Social Media Marketing 101: Crafting an Effective Instagram Post for Your Dental Practice

Leveraging social media marketing on Instagram for your dental practice is all about finesse. You want your brand to shine through while you attract new patients and cultivate a deeper sense of loyalty with current patients.

There’s a reason social media marketing is now a profession unto itself. It’s not as simple as posting whenever you remember to or treating your business accounts like your personal ones.

You need to decide which types of social media are most relevant to your particular patient base. You also should have a regular posting schedule and a means of developing high quality content such as blog posts and photographs.

Once you’ve done all that, you actually have to post something. In this blog, we’ll focus on constructing a clear, concise, and professional Instagram post. This social media platform is a great option for dentists with patients in the 20-40 age range, as well as those looking to attract a younger demographic.

Constructing an Instagram Post for Your Dental Practice

Here are a couple ideas for what to post on Instagram:

1. Team Member Q & A: A pic of one of your team members in action, with two ‘get to know me’ facts about their interests outside of the dental practice and one fact about why they love their job.

2. A patient before and after photo: Image from a cosmetic case that shows off your skillset and success with a short explanation.

3. A dental tip: A simple and useful tip that patients may not know.

These are just places to start if you’re feeling stuck. Remember to never simply post random content and never use stock photos. The images accompanying posts must be original, regardless of whether you add some sort of graphic or typography or whether you use a collage framework.

Instagram, like all social media platforms, is unique. It has certain quirks, such as the ability to write a long caption. Your caption length should vary depending on the post, but make sure it’s never an essay. For example, on a dental tip post keep it short and sweet, limiting yourself to a sentence. For a Team Member Q&A though, you could write a short paragraph or a numbered list.

Finally, make sure to use hashtags effectively without going overboard. Hashtags help people who don’t already follow you find your posts. You have two options here and it’s suggested you combine them.

Add 2-3 hashtags that are more broad and general after the caption, like #dentist or #smile. Then, have one or two specific hashtags related to your brand that you rotate, using them often but not always. This could be #[yourdentalpracticename] or some variation of that.

Bonus Tip: Keep it simple.

This cannot be emphasized enough. It’s easy to go nuts on social media platforms and accidentally shoot yourself in the foot by confusing your audience. With a clear message, quality media, and easy-to-understand (proofread) writing, you’ll be well on your way to social media success.