Instagram is the social media platform of the age, perhaps more so than all other networks we’re familiar with. And being able to utilize the free services of an Instagram profile to benefit your plastic surgery practice is so cost-effective. And even if you don’t quite know how it works, in the years Instagram has existed alongside other social media accounts, there arose lucrative, legitimate jobs and people in those jobs that can help you today.
So…what’s the problem with Instagram accounts exactly?
Engagement across the platform
The engagement rate, that is, the rate at which people comment on pictures and videos on Instagram, appears to be dropping. More engagement is ideal. High engagement is Instagram users frequently interacting with posts, Instagram influencers, and influencer posts.
So there’s no engagement with influencers on Instagram?
It isn’t ‘no’ engagement; rather, it’s ‘low’ engagement.
But what’s happening?
On possibly the most visual social platform, one would think cosmetic procedures would be more appealing; able to reach a target audience of people unsatisfied, or having trouble with certain areas on the body.
For all people, regardless of gender, socio-economic status, income, height, weight, hair color, eye color, body type, medical history, what have you, et cetera, et cetera.
We all have areas on our bodies we want looking or feeling a certain shape, a certain measurement, a certain way; but don’t have the time, patience, or lifestyle to improve what we want to improve. That takes money, energy, time, and other resources we can’t afford.
So, makeup. Hairpieces. Cosmetic procedures. Plastic surgery. Pricey, but worth it in the long run.
And anyone who finds Instagram influencers will also find that many know this and take advantage of it. It could even be argued from a practicality standpoint from any people who work with influencers, particularly rich and famous influencers.
“Have them spend their money on a procedure, so we all know what the results are like. The influencer posts/likes/comments/engagement will earn them some money and help us decide whether to spend or save ours. Win-win.”
Well, Not Quite
An influencer marketing campaign is not that simple, and even a business that finds influencers is not 100% guaranteed success, as the numbers show. An analysis of more than 1.4 million posts from January to mid-June this year found overall engagement fell by 1.1 percent from earlier in the year, with the average number of interactions down by 18 percent since the start of the year, writes Savannah Marie.
A chorus of groans from any plastic surgeon (really, anybody) considering influencer campaigns. Does anything work? Anything at all?
All the sponsored posts and likes on Instagram are not a replacement for the baseline advice of any social media marketing strategy: thinking like your customers and finding out what they want.
Some Tips
It’s been shown in studies that, generally, videos tend to get more comments, and therefore more engagement, compared to most other posts on a sponsored Instagram.
Even popular, viral videos get more interaction than still reaction pics or memes (hence the popularity of short-video content platforms like Vine and TikTok).
Know what type of influencer works for your campaign.
A micro-influencer is very niche, very specific, has a smaller but stronger following. A micro-influencer is very good if they’ve had a cosmetic procedure that is your plastic surgeon’s specialty, like breast-centric procedures or severe acne treatments.
A macro influencer is more popular and widespread; doesn’t tend to stick in one specific box and has variety in their following.
A macro influencer is very good if your plastic surgery practice has several different types of cosmetic procedures and has an all-around good reputation in all of these procedures. For example, having no bad reviews about a botched surgery or laser treatment “gone wrong” attached to your practice.
With hashtags, less is more. Too many hashtags can be mental or visual overload for many, especially those short on time. Or patience. Either way, hashtags should be utilized for relevancy, not trying to be noticed first in the news feed or search engine.
Relevancy keeps you out of trouble from SEO and is far more helpful to potential patients, or anyone just searching for information. General advice tends towards 4-7 hashtags per post, but no more than 10.
Challenge yourself, your creativity, and keep your brain in shape; figure out how to best hashtag a post using less than five hashtags for starters.
Organic posts are being overwhelmed by sponsored posts, which stretches engagement rates out to the point that nothing appears to hold for long. So don’t add to the stretch. Keep things simple, specific, and small, and the following that leads to more patients will come, thankful that you, at least, aren’t bombarding them with 30-50 feral, sponsored posts a day.