How to Market Your Medical Practice on Instagram

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Instagram Marketing for Doctors

Doctors on Instagram & Social Media

Despite the headlines, healthcare social media is not a waste of time for physicians.

Today, doctors and physicians are expected to be publishers, photographers, and videographers in addition to running a private medical practice. As if you don’t already have enough on your plate with patients and tough cases to solve, social media for doctors requires a serious time investment.

Content creation requires a substantial amount of resources including your time, approving posts, coming up with content ideas, and growing your following.

Looking for effective ways to promote your medical practice on Instagram? Our comprehensive guide to Instagram marketing for doctors has everything you need to know, from creating engaging content to optimizing your profile.

In this article, you will:

Learn how Instagram Marketing can help doctors to reach more patients and you’re your practice. Our guide covers all the essential healthcare marketing social media strategies and tips you need to know to succeed.
Discover the power of Instagram marketing for doctors and how it can help you build a strong online presence and attract new patients. Our social media expert tips and tricks will show you how to get started.

In the Healthcare Marketing Guide for Instagram Stories, you will learn:

How to market your medical practice with social media
The #1 mistake most surgeons make on Instagram
Top medical Instagram hashtags
30 actionable Instagram tips for your medical practice

As a result of reading this healthcare marketing guide, you will gain new tools that can make the process of growing your following easier for your practice.

PLUS, I share 10 social media tips for doctors, physicians, and private medical practices.

But first, let’s get down to healthcare social media marketing 101.

HOW TO USE INSTAGRAM FOR HEALTHCARE MARKETING

How can doctors grow their Instagram followers?

Physicians must start integrating live streaming into their daily business practices. It is no longer enough to post aesthetically pleasing photos on Instagram or Snapchat. If you are skipping out on live streaming, you are missing out on the social media experience your followers are expecting to see from your account.

How do I promote my clinic on Instagram?

As social media platforms roll out new features, there is a tremendous opportunity to be one of the first doctors to start using them before everyone else figures out how to. This means more eyeballs on your medical practice services. For a cosmetic surgeon or someone in aesthetics, this can be substantial.

Instagram Marketing Tips for Doctors & Medical Practices

What is the value of disappearing content? This is a question we are asked all the time by dermatologists, plastic surgeons, and dentists interested in using Instagram to market their respective medical practices.

Many doctors and plastic surgeons disagree with devoting resources to creating disappearing content.

However, Instagram enables you to save this content with pinned highlights. Take advantage of this feature.

Audiences crave this type of spontaneous content which makes it that much more appealing.

Pro Tip: Make sure you pin your stories to branded highlights. If you don’t, you are missing out on a huge opportunity for your practice to get more out of your content.

Instagram Stories for Healthcare

Why You Need To Tap Into Story Posts Beyond the Newsfeed

Over 500 Million+ accounts use Instagram Stories every day. That is substantial!

So, the million-dollar question when creating your healthcare social media marketing strategy is: Instagram Feed posts or story posts?

As a doctor, if you can only create content for Instagram feed posts, you are missing out on a massive opportunity: Instagram Stories.

“We expect Stories are on track to overtake posts in Feed as the most common way that people share across all social apps. That’s because Stories is a better format for sharing multiple quick video clips throughout your day.” -Mark Zuckerberg

Instagram feed posts are still important, but you also have to remember that they were initially designed when desktop reigned supreme prior to the iPhone explosion.

Instagram Stories will be the leading healthcare social media trend in the mobile era. It is critical to tap into how patients use Instagram Stories so you can leverage this marketing tool for your private practice.

INSTAGRAM 101 FOR DOCTORS & HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS

How are Instagram Stories similar to Snapchat? Which social media platform is better to market my medical practice?

Instagram stories is similar to Snapchat because this feature enables users to share the best “live” feed moments of your day through vertical photos and videos. You can also add in location, tag other accounts and even draw on your photos. Regarding which is better for medical practices, that depends on where you have already built a patient base.

For example, if you already have 1,000 active followers on your business account on Instagram, then it makes more sense to leverage Instagram stories for greater visibility.

However, if you have 5,000 patients following you on Snapchat, then more people will see your live Snaps vs. your Instagram stories.

Healthcare Social Media Tip: Use the live streaming features of the platform you already have an established following on. Instagram stories makes more sense than Snapchat for medical practices because anyone can publicly see them. You don’t need to add someone as a connection to view the story.

Instagram captions for doctors

Combining the right image with the right caption goes a long way, and will subconsciously make a difference to the click-through rates and likes you rack up with new prospective patients.

