Dr. Manolis Manolakakis: Improve Your Practice’s Wellness Through Instagram Engagement

Dr. Manolis Manolakakis, DMD, FACS, has more than 5,000 followers on Instagram. He uses his page to share info on his practice and showcase his work — but prioritizes sharing his personality and having fun without too many set goals. We talked with him about his experience online and his tips for OMS professionals looking to improve their own social media pages.

How did you start posting on social media?

A young patient of mine had a really significant gunshot wound, and he drew a very cool little drawing for me that was one of my first posts on Instagram. I think two people saw it. 

Over the years, we started to realize that Instagram was a really nice tool. We try to do it in our own fun way that’s indicative of my personality. 

I definitely think if you’re not on social media as a business owner, you’re missing the point, unless you are so underground and so busy you don’t want anyone to call you or know you exist. But there’s always a turnover with patients and you always need new patients to keep your business going.

Does showing your personality help you get engagement?

Instagram is a beautiful window into the practice, but it’s also a window into who I am in my personal life. People come in and say ‘I’m so sorry you lost your dog,’ or ‘how was your vacation?’ It does make it personal, but the reality is that my practice is personal. Showing my personality through that is I think what Instagram is all about. It doesn’t have to be ‘here’s my before, here’s my after, this is Botox.’ To me that’s boring. There has to be a genuine component of what you’re putting up for it to be interesting and engaging. It’s what is going to make that viewer, that patient or potential patient, look at your Instagram and say, ‘hey, I want to be treated by him.’ 

I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. I have a beard. I have tattoos. I wear leather pants. People think I ride in on my Harley. I don’t have that typical look of a surgeon or a doctor, and I like that I’m different in that regard. Instagram is my business card. This is who I am, not only for my business but in my life. This is how I wear my clothes and my beard. I’m not like a Jekyll and Hyde – one person for work and one for home.

A post shared by Manolis Manolakakis DMD FACS (@drmanolakakis)

So, do you ride in on your Harley?

I honestly would love to ride a motorcycle. I'm just so scared, not even to die, but to get maimed. I've seen some really bad accidents. But motorcycles are gorgeous. It’s art. I wish I could buy a Harley and just put it in my living room and stare at it. 

Do you set any goals for your social media?

I personally run my Instagram, and it does take a little bit of time. There are times when I’m really in the mood to do it, and then there are times when I need a break. Consistency helps with followers, but do I care how many followers I have? I don’t know if I do, but it’s a nice way of getting out some information, and for people to say, ‘hey, here’s my doctor, check him out.’ 

Most of my posts come from inspiration, what I'm feeling at the time. There’s a genuine feel to that vs. ‘I am going to post because I have to post today.’ That’s good for your numbers and consistency, but at what point does that become another stupid post that doesn’t mean anything?

How would you suggest OMS professionals start their online presence?

You could start surfing on Instagram, or whatever social media you want to look at, and you can see what everyone else is doing in your space. What happens with that is you start to say, ‘oh, that's cool. Let me post something like that.’ Initially, you may not feel like you have much to say or offer, but I think that’s one method to see how it's done, and then the other method is to decide what you want people to know about your business.

You want your personality to show, so if you like certain music. you should play that music. If you like having a filter on your face, you should. If you want to be just educational, you need to be who you are, and then the people who you attract will be on your page. Being honest to yourself in what you want to project out is the goal. You’ve got to mix in personality, but it doesn’t have to be intimate. If you have a dog, show yourself walking the dog. If you have a hobby, incorporate it. Maybe you’re a surgeon who likes to draw. I would follow that. Or a Harley Davidson-driving surgeon.

I’m a big list maker, so write your plan down. What is it that you want to accomplish? What do you want to post? What are the topics? What are the concepts? It’s trial and error. There’s no right or wrong post. If it only gets two likes, it’s okay.