How to grow an Instagram audience with a proven strategy

Most aesthetic clinicians want to grow their aesthetic business using social media but have no idea where to even begin. And that is exactly where Dr Tim Pearce was when he first started too, until he realised that to get engagement and more followers, he needed to provide his audience with value, and not just pictures of his car!

In this blog, Dr Tim quizzes his wife, business partner and creator of the Dream Customer Attraction Method, Miranda Pearce who helped him grow his social media audience. They discuss why it is never too late to be successful on Instagram, and how to get your content right, and Miranda shares some great tips for creating engaging content that will grow your audience and increase bookings. You can also learn more from Miranda in her recent blog detailing how to build a successful aesthetic brand through social media.

Sign up for a FREE 1-hour Marketing Webinar for medical professionals with Miranda Pearce on Thursday 28th September 2023. This free webinar is tailor-made for aesthetic clinicians. Unlock a proven, simple formula that aligns seamlessly with your daily clinical practice, all designed to drive more patients through your clinic doors.

It is never too late to get started on Instagram

Back in 2019, Dr Tim had approximately 5,000 followers on Instagram; now, he has approximately 150,000 – that is around a 2900% increase over 3 or 4 years. Had he known how to grow his Instagram account so rapidly when he started his aesthetic career in 2008, what would he have done differently, with the benefit of hindsight and his current knowledge?

He explains that the biggest thing that held him back from properly exploring social media in the first place was a fear that he had already ‘missed the boat’, something that he still hears many other aesthetic clinicians remark regularly. Viewing established and successful Instagram accounts at the time, he reinforced his own beliefs that their secret was simply to have ‘started when it was easy’ and he was now too late. Analysing this human response, you see that we often look for excuses for not doing or trying something. He was not too late, he just needed to ‘go for it’.

Producing the ‘right’ content for your Instagram followers

Looking back at his Instagram account when it was growing very slowly, with only a small number of followers, Dr Tim can see that he was producing content in a very different way than today.

Back then, he was posting about things he thought were interesting, or notable events or happenings in his life – a new car, becoming a father, going out for a meal etc. – to let his followers know that he had a life too. But it was really all about him and his life outside of aesthetic practice, and nothing about the problems they were trying to solve.

The biggest shift he made in his approach to Instagram posts was to start talking about how to solve problems that he knew this audience was facing, often problems which he had also faced in the past. He reflected on a saying that you should be helping the people who were you five years ago. And this also applies to your patients.

Working in medical aesthetics, most clinicians may have had a treatment beforehand, or will certainly have had one since embarking on their new career. Use this in your approach to engaging with patients in your medical aesthetic practice and posting on social media. To become brave enough to have your first cosmetic injectable treatment, for example, there are a lot of things you need to process. The questions you had to answer at the time when this was you will be the same as your patients have now, so helping them with the answers makes for great marketing.

What kind of Instagram post performs well?

Talking to his wife and Marketing Director, Miranda, Dr Tim asked her to review and dissect the key attributes of one of his best-performing pieces of content, recently shared on Instagram in which he is seen commenting on a viral video showing a patient with a significant reaction to hyaluronidase.

Miranda notes that the first reason for its success is because it is attention-grabbing. This may be counter-intuitive behaviour for many aesthetic clinicians who, often, do not want to be the centre of attention, feeling that professionalism comes from being more measured; but to be educational, you need a bit of both.

By demonstrating and commenting on imagery from a shocking video, you gain the audience’s attention, and they are primed to receive the value that you bring, as a trusted medical professional, who explains what they are viewing. In this instance, it is done as part of a natural conversation with a colleague, adding to the notion of an expert adviser, friend, and trusted voice who can guide the audience and provide the information they seek.

Offering an honest, truthful, and authentic response gives the audience a real understanding of you and how you work, helping to build their unconscious fascination and desire to continue to follow and engage with you.

Three content ideas to help aesthetic clinicians promote themselves on Instagram and other social media platforms

The crux of all content ideas reaffirms Miranda is remembering that you need to provide value to your audience, and here are some ideas to get you started.

