The Pros and Cons of Instagram for Healthcare Business

Updated on August 27, 2023

With the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, more and more healthcare businesses are beginning to understand the potential of social media, Instagram in particular, when it comes to educating their audience and building stronger connections. 

Instagram holds reigns as the most popular social media platform, and businesses are harnessing its many potentials to promote, build communities, and convert. However, healthcare businesses can find this platform not so easy to navigate at times. With almost the same amount of reasons pro and against Instagram for this specific industry, healthcare businesses are often reluctant to tackle this social media platform.

In an attempt to reach a constructive conclusion, we’ll break down all the pros and cons of Instagram for the healthcare business. 

Pro: Numerous opportunities to reach your ideal clients

With over 1 billion users, out of which 90% follow at least one business account, Instagram is the best place to meet your audience and turn them into clients. 

If we consider that most Instagram users are using Instagram to look up businesses and find services they need, it becomes clear that Instagram is a must-have platform for any businesses, including healthcare. 

With the right content strategy, killer hashtag game, and impeccable storytelling, healthcare businesses can reach a solid following, engagement, and social proof. All of this translates into conversions pretty fast. For more info on reaching nice engagement metrics as a business Instagram profile, head over to IG growth specialists – Flock Social

Con: The professionalism issue

One of the biggest reasons many healthcare businesses and professionals shy away from using Instagram to promote their services is the fear of losing their reputation as serious professionals. 

Instagram is widely considered as a place for fun, laid back approach to causal topics. It can be tricky to stay professional and reputable while being entertaining. 

While this fear is valid to some extent, there are still ways to keep the professional tone and cater to the audience’s expectations. 

Pro: Creating trust

One of the unique opportunities of Instagram for health-related practices is the ability to communicate directly with your future patients. 

By monitoring your DMs, replying to comments, and Instagram Stories questions, you are creating an image of a trustworthy source. The accessibility helps you build communities of dedicated followers, willing to become returning customers/patients. 

Con: Mostly visual

Here we are entering the grey area. This can be both considered as an advantage and disadvantage at the same time. 

If we consider the positive side, Instagram is a generally visual platform. Therefore, it offers plenty of opportunities to show the people and the processes behind the practice and build trust. 

On the other hand, this Instagram aspect leaves less room for additional information, often crucial for medical topics. This includes more context, further explanation, and more in-depth analysis or medical studies to support the claims. 

That being said, a carefully planned caption, or Instagram Story with a link to further reading, can pretty effectively solve this minor issue. 

Pro: Educating the audience 

The internet as a whole, and Instagram as the most popular social media, have become a dangerous place for the amount of false information and weird theories. 

These unsubstantiated claims made by self-proclaimed professionals are bringing severe harm to people reading and believing it.  

This is why now more than ever, the online world needs as many healthcare professionals debunking these false myths by providing precise and accurate facts and analysis. 

In turn, the medical professionals would build their Instagram community, resulting in more clients. 

In conclusion, although it may seem unprofessional to some degree, Instagram is very much a place for healthcare businesses. The right, balanced approach to content forms would help any health-related businesses reap the rewards of a great Instagram presence. 

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.