Enhancing Professional Networking for Podiatrists on Instagram and LinkedIn

You're listening to podiatry marketing, conversations on building a successful podiatry practice with Tyson Franklin and Jim McDannald.

Hi. I'm Tyson Franklin, and welcome to this week's episode of Podiatry Marketing. With me today wearing the red shirt of Canada is big Jim Mac. How are doing today, Jim?

Tyson, I'm doing well. Yeah. I'm wearing the adopted country shirt today. It's an Olympic year, so I guess Australia, Canada, The US will be fighting out for gold medals this summer.

So Oh, we will be. I'm looking forward to it. I really enjoy the Olympics. I just find it's there's certain sports that shouldn't be in there, personal opinion. I think when there's a sport where in within their own sport, there's something that's a more worthy reward than an Olympic gold medal than it shouldn't be in the Olympics.

I see.

Tennis as an example. If you said to it, any professional tennis player, would you rather win Wimbledon, US Open, Australia Open, or French Open, or would you rather gold medal at the Olympics? Which one do you reckon they go for?

Probably Wimbledon. Yeah. But but I guess Serena Williams is thinking about coming out of retirement to to play the Olympics this year, so I don't know what that means.

Oh, because she's got a 52 tie 52 grand slams like another gold medal. Why not?

Yeah. For sure.

So, anyway, what are we talking about today, Jim, other than the Olympic games?

Yeah. So besides the Olympics, you know, we've talked a lot about different social media channels and, you know, ways to try to attract maybe patients through social media, whether it be link whether it be like Instagram or other other things like Facebook and sometimes blog posts. But, you know, today we're gonna talk a little bit more about how podiatrists can leverage Instagram and LinkedIn to kind of kind of foster some professional growth and maybe make some connections within the profession. You know, as podiatrist, you know, as you know, as me as a podiatrist focused on kind of digital marketing, you know, obviously, I I kinda deal with these channels a lot more than than others. But I think, you know, in the Instagram and basically LinkedIn are kind of the two main channels where podiatrists do a lot of kind of interdisciplinary, you know, networking connections with folks.

Because, you know, we're we're not on Twitter. We're not really on Facebook to talk to each other, but I I found a lot of good conversations and good topics being brought up on both LinkedIn and Instagram. So if, you know, people are looking to, you know, spend some time you know maybe talking with other podiatrists kind of keeping up on what's going on you know develop you know kind of getting a little bit of professional development you know this can really be helpful you know sometimes securing speaking opportunities or just being seen as like a leader in a specific niche of podiatry. You know, being visible on, you know, Instagram and LinkedIn is one way to kind of, like I said, get into conversation with the folks, but also kind of show some thought leadership in that kind of a niche expertise.

It's quite interesting that you mentioned Instagram. Because usually a lot of times you'd thinking of Instagram and how can you connect me to patients through Instagram. But when I go on to Instagram, I find a lot of podiatrists, the most interaction they have is with other podiatrists. Exactly. So it like you said, it's an amazing networking platform that we probably didn't look at it as a networking platform to connect with other people in the profession.

Yeah. It's it's a lot of, know, we'll get into some of these details, but there's a lot of people, you know, I'm at this event or, you know, I know when I went to the American College of Foot and Nickels surgeons meeting in Tampa this past year, you know, lot of people that I'd followed on on Instagram were at this conference. So I could, send them a direct message and say, hey, I'm at this booth or I'm gonna go to this session. Like, it'd be great to meet up in real life. And then it's a really great way to, you know, you can kinda hybrid the online and offline world combined to really kinda grow your network and kinda build trust and build new colleagues in the profession.

Yeah. Like I said, I've always knew LinkedIn was was used that way a lot, but I never really thought about Instagram being used that way. So I look forward to what else what okay. So where does this all start?

Yeah. So I'd say, like, you know, there's always kind of specific actions people can take in order to, you know, get on LinkedIn and start or or Instagram and kind of, you know, start networking or getting to know some folks there. And and what I really say is that these channels are should be kind of seen as kind of give and take. You know, these are not you can't kind of broadcast messages outward, but I think it is helpful to really, you know, kind of do things on you know, comment on other people's posts and engage you know, one way is to kind of engage in educational content. Right?

