As a millennial I discover new brands and products mostly through the Internet. I have been conditioned to tweet, post and share; it’s the norm for me. The tool I love the most has got to be social media, in particular Instagram.
I am an avid user of Instagram I use it for inspiration, find new brands, to follow celebrities and networking. When thinking about it, I easily spend at least an hour a day on Instagram and that is not an exaggeration. I LOVE INSTAGRAM.
I believe it’s essential for pharmacy owners to embrace this wonderful platform. Instagram allows you to reach out to your customers on a more personal level.
Firstly what is Instagram?
If you have been living under a rock (in the digital sense) then maybe you don’t know what Instagram actually is…..
Well Instagram is all about photos.
It’s a social networking app designed for sharing videos and photos from a smartphone. When you post a photo on Instagram it will be displayed on your profile and appear in a newsfeed. The newsfeed is exactly like Facebook. The similarity with Facebook also includes the way you interact with other users. You can like, follow, tag and private message.
Still don’t understand why Instagram is worth implementing in your pharmacy?
There are 5,000,000 monthly active Australian users on Instagram.
Using Instagram for your pharmacy
Instagram is a gold mine for opportunities to showcase your pharmacy. The key is to devise a systematised approach to all the content you post. Each and every photo must communicate your values and what your pharmacy can do for your customer.
So I suggest that you create an Instagram account straight away! Below are some tips for kick starting your profile.
Make it about your pharmacy
Tell a story behind your pharmacy that allows people to make a human connection. What is your team environment like? What does your pharmacy stand for? Do you have a niche service?
Case Study # 1- showcase your niche service.
Stoke Physio is a physiotherapy clinic located in the heart North Beach. They have carefully created a story behind their Instagram that suits their target audience being surfers and water sport athletes.
Post photos of your team
First of all people love human connection! Use Instagram as an opportunity for customers to get to know the faces that are behind the scenes at your pharmacy. Take photos of your team, any internal events (or external). If you’re celebrating a staff member work anniversary, unpacking stock or when you have organised the dispensaries counters. Photos tell a hundred words and people will be able to “put a name to the face”.
Interact with your product
First and foremost your marketing should be about education and not sales of products. However Instagram allows you to showcase your products in a non pushy manner.
You can do product placement pictures for example a vitamin C supplement with a glass of orange juice or someone sleeping with a sleep apnoea mask that you stock in store. Another tip is to utilise the description that goes with the photo.
Case Study # 2- product placement in your photos.
Nood Café is a café brand of two cafes located in Perth. They offer both take home and dining options for their customers. Their focus is heavily focused on healthier and cleaner food options. They use their Instagram profile to showcase their colourful, vibrant food options for their customers.
Show them how it’s done
Depending on the stock in your pharmacy, you can post videos on your Instagram using your products. Essentially showing them how it’s done.
For example if you stock cosmetics, do a post about applying mascara. You could take this step further by featuring some of your customers using your products.
Case study # 3- posting interactive customer photos.
L’oreal Paris Make Up is a make up brand (which you may stock in your pharmacy) who posts photos of customer using their product effectively. People love seeing themselves and if you encourage your local client base they will enjoy seeing their faces on your profile.
One of the popular features of Instagram is hashtags. Hashtags are one of the best ways to grow your Instagram account. Therefore implementing the right combination of hashtags helps expose your brand to a large and more importantly targeted audience.
So how does a hashtag work? You might post a photo of a new candle brand in your pharmacy. Along with a catchy description you would use an array of hashtags to describe the photo. For example: #candles#perth#mindfulness#vanilla#perthpharmacy. If you click on those hashtags you will see there are all the posts that have those hashtags.
The beauty of hashtags is you can create your own or select more targeted for your segmented area. If I had a pharmacy in Booragoon I would use the hashtag #booragoon. That way I would have a more targeted approach to reaching potential customers. You can also create your own hashtag for your pharmacy so when people search that hashtag they will find all of your posts.
Conclusion
Visual content is extremely popular on social media that is why Instagram is so powerful for your pharmacy. It will help with building trust, authority and personality for your pharmacy. Furthermore it will create an emotional connection to your pharmacy.
In addition if you want to learn more download our 8 Tips to Running Your Own Instagram Pharmacy Profile.
P.S- prior to writing this blog we didn't have our own Instagram profile. So we decided to practise what we preach and create one! @peakstrategies will provide daily tips, tricks and inspiration for pharmacy owners with their business, enjoy.