There’s no denying that Instagram is a seriously powerful tool for marketing your business.

As a health professional, having a presence on Instagram allows you the ability to help more people and have a greater positive impact on people’s lives. However, something that is commonly overlooked are the many additional, yet equally unexpected benefits that Instagram can provide a business if leveraged strategically.

Below, I share five unexpected benefits of Instagram that I experienced during my time working as a dietitian.

1. It provided me with professional networking opportunities

Instagram has been an incredible tool for expanding my professional network.

Because I started building my personal brand through Instagram prior to graduating as a dietitian, I established relationships with other health professionals online early in my career that resulted in me being recognised as someone who was ‘up and coming’ in the online health space.

Whilst I didn’t realise it at the time, this was a huge advantage because I found myself being invited to networking events alongside other health professionals who had well-established brands, and with whom I looked up to within the nutrition industry.

These professional relationships, particularly those with other dietitians and nutritionists, lead to several work opportunities in the early days of my business including brand collaborations, media work, and even client referrals into my online clinic.

2. It allowed me to connect with my target audience on a deeper level

Instagram is a social platform designed to connect us with the people and things we care about most.

By consistently turning up on Instagram and showing my face online through my content, I was able to develop a deep and genuine connection with my target audience that made them excited to invest in my products and services when it came time for me to sell.

People buy from and invest in brands that they know, like and trust.

So, by being active online, providing insight into my life and the behind the scenes of my business, and encouraging two-way communication through my content, I was able to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with my audience.

I dive deeper into this point in Episode 22 of NakedChats ‘The 3 ways that having a personal brand has transformed my business’, which you can listen to here.

3. It positioned me as an expert in my field

For good or bad, when you consistently talk about and share information on a particular topic online, you indirectly position yourself as an expert in this field.

Interestingly, as soon as I had the word ‘dietitian’ in my Instagram bio, I found that my audience needed less convincing that I was someone whom they should trust. 

Instead of a potential client coming to my page and clicking away because they were unsure about the validity of my content or thought that my page was ‘just another foodie account’, my audience would instead see that I was a dietitian and make the assumption that I was someone who knew what they were talking about when it came to nutrition.

This was supported by the fact that

• My growth rate increased when I placed the word ‘dietitian’ in my bio
• I received an increased number of DMs from people within my target audience asking me nutrition related questions, and
• Inquiries for my nutrition services also increased

All signs pointed towards the fact that people trusted my opinion as a nutrition expert more than before, simply because I publicly displayed my qualification in my Instagram bio. 

4. It improved my speaking and presentation skills

Learning to speak and present with confidence has certainly been one of the best unexpected benefits that Instagram has provided!

When I first started showing my face on Instagram stories, I would record myself talking to the camera numerous times before finally building up the courage to hit ‘share’ and publish my story.

One of the main reasons for this was because I was worried about looking silly. 

When you watch yourself on camera, you pick up on nervous habits and mannerisms which otherwise would have gone unnoticed. I’m talking about traits such as playing with your hair, fidgeting, or even using filler words like “um”, “so”, and “like” excessively.

By regularly creating video content such as Instagram stories, reels and IGTV, you provide yourself with an opportunity to refine and strengthen your speaking and presentation skills daily. 

5. It helped me to understand the value of my work

Instagram is a great tool for gauging the impact and efficacy of your work. Therefore, it was beneficial in helping me understand the value I placed on my time and services.

Through Instagram I was able to gather analytical data on content performance to understand what my target audience found most valuable and then used this to direct future content with more certainty around performance outcomes. 

This meant that when I was approached to work with a brand, I was able to pitch a content idea with higher certainty around how it would perform and attach a rate to reflect this. Having Instagram data as evidence of the value I could bring a brand through a collaboration aided me in negotiating rates that were higher than the industry standards for my social media services.

Are you interested in learning how to build a profitable Instagram page? Check out my Instagram marketing course, Gramtini, and join hundreds of other health professionals who have learned to leverage the power of Instagram to market their businesses online!