The Medic Portal | IG + Twitter Growth
Akash Rajagopal
Social Media Strategist
Social Media Manager
Content Creator
Buffer
Canva
Instagram
The Medic Portal
⚡Overview
The case study below was for my work as a Freelance Social Media Manager for the education consultancy The Medic Portal (United Kingdom).
While there, I was handling the company’s Instagram and Twitter accounts. Below is a case study on how we improved the content quality and engagement rate of the respective social media accounts.
Brand account on Instagram & Twitter
⚡ Testimonial
Akash created social media posts for two of our brands (The Medic Portal and The Lawyer Portal), scheduled those posts using Buffer, and reported on trends in reach, engagement, etc., for both brands. In my experience, he was always responsive, communicated any issues well, and produced posts that resonated with our audience. He was a helpful asset to our team in terms of providing social media expertise that we didn’t have internally. I wish him the best of luck in his future work.
— James Rice, Head of Marketing, The Career Portal
⚡ Goal
The main goal for the Medic portal account was to target students keen on enrolling in medicine by helping them with the form filling, tutoring & educating them by organizing webinars.
The intention was to garner more interest through social media and create a lead-generating funnel.
In addition, we also wanted to improve the account's engagement rate and understand which type of content was suited for the account and was attractive to the audience.
⚡ Target audience
Students that are 16 or 17 years old. (Grade 11 and 12)
⚡ Problem
We chose Instagram as one of our main marketing channels because our target audience tends to use it most often and because we already have a strong foundation.
Most high school students are unaware of when they should start preparing for their UCAT/BMAT examinations, how to fill out their UCAS application, which university to select as their 5th choice on their application, or when/how to start preparing for Med school interviews.
So, we chose these topics as our primary content pillars since we were closer to the UCAS application deadline.
⚡ Strategy & Process
🎦 Instagram
From June to October, we planned to focus on the following:
UCAT guide
BMAT guide
UCAS application guide
During this period, students prepare for medical school by taking the UCAT or BMAT, depending on their preference, and deciding which universities to apply to. So, these were our focus areas.
We experimented with various post formats like single image posts, carousels, and videos to observe which formats worked for this demographic.
We made sure the design was specific to the demographic. We cut off any general information like “You need to work hard” or “spend more time to prepare,” etc., and made sure we focused more on quick tips that are easy to digest.
We followed a posting schedule of 3 to 4 posts a week. We didn't want the audience to feel spammed by content on their feed.
We changed our layout to make it easier for users and allow more white space. The new version was much more precise than before!
🐦 Twitter
With Twitter, we started by posting two tweets/day to improve the overall account engagement rate, as the account had an inconsistent posting schedule.
Using this method, we could test out which time of the day was the best to post and what type of content we should follow moving forward.
The content topics were categorized as Quick Tips, NHS/Interview Hot topics, motivational/encouraging tweets, and Blog post promotion.
To determine which content our target audience prefers, we tested different formats, including short-form tweets, threads, videos, and static images. Our content can therefore be created in that format moving forward.
⚡ Results
🎦 Instagram
🔸 We found that tips and guide-like posts were performing well. UCAT-related posts were the best performing overall with 1401 total engagements, and these posts got the most saves and were well-engaged.
🔸 We achieved the best results with these posts because we broke down each section of the UCAT exam and explained how students should plan their prep, manage their time, and approach specific questions.
🔸 By pointing students in the right direction, we could help them save time and effort by guiding them to a resource that meets their needs.
🔸 By the end of August, we noticed a shift in audience interest toward Med Applications content