Instagram is the place where aesthetics practitioners should focus their social media efforts to reach the most consumers. RealSelf research has found that cosmetic Instagram accounts see an average of eleven times the engagement of Facebook accounts, and a staggering 80 times the engagement of accounts on Twitter. What’s more, we’re seeing cosmetic Instagram accounts growing four times faster than their Facebook counterparts and 32 times faster than similar accounts on Twitter.
Focusing attention on specific elements of your social media strategy is important for facilitating that growth, and one tactic you should pay special attention to is post frequency. Both engagement with your Instagram posts and the rate of follower growth are higher among accounts that post at least ten times per month versus those that post less frequently. The key to making that goal achievable is knowing how and when to capture great content—not only to post in the moment, but to stockpile for later.
One opportunity to do both is at professional conferences. Here are some ideas that will make collecting content feel like second nature, plus some best practices that you can apply to sourcing Instagram content beyond the conference setting.
Pre-conference
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Let your followers know where you’re going in the week or two leading up to the conference.
- Take pictures of badges and/or other conference materials that arrive prior to the event, packing/packed bags, and other pre-conference rituals that show off your personality and communicate to your followers that you’re an engaged member of the industry.
- Share quotes from—or pictures of—speakers you’re looking forward to hearing, and don’t forget to tag them in the post.
- Create a video about sessions you’re looking forward to, information you’re hoping to get, and/or how you see this conference improving patient treatments.
En route and upon arrival
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Take followers along for the ride by sharing quick Instagram photos and videos from your travel day. For instance:
- Your pre-flight coffee run.
- At the airport. You might capture photos of yourself in the waiting room/lounge or looking out of your airplane window.
- From the air just after takeoff or when you land.
- Conference “welcome” signage (ideally with you in the photo).
High-profile, professional moments
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Are you speaking on a panel, moderating a panel, or a key presenter? Show off your expertise by finding ways to share the experience.
- Snap photos of pre-event notes or materials.
- Record a video telling your audience what you’ll be talking about.
- Share photos or quotes from anyone you’re partnering with for the event.
Stockpiling opportunity: Record the entire panel or keynote, then edit it into shorter, sharable clips to be shared either while at the conference or when you return home.
Conference presentations and sessions
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Capture key moments while in you’re attendee mode.
- Listen for interesting quotes, facts, and statistics in sessions. Either create posts that cite those quotes/facts/statistics using text, or take photos of the person who conveyed the information and reference it in the post captions. Don’t forget to tag the speaker for attribution.
- Show that you’re in the mix within the aesthetics community by capturing photos of yourself with other colleagues in attendance.
Stockpiling opportunity: Use your phone to record audio of sessions and pick out evergreen quotes to post later.
Casual moments with colleagues
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Take photos and record video beyond the sessions. Being on the road, or in a conference setting in your hometown, provides an opportunity to capture differentiated shots of yourself in action. For example:
- At dinners and evening networking events.
- At any organized non-work-related excursions.
Stockpiling opportunity: Much of this content can be used in the future in the right context. For instance, post a photo of yourself with a colleague if you have an event coming up with them. If there isn’t an obvious occasion to repost this type of content, then #ThowbackThursday or #FlashBackFriday are good times to post content from events past.
Aesthetically striking location elements
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Keep an eye out for photo-worthy scenes that are related to the conference locations.
- Are you by the beach, in a big city, or in a remote location? Capture that scenery in an Instagram post or video.
- Take pictures of great meals, eye-catching restaurants and bars, and attractive spots in the hotel.
Stockpiling opportunity: Similarly to “casual moments with colleagues,” you can use this social media content later if you are headed back to the same city or area for work. Headed to vacation? Use scenery content to let patients and other followers know you’ll be away.
General Tips:
As you start to post, here are a few additional best practices to consider:
- Use Instagram Stories to post extras and “behind-the-scenes”-style content. These appear at the top of Instagram users’ feeds and disappear in 24 hours. Instagram Stories offer you an opportunity to be a bit more informal and are great for depicting day-in-the-life content.
- Be sure you’re mixing up the posts and including a diverse range of visuals including people, interiors, exteriors, quotes, conference signage, and videos.
- Use the conference hashtag in every post and tag the conference if they have their own Instagram account. The conference’s social media team will likely be mining attendees’ photos to share on their own account.
Work these tips into your process to make it easier and quicker to create social media content during conferences. They’re are a great opportunity to source a high volume of Instagram content that you or your team can schedule ahead of time. A stockpile of conference content can do the heavy lifting on enabling your practice to post consistently, and it can help add incisive content and visual interest to your Instagram feed.
