Instagram has emerged as a top destination for marketers across all industries and sectors due to its huge popularity with users. The healthcare industry too has not been a laggard and both healthcare professionals across a very broad spectrum of specialties and healthcare institutions like hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centers, gyms, etc. have been very active on Instagram.
However, as has been amply proven, just by having an Instagram account, sales revenues do not jump through the roof because like every marketing activity, marketing on Instagram needs the implementation of a viable strategy. Some sensible tips for players in the healthcare sector to leverage the power of Instagram:
Switch Immediately to an Instagram Business Account
Healthcare marketers need to appreciate that there are a large number of benefits associated with an Instagram Business Account.
For example, followers can get in touch with you from within the account by clicking on the Contact button, you can create and post advertisements without accessing Facebook’s tools, and most importantly, you can access Insights, the set of analytical tools that provide you valuable information on the number of impressions and reach of the content you are posting.
Tell an Engaging Story
One of the main reasons that lead to disappointing results for marketers on Instagram is that they tend to post completely random content, which tends to confuse followers.
Instead of random posts that are looked upon as merely pushing sales, marketers should attempt to tell engaging stories about their business and how customers can benefit by using their services.
To kick start your Instagram marketing initiative, it can be a good idea to buy Instagram followers and likes using the services of digital marketing agencies. This can give you the initial momentum that you can build on subsequently.
Use the Right Hashtags
Marketers need to appreciate that their posts are not the only content that appears in the Instagram feeds of users. Rather, the user is flooded with hundreds and even thousands of posts that make it very difficult for your posts to make their mark.
When users are trying to search for information, they use hashtags, which means that if your post does not contain the most logical and relevant hashtags, users will never get to see your posts.
Healthcare marketers must research the most effective hashtags, especially by analyzing the ones used by successful competitors. Without the right hashtags, most of your posts would go undiscovered by users.
However, if you are creating a unique or branded hashtag, you should promote it heavily on your Instagram posts, website, blogs, email newsletters, etc. so that people are aware of it, advises Huffingtonpost.
Ensure You Use Very High-Quality Photos and Videos
Healthcare professionals and institutions marketing themselves on Instagram have to appreciate that users see a very large number of images and videos. This makes them naturally inclined to like more content that is original, relevant and of very high-quality both in terms of image quality and presentation.
If you are thinking of using stock images, be prepared for a very disappointing rate of impressions and engagement as users will automatically discount your posts as being not original and it will reflect badly on your reputation.
It is a good idea to engage a professional photographer to shoot and edit the stills and videos to make the right impression. Do not go wild with Instagram filters but instead try to standardize on a look that will help to define your posts so that they have better recognizability.
Identify the Optimum Posting Times
If you do not know when your followers are the most active, posting on Instagram can become a hit or miss affair leading to wasted time and effort. You need to ensure that you post at the times when your target audience is active so that they have the best opportunity of seeing your posts.
It is also not wise to try to flood the feed of your followers with too much content as this can turn them off and provoke them to unfollow you. Ideally, you should post at the same times at regular intervals of twice or thrice a week so that followers so that you can create a feeling of anticipation among your followers.
The most sensible way to post is to align them to the times the target audience is not preoccupied with workplace issues like early morning or in the evening.
Conclusion
The real success of an Instagram healthcare market is measured by the level of engagement of the posts.
However, engagement has often to be provoked by posting content that followers would want to comment on.
When your post receives a comment that could be a suggestion, feedback, or even a complaint, marketers need to ensure that they respond to it quickly to thank them and assure them of necessary action.
Ignoring comments can be very off-putting to followers and shows that you don’t care about what they think.