Whether your practice is new to social media, or you already have a Facebook page but aren’t receiving the type of engagement you were hoping for – deciding how to step up your game and boost your social media engagement rate can take some expertise.

How do you know which types of social media posts to create? Which channels should you use? Facebook, Instagram, Twitter?

Here’s what you need to know about different types of social media posts to receive higher engagement, and we’ll crown the #1 highest engaging social posts.

Social Media Content Types

There are a range of different types of social media that your practice can tap into. Each type has its place in an effective, high engagement social media strategy.

The best social media platform for posting content depends on the type of business.

Which social media platform is best for orthodontists? We’ve found that Facebook and Instagram are the most effective platforms for orthodontists to connect with their current patients, potential patients, and the community.

Orthodontists who provide services for families need to reach families and connect with them on the social media platforms where they’re active.

Consider this: Studies show that 78% of women consider themselves the primary health-care decision maker for their household.

On the same note, 79% of moms in the United States use Facebook – while only 44% of U.S. moms use Instagram. The data shows that Facebook is a valuable platform for family orthodontists to reach their target audiences.

While both Facebook and Instagram are great for running cost-effective, highly-targeted ads, Facebook tends to be more successful than Instagram when it comes to posting social media content regularly and engaging with users.

Facebook places equal emphasis on text content, graphics, and videos, whereas Instagram is more focused on visuals and images. This is why certain types of social media posts perform better on certain platforms than others.

These are the four most popular types of social media content and the best-suited platform for each:

• Text posts: These are the regular-shmegular posts that include text and optional emojis – with no graphic or video. Text posts perform best on Facebook, where text posts and image/video posts hold equal weight.

• Images: Image posts are posts that include an image or graphic, with optional text. Image posts are effective on both Instagram and Facebook.

• Videos: Video posts include videos, which may be GIFs or video uploads. While both Instagram and Facebook are effective for video ads, Instagram proves to have the best organic (unpaid) reach with videos.
• Blogging: Blogs from your practice website can be posted to your Facebook page to encourage users to respond and engage with the post, and to drive more traffic to your website.

Social Media Engagement Ideas

Without giving away the secret sauce too much, we advise our orthodontic partners to post a mix of all four content types in order for them to receive the highest engagement.

• Text posts tips: Text posts may include team celebration/team spotlight posts, office announcements and reminders, conversational questions and statements to encourage responses from users. You can also post giveaways and /or competitions that require users to connect with you to enter.
• Image post tips: With image posts, branded graphics and real team/patient photos tend to perform the best. High quality images receive the highest engagement. Consider posting photos of your team members dressing up for Halloween or having coffee together one morning. Show your patients and team in action (with your patients’ consent, of course) and show why your practice is a great place to be.
• Video post tips: Video patient testimonials are great for demonstrating your practice’s credibility, building trust in your practice, and giving users a sneak peek into your patient experience. Have some of your patients talk about their experience with your team and what stood out to them. Patient video testimonials make for persuasive, conversion-focused posts that tend to attract significant engagement.
• Blogging post tips: To post a blog on your Facebook page, it’ll have to live on your website first. We recommend posting blogs that answer frequently asked patient questions, highlight your treatments, feature your doctors and team members, and drive more traffic to your website. Topics should be chosen based on recent search trends and queries, and based on which website pages are performing best.

What social post receives the highest engagement?

The verdict is in! From our decades of orthodontic marketing and all the new trends and platforms we’ve learned (and continue to learn) over the years, Facebook image posts are the #1 highest engaging organic posts – with video posts coming in a close second.

More specifically, image posts that include photos of doctors and team members  receive the highest engagement. These may be pictures of team members with your doctors, team members and doctors with patients, or team members and doctors participating in the community.

Featuring doctors, team members, and willing patients on your Facebook page gives your practice more personality and personability. People in your community can see the friendly faces at your practice and build a connection with your team before they even meet you.

Post ‘behind-the-scenes’ types of photos that give prospective patients a preview into your amazing patient experience, and use Facebook as a chance to personify your brand and connect with your audience.

If you still have questions, our specialists at eNox Media will help you develop an effective social media strategy that includes the best social media posts to reach your specific goals, and makes social posting a rewarding, positive experience.

We’ll help you develop the right marketing strategies for your brand, website, paid ads, and social media. Request a complimentary discovery session with us and we’ll analyze your current marketing strategy and discuss a plan that boosts your engagement.