So, you know, with educational content, it's kind of the professional foundation of, you know, professional networking on social media. You know, Instagram, you know, you can follow and interact with, you know, content from, you know, podiatrists that you respect or people are doing something within your niche or outside your niche. Maybe that someone that's at an institution who's teaching a very specific technique or is known for something. Following that person and maybe them following you back could lead to them you asking them questions either in the comments or sometimes direct messaging that person. But when you regularly comment on the post of others, you know, it's really it's a helpful thing because you're kind of initiating these discussions.

And, you know, when they share those insights and you're kind of, you know, maybe sharing some of your own insights, but also, you know, kind of helping kind of further along the conversation, it just leads to more engagement on posts like that. So on Instagram, that's really, really important. And on LinkedIn, I would say, you know, I see probably more like case studies on LinkedIn Mhmm. Or maybe talking about marketing or the business side of podiatry. So, you know, when you're making these thoughtful comments on either articles or posts, you know, it's gonna be seen by other podiatrists.

Right? I see sometimes the lightweight like, oh, thanks for sharing that great article, which is like it's not a horrible comment, but sometimes you wanna dig a little bit deeper and either provide some insights or sometimes if you don't agree with someone saying it's okay to have a thoughtful critique that has some you know it's a pot you know a little bit of positive feedback within the comment. But you know when you're like I said when you're posting it's gonna be noticed by different folks. It can be noticed by other podiatrists, maybe it's gonna be noticed by people in the industry or maybe conference organizers or educational workshop planners. They'll see that your knowledge you could potentially be a knowledgeable speaker for different topics that you're seen as an expert in.

Yeah. I like what you said then, though, that if if you don't agree, it's fine to not agree with what somebody has post, but be respectful in your comments. So if they've said this and you go, I don't necessarily agree with that, you say, oh, I don't agree for these reasons, but I understand why you do. Or the and or lead them onto an article that you read that may be a a conflicting sort of comment. But I've seen sometimes when people just they're scared to comment because then somebody then they get attacked, And then every everybody sort of shuts down.

So I actually think if all of sudden you're in attack mode, please stay off the platforms.

Yeah. If you're if you're having kind of a angry thought on on social media, you need to count to five and just realize this is not, you know, it's not worth, you know, getting into a flame or someone over a disagreement. You know? Constructive criticism and feedback is kind of, you know, what medicine and, you know, scientific thought is all about. So, like you said, just just keep it civil.

And if you don't agree, and maybe you're not coming to an agreement on social, just kinda maybe drop it after a period of time. But it is something where you can have these constructive, you know, conversations that maybe enlighten other people that that join in. So it's not just, you know, the person who wrote the the post or the article, but, you know, other people that are viewing the comments as well will probably, you know, provide additional comments and, you know, just helps foster engagement and, you know, and discussion on these different topics.

Yeah. I saw a post not too long ago on one of the platforms, and it was a it was a podiatrist. But they posted a comment about they used to be a reflexologist before they did podiatry. And they wanted to say, has anybody integrated Reflexology into their podiatry business? That was the question that they asked.

Oh my god. I knew as soon as I asked that. So what they wanted to know, have you used it? Can you tell me if you have? They didn't ask me, hey.

Can you all jump on board and beat the living shit out of me? And let me know how silly I am for even thinking that Reflexology even belongs anywhere near podiatry, and they got torn to shreds. And I was actually gonna come now even though I have my own opinions, I was gonna come and say, I'm sure the question was, if you do reflexology and you use it, can you let me know how you use it? Not if you disagree with reflexology, please jump on board and beat the living shit out of me. And that's what end up happening to them.

Yeah. For a guy or a guy there.

They will never ask a question again in that particular group. And as soon as they asked it, I I could almost write down the names of the people that were gonna jump on and start beating them up. Because they they are predictable. For sure. And anyone listening to this, you all know who they are.

