A few years ago, it may have seemed like just a fun idea to have an Instagram account as a plastic surgeon. But today, it is absolutely essential that you have one. With over 800 million users, many of whom love plastic surgery content, it’s one of the best possible social networks for ISAPS Plastic Surgeons! As Instagram is a visually based social media network, it lends itself perfectly to the sharing of high-quality and entertaining plastic surgery content. This can include before-and-after photos or even videos of surgery in progress (be sure to get your patients’ consent before posting any content of them). Here are some tips to get you started building up your plastic surgery following on Instagram.

1. Post High-Quality Content

All the marketing and social networking in the world won’t be able to help you build an Instagram following if your content is just lousy. Aesthetics are as important with Instagram as they are with facial surgery. Instagram is an image-based social media platform, meaning that you need to put your best foot – and content – forward, if you want anyone to follow you.
Every photo and video you put up on Instagram should be high-resolution, so your followers will get an accurate view of what you do as a plastic surgeon. With the advent of more 4K monitors and exceptionally high-resolution devices like the iPhone X, you want to upload your content at the highest image quality possible. Images and videos always need to be well-framed, steady, and in focus. Before posting, you should learn how to properly use Instagram’s editing tools to make the images the best they can possibly be. And don’t forget to put a filter on them!

2. Use Hashtags

You want people to be able to find your content, right? Well, hashtags are how you do it. Becoming an expert at using hashtags is non-negotiable if you want to grow your following on Instagram. As hashtags are searchable, this could become the primary method of how you bring new people to your plastic surgery practice online.
One of the biggest mistakes plastic surgeons who are inexperienced with Instagram make is tagging their photos and videos with the hashtag #plasticsurgery. This is an incredibly commonplace hashtag, and your content will quickly get buried under the mountain of other plastic surgery photos that others are posting. It’s better to use a hashtag for the specific type of procedure that you are performing, like #breastenhancement. If you want some help figuring out which hashtags to use, you can check out the content from some of the most popular plastic surgeons on Instagram. Learn what hashtags they use, and begin using them as well to get your content out there.

3. Tell a Story with Your Content

We don’t necessarily mean to tell a literal story, but if you just put up photos and videos without giving them any context, it can be difficult for an audience to engage with them.

When you are posting your content, make sure that there are great descriptions alongside, that will engage the viewer. These descriptions don’t need to be long, but they do need to be well-written: explaining exactly what the procedure is, telling a little about the patient, and maybe even teasing the eventual results. Tell a little bit of a story, and your audience will be drawn in.

4. Piggyback Off Other Social Media

Do you know that Instagram is owned by Facebook?

Social networks nowadays are all related and tied up with each other. If you have your Facebook account integrated into Twitter, your tweets will be posted to Facebook as well. It’s the same with Instagram. If you have a big Facebook following, you can get more Instagram followers by integrating your Instagram account with FB. Every photo and video you put up on Instagram will also be shared on your Facebook account. Your followers on Facebook may just migrate to your Instagram account as well, once they see your Instagram content.

5. Highlight Who You Are

With the popularity of Instagram as a plastic surgery content hub, there are countless profiles out there run by plastic surgeons. You need to know what makes you different from the rest, and highlight that on your profile page.

If you wrote your Instagram bio in about five minutes, it’s time to delete it and put some work into writing a new one. Every one of the 150 characters needs to count. You want to include relevant keywords, the name of your practice, have a call-to-action, and convey your personality. Don’t forget about your photo! It needs to be as high-quality as all of your other content. A professional headshot can be an excellent investment to make, both for your online social media profiles and for your physical business cards and marketing materials.

Another way that you can differentiate your profile from other plastic surgery accounts is to post videos of yourself, or maybe even your office staff. You don’t just want people coming to your account because it is a collection of plastic surgery content, you want people coming to your account because it is your account. So make sure that your content features you prominently.