What is visually appealing?

Try to capture images that really draw you in to see more. Images that have a nice contrast, are clear and clean and are not overwhelming are easier for the eye to register.

For example, if the front desk at your office is aesthetically pleasing, snap a picture of it and post it. You can caption it “Isn’t our new office beautiful? Love the office views!”

Use compelling captions that tie back to your service offering.
Encourage your audience to associate trendy images and clean aesthetics with your medical brand.
Keep it simple and clean or else the images can get lost in a jumble of visual clutter.
Each post should complement the next, so also be selective about the images you post on your feed.

The most important thing potential followers want to see is that you are consistent with your social media strategy and that you can execute it in a way that will enhance the quality of their life.

Focus on the features and benefits of the procedures you offer in your copy.

If you post the right content, the right patients will be drawn to your practice.

Instagram Story Tips for Doctors, Dentists, Surgeons & Cardiologists:

What should doctors post on Instagram?

Add Polls: Polls are an easy way to get your followers to engage with your content. A popular strategy is to post two photos on your story and ask your followers which they would prefer or like better. For example, Botox or Dysport? Creating polls and Q&A’s on your Instagram stories not only keeps your followers engaged, but it also provides you with information if you ask questions that you truly want answers to for market research.
Stickers: Instagram stories provide many features such as location, weather, and poll stickers. These stickers allow for more user engagement and are a fun accessory to add your stories. Instagram recently replaced the swipe-up feature. Previously, if your account had over 10,000, you were able to engage in swipe-ups on your story.
Highlights: Stories are only on your account for 24 hours so it is important to create highlights for your stories that way your followers can view them forever. Pin each medical procedure as a highlight.
Highlight Covers: After you post disappearing social media stories, it is important to highlight the stories so the information stays at the top of your Instagram account. Your highlight covers should also be cohesive and branded. One tactic is to upload similar graphics for each of your highlight covers representing the topic of the highlight.
Reposts: As long as your account is tagged in someone else’s story or post you can repost that image onto your account. Reposting is a great tool to engage with your followers and spread your network.
Check your story views: Keep track of which stories get more views than others. Checking your story views will give you an idea of the content your followers like to engage with.
Aesthetic: Make sure your stories are consistent with the colors and fonts of your brand. You can use the brush and sticker tools in your story to add style to your stories.
Instagram Live: A great way to show your followers what you are doing in real-time is to go on Instagram live. This allows users to have a glimpse into your life and gives you the ability to answer their questions. Instagram Live is a great way to express transparency and engage with your followers. Consider hosting an Instagram Live for a How-To tutorial post after a procedure.
Instagram Live Duet: You can also use Instagram Live to interview colleagues or friends with the duet feature. This feature allows users to invite guests onto their live and is a great way to continue expanding your network. Consider doing a live duet with a referring physician.
Host Instagram Takeovers: Another way to express transparency is through Instagram takeovers. Influencers or fellow employees can take over the practices Instagram story for the day and show followers insight into the medical procedures at the office.

Best Instagram names for doctors

The best Instagram handle name for a doctor is your name or the name of your medical practice!

Best Instagram bio for doctors

How do you write a Doctors bio on Instagram?

Keep your bio short and to the point
Use bullets and emojis to break up the text
Include a link to the URL of your practice

MEDICAL SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TIPS

How do you market your medical practice with social media?

INSTAGRAM HASHTAGS FOR DOCTORS

Best medical hashtags to use

#surgeon #doctor #medical #healthcare #dermatologist #functionalmedicine #patientreview #dentist #oralsurgeon #MD #boardcertified #medicine #health #physician #wellness #nurse #hospital #surgery #womeninmedicine

Content for Medical Followers

Understand the type of content that will appeal to your target audience (new patients!).

Healthcare Marketing Instagram Story Ideas:

How do Doctors grow on Instagram? Here are our top social media marketing tips to grow your Instagram account for your medical practice.

15 Instagram marketing tips to increase the visibility of your private practice:

Geo-Tagging
Branded GIF stickers for Stories
Long-Form Story content
Sponsored Stories
Saved Story Highlights (make sure all stories are labeled be procedure/ treatment)
Events
Polls
Questions
Avoid over-filtering story photos
Keep your audience engaged A/B test what content is most appealing to them.
Office decorations for the holidays
User-Generated Content (UGC) and branded stories of office swag
Behind-the-scenes photos at the office
A featured employee of the week, with an image of a member of the team
Behind-the-scenes photo in the operating room
Selfies with other doctors
Photos at medical conventions and trade shows
Medical PR press coverage

Pro Tip: Consider creating branded Giphy images for your private practice in the searchable Instagram library.

