Did you know that more than one in eight people on this planet use Instagram each month? It’s true. According to Statista, more than 1 billion people use Instagram each month1 … and that number is growing.
So, if you own a physical therapy clinic and you’re not on Instagram, you’re likely missing out on some big opportunities. Here’s why:
Instagram provides a unique, image-centric way for you to interact with your patients. You can feature photos or videos to show off your practice and provide your audience with an inside look at physical therapists in action.
You can share back exercises and healthy recipes. You can introduce your new on-site massage therapist. You can educate the masses about physical therapy through videos and infographics. The sky’s the limit.
But, you have to execute. How? Keep reading.
Instagram Posting Tips for PTs
Instagram is a social media platform, so think “social” first. And, don’t be too salesy with your posts.
Instagram (specifically posting) is mostly a branding strategy, so your focus should be more about building awareness about your clinic and services. Your goal is to provide visual posts that encourage engagement from your audience.
Below are some Instagram posting tips by the Net Health outpatient therapy marketing team:
1) Tag People. Tagging people is a great way to get others involved with your posts. Keep in mind that if you tag patients, then you’ll likely want written consent.
2) Add Location. This is basic, but very important. Always add your office as a location. This is key to confirming to your audience that you’re a real business. It’s about credibility.
3) #hashtag. Use appropriate hashtags for each post. When choosing a hashtag, we encourage you to think of both relevance and volume. This means to always choose a hashtag that’s relevant to the media and description of your Instagram post. Then, choose a hashtag that many people use.
Pro Tip: Creating your own celever #hashtag is cute, but it likely will not help with engagement.
4) Show off your employees. Physical therapy is a service that is provided by people – real, interesting, educated and dynamic people. This adds a level of human touch and puts a human face behind your clinic’s brand.
Pro Tip: Don’t introduce people through long-winded bios. Adding personality or humor to your employee features will heighten interest from your followers.
5) Show off your services. Did you know that we treat [FILL IN THE BLANK]? Shockingly, most people do not fully understand what physical therapists do. This is a great way to educate your audience and expand mindshare within your community.
6) Show off patient results. This is a great opportunity to show the value of your services. Before and after images are great, and patient success stories are awesome, too! Again, though, be sure to first get the patient’s consent.
7) DIY Tips. Similar to showing your services, provide value to your audience by offering some DIY tips that relate to your ideal patient demographic. Along with offering value, this establishes professional credibility while helping educate your audience about physical therapy.
Pro Tip: Self-management, exercise, and stretching tips are content gold for PTs.
8) Video. When it comes to engaging content, video is king. Keep them short and sweet, and quickly get to the point because you have 60 seconds for a post and 3 to 15 seconds for Instagram Story videos. For videos in your Instagram timeline, all tips above are highly recommended.
Here are some more tips on using Instagram video:
- To maximize engagement, quickly get to the point in your video. You have about 3 to 5 seconds to capture someone’s attention, otherwise they’ll keep scrolling through their timelines.
- Nobody cares about videography. So, don’t let the fact you’re unable to produce a 60-second James Cameron-quality video stop you from sharing your own content. It’s the content that matters, not the production quality.
- Creativity is your biggest strength. Adding variety to your video posts can keep your audience wanting more. Typically, having more than one admin is recommended as this provides versatility of your video content.
- Use Instagram Stories Video. 500 million-plus users view Instagram Stories each day.2 These videos have a one-day lifespan, so they add a level of urgency. Plus, they’re located at the top of the Instagram feed!
Again, Instagram posts are all about building your clinic’s brand. Do this consistently, and you will build audience, increase engagement, and get people interested in your clinic and services.
This doesn’t happen overnight, though. Just like any content marketing strategy, consistency over time is key to growing your clinic. So, make it part of your daily or weekly routine, and you’ll certainly find the effort pays off in the long run. Want to learn more about social media, Instagram, or your digital marketing? Contact us to learn how we can leverage these tools to bring business through your door.
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References:
1 Statista, “Instagram – Statistics & Facts,” February 21, 2021
2 Instagram for Business, “Did You Know 500M People Interact with Instagram Stories Every Day?,” July 24, 2021
