIn
• The best practices for LinkedIn

Kelly Wisness: Hi, this is Kelly Wisness. Welcome back to the award-winning Hospital Finance Podcast. We’re pleased to welcome Lauren Schafer. Lauren is the founder of Lake House Digital Media, a boutique agency helping life sciences, tech companies, and growth-minded founders build authority that actually drives demand. Lauren blends SEO, thought leadership, LinkedIn strategy, and event marketing to help complex companies become the obvious choice in their category. You’ll walk away with practical ways to earn trust faster and turn visibility into real momentum. In this episode, we’re discussing LinkedIn Tips for Healthcare Finance Leaders. Welcome, and thank you for joining us, Lauren.

Lauren Schafer: Thanks for having me, Kelly.

Kelly: Well, let’s go ahead and jump in. So why is it important for hospital finance executives to have a strong LinkedIn profile or identity?

Lauren: Financial leaders are just like anybody else on the leadership team, and that means having a really strong professional presence on LinkedIn is critical for correct positioning. It’s both for their current role, to build their own network, and for future opportunities, but it also is letting you build the hospital’s network, that healthcare network and presence to build more brand awareness and trust.

Kelly: Most definitely. Agree with that. So how would a hospital finance leader start building a LinkedIn profile if they have limited experience on LinkedIn?

Lauren: So, the biggest thing there that a lot of people miss, or they skip because they’re like, “Oh, I’m not so sure yet,” is they skip putting their photo on there. It sounds so basic, but at the end of the day, people want to know who they’re doing business with. And so, the biggest thing is make sure that you’ve got a profile picture and that it’s a current picture, right? It’s not you, maybe 20 years ago, 15 years ago, a little bit thinner, a little bit different hairstyle, but it needs to have the current position that you hold, the company that you work for, and your name, and absolutely your full professional name. So, one of my biggest pet peeves is if people do like John S., and I’m like, if they’re trying to find you, there are millions of John S’s out there. So, you need to put that full name. But then some next steps that would just kind of ease you into doing things on LinkedIn is set a timer a couple days a week, maybe two or three times a week to just log on for even 15 minutes, turn those notifications on, so if someone sees that you’re getting active and reaches out, that you don’t miss it.

But also, a good next step to start expanding their network if they haven’t had a lot of experience is connect with your employees, connect with people that are on your board and your own networks. So, start leading by example. Your employees do more on LinkedIn, but also just start connecting with people and then slowly start commenting when you’re comfortable on other people’s posts. It’s going to help you get more views. It’s going to help where you’re working, get more brand awareness, and you’re going to develop relationships through that. You don’t have to have these long, drawn out thesis type of comments, but even just like, “Hey, congrats on the new role,” or, “This is a great resource for our community.” Something that is thoughtful, but it can be short and sweet to start building that relationship on LinkedIn.

Kelly: That’s all great advice. And I do agree that the photo is key. So how can finance leaders contribute to the overall marketing and social media efforts of the hospital?

Lauren: So, the biggest thing, especially when you’re looking at LinkedIn, it is a social media network, but it’s business-minded first and foremost. And a lot of people are looking for thought leadership. They’re looking for trust and who do I know there? If something comes up, whether they are looking potentially to apply for a job or to do business with you, to be in partnership with you. But when you start having posts on there from your brand– and even little things like the employees start to share the post. Employees’ share get two times the amount of clicks that a regular company brand page gets. So, it indicates to other people, “Hey, I like working here. I don’t mind telling people that I work here, and I’m trusting the content when I’m sharing it.” So that’s a big thing, is to get your overall marketing efforts to make sure that your healthcare institution is posting optimally at least twice a week. You don’t need to post every day. But getting that brand awareness out there and then enabling your employees to say, “Hey, we want the shares, let people know if we’re sharing some–” maybe a great new project at the hospital, some new cutting-edge technology, or just a feel-good post, maybe how you’re giving back to your community. All of that is adding more brand awareness, more trust signals, and keeping you top-of-mind, so then when people do have a choice and they need something that your healthcare institution provides, you will be top-of-mind.

Kelly: I completely agree that the employees getting involved is really key to getting out the word and helping with that brand awareness of the hospital. Lauren, other than LinkedIn, how can hospital finance leaders help their professional profile and the hospital’s professional profile?

Lauren: So, a couple of things on there. You’ve got LinkedIn as a great resource, sometimes to amplify the other efforts that you’re doing. So, if the hospital, for example, has put out a press release, or if they put out some new thought leadership on an experimental– anything that they’re trying, some new technology, sharing it on LinkedIn is great. If they’ve got those resources that are on the webpage from the hospital, if they’re on a podcast, something like this, where they’re sharing new developments and things, to share those both from your website, if they’re on podcasts, to make sure that you’ve got a presence where people are looking now. And people are looking so much at AI now. So, AI is indexing posts on LinkedIn now, and it’s one of the most cited LinkedIn places, when people are putting those questions in Google or in the search engines, and those AI answers are coming back. So, it’s making sure that your healthcare institution is where people are at. If there’s video, do you have a YouTube channel? They’re free to start. Or if there is something new, a ribbon cutting with you or one of your partners, share that. You want consistent signals, both on your website, for it to be up-to-date.

