10520189_1461458810797716_1426435928_nI am an Instagram Junkie!

Yes, I admit it, I may have a problem and may need to submit myself to a 12 step program. haha!

In all seriousness though, I really do love Instagram and I use it all the time to share valuable content, inspire others and most importantly, share the the chiropractic story.

Next to storytelling, I believe Instagram is the second most under utilized marketing strategy in the chiropractic profession.

Everyone loves Instagram. It’s like one big party over there and it’s one of the world’s most popular social media platforms.

Instagram focuses on visual content. In fact, 90% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual—and visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text.

Instagram is no joke, there are 75 million active daily users on the platform and nearly 300 million users in all.

The thing I love most about Instagram is that you can share your thoughts and ideas through pictures and videos.

Plus they have super cool filters and other photo-editing capabilities to really make your photos “POP!”

You can make your photos look like pieces of art or even transform your photos into something that looks like it was taken in the 1940’s. Like these photos of me, my wife and daughter. We recently took these photos for a marketing promotion I did leveraging the upcoming Super Bowl. Pretty cool, huh?

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Did you know that 59% of big brands are active on Instagram?

So, here’s a question, if it’s good enough for big brands, isn’t it good enough for you?

I knew you would say, “Yes!”

So here’s what I want to do next. I want to show you how to incorporate Instagram into your businesses online marketing strategy.

Here are 5 ways for you to make sure you’re getting the most out of Instagram.

1) Set up and optimize your profile properly

Before you post your first picture or video make sure your profile is set up so that people know who you are and what you do and make sure your account is set to public (not private). By making it public others can follow your account with ease.

Instagram allows 150 characters in your Bio, so make sure you use this space wisely, but have fun with it!

As a chiropractor, you don’t want your bio to say, “I am a chiropractor. I love cats, the beach and eating fine foods.” Your bio is a chance for you to tell your story, so maybe share your mission with others. Make your bio purposeful!   You want your bio to grab attention so people will want to follow you.

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The most important thing you can do is include your website URL in your bio! This is the one place where Instagram allows you to insert a clickable link. If it were me though, I would use this link to either direct people to a testimonial page on your website, or even better, a squeeze page where you can offer them a free video or report in exchange for their email address. Instagram is an incredible lead generation tool! Remember, the ultimate goal of using any social media platform is to get them off social media and onto your email list! You are building an email list, right?

2) Utilize hashtags for every post

When you’re sharing your story, use relevant hashtags to categorize your content so users that are seeking out that type of content can discover your posts!

For example, since you’re a local chiropractic office, you’ll want to be sure to use the hashtag “#YourCityAndState” (i.e. #McKinneyTX and #McKinneyTexas” so that users searching the local hashtag will find your posts. If there is a local event taking place in your town or surrounding area, hashtag it as well. The purpose is to get local people who are following that hashtag to see your content.

instagram-hashtagThere’s so much you can do with this too! For example, I recently took some pictures of my daughter getting adjusted at our chiropractor’s office. So I used those pictures to tell a story. (I call this my Story Board Strategy) I then edited those photos in an App called WordSwag that allowed me to place text on the images. I then posted those images to Instagram and hashtagged them, #McKinneyTX and #McKinneyTexas. Now, anyone following that hashtag in our local area will find these photos of Dr. Bo Brantley’s office and be able to see Baleigh’s story which explains WHY she uses chiropractic for wellness reasons and how it keeps her healthy. Each picture was a continuation of the story based off the previous picture. Here’s what that looks like…

pic2How impressive is that? Talk about getting noticed! It’s an advertisement for your office!! …and it’s FREE!!!

3) Share valuable content while showing off your fun side

Now, this is really important, so take note of this. You don’t want to hijack your follower’s feeds on a consistent basis.

What do I mean by that?

Well, when you use the Story Board Strategy, you’re literally posting 5-15 pictures right in a row, so when your followers are scrolling their feed, all they’ll see is you for the next 5-15 pictures right in a row and if you do that every day, it’s going to get annoying. So I don’t recommend using the Story Board Strategy every time you make a post. Only use this strategy once or twice a month. Your main focus should be on sharing content that will be valuable to your target audience.

As a chiropractor you should focus on posting pictures and videos that share exercise tips, nutritional tips, inspiring quotes, posture tips, subluxation education, healthy recipes, recent news on medication dangers, and anything health and wellness related, but don’t forget to place high importance on showing off your fun side, too! Like these two posts I recently made…

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Share photos that are related to your brand but that also give followers a glimpse into your office culture and personality. For example, photos of your staff, in-office events, dinner events, maybe pics of you hugging and high fiving patients and more! This is your chance to let your creativity shine!

 

 

 

4) Don’t forget about videos

18rf8fhni5we4jpgInstagram videos give you the opportunity to take 15 seconds to entertain your followers in some of the most creative ways possible. You can create made-for-Instagram commercials using apps like Flip-A-Gram or VONT to show off your products/services or you can ask your followers to share their most pressing questions and utilize this tool to answer their questions LIVE and position yourself as an industry expert! Either way, people LOVE videos, so why not take advantage of this capability?

 

5) Follow and engage your prospects

Instagram is a two-way street. One tried and true way of increasing your following and engagement on your content is by following others and engaging on their content. Search local hashtags like #YourCityAndState to locate people in your area and then follow them.

You can also find local businesses that are on Instagram and start following them as well!

Follow relevant users and then periodically engage on their posts by liking their photos or commenting. However, you don’t want to sound “spammy”, so don’t bombard them with your sales pitch.

So, the next time a patient bakes some awesome treats for your office, you have an awesome health tip to share, or one of your patients has a break-through in their treatment, be sure to join in on the fun and “Instagram that”!

 

chris burfield head shotAnd remember to follow me on Instagram for more marketing tips, practice building advice and just straight up inspiration!Here’s my Instagram account: @ChiropracticUnderground

In the mean time,

KEEP SAVING LIVES!!

Chris Burfield

Marketing Strategist and Chiropractic Warrior!

Chris blogs at http://www.ChiropracticUnderground.com where he teaches doctors how to successfully market their practice from the inside out.