Remember, your social media is not as private as you think.

In the age of cancel culture and brand activism, every brand and doctor is one tweet away from being canceled. What you put on your personal social media (including your Instagram stories) can and will be used against you. Doctors need to be particularly cognizant of this, especially in terms of the legal ramifications.

For example, let’s say something goes wrong post-surgery, and you are sued in a lawsuit by the patient’s family. The first thing a disgruntled patient could do is dig through your Instagram Stories the night before to gather evidence of misconduct. Forget the legal perspective for a second- even if some of that doesn’t hold up in court (I am not a lawyer and cannot comment on what will or won’t) from a PR perspective, the optics look terrible.

The optics alone are enough to severely harm your reputation.

Looking to increase new patients? Contact us today to discuss a plastic surgery social media strategy for your private practice. We specialize in healthcare marketing and medical public relations for doctors.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR DOCTORS

What are some other tips to consider when building out a healthcare social media marketing strategy for my private practice on Instagram?

10 actionable ways medical practices can increase Instagram followers and engagement.

How can Doctors use Instagram to get more patients?

PLAN OUT YOUR GRID. Physicians can increase Instagram followers by planning out your Instagram grid of photos a week or two before you ever post anything. This will help to establish a solid Instagram brand aesthetic, which is important to your potential followers. If someone is thinking about following a doctor on Instagram, the first thing they will do is look at their last 9 photos. If they look disjointed and unbranded, someone is unlikely to follow your medical practice.

HEALTHCARE INFLUENCER MARKETING. The next way medical practices can increase their Instagram following is through leveraging influencers. For example, if you are a top doctor in Westchester County, you should reach out to the blogger/influencer in your town that everyone goes to for local advice. Even if that influencer isn’t interested in a specific medical procedure you offer, they may know a writer who is.

FOLLOW REGIONAL HASHTAGS. A third way to increase engagement on social media is to start following the hashtags in your industry and town and comment on those photos. Like them, favorite them and leave comments to show you are engaged. You can also DM (direct message) potential followers to strike up a conversation, as long as it isn’t salesy or spammy! I also recommend tagging other accounts on each Instagram post to increase followers. This will display the photo on the “tagged” section of their Instagram page. Potential patients interested in finding a new doctor on social media will look there first.

STRATEGICALLY HASHTAG. Do not make the mistake of only hashtagging industry-related keywords. This does not help potential patients find you and only helps others within your industry find you, which won’t expand your digital footprint or increase followers if you are looking for leads on Instagram. For example, if you are a NYC Surgeon, hashtagging #surgeon #Doctor #medical does not necessarily help those find you who may be looking for solutions to their health-related problems. Hashtagging keywords related to what potential patients would search for is a better strategy.

USE INSTAGRAM STORIES FOR BUSINESS. Because anyone on Instagram can view your story, you are much more likely to be seen by potential new patients than you are on Snapchat, where you have to manually add someone to view their content. Instagram stories is a great opportunity to be found by more people. Be sure to include your handle and use the hashtag feature within the story as well as adding your location. This will help your business account get picked up in large stories such as the Instagram “New York Story.”

ADD VIDEO TO YOUR CONTENT. This may seem pretty obvious, but the majority of NY Physicians still opt to post regular, static-based photos on Instagram instead of videos. If you really want to become a top healthcare influencer or dramatically increase your followers, you need to invest in video production. The NY physicians that are most successful on Instagram are leveraging video and basically have their own TV channels on Instagram. Give people a reason to tune into you.

DO NOT SHARE YOUR INSTAGRAM POSTS TO EVERY OTHER CHANNEL. This is a big social media mistake medical practices make on Instagram to save time. They connect their Instagram account to Facebook and every other social media channel. However, Facebook will actually rank these posts lower in your feed because they prefer to see posts directly shared on their platform. What your practice posts on Instagram should not be what it posts on Twitter or LinkedIn. You need to diversify content instead of mass posting to all of the other channels. Be sure not to make this embarrassing social media mistake, including having your practice manager running all of your social media!

COMMENT ON OTHERS POSTS. One of the best ways to grow your medical practices Instagram account is to comment and like others posts. This is a better approach than mass following hundreds of accounts and unfollowing everyone that doesn’t follow you. Spend more time engaging with the content you like and the followers will organically come.

