Social media can be tricky, and the fact that is constantly changing and evolving doesn’t help. The fact is, people want to see real and authentic content, and you need to make that impression in a matter of seconds before they click away from your page. 

Our team gathered 6 things you could start doing today to help you gain more followers on social media. And not just any followers, but ones that could potentially turn into excited and happy patients or referrals. 

#1 Use relevant hashtags 

Hashtags have been a social media tactic for just about as long as Instagram has been around. They serve as a guide for people looking for relevant content. Look up #veneers and see what comes up! People who are interested in getting veneers, are curious about the process, or just like looking at before’s & after’s, could stumble upon your page if you’re using that hashtag too. 

Remember: hashtags should be used responsibly. People don’t want to see a post full of #’s, they want to see real content. 

#2 Be consistent 

Posting 5 times one week, and then skipping two weeks, shows a potential audience that you are inconsistent. Humans crave normalcy and dependability, give them that in your social feed. 

#3 Make your content super easy to share 

If you’re sharing an image of your patient, make sure they look great and tag them! This will let them know you’re featuring them, and will encourage them to share. If you’re creating graphics, brand it with your logo so when it’s shared people will recognize your brand and click over to your profile. And, while this may sound overly simple, ASK people to share! You can say something like “share if you agree!” 

#4 Dedicate 30 minutes each week to follow people 

Have you ever started following someone because they followed you? A big hack in social media is to go in and look for people that could be prime candidates. You could look up age range, geographic location, interests, other pages they are following. Don’t follow just anyone, but become top of mind for high-quality social media users. 

#5 Add your social profiles to all of your emails 

Are you sending out emails to patients and prospects? Great! You should always always always be asking them to follow you on social media too! Make it super easy by including the link for them to immediately navigate to your page and like you. Your page will start being recommended for their friends to follow. 

#6 Host a giveaway 

This could be an item (like a super nice toothbrush) or a service (FREE veneers giveaway), ultimately it’s up to you. Step one of the giveaway would be for followers to tag their friends, who will also need to follow you. And alas, you have now tripled your followers by giving away one free thing! Make sure you’re following up with them too, we notice this step gets missed a lot and it can make the whole campaign feel like a wasted effort. The winner isn’t your only lead.

This post was written by our team at Smile Creative, the social media agency that works exclusively with our Smile Virtual doctors.