Want to create a social media presence for your clinic but not sure where to start?

Social Media can be daunting for many people especially with algorithms and apps constantly growing and changing. 

We want to make the process of getting seen on social media easier for you so here are 25 tips to get you started.

Getting set up, things to remember:

1. Keep your username simple and memorable, stick to the name of your business (if that is taken think about adding a location or a simple word before or after ie ‘XXXClinicLondon’ or ‘theXXXclinic’
2. Add a catchy ‘about us/bio’ including emojis (you could use the location pin before your location or add a shopping cart before your website link)
3. Switch to a professional Instagram account and set up a facebook business page 
4. Add buttons to your social medias - instagram will give you the option to add buttons to your profile for a shop, contact, bookings etc so your audience have a smooth journey from finding your page to getting booked in!
5. Follow accounts that can inspire you both personally but also professionally (its always handy to follow accounts whose feeds/ posts you see and love, that way you can keep up to date with what is trending and how to adapt your feed to what is currently popular)
6. Follow hashtags to see what others in your industry are doing! This is good for motivation and inspiration.
7. Join community groups and pages on facebook - great way to get your name and work out there!

Engagement:

1. Like & respond to comments so your followers see you are active
2. Use stories - there are a lot of interactive ways to engage your audience with stories including: stickers/gifs, polls and q+as… use them to your advantage to get to know your audience. Share snippets of your work day to keep people engaged when you can!
3. Share other people’s work on your stories to build good relationships with others in the industry (sharing is caring)
4. Keep an eye on your insights to know whats working and what to not waste time one

Creation:

1. Choose an aesthetic to stick to for your feed - this means selecting a colour palette and fonts to alternate and use on the majority of your posts so your business looks professional and thought about when people search for you online. 
2. Always capture content - every treatment is a good opportunity for more content, even if you don’t use it straight away, its good to have a bank to come back to if you have a period of time where you are unable to work.
3. Show your face and be personable, people want to follow others that they can feel connected to and inspired by, show your followers who you are as well as your brand.
4. Reels are where its at! Not everyone has time to make and post 5 reels a week, but social media platforms are currently pushing reels to get further reach then any other type of content trying to post a couple on your page might help you find new followers - reels do not have to have a huge production to them, they can be super easy (just grab some before and after videos and put them to a trending audio) it will take you 5 minutes and could boost your reach to thousands!
5. Use Canva - Canva is a graphic design platform, used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, documents and other visual content. The app includes pre made templates you can edit to suit your social media feed. Canva is free for every individual/team. However, if you want to unlock premium features, you can upgrade to Canva Pro.
6. Use apps such as Pinterest to find quotes and memes etc that will work for your industry on your feed, people want to feel inspired and see content that makes them laugh, break up you before and after feed with some entertainment!
7. Host giveaways and promotions exclusive for your social media followers.
8. Hashtags, use hashtags on each post relevant to your industry. You can use websites like best-hashtags to search key words to find the top trending related hashtags.
9. Consistent imagery and videos (use a set background and angles for all of your before and afters)
10. Keep an eye on popular trends emerging on each platform. If you notice an audio or visual that comes up a lot on your feed and it aligns with your messaging, then it’s a great idea to capitalise on it to drive engagement. Just remember to make it your own, don't copy an exact post from another account!

More advanced tips:

• Set up a Meta Business Suite profile through facebook to manage all of your Instagram and facebook necessities. On here you can track insights including follow count and reach as well as planning and scheduling posts ready to go live at the times your followers are most active! (alternatively you could look into another scheduling and management tool like Hootsuite)
• Make a content strategy and pre-made content. Think about your target audience and what they will be interested in seeing. Create a strategy and weekly/monthly plan for posts that will go live. You could get this done in a few days and be set for a month or more with all of your content and copy done!
• Invest in lighting and a good camera: getting a ring light will enhance your before and after imagery as well as doubling up as a good tripod to film parts of treatments to showcase on socials (people want to see behind the scenes) (always remember to get the permission from your client to post them on you socials) - You don’t need a huge fancy camera to get good images, especially with the camera on latest iPhones etc… however a DSLR camera will naturally give you a more professional, polished image with better focus and zoom.
• Consider reaching out to influencers - one of the toughest things about maintaining a social media presence is gaining the trust of your audience. If you are able to partner with influencers in your niche to help you promote your products more organically this will help build the trust of your followers as well as gaining some new followers from there page too! (You could offer them a free treatment in return for a social media story promoting your clinic - you could also give them a voucher code for their followers to use when they book with you for a 10% discount)