Okay. What's next?

Yeah. So, like, the number the number two thing that you can do when you're, you know, on Instagram or LinkedIn in a kind of a professional networking capacity is kind of expand that network. Right? So, you know, we only have so many meetings we can go to each year. You know, maybe you can go to the American Academy of Podiatric Medical Association or ACT FAST or a national meeting, but, you know, there's state meetings.

There's other niche meetings. So, you know, without these online channels, it can be tough to meet people, you know, in different niches or with different, you know, thoughts and ideas around similar topics maybe that you're experiencing in your practice. So when you develop a strong professional network online, you know, it can lead to numerous different opportunities, including speaking opportunities, but just helping you expand your thought process. And, you know, on LinkedIn, when you're regular sharing kind of your professional experiences, you know, I know when I went to ACT Fast in these North Carolina meetings, for example, you know, I I put it out there. I said, hey.

I'm speaking to the assistants in North Carolina, I had a someone took a a photo of me talking to them. And, you know, other people at the meeting actually approached me afterwards and, oh, I I thought that you're you were here and I wanted to seek you out and ask your opinion on this topic. So, you know, you can really attract attention from other attendees at these meetings, but also, you know, when you're not at conferences, you can kinda continue the discussion in an online fashion. Mhmm. You know, and it it can be a really helpful thing.

I think it's great, though. Like you said, you you do a talk somewhere, and you know if people are taking photos of you, ideally, you wanna try and encourage them too. Feel free to post that. Yeah. Make sure you get my good side, and you can turn and turn for turn for the actual photos.

But I think that's really important. Any of those smaller meetings, the more you can network with the people there and then talk to the people afterwards and I always say, dig the well before you need the water. Don't wait until there's some dramatic life event or something in your business or your career, and then you start reaching out to them. Hey, can somebody help me? Yeah.

For twenty years, you've been sitting in your practice, not wanting to connect with anyone, but then you're screaming at that you need help.

Yeah. For sure. And I would also say that the the meet organ the meeting organizers also really appreciate that. Right? If you're putting the name of their meeting in the text or getting more visibility for their meeting in front of your own audience, know.

You know some podiatrists maybe have two, five thousand or 10,000 followers, you know, on things like either Instagram or LinkedIn. So when you mention that meeting, it's really helpful for the kind of the sustainability of that meeting. Know, oh, that person went to that meet. I'll consider going there next year.

So Yeah.

You when you tag event organizers, it can really, really be helpful for, you know, future events and and create some goodwill. You know, if you have a you know, built a positive a social account with a good audience and you're you're tweeting about certain events, you know, maybe it's an opportunity to collaborate at a meeting or say, you know, you know, when you're applying to speak next time saying you're really open to, you know, getting in front of your audience or in front of, you know, mentioning on your podcast, for example. So there's different ways to utilize Instagram and LinkedIn to really help broaden that network of other podiatrists, you know, meeting organizers, and, you know, other potential people in the industry.

Yeah. It's a great idea though, what you said about if you wanna speak at an event. If you've got a broad network of people that you've created over a number of years and through other avenues, whether it's podcasting, different events you run, is mentioning you're gonna be speaking at a particular event really helps promote that event.

For sure.

So if anyone needs Jim and I to speak at an event, please just reach out because we have we have our our web is weaved.

Yeah. We're definitely open to that.

And we both like speaking. People haven't figured that out.

After a hundred and how many episodes?

30 something. Yeah. I think. Yeah. Fair few.

Yeah. What's next?

So I kinda touched on it here briefly, but the the third is to, you know, it helps you stay updated and share industry news. I think there's a lot of, you know, podiatrists out there that are trying to, you know, utilize some different fee for service modalities, and these things are always changing. Right? So when you're kinda kept informed and you can kinda share important industry news, you kinda have your finger on the pulse as far as what's happening. You know, you can follow industry leaders, some organizations.

