FOLSOM, Calif.—Small business owners hear it all the time: social media is a nonnegotiable item if you want to grow. But the prospect of getting started can be daunting. What platforms should you be on, and what should you be posting once you’re on there? How do you gain followers and find a community? And what value is all of this offering both to you and your patients? For Jennifer Wademan, OD, jumping into social media was a slow but steady process—and one that has ultimately grown into a career-changing and life-altering move.

In February, Dr. Wademan took readers on a walk through her social media journey on Independent Strong, where she discussed the genesis of her Instagram account and how it has helped her connect to optometry in a new way, connect with others in the industry and grow her career and life. Below is an excerpt of her article on Independent Strong titled, “Social Media Helped Me Make Stronger Industry Connections.”



Image via drjenwademan on Instagram

With an Instagram following of over 20,000, Dr. Wademan shares how she got started with social media and how she manages to stay true to herself online.

 
 Jennifer Wademan, OD.
  
My journey with social media started several years ago when it was still somewhat new. At the time, I was starting to hear things around the industry about the importance of being on social media and putting your practice out there. I had a staff member who wanted to create a Facebook account and an Instagram account for our practice, and I didn’t really know much about Instagram then, so I let her take the lead. She was a lot younger than me, and she knew the ins and outs, so I gave her the go ahead to start posting pictures and updates about the office.

After some time of her running the accounts, I decided to join in. I like photography, I like creating things, so I started to add a few things to our pages here and there, and it slowly evolved into something I took over as I grew more interested in it and I wanted to share different things.

Click here to read the full story. Independent Strong, from Jobson’s Review of Optometric Business, is an online resource providing the information that independent eyecare professionals need to prosper now and into the future.