Instagram Marketing Best Practices and Tips for Dentists

Social media platforms like Instagram have become essential marketing tools for dentists. With over 100 million monthly active users, Instagram is an excellent platform for reaching new patients and growing relationships with existing patients.

Keep in mind a large percentage of users use Instagram alongside other social media platforms, such as Facebook (82.9%), YouTube (75.5%) and TikTok (52/2%), according to We Are Social’s Global State of Digital October 2022. This means that it’s also important to maintain an active presence and your online reputation on other platforms as well. 

With so many businesses vying for attention in the Insta feed, it’s important to have a solid strategy in place to make the most of your Instagram presence. Here are some of the best practices and tips for dental practice Instagram marketing:

1. Define Your Instagram Marketing Goals

Before you start posting on Instagram, it’s essential to define your marketing goals. What do you want to achieve with your Instagram account? Some common goals for dentists include increasing brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, attracting new patients, engaging or growing your followers, or simply reinforcing relationships with existing patients. Once you’ve defined your goals, you need a strategy that will help you achieve them. 

2. Optimize Your Instagram Profile

Your Instagram profile is your practice’s digital storefront, so it’s crucial to make a good first impression. Your profile should include a clear and concise bio that tells visitors what your practice is all about. It should also include a high-quality profile picture or logo and a link to your website. You can add a call-to-action to your profile to encourage visitors to take action, such as booking an online appointment. Just released is a new option to add up to 5 links in your bio. Take advantage of this opportunity and consider adding links for any of the following: About us or meet the doctor/team, specials, reviews, blogs, or any particular treatments you want to promote like implants or aligners for example.

A bonus step that we recommend is adding Highlights to your profile. These could cover topics like, Meet The Team, Our Technology, Services We Offer, Smile Makeovers, etc.

3. Create a Consistent Aesthetic

A consistent aesthetic is essential for building brand recognition on Instagram. Your profile should have a cohesive look and feel that reflects your brand’s personality and values. This can include using a consistent color palette and visual style. You might want to highlight certain procedures that you’d like to focus on more, such as smile makeovers. In that example, you could line up smile makeover photos, such as before and afters, in a column in your grid (the layout on your page that shows everything you have posted). You can also create brand style guides in Canva with your brand colors and fonts to maintain a consistent look in your posts and stories. This consistency and attention to detail is so important as it represents your practice quality.

4. Post High-Quality Content

Instagram is a visual platform, so it’s essential to post high-quality images and videos. Your content should be visually appealing and engaging, and it should tell a story about your brand and practice. You can use a mix of practice and team shots, behind-the-scenes photos, photos or videos about the treatments that you want to be known for, social topics about your community, and some “just for fun” posts to show how friendly you are. Every post showcases your brand and should intend to connect with your audience in some way.

5. Use Relevant Hashtags

Hashtags are a powerful tool for increasing your reach on Instagram. When used correctly, they can help you get discovered by new patients and connect with people who are interested in what you have to offer. For dentists, the most important hashtags to use are location hashtags. These are going to help you get discovered by local people. Instagram recommends 3-5 hashtags as a best practice. Avoid using too many hashtags or using irrelevant ones as these won’t help you with local potential patients and can clutter the look of your posts. 

6. Engage With Your Audience

Engaging with your audience is crucial for building relationships on Instagram. Respond to comments and direct messages promptly, and make an effort to engage with your followers’ content. You don’t have to be on Instagram daily, but plan on a couple of times per week at minimum. Instagram pays attention to your interaction with other accounts, so don’t just follow other local businesses, take time to show other accounts some love by liking their content and commenting when you can. You can also consider giveaways and other internal marketing tools to help grow word of mouth, followers, and engagement.

7. Analyze Your Performance

Monitoring your Instagram performance is essential for measuring the effectiveness of your strategy. Use Instagram Insights to track metrics such as reach, engagement, and follower growth. Use this information to optimize your strategy and make informed decisions about future content. For example, if you are monitoring your Reels data, you may find your results vary greatly depending on whether you use photos vs. video in your Reel. It’s important to keep exploring the latest options that Instagram has to offer. Integrating transitions, using trending audio, and paying attention to how your preview thumbnail looks can all make a difference in your Reels reach and engagement. 

Instagram marketing can be a valuable tool for dentists looking to increase their brand awareness and connect with new and existing patients. By following these best practices and tips, you can create a successful Instagram strategy that helps you achieve your marketing goals. If you have questions or need help, reach out to us here. 

Learn about our Connect90 social media program designed to save time and help dentists get better results, here.