Social Media Video Advertising: Instagram 

When it comes to reaching a wider (and often younger), more engaged audience, Instagram is the best social media platform to leverage with its rapidly growing 1.2 billion users. 

With more users often comes a decrease in user engagement. But not with Instagram followers! Marketing experts estimate that Instagram can deliver up to 58x more engagement per follower and up to 120x more engagement than Twitter. This represents a large opportunity for telehealth brands to quickly grow a loyal following on Instagram through stories, posts, and sponsored ads.  

Here are three reasons why having an Instagram social media marketing strategy for your telehealth brand is important in 2021. 

Higher chance to stand out.  

The ability to go viral is much higher on Instagram than on any other platform. Whether it’s micro-videos or highly visual posts, with 4.84% user engagement that means more people are sharing, liking, and commenting on posts than on any other platform

The key to producing viral content will be in capturing what your target audience wants to see in a highly-interactive way. This is why micro-video content performs well on Instagram as well as leveraging influencer campaigns to build immediate and lasting social proof for your telehealth brand.  

Cheaper advertising rates.  

The cost per click (CPC) is what drives the average cost of social media campaigns. For Facebook, the CPC is around $0.80 whereas a similar campaign on Instagram could be run for as low as a CPC of $0.20. Combining a lower CPC with a more engaged audience, Instagram represents a large “bang for your buck”, especially when other features like the swipe-up option and influencer marketing are factored in. That’s why the key to mastering Instagram advertising will be in creating highly-engaging video content to stop followers from scrolling.  

Also, strategically using hashtags is important to ensure that posts are seen by a wider audience that is interested in the content. For telehealth brands to stand out, using highly-relevant hashtags on posts can be a great way to tap into the viral nature of the platform and position your content in front of those consumers who are actively looking for it. 

Cross-promotion opportunities.  

Since Instagram is owned by the parent company, Facebook, telehealth brands can boost their highest engagement posts on their Facebook timeline as instant Instagram ads. In addition, posting on Instagram can simultaneously be pushed to a telehealth brand’s Facebook page to engage followers on both platforms.  

However, note that videos posted on Facebook that are longer than 60 seconds will not be “eligible” to be shared on Instagram (unless through IGTV). Likewise, Instagram posts that contain more than one video cannot be cross-promoted on Facebook from Instagram. The largest opportunity for telehealth brands is in being able to target their audiences based on Facebook data and create more profitable Instagram ad campaigns that increase return on ad spend. 

As more people flock to social media platforms in 2021, telehealth brands should create an Instagram posting schedule to not just drive more traffic to social media but to also increase website visitors. The importance will be in posting highly-engaging, consumable content that targets audiences are actively searching for. Those telehealth brands that are consistent in producing high-quality Instagram content will be handsomely rewarded with increased social media engagement.