Ten years ago, your home care business could get by with advertising pamphlets and word of mouth. Today, the story is much different. Social media is (or should be) an important part of your home care business’ marketing strategy. Of course, there are plenty of platforms to choose from. Each come with their own pros and cons.
We’re going to focus on one you may not be thinking of for the home health care niche: Instagram. In a 2016 Home Care Benchmarking Study, only 6.6% of home care providers said they use Instagram in their marketing. To some this may seem like a red flag. However, it is actually a huge opportunity. Compared to 98.4% of home care agencies using Facebook, the miniscule percentage on Instagram means you have far less competition.
So, why aren’t more people using it? Since Instagram is an image driven platform, many people in the healthcare niche shy away from it. After all, using patient photos usually requires a signed agreement and you can only get so far using stock images. However, there are ways to work around this to help achieve home care marketing success on social media. Let’s dive in:
The 80-20 Rule
When it comes to Instagram marketing, followers don’t want to see endless self-promotion. This will quickly grow old and your page will be unfollowed faster than you can gain traction on the platform. Fortunately, there is a tried and tested rule to help you balance promotion with giving customers a reason to stay tuned: The 80-20 Rule.
To use this in your social media marketing for home care, you should make 80 percent of your posts something that provides value to your followers. This could be anything from a helpful health tip to photos that show your company doing good in the community. Followers should genuinely enjoy seeing this content. If they do, they’re much more likely to stay in touch with your page.
Then, you can focus the remaining 20 percent of your posts on marketing to your now loyal followers. These posts should be purposeful, actionable, and engaging. Whether you’re advertising a new service or an upcoming promotion, you want customers and potential customers to get excited about your brand.
Focus On What Makes You Stand Out
You don’t need to be reminded that there are countless other home care agencies competing for the same limited pool of clients. Fortunately, Instagram may help you reach potential clients other companies are missing out on. That doesn’t mean you won’t have competition, however.
So, when using Instagram as a marketing tool for your home care business, you should focus on what makes you stand out from the competition. Perhaps your healthcare team has access to new technology which makes your service more convenient. Or, maybe, you offer a unique service that no one else is offering yet. Things like these help your business stand out on Instagram and can seal the deal when clients are deciding between providers.
Infographics Are Your Friend
Remember how we mentioned that producing a stream of quality image content can be difficult for those in the home care niche? The key to a successful Instagram page is using infographics. If you aren’t familiar with infographics, they allow you to present large amounts of information in an eye-catching way. This is perfect for posting to Instagram.
You can find graphic designers who specialize in creating infographics many places on the web. You could partner with freelance designers for less frequent posting or consider hiring an in-house designer/marketing specialist to help with their Instagram feed.
When creating and posting infographics, you should try to keep a consistent style between them. Whether this means using the same color palette as your brand, a custom set of animated icons, or the same designer for all of them, keeping your infographics consistent will make it easier for clients to recognize you at a glance.
Engage With Clients (And Potential Clients)
Gaining followers isn’t the end of the road when it comes to Instagram. In fact, it’s just the beginning. Once you begin posting and building a follower base, people will begin engaging with your posts. The key to converting followers to customers is engagement.
When people comment on posts, send a comment back. At the very least, like their comment. Run giveaways or promotions that get followers to share your page with their friends. Most importantly, answer direct questions and messages that followers send.
By consistently engaging with your followers, you can strengthen your brand’s appeal and gain trust. In the end, this will lead to conversions for your home care business.
Though it might not be the first social media channel to come to mind, Instagram is a powerful tool for your home care business. By creating a consistent stream of image content and engaging users, your business can get a leg up on the competition by targeting a market not yet saturated with rival home care businesses. Check out Providentia’s complete social media management solution SocialPro.