You want to reach people where they’re at, whether that is searching online, whether it’s on LinkedIn, or even simple things like having just a good community newsletter. As much as I would love for people to be on LinkedIn all the time on social media, because it’s what we do, the one place that they are sure to check almost every day is their work email. And it is, one, just sending a newsletter, sharing latest developments, any big staff changes, community involvement. People open their work emails, and it’s a great place and an easy place to make sure that your institution is staying top-of-mind.

Kelly: Yeah, those are such great ideas, Lauren. Thank you for sharing those with us. What are some of the biggest mistakes someone can make on LinkedIn?

Lauren: Oh, that’s a great question, Kelly. I would say, first and foremost, having either no photo or an outdated one. So, let’s say that you have a photo that you really like, but it’s maybe 10 to 15 years old, and maybe you’ve got a little bit more gray hair, or maybe your weight is different, either way. But let’s say that someone connects with you, that maybe they want to do a new project and they’re interested and is your hospital a good partner for them? And you set a time to meet at a conference, or you set a time for coffee, and you show up and you look nothing like your picture, regardless of the integrity you have, the trust, all the things about your reputation, that first impression of you is going to make them hesitate because you don’t look like your picture. So that is my biggest pet peeve. But then a few other things is if people comment or ask you a question, if you have posted, but then you check out for a couple weeks, if you don’t respond to their comments, that’s a big mistake that people make, because then people will be less likely to comment on your post the next time. And then one other one, and then I’ll wrap this one up, is people forget that even though LinkedIn is a business platform, first and foremost, it’s a social media platform. And so, their algorithm still will reward social interactions and conversations. It’s a two-way street.

So, a lot of people go on, they’ll just post, “This is the great thing we’re doing. Look at what we’ve got new. These things are all great. Look at my promotion.” But then they post, and then they check out of LinkedIn. And other people that are congratulating them or asking questions feel ignored when you don’t respond back, or if they post something, you don’t reciprocate by commenting back. So, a big mistake that people do make is forgetting that it is a social network first and foremost, even though it’s a business platform. But to be able, it’s a two-way street.

Kelly: Definitely is. And those are some great mistakes that you pointed out. On the flip side, though, what are some of the best practices for LinkedIn that you can share with us?

Lauren: So, a lot of people that are on there are leaders in the business community. They are leaders in healthcare, and they are on there in a business mindset, right? So, some of the best practices is to make sure, are you posting thought leadership on there? Let’s say that your institution is growing, or if they’re investing in a certain area, and here’s why, and here’s either an unmet need in your community that it’s going to answer, or whatever the value is to your community and to those that you want to be in your network, the more that you can share thought leadership and show value is a great– this is a great place to do it, not only for those on LinkedIn, but again, it’s being indexed by Google. It’s being indexed and cited on AI. So, a lot of things, even if they’re just on LinkedIn, can suddenly show up in a quick excerpt that is back on an AI, an AI question that somebody asked. But it’s also another great practice is to highlight your staff. If you’ve got someone new coming in on your leadership team, it’s going to be great to announce that you guys are expanding or that this person has joined your team, if they have a new award, a new certificate. It’s great because it both is great from an HR perspective to welcome them and show that hospitality and recognition. But on the flip side, it’s also great doing other things. If you’re very involved in something that is philanthropic in your area, it’s showing your community that a place you work cares about where they’re doing business. They care about the people in the community. And all of those things just nod to your brand recognition, your brand awareness and reputation, and making sure that you have a positive association with where you’re working out in the community.

Kelly: Those are such great tips. Thanks for sharing those with us, Lauren. Any final thoughts for hospital finance leaders?

Lauren: I think here’s the thing is everybody really loves to work for a successful organization, right? But people have choices where they work for recruiting. And if something happens in their lives, a lot of communities, they have a choice of what hospital or healthcare institution that they’re going to go to. So, staying top of mind is so key in this situation. Having a good association with your brand, both for employees, for recruiting and everything, but also so that you get those patients, you get the customers and clients, in that when they have a choice and something happens, and they have to make a quick decision, there’s no choice other than where you are. So, I think that’s our final thing, is there’s a lot more to it than just posting on LinkedIn as a social media platform. It’s more about growing that brand awareness so that where you are always is top of mind for everybody.

Kelly: That’s wonderful. Thank you. Thank you so much, Lauren, for sharing your insights with us on LinkedIn tips for healthcare finance leaders. And if a listener wants to learn more or contact you to discuss this topic further, how best can they do that?

Lauren: Well, obviously, LinkedIn is a great place. We’re on it all the time. So, we’re Lake House Digital. Lake House is two words on LinkedIn. I am on LinkedIn as Lauren Miller Schaefer. And also, if you wanted to go to our website and get in touch, we are thelakehousedigital.com, and we would love to hear from you.

Kelly: Awesome. Thanks for providing that. And thank you all for joining us for this episode of The Hospital Finance Podcast. Until next time…

[music] This concludes today’s episode of The Hospital Finance Podcast. For show notes and additional resources to help you protect and enhance revenue at your hospital, visit besler.holdings/podcasts. The Hospital Finance Podcast is a production of Besler Holdings.

If you have a topic that you’d like us to discuss on The Hospital Finance Podcast or if you’d like to be a guest, drop us a line at contact@besler.holdings.

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