Why is Instagram marketing such a big opportunity for dental practices?

Instagram is the third most popular social media platform today, sitting only behind Facebook and YouTube. It’s really not all that surprising, either, that the platform has over 2 billion active users across the globe. Why? Because this is a platform designed for people to share amazing images and videos with anyone and everyone who cares to check them out.

And for dentists, Instagram marketing creates a unique and highly visible opportunity. If you are looking for marketing ideas for your dental office, Instagram is well worth your while, and Jameson Management & Marketing is here to tell you why.

Today’s social media users spend over 143 minutes on their favorite platforms each day. If that doesn’t totally blow your mind, consider that 500 million people use the Instagram stories feature each day. And 95 million photos and videos are shared on the platform each day, too. Just think of all the opportunities you have to share photos of successful smile makeovers and healthy teeth and gums with established and prospective patients.

Top 5 Instagram Marketing Tips for Dentists

But how do you make the most of the platform? Today we’re sharing our top 5 tips to help your dental practice start Instagram marketing out on the right foot. 

1. Post high-quality visuals.

While Facebook is primarily for sharing status updates through text, Instagram takes a different approach—videos and images. But for a post to perform well, you can’t just include any old photo or video snippet. With Instagram, you want to post the best of the best.

When capturing images, use a smartphone with a quality camera, as this will significantly affect clarity and color. For best results, aim for photos with a width of at least 1080 pixels and an aspect ratio between 1.91:1 and 4:5. This sizing helps your images appear sharp on users’ screens, avoiding any pixelation or blurriness.

When it comes to videos, Instagram offers several ways to show off your practice, including reels and stories. Stories are a great choice for quick updates, behind-the-scenes glimpses, or brief patient testimonials. Just keep in mind that they disappear after 24 hours. 

Reels, however, allow you to share short, engaging videos that stay on your profile. This makes them a good option for demonstrating treatments, offering quick dental tips, or highlighting a patient’s smile transformation. Don’t feel like you need expensive equipment; your smartphone is often all you need to capture and share authentic, high-quality content that resonates with your audience.

2. Be consistent.

If there is one thing to know about Instagram, it’s that consistency counts. If you post too much, your audience might get tired of you, resulting in unfollows. If you post too little, you might not appear in feeds, and then all your efforts will be for nothing.

As a general rule of thumb, we suggest that dentists using Instagram post three times per week, and never more than three times per day. So this might mean you share reels on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. And if you want to get a story in there, we suggest Wednesday afternoons just before 4 p.m. That said, pay attention to the activity you see when you post. You might need to shift those days and times based on what resonates best with your audience.

3. Interact with your followers.

It isn’t enough to simply throw a post out there and walk away from the app. Pay attention to people who respond to your posts and be sure to respond back to them. People love to know that you are watching—something commonly referred to as “social listening” in marketing speak. As you get more followers, be sure to pay attention to what they are posting as well. Liking relevant posts or even sharing great smiles from your channel can go a long way in helping you get in front of more of the right people.

4. Use relevant hashtags.

Aside from great visuals, hashtags are where it’s at with Instagram and social media marketing. Hashtags expand your reach on Instagram by making your posts discoverable to a wider audience. When you add relevant hashtags, your posts are grouped with others sharing similar content, making it easier for users interested in those topics to find you. This is particularly helpful for dental practices, as potential patients or other dental professionals may search popular hashtags to find information.

For dentists, some of the most effective hashtags include #dentistry, #dentist, #dental, #smile, #teeth, #dentalcare, #dentalclinic, #cosmeticdentistry, #oralhealth, #dentalimplants, #orthodontics, #teethwhitening, and #smilemakeover. Adding specific tags like #dentistrylife or #dentistlife helps humanize your content, giving patients a glimpse into the everyday experiences of a dental professional. Be strategic with hashtags, balancing popular ones with niche tags relevant to your practice.

5. Show off your team and practice.

Even though Instagram lives online, it can help you create personal connections with your patients and those in your community. For patients who experience dental anxiety, seeing you and your team “live” can help them shake off a bit of that fear before their next dental appointment.

We recommend shooting some behind-the-scenes videos to help people become more familiar with your practice. And creating fun videos of your team at work can help forge the kind of connection that sets your practice apart.

Jameson Marketing can help your website content and Instagram work together.

Many business owners, including dental practice owners, look to social media to help drive traffic to their websites. And though Instagram makes it a bit tricky to include live links in your content, your videos and photos can help drive more people to your website so that they can learn more about your practice.

But making it all work together takes time and effort. And if that isn’t something you have readily available, you might want to call on a dental marketing agency to take this work off your plate. This is where Jameson Management & Marketing can help. We can take care of it all, from website development to content creation to social media strategy. All you have to do is contact us today to get started.