Instagram for Dentists: Ultimate Guide 2024

Introduction to Instagram for dentists

There is no doubt by now that you know Instagram can be an indispensable asset to your dental practice’s marketing strategy - how it fits and how to perfect it is another story.‍

Lucky for you, we’ll break down exactly how you can leverage Instagram to market directly to patients, and how you can shorten the journey from seeing a post to booking an appointment with your office. To help you do this, we’ll cover the following:‍

What sets Instagram apart for dentists and their patients
Important Instagram features in marketing for dentists
How dentists are using Instagram to achieve their goals
Getting started with Instagram: set up, how to post, and more!
How to convert followers to new patients

Important Instagram features for dental marketing

Social media platforms are constantly evolving to add new features and adapt to stay on top of current trends, but the ones you need to be aware of include using vertical video, creating interactive content, and streaming with Instagram Live.

Vertical videos using IGTV

Let’s start with vertical video. Launched almost three years ago, Instagram offers IGTV, which is a feature within the platform that lets you post full-screen, vertical videos that can be up to an hour. Here, you can post practice walk-throughs to demonstrate COVID-19 safety protocols, introductory videos with new dentists or hygienists, or other inside looks at your practice. The main benefit of IGTV is how mobile-friendly it is, compared to posting a video on the feed. IGTV offers a cleaner, more visually impactful experience for the viewer because it takes up the width of the mobile device they are watching on.

Instagram Live

Instagram Live is a neat feature that lets you interact with your followers directly. With Live, you broadcast live video, and viewers are able to comment, ask questions, or react with emojis while you talk. This is a great opportunity to speak to them directly and get their pressing concerns answered.

Instagram Stories

Instagram also offers many ways for users to actively engage with your content, particularly via Instagram Stories. When you post photos and videos to the Story section, you can add interactive elements such as polls or Q&A boxes. Using Stories does require a high degree of engagement from the practice since these posts disappear after a day. But it’s worth the effort since after introducing stories, Instagram saw users spend 30 minutes per day on the app engaging with posts.

These features illustrate why Instagram marketing for dentists is so much different than traditional ad campaigns. First, Instagram as a platform is integrated into patients’ everyday lives, and there is more of a chance they will see and interact with your content when it’s sitting alongside the personal and entertainment accounts users already follow. Second, Instagram allows for two-way interactions between a patient and their dentists. They invite patients to ask questions and allow you to seek out their feedback.

Grid posts

While Instagram has recently shifted its focus to video streaming features, posts remain the core of this platform. Standard posts consist of an image and an accompanying caption. These posts are featured in a grid on your account page and on the feeds of your followers.

How it helps with marketing for dentists

Taken together, they provide a comprehensive visual representation of your dentist or practice and are the easiest way to post. These posts are a quick way of getting content out to your audience; especially content with a visual focus.‍

Stories

Stories are interactive photo or video snippets that last only 24 hours. These can be used to create loyalty with your audience, as they will tune in for exclusive content that will only be there for a short time. They are also appropriate for information that’s changing quickly, or that will only impact people for a short time. You can also use their interactive elements such as polls or Q&As to get follower feedback.

How it helps with marketing for dentists

For a dental practice, stories can be used to share information that will only be relevant for the short-term. For example, if your practice will be closed for the day, you can share this in your story, rather than a standard grid post, and people that are paying attention will see it that day. By the next day, this message will be gone, so those unaffected will never know the difference.

Direct messages

Be sure to keep your eye on these. Direct messages allow patients to reach out to you directly with a question they have about your practice or booking. You can respond to them directly and point them in the right direction.‍

Reels

Reels are a newer Instagram feature meant to compete with TikTok. They are videos, up to one minute long, meant to be funny, entertaining, or informative. A popular format for these is day-in-the-life features that show what a professional does during their day, along with other content that showcases personality.‍

The impact of Instagram for dentists

Getting started with Instagram: how to get setup and posting

If you’re new to Instagram or haven’t used it for business before, you’ll need to start by getting your account set up and getting comfortable with the features the platform has to offer. Let’s get started with the most basics.

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Setting Up Your Account

The first thing to do is set up your account. Follow the steps below.

Download the Instagram app for your smartphone. You can only create an account on mobile, as opposed to using a desktop computer.‍
Click the button to create a new account. Use an email address or link it to a Facebook account to get started. If your practice already has a Facebook account, it would be valuable to link the two for cross-promotion.‍
Once the account is created, switch it to a business profile by going to settings and the account section. a. While doing this, select “dentist” as your category.

After you set up your account, draft a biography and select an image for your profile picture. Setting up an appropriate bio will be key to communicating with viewers, followers, and potential patients what you want them to gain from visiting your profile.

First, enter your name. Sounds simple, but you’ll want to make sure you include both your name and your practice name for engagement purposes. Depending on the page focus, you can either put your name or your practice name first. Here are a few possible variations:

Title + Your Full Name
Title + Your Full Name + Qualifications and Affiliations
Practice Name + Your Full Name + Title
Practice Name + Your Full Name

Your handle/username is the title featured at the very top of your profile and is how others can search for you. It should be your practice’s name or your name.‍‍

Finally, you will write the bio section, which is limited to 150 characters. Your bio should be creative and engaging with a simple description of your practice. You will also want to leave room to link to your website or online booking so patients can easily get from your Instagram to an appointment.

How to make your first post

The initial months of your Instagram are key to building a brand and developing your audience. New accounts with few posts can sometimes look empty or incomplete, so it’s important to establish a regular posting cadence to promote engagement. Drafting your posts ahead of time and creating a content calendar are great ways to start. Also, don’t forget to share a link to your Instagram account in your patient emails and on your website!

Here are the steps to creating a grid post on Instagram:‍

Select a photo or image to share. Examples could include a photo of you, the practice, teeth before and after photos, or an infographic.‍
Write a caption and include hashtags for greater post visibility. Hashtags should include things your audience would be searching for, like a dentist, dental practices, teeth, teeth cleaning, etc. You can also piggyback off of current events to get a boost from popular hashtags. Is your local hockey team playing on Friday? Write a post in support of the team and promise that you’ll be there if any players lose a tooth.‍
After your post, you will want to measure its success. Did it lead to appointments booked? Gain followers? Get good engagement through likes and comments? Success will be defined by what your key goals are for your Instagram account as it relates to the business goals of your dental practice. An online appointment booker, like NexHealth, is a great way to measure if your content has resonated with your audience and led people to book appointments.

Plan future content using a content calendar

A content calendar will empower you not only to plan ahead but also to create a cohesive brand and vision for your account. You’ll want to come up with a goal for your account, then make sure the posts you plan contribute to achieving it.‍

For example, let’s say you are a new practice looking to establish yourself in the area by gaining 1,000 followers. For the first month, your posts would center around introducing your practice and dentists, communicating what makes your practice different than others, and interacting with community groups.

Other tips on creating a content calendar, from the social experts at Hootsuite, include:‍

Make a content library for your assets: Gather photos, infographics, and other relevant images, and keep them in one place to easily access when you post. Planning out a content calendar will be easier if you have some things ready to go.‍
Establish a workflow: Designate someone who will do the posting or manage the account. You may also want to tag in someone to serve as a proofreader before you post.‍
Invite your team to review and use their feedback to improve: Your team offers a diverse perspective from your community. Their input on what to post will be valuable to expand your content and engage with more people.

Now that you have worked hard to create an attractive account and establish a posting schedule, it’s time to make the most of your account.‍

A key goal of your Instagram account should be to convert viewers and followers to new patients. That means you have to guide followers from looking at a post to scheduling an appointment in the fewest steps possible using a real-time booking tool.