You know, sometimes it's, you know, key ways to use different types of medical equipment you know like for a long time right if you stop kind of paying attention to things you know Shockwave used to this huge contraption that was wheeled in to almost like an OR for people to kind of be you know having those Shockwave treatments. But now it's a handheld device and sometimes you can see what are people using it for, what kind of results are they getting, and kind of understand how the industry is changing over time. Also you can be seen as kind of a go to resource in the field if you're having success utilizing different types of modalities in the industry and then they see you posting about it, this might be an opportunity for you to help them educate other podiatrists about that different type of modality and you can kinda be form collaborations with folks in the industry as well.

Yeah. That's it's another good point too because I must admit some of the equipment that I had in my podiatry business, I had seen other people using it on different platforms, LinkedIn, Instagram, and it made you pay attention. You're thinking, oh, okay. How are they using it? Then you can scroll through some of their feed.

You can see some of the questions that people had asked, and then the podiatrist would usually reply back. So, yeah, that's that's it's handy, you know, especially, like you said, years ago, when you heard the word shockwave, first thing that popped into my head was Jack Nicholson in Monflew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the electrodes on the head now. A piece that he's biting down on, and but then when you start seeing the images of it, you go, okay. That's what it is.

Yeah. Whether it's photos or videos or a quick explainer or some tips, you know, these social media posts are something that can scroll by, but it's also can kinda help, you know, spark ideas or sport spark opportunities for different types of collaborations.

Yeah. Well, especially when you see somebody doing something with a piece of equipment you may already have, and you go, oh, I never thought about using it for that or using it that way. And it may not be a piece of equipment. It might be an an exercise that they're doing a certain way with a certain patient for a certain reason and they post that. So the educational opportunities are amazing.

No. For sure. And I think people, you know, when they think about social media, think, oh my gosh. I don't know what I wanna post. Like, do I need to kinda create a schedule or how do I decide what I'm gonna post?

But I say, you know, anytime anyone wants to get started, the best way to really start is by following, you know, you know, friends, colleagues, people in the industry you respect and, you know, providing feedback and kind of making comments on their posts is actually a great way to get started. You don't have to, you know, post every day of the week, all year long, or, you know, maybe one time a week is enough. But if you're providing value to other people, other people are gonna see those comments or, you know, that that tip you left, you know, under a a shockwave therapy post or something. So it doesn't have to be so intimidating where you have to become necessarily a con you know, content machine all by yourself. You can really provide additional value by commenting on other folks' posts.

Yeah. It's it's funny because even in when people are trying to think, oh, what what should I post? Sometimes it can be the simplest things that you post are the parts that are the most interesting. Like, I've had a lot of podiatrists ask me, oh, when you do your podcast, yeah, with Jim or or just the the other podcast, the other podcast. And people ask me, what microphone do you use?

And you sort of don't think you're thinking about, oh, we yeah. You're gonna post something on Instagram or I'm going to or on LinkedIn. Taking a photo of the microphone that we use and doing a bit of a spiel about it, but let other podiatrists know that, ah, okay. If I wanna do recording, maybe that is the best microphone to use. Jim uses it.

Tyson uses it. It is a good microphone though, isn't it?

It's an excellent microphone.

Fantastic microphone. So what are we moving on to next?

Yeah. The last one is it just like we talked about it. When you're on Instagram and LinkedIn, it's an opportunity to showcase your expertise and discover opportunities. You know, whether this leads to speak engagements or just helps you, you know, attract like minded individuals to help, you know, share educational information back and forth. When you write and you share articles on, you know, current topics like, for example, for me, I'm I'm always about sharing what's going on in marketing of podiatry practices.

Right? So, you know, if people don't like that stuff, don't have to follow me. But anyone that follows me is gonna get that type of content to hopefully help them, you know, increase the visibility of their practices and see more ideal patients. So, you know, whether it's challenges or topics in podiatry or innovations, you know, such contributions can showcase kinda your depth of knowledge and position you as an expert worth inviting to speak or, you know, just to have interactions with, you know, at the next conference or some online interaction. Like we talked about, you know, sending someone a a direct message to ask them a quick question about the microphone they have, you know, what's a good budget for Google Ads, you know, how do I do SEO on my website.

