Best Face Forward

If you follow me on Instagram, you might be surprised to know that the only things I posted three years ago were grainy stock images, before and after photos from suppliers, and pictures of flowers around my clinic. I didn’t use it as a way to communicate with my patients, and there wasn’t anything personal in sight! Now I’m proud to say my social media presence is much more unique and the main component is the videos I make almost daily, speaking directly to my patients, which are in the form of IGTV, Reels, and stories. But let me let you in on a secret - three years ago, I was terrified of showing my face on camera! So how did I get over my fear, make the transition to effective and face-forward social media, and reap the benefits in terms of followers, patients, referrals, and increased patient spend? Let me share some tips with you…

• Start small

If you jump into trying to film a three-minute video posted to your Instagram feed when you haven’t done it before, you’re bound to be nervous! This is the beauty of stories only staying up for 24 hours - the need for short-form content and the fact that they disappear so quickly makes your Instagram Story the perfect place to experiment. Not to mention you can use certain effects like the bubble talker or green screen effect to help you make your point - though I advise against complexion perfecting filters as they’re misleading to patients.

• Start with your voice

It’s important to get personal with your followers - not in terms of sharing every detail of your private life, but to let patients know who you are as a practitioner and that you personally are active and present within your clinic. With this in mind, if putting your face on camera still feels too daunting, start with your voice! Voiceovers are a great way to get into Reels (another Instagram must) and you can incorporate them into your stories as well. Maybe try speaking as you give a tour of your clinic or demonstrate something on one of your patients, such as a digital skin analysis - from behind the camera. It still starts to build a personal presence, and will help patients gain that much needed familiarity with you.

• Start with a selfie

If you haven’t introduced yourself at all on your social media, you might truly feel video is too daunting for you to start with. In this case, start by posting a selfie. Let followers know who you are and introduce the face behind the brand. When you do this, I guarantee you’ll get positive feedback and an increase in interaction, because people buy into people, and more personal posts always get more interaction than generic posts. Turn these comments and likes into a confidence boost to spur you on to try getting in front of the camera more. The more you do it, the easier it will be come!

• Don’t go it alone

If you really can’t think of where to start with creating a more personal social presence, involve others! You don’t have to be sitting in front of your phone feeling awkward all by yourself. You can film a treatment with a patient, a discussion with a colleague, or even get a sales rep involved.

• Practice makes perfect

It took me a good few months and a several videos to finally feel comfortable recording myself and speaking directly to my patients on social media. But the more you practice, the more natural it feels - I promise! So, when you’re filming, do as many takes as you need to get the video to a stage you’re comfortable with. Remember, it doesn’t need to be perfect.

Overall, though we know the importance of showing your face on social media, it can be difficult to implement. However, once you acknowledge the difference having this kind of social media presence can make to growing not only your following but your practice, this should give you the inspiration and the goals to get out of your comfort zone and try one of the tips above. Good luck!

Julie Scott is an Independent Nurse Prescriber with over 25 years’ experience in the field of plastics and skin rejuvenation, and currently runs her own clinic in Essex, Facial Aesthetics. Julie is also part of the ZO Skin Health UK Academy.