1: Use the green screen filter

The green screen filter is a very neat and authentic option for your Instagram stories, Instagram reels, and TikTok videos. Instead of filming yourself in a room, you have an image that is visible behind you, thanks to the green screen tool.

This is very versatile because it could be a backdrop of you scrolling through social media, reading the news or a document, a screenshot, or a viral image you have seen of something shocking that you wish to discuss with your audience. This will be shown on the green screen filter with you positioned in front as you talk. It makes for a very good hook to draw in an audience because it feels ‘gossipy’. As soon as they see it, they will want to know what you are talking about; much like the water cooler effect, there is a fear of missing out and they want to know more.

2: Add value with laughter

Your posts can be funny too, allowing your audience to appreciate a lighter moment in their day. Using laughter to add value to your posts is very easy to do and can be rewarding; this includes using viral memes and trends to your advantage. An example of this would be the recent ‘boat trend’ on TikTok.

3: Embrace behind-the-scenes content

Bring your audience into the heart of what you do, like a fly-on-the-wall experience to maintain authenticity. In marketing, this is called BTS, or behind-the-scenes. To achieve this very easily, simply put your smartphone on a stand or shelf and film whilst you do something – perform a procedure, get set up for the day, carry out a consultation, clean the clinic at the end of the day etc. – and then speed up the footage, add some music, overlay some words to describe what you are doing, and you have created a piece of very engaging and helpful content for your audience.

Miranda has been doing some very interesting research on social media and aesthetic clinicians, studying many different Instagram accounts following a round of surveys. Through analysis, she has reinforced her discovery of a formula for Instagram success, which is now proven to drive patients to your clinic and increase bookings. She will be sharing this in her new webinar, do not forget to sign up below.

For more social media tips for aesthetic injectors, follow Miranda Pearce on Instagram and catch Miranda on TikTok. Dr Tim is always keen to hear about the experiences of his followers, you can find Dr Tim Pearce on Instagram if you have any comments or questions.

Aesthetics Mastery Show

How to build a successful aesthetic brand through social media – 4 simple steps

Dr Tim introduces this episode:

“Many injectors want to grow their aesthetics business on social media but have no idea where to start. In the beginning, neither did I. In fact, if you scroll back on my Instagram page to when I first started, the only thing I posted was photos of my car. Looking back, it’s clear why I had no engagement or followers, why would injectors or patients care about MY car? That content wasn’t providing them with value. And that’s the problem I see many other injectors having. They don’t know how to provide value to their patients on social media. In this episode I discuss with my wife, Miranda (the marketing genius behind the Dr Tim content machine) the social media steps you need to be taking to provide your patients with value. “

Watch the full Aesthetics Mastery Show here.

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ATTENTION: Aesthetic Clinicians!

Sign up for a FREE 1-hour Marketing Webinar for medical professionals with Miranda Pearce.

Learn how a secret group of injectors are booking out their aesthetics clinics using 4 surprisingly simple social media hacks (WITHOUT lots of followers or spending every spare minute online). Thursday 28th September 8pm UK / 2pm CDT.

Aesthetics marketing eLearning courses

For tips, advice and support in medical aesthetics marketing, Dr Tim Pearce offers the Dream Customer Attraction Method (DCAM) eLearning course by Miranda Pearce. The course contains a wealth of advice about building and growing your aesthetics business.

In addition, browse our FREE business and marketing resources.

Dr Tim Pearce eLearning

Dr Tim Pearce MBChB BSc (Hons) MRCGP founded his eLearning concept in 2016 in order to provide readily accessible BOTOX® and dermal filler online courses for fellow Medical Aesthetics practitioners. His objective was to raise standards within the industry – a principle which remains just as relevant today.

Our exclusive video-led courses are designed to build confidence, knowledge and technique at every stage, working from foundation level to advanced treatments and management of complications.

Thousands of delegates have benefited from the courses and we’re highly rated on Trustpilot. For more information or to discuss which course is right for you, please get in touch with our friendly team.