REPURPOSE CONTENT FOR INSTAGRAM. One of the best ways to repurpose existing content for Instagram posts is to regram photos of patients who have posted photos at your office. This is often an underutilized part of a medical practices Instagram strategy. However, make sure that everything you regram and post on social media is HIPAA compliant. Be sure to check out our list of 13 social media mistakes your practice is making that could cost you legal trouble, including regramming without attribution. You could also repurpose existing content from a medical podcast you were featured on to exposure the content to a new audience.

HEALTHCARE PUBLIC RELATIONS. Invite a writer in to experience a new procedure and give them the opportunity to post photos and live stream their experience. Then, regram their posts from your practices page. This will help to increase followers as you will pick up some of their followers in your geographic location, which is highly targeted and can have a high conversion rate.

Pro Tip: Ask a question. Launching a new medical podcast? Ask your followers which podcast cover art they like better in an Instagram Story poll.

PLASTIC SURGEON INSTAGRAM MARKETING

Plastic Surgery Social Media Marketing Tips

Not every prospective patient is ready to commit to purchasing a procedure from a plastic surgeon when they browse your Instagram account.

PRO Tip: Create a lookbook of your best cases similar to an old-school portfolio. For example, you could show off all of the recent breast augmentations, rhinoplasties or filler work. Keep people coming back for me to see a sample of your work.

Social Media Ideas for Plastic Surgeons

What should Doctors post on Instagram?

Social media marketing for plastic surgeons is challenging because posting on social media in between cases is most likely not at the top of your list. However, many plastic surgeons are using Instagram to give patients a behind-the-scenes look inside their practice.

Here are 10 ways to grow your Instagram following and your plastic surgery practice on social media.

Host an Instagram live showing different plastic surgery procedures and answering questions followers have about the procedures you offer.
Create an Instagram carousel showcasing different cases and before and after photos.
Post educational videos discussing different surgical procedures and answering questions that followers may have who are interested in possible getting the procedure.
Use relevant medical hashtags such as #plasticsurgery #plasticsurgeon #boardcertified.
Create an Instagram story to showcase different thank you cards you have received from patients (with their names removed).
Create an Instagram story to let followers know of any specials you may be running on fillers.
Host an Instagram takeover with regional medical marketing influencers.
Give followers a behind-the-scenes look into your office environment. Post team photos of other staff members.
Highlight a new surgical procedure or new piece of technology you have recently invested in.
Post educational videos highlighting what your followers need to understand about plastic surgery procedures you offer. For example, educate followers on safe injectables, why it is important to see a board-certified plastic surgeon or the danger of purchasing plastic surgery services on Instagram before thoroughly checking out a surgeon’s medical credentials. You could also post a video on how to get the most out of each procedure post-op.

How do I market a doctor on social media?

Do not make the mistake of only focusing on feed posts.

Healthcare social media managers must learn how to design content for vertical videos. Graphic design skills for Instagram Story posts are drastically different than designing feed posts. Social Media Managers must expand their skill set to include storytelling and videography in a Story-driven world, vs. a feed post world. If you only have core competencies in feed posts, you may fall behind your competitors if you aren’t up to date on how to design for stories. This is why we recommend doctors outsource healthcare social media marketing to specialists in this area.

Do doctors use social media? (YES!)

If you have made it all the way to the end of this article and are still asking this question, we clearly didn’t do a good job convincing you why you need to be active on social media. Just kidding!

Social media is a great tool for medical doctors to increase visibility and give prospective patients a behind-the-scenes look into their practice.

However, doctors must always remember to use social media with caution because of patient confidentiality issues. It is important to make sure all posts on behalf of your practice are HIPAA compliant.

You also want to make sure you have a healthcare social media policy in place for your practice that has been approved by your lawyer.

Are Doctors on Instagram?

Yes. Do you know who else is also active on Instagram? Potential patients.

When it comes to outsourcing medical marketing services, is it better to have someone in-house or an external agency?

Instagram marketing should be done by someone in house who can record what you are doing during procedures and can share that content externally with our agency. We work alongside your team to tell them what to record. Without physically being in the office, it is challenging for an agency to manage your Instagram account. Facebook and LinkedIn management does not require the same level of in-person content curation for content output.

FINAL THOUGHTS

An organized feed is an organized practice.

The way your healthcare social media is organized is a representation of the way your practice runs. If your Instagram feed appears cluttered, unorganized or non-cohesive, people associate that with the effectiveness of your practice.

