OPTICAL PRISM | FEATURE in your optical boutique and invite patients to snap and share photos of themselves in their favourite frames . Keep it simple with natural lighting and an uncluttered background , or lean into it and provide a flattering ring light and branded decals on the wall . Either way , ensure your Instagram handle is clearly displayed so the patient can tag you in their post — and let their followers know where they got their new frames .
Build Your Community Have your reception staff invite current patients to follow the practice and display a sign at the front desk with your username on it . Include your feed on your website and invite your email list to follow you , too . Within Instagram , be sure to respond to comments from your followers . And when they tag you in posts or stories , thank them for supporting a local business .
Earning New Followers Beyond inviting your current patients to follow you , you can reach new potential patients in a few ways :
• Find other local businesses with similar clientele and see who is following them — and follow those same people ;
• Include your town or city in the designated field when you post and use the geographic hashtag relevant to your locale , like # YVR ( for Vancouver ) or # Toronto ;
• Use other relevant hashtags in your captions , like # EyeCare , # NewGlasses , or # VisionTherapy .
Stay Focused for the Long Haul
Finding success on Instagram takes time and energy , so be prepared to commit to regular posting for at least a few quarters before you see results . Be sure to ask new patients how they learned about you so you can trace their journey to your exam room . And get familiar with your Instagram stats , which are available with an Instagram Business account , to see how each post stacks up Posting quality content every week that reflects the quality of care you provide will go a long way to connecting meaningfully with new patients in the months and years to come . OP
Zoey Duncan is a content strategist at Marketing4ECPs where she crafts custom content imbued with each client ’ s particular voice .
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