You know, know, we're open. These are open channels to have direct access to people. I remember before the Internet and before these types of social media channels, you know, are you gonna pick up a phone to call these people and ask these questions? You know, like these are you know, Tyson and I are available and Tyson are out there and so are other people that are willing to get into discussions or answer some questions that you might have. So don't be shy.

This is what these channels all are all about. And since we have this type of access now, it's really, really important that you kinda do that.

Which is why they're called social media. People forget the social side of these programs were there for people to connect with each other. And when I post something, and the same as when you post something, Jim, if I got 500 messages from 500 podiatrists around the world asking me a question about that, I would be over the moon because that's what I want. I want people to ask me questions the same as you do. And I love the point that you made though about showing your expertise because I know some podiatrists that they might be writing the gain analysis or sports podiatrist, and they're pumping all this information out there.

And what I find funny is I'll hear other people go, well, they shouldn't really be patient about that. They're not experts in that area. I I met them five years ago, and they knew nothing about that. I'm like, oh, five years later, they seem to know that know what they're talking about because they're constantly posting about it. And then I think it puts them in the spotlight, which then elevates them to post even more content.

So I think it's a great way if you got interested in an area to really showcase what you like.

Yeah. It's that back and forth. Right? That's why these channels are so powerful or can be so powerful when people kinda decide to use them. You know, they're not just broadcasting out and kind of, you know, this is the way it has to be done.

You know, it's an opportunity to have some back and forth and some feedback and that's what really makes these channels special. So I definitely agree with that.

Okay. What's next?

Yeah. Last but not least, know, in kinda inclusions of today, you know, Instagram and LinkedIn serve as powerful tools for podiatrists seeking to enhance, you know, their professional network and visibility. By strengthening oh, sorry. By strategically engaging with, you know, the content, you're kind of expanding your network. You're staying current as far as what's going on within the profession.

You know, you're really kinda tapping into that professional community that's online. You know, I love, you know, on-site events, conferences, you know, educational opportunities, you know, offline. But, you know, when you can complement it with, you know, Instagram, LinkedIn, and these online channels, it just adds another layer of interaction, of camaraderie. So, you know, you know, we have a weekly camaraderie together here on this podcast, but We do. You know, not everybody can have a a podcast cohost as good as Tyson.

So if you don't have that, you know, talking to people Instagram and LinkedIn and sharing your expertise is a great way to network professionally, but also just, you know, bolster your colleagues and your and and the work that you're doing in podiatry. Like I talked about, you can really highlight your expertise, but also provide back and forth with other podiatrists to help kinda lift them up and lift the whole profession up.

It's funny that I've had a few people actually ask me, how the hell did you and Jim get together? But it was through the social media channels that we got together as well. Yep. Going way back, there was just communications going, well, back and forth. So that's why I think it's important for people or podiatrists to connect with other podiatrists and and create that band.

Because you have a look at all the podiatrists around the world who collaborated and are doing different things. They didn't go to university together. They they didn't live in the same town. They've usually had a social media connection somewhere, and then it's just grown from there. And you don't know who that person could be yet.

You'd have no idea. Because you and I, Jim, we are so different.

We're we're on two separate sides of the planet. So

Okay. Anything else to say before we wrap up?

No. I thought it was a good topic. Thanks for the your your contributions to it. But, no, I think I would just highly recommend anyone wanting to, you know, network, you know, for podiatrists. It it is really Instagram and LinkedIn.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to Tyson and myself.

You didn't wanna comment on Facebook?

No. I'm not a big Facebook user.

We'll leave it there for now. Okay, Jim. Look forward to talking to you again next week.

Sounds great, Tyson. Okay.

See you. Bye now.

Thanks for listening to Podiatry Marketing with Tyson Franklin and Jim Mcdonald. Subscribe and learn more at Podiatry Marketing. That's the website address, podiatry.marketing.