How Instagram can help grow your medical practice

If your medical practice wants to focus on engaging with your customers, there is no better platform than Instagram. With over 100 million active daily users, this visual interface is one of the most effective ways of attracting the attention of both new and prospective clients. It’s not enough to just create an account and start posting: you have to know exactly how to reach your target audience, and what their interests are.

Since Instagram is mostly comprised of millennials, your posts should be eye catching, relevant, and accessible to anyone under 35. The majority of Instagram users are younger (aged 37 and below) women in urban areas, making an average of $62,500.

Knowing this, you can cater your posts to these type of buyers: those who are clicking more, spending more, and generally more engaged than their peers. Catering your marketing, your business, and your services toward younger women making medical decisions for themselves (or their families) is a great place to begin your advertising.

If your services aren’t appropriate for, or can’t really be catered to, a younger audience, don’t fret- increasing your online presence can still have a myriad of benefits, including increased brand awareness, higher search engine rankings, trust in the eyes of your patients, and a stronger authority in your field. Not to mention, 75% of Instagram users take action – like clicking an offer or visiting a link – after seeing an advertisement post.

All in all, brand engagement on Instagram is 10 times higher than Facebook, 54 times higher than Pinterest, and 84 times higher than Twitter. First things first: you want a business profile instead of a personal account. A business profile gives you statistic related to post reach, impressions, profile views, and website/call-to-action clicks. A business profile also gives you access to a breakdown of your followers based on key demographics- meaning it is much easier to effectively target local patients.

(Psst - If you already have an account and you want to ensure that it’s a business profile, click on the far right silhouette button on the very bottom menu – this is your account page. Hit the “Edit Profile” button at the top. Look for the “Promote” button – if you can see that, you’re golden! If not, it’s easy to switch. Follow the link that says “Try Instagram Business Tools,” and the site will walk you through everything you need to get started as a business profile.)

Choose a username that describes who your practice is and what it does: for example, “dr.mcleanobstetrics” instead of just “dr.mclean.” Make sure you fill out all the necessary information, as this is essential for SEO rankings. Don’t forget to include the best way for your patients to get in touch with you!

Figure out the ways in which your practice stands out (have you been in practice the longest? Do you see a very specific set of patients? Do your nurses take part in team building activities on the weekends?) and highlight these as part of your profile and posts. Hashtags are another great way to extend your reach, as is linking your Instagram and Facebook.

Above all, keep in mind that Instagram is a visual interface- but an intensely personal one. Its users are often posting more informal, more intimate looks into their everyday lives, interests, and habits. Your business can follow suit by telling the story of your practice, and showing your current and prospective clients the who, what, how, and why of your business- in ways you maybe couldn’t, or wouldn’t, through another platform like Twitter or Facebook.