Each month we host a Smile Virtual doctor call, where our doctors can come together to learn about any given topic. This month’s topic was focused on Instagram engagement. 

Engagement is a great metric to pay attention to, because it indicates who is interacting with your content. Likes used to carry the weight for most important metric, but that has changed over the years. 

Creating an instagram presence that not only looks good but generates engagement requires a bit more creativity, but is completely doable. Here’s how! 

Analyze your current engagement 

Unless you know where you’re currently at, you won’t know if your tactics are successful. Your very first step should be ensuring you have a Business account on Instagram. Things you should be paying attention to in the insights page: 

• How are your posts trending 
• Which post receives the most engagements? 
• Which post receives the least? 

Use this data to help shape your future content. Take what is performing the best, and build a strategy using that! 

Know your audience

Think of any great conversation you’ve had with a stranger. They learn about you, and talk specifically to you. As soon as they start over-generalizing, it feels like they don’t care about you! 

Same thing goes for social media. If you know your target audience is age 25-35, talk to them the way they want to be talked to. Put a name to that client (Brian Harris uses a patient named “Monica”) and think about them every time you want to post. What post would they love to see? What content do they not want to see? 

Create (and share) valuable content

The only thing worse than sharing nothing is sharing something that doesn’t bring valuable. 

Ask yourself this question about your instagram: “would you follow your instagram account”? 

Think of the posts you are sharing, and consider if they are bringing value. Is it content someone would feel inclined to share? Could they save the post and revisit? 

The role of your instagram should be to inspire, help, and educate. If you can’t honestly say that your feed is doing that, it’s time to make a change! 

Engage with other accounts 

Do you ever share a social media post and then check that off your list? 

Stop! 

Some of your most important engagement work happens before and after you post. Brian Harris shared that while working with an influencer, he found that the most important work happened after their post went live. Her photo was great, and made his work look awesome, but the real magic was happening in the comments section. She had a flood of people responding asking questions about recovery time, cost, location, etc. Her comments section was a goldmine for education and recommending they try a virtual consult to learn more. 

Whether you’re engaging with another doctor’s account to show support, engaging with an influencer to build a relationship, or responding as an educator in your space, engaging with other people’s content can help grow your own engagement. 

Ask Questions 

One of the easiest (and most effective) ways to grow engagement is to ask your audience a question. Do they like this style of veneer or that? What are they looking forward to with the weekend? What’s their go-to song right now? Ask questions that are relevant to your practice’s brand, and fit your client’s personality. 

Do you have any best practices your team has been using to build engagement? We’d love to hear them! Send them to [email protected].