It’s imperative to have a smart strategy in place if you want to succeed on social media. Instagram is one of the top platforms for those between ages 18-29, offering a plethora of ways to engage with potential and current patients.
Use a Business Account
It’s imperative you ensure your Instagram account is set up as a business and not personal profile. Having a business account allows you to get insights and real-time metrics about your stories, posts and followers, which can help you adjust your strategy as your account progresses.
Feed vs. Stories vs. IGTV
Your Instagram feed is a grid of photos and videos you have posted. It should display a cohesive and professional aesthetic with beautiful high resolution images, graphics and videos. Consistent branding is important, so consider the main colors you want to stand out as someone scrolls through your feed. Captions are currently limited to 2,200 characters and 30 hashtags, so get descriptive with at least a few sentences or short paragraphs. Add three vertical dots or symbols to create separation between the description and the hashtags. Include about five of your core hashtags (e.g., #boardcertified #dermatology) and five more relevant to the specific post (e.g., #cosmeceuticals #skincare #productlaunch). Check your Instagram insights to verify the best time of day to post based on when your followers are active.
Instagram Stories provide a fun and creative way to build brand awareness, drive traffic to your website and increase your engagement rate. Stories live at the top of your followers’ feeds (home page of the app) for 24 hours, however you can permanently archive them in custom- branded highlights, which are albums located underneath the bio on your account’s profile. Stories should be used frequently for more casual and informative posts, and everything posted on the feed should also be shared as a story to tease the information you’re sharing in the feed and drive more feed engagement. Stories should incorporate at least one fun sticker or animated giphy and use consistent fonts and typeface.
IGTV allows you to post longer videos to your account (up to 60 minutes when uploading from the web) to dive deeper into various topics. IGTV is built for how we use our phones (vertical and full screen), making it easier for your followers to digest the content. Try uploading a video that introduces your practice and services or answers frequently asked questions.
Software to Ease Creation and Scheduling
Create eye-catching posts using your photos and branded colors with web-based software sites such as Canva. Once your posts are ready, automate them through software like Buffer, Hootsuite, Tweet Deck or Sprout Social, which allow you to schedule posts in advance, maintain a content calendar, view all streams from all social networks in one place and engage with followers. Many scheduling platforms have a free trial period so you and your team can test it before committing to a paid plan. You will still need to use the Instagram app as it is important for stories, tagging, searching hashtags and engagement, but these tools will make it easier for you to implement your content.
Analysis and Reporting
The best way to measure the success of your Instagram strategy is to review your insights. Properly reviewing and analyzing all the data a business account offers takes hours, so this could be delegated to a staff member or agency to review weekly and monthly. At this time, story insights (for those not archived to a highlight) only show for 14 days, so take screenshots to document the analytics. Spend some time reviewing fellow ASDS members’ accounts to see what’s working for them. The reporting shouldn’t stop there; review Google Analytics to evaluate your website’s incoming traffic from Instagram, quality of leads, goal conversions, etc.
Take time to contemplate the purpose of your Instagram account and determine the best content format to successfully share that message with your followers. Find the balance between creativity, personal connection and professionalism, and use analytics to your advantage by frequently assessing the success and areas for improvement in your strategy.