Jennifer Tsai
MANHATTAN—On Instagram, Jennifer Tsai is known as @drjenandjuice— a fashion forward optometrist, with a love for travel and an eye for the perfect Instagram photo. Though her Instagram account—which has a whopping 49,000 followers—caters to a wide audience between the ages 18 and 45, it first started as a personal account in 2014 before she incorporated optometry earlier this year. “It was a way for me to share my passion outside of work and school,” Dr. Tsai told VMail Weekend. “It gained quite a following on its own, so I started to collaborate with hotels, restaurants, and travel agencies as a travel lifestyle influencer. I decided to combine optometry with my account around April 2018 of this year, to help advocate the field and health wellness.”

Because Instagram is a fast and easy medium, Dr. Tsai updates her account every other day, with posts that range from eye health education, to inspirational messages, study tips, travel tips, how to balance work and life, or hotel recommendations. She also makes sure she is posting information that is relevant to her audience by engaging her followers and asking what they’d like to learn or see more of in her posts.

  

In addition to her Instagram account, Dr. Tsai also runs Jen Jen Travels, a personal blog that chronicles her travels, love for optical, health and wellness in more detail. The blog, which she launched in 2016, features a travel section, where she shows all the different countries she has traveled (37 and counting), covers places to stay, travel trips and hacks as well as personal experiences; an optometry section where she shares the most up to date eyecare information, dry eye treatment, myopia control, eye diseases and more, to help her readers answer any questions they may have about their eyes; and a section for sponsored posts related to health and wellness—meal prep plans, skin beauty products, DNA testing kits, health professional clothing and fashion.

  

In order to cater to her diverse audience, Dr. Tsai has also found a way to connect drjenandjuice to Jen Jen Travels. “I usually create content for an Instagram post, with a few photos to share,” she stated. “I’ll post one image on Instagram and link it to my blog for those who are interested in reading about the topic in a more detailed description with additional photos on my blog.”

Because Dr. Tsai is so active online, she notices that some of her patients find her or recognize her from social media. “I have quite a few new patients generated from both accounts. At least five to eight new patients per week come from following me on my social media and websites. Also it helps with word of mouth from social media—I’ve had a few come into my office in New York City as new patients from the West Coast.”

  

With all the work Dr. Tsai has put into her blog, the biggest reward, she believes, is being able to help up and coming optometrists launch their social media. “The most rewarding aspect has been working with pre-health and optometry students, and public speaking at schools with them to help them with any advice I have,” she said. “I’ve also helped current optometrist and practice owners learn how to use social media and curate content for their page and I have showed them how to create a following by building an authentic connection while maintaining professionalism on social media.”

Though she has widened her reach with drjenandjuice and Jen Jen Travels, Dr. Tsai is looking to continue growing. “I’m looking to branch out and will be creating eye-related products in the near future, so please stay tuned! I plan to continue public speaking to students at optometry schools and to continue to help current optometrists with brand building on social media platforms. I also am looking to expand my luxury travel platform to combine it and help health professionals with travel bookings.”