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Hi there, acupuncture friend!
Michelle here, sharing one of my all-time favorite tips for growing your acupuncture clinic Instagram account.
I used this method back in February because I wanted to hit 1,000 followers on my one-year-old clinic Instagram account.
In two weeks I went from 940 followers to 990! It’s super effective.
(Then COVID hit and I got a little derailed – I wasn’t consistent and we know how important consistency is in marketing!)
I’ve since surpassed 1,000 but I wanted to point out that 50 new followers in two weeks is a big deal, especially if you’re only at 200 followers. I really encourage you to give this strategy a try – even for one week! – and I think you’ll see results.
How to Get More Local Followers on Your Acupuncture Clinic Instagram Account:
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Watch this quick and easy 6-minute video for all the details. ☝️
Below is an outline of this process that I cover in the video.
I recommend devoting either 10 minutes a day to this strategy, or 50-60 minutes once a week. I like to do this while I sit with my coffee on Sunday mornings. But do whatever works best for you. Remember, consistency is key in marketing. Set a timer so you know when you’re done!
If you read through this and feel like you don’t love Instagram enough to spend time going this every week, I have a hack for you at the bottom.
How to Get More Local Followers for Your Acupuncture Instagram Account:
- Pick a business located near your acupuncture clinic (say, within a ten minute drive) that has the kind of clients who would be your ideal patients.
- I usually pick a yoga studio or chiropractor’s office. Think about your target market and pick a business that shares your target market.
- Go to the Instagram homepage for this business. It doesn’t matter if they have 200 followers or 2,000. As long as they are legitimate followers and look local, you’re good to go.
- On this business’s Instagram homepage, click on “Followers.” This will show you all the people who follow this account.
- Go through each Follower and for each one, give them five likes and one or two genuine comments. A genuine comment can be very simple, for example, “Your dog is so cute!” or “I love your dress!” or “What a beautiful sunset!” (Remember that likes and comments are like currency on Instagram. People like to be acknowledged for pretty photos they take!)
- That’s it!
Why does this work so well?
If you’ve left someone five likes and two comments, then the next time this person opens their Instagram app, they’ll see a bunch of notifications from your likes and comments.
Chances are SUPER high they’ll be curious about this new person visiting their account and will click over to your Instagram homepage to check you out! Once they’re there, they have the chance to follow you. And then, of course, you have the opportunity to educate them about acupuncture and change them into patients!
Give this method some time to percolate.
It may take a couple days before you see new followers.
Remember that not everyone logs onto Instagram everyday. They may only sign on once a week. But when they do, they’ll see all the likes and comments you left, and hopefully be curious enough to jump over to your Instagram homepage and follow you.
What if you know you’re not going to be consistent with this?
Delegate! Do you have a nephew or niece who already spends a ton of time on Instagram? Pick someone you trust to represent you well, and ask if you can toss them a few bucks per hour to log into your Instagram account and do this for you.
I can think of several teenagers I know who would do a good job at this! Explain what kinds of comments you want them to leave, explain what your goal is, and go for it.
What if someone’s Instagram account is private? Should I request to follow them so I can give them likes and comments later?
I don’t think this is necessary. If someone has their account set to private I usually skip over them and go to the next person on the list.
If you want help and advice for your specific Instagram account, business goals and ideal clients, I offer one-hour Instagram Audits for Acupuncturists!
In an Instagram Audit, we hop on a Zoom call for 60 minutes and take a deep look at your Instagram clinic account. I’ll make suggestions for how to change followers into patients and make your Instagram marketing more efficient!
I hope this strategy helps you grow your Instagram audience with local followers, so you can teach them about acupuncture and change them into patients!
Feel free to reach out with questions: michelle@michellegrasek.com