Pro Tip: Buy Story Apps. To add structure and an aesthetic to your story, many users purchase apps that allow you to layout multiple photos and choose different fonts for your story. You can look on the app store to find them. A popular story app is called Unfold.

Instagram for Doctors

How do Doctors use Instagram?

Medical hashtags on Instagram include:

#health
#healthcare
#dentist
#womeininmedicine
#cardiologist
#surgeon
#smilemakeover

How can doctors capitalize on video marketing for their practice?

As short-form videos gain popularity on social media, TikTok and Instagram Reels emerged as a new form of marketing to attract patients.

TikTok Vs. Instagram Reels

TikTok and Instagram Reels enable creators to share short-form videos. TikTok works off of an AI-based algorithm. The algorithm recommends content based on a variety of black box factors.

Instagram Reels prioritizes content from users that the creator follows. Engagement rate including likes, comments, and shares play a factor in content discovery on Instagram.

How are the algorithms different?

It is more difficult for new content creators to amass a large following on Instagram in a shorter duration of time. Here’s why..

The key difference between the “explore” tab and “for you” tab is the algorithmic weight applied to existing follower count. Some social media users have stated that it was easier to gain visibility on TikTok than it was on Instagram.

What are the main differences between TikTok Instagram Reels?

When comparing TikTok and Instagram Reels, you want to consider which platform has:

Higher engagement rate
Higher watch rate
Increased visibility in discovery
Higher conversion rate

Interaction, comments, saves and likes also play a role in visibility.

How can I grow my medical practice on social media?

One way to grow your medical practice is to utilize social media. Another way to get more patients is to grow your personal brand and consistently get quoted in the media. Need help gaining attention for your medical practice? We can create a comprehensive medical PR program to help your practice can publicity.

SOCIAL MEDIA FIRM FOR DOCTORS | INSTAGRAM MARKETING SERVICES FOR DOCTORS & DENTISTS

Start Marketing To Patients on Instagram Today

Not sure how to promote your practice on social media? Do not worry. We specialize in social media for doctors and hospitals. As an award-winning social media agency for physicians and healthcare providers, we create content that converts for doctors and surgeons. Contact us today to learn more about your Instagram services for private practice physicians. Plus, we will share Instagram bio ideas for doctors and review your current profile to see what could be improved in the first 15-minute call.

Ready to start marketing to reach new patients on Instagram? Contact us today to learn more about our Instagram marketing services for doctors and dentists. We offer medical marketing services for doctors including public relations, healthcare content marketing, and social media marketing. Gain more patients today.

Want more Instagram marketing ideas for healthcare brands? Snag our social media e-book here.

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PR that converts

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Transformative PR

Want PR that results in new patient leads and business development? We can help you land tier-1 media coverage in national media- the type of PR other physicians dream of. Become the talk of the town and fill your practice walls with accolades and press placements. When it comes to medical public relations, we deliver. Want in?

BOOK a discovery call.

HEALTHCARE SOCIAL MEDIA RESOURCES

Social Media Influencer Marketing: How To Work With Influencers To Grow Your Brand

Social Media Marketing Pricing

Healthcare Public Relations: Why Every Doctor Needs a Personal Brand

5 Reasons Your Social Media Campaign Bombed

13 Social Media Mistakes Your Practice is Making That Could Cost You Legal Trouble

10 Embarrassing Social Media Mistakes Your Practice Is Making

30 Tips To Boost Your Instagram Marketing

*Date last updated April 2024

Kris Ruby( CEO & Founder | Ruby Media Group )

KRIS RUBY is the CEO of Ruby Media Group, an award-winning public relations and media relations agency in Westchester County, New York. Kris Ruby has more than 15 years of experience in the Media industry. She is a sought-after media relations strategist, content creator and public relations consultant. Kris Ruby is also a national television commentator and political pundit and she has appeared on national TV programs over 200 times covering big tech bias, politics and social media. She is a trusted media source and frequent on-air commentator on social media, tech trends and crisis communications and frequently speaks on FOX News and other TV networks. She has been featured as a published author in OBSERVER, ADWEEK, and countless other industry publications. Her research on brand activism and cancel culture is widely distributed and referenced. She graduated from Boston University’s College of Communication with a major in public relations and is a founding member of The Young Entrepreneurs Council. She is also the host of The Kris Ruby Podcast Show, a show focusing on the politics of big tech and the social media industry. Kris is focused on PR for SEO and leveraging content marketing strategies to help clients get the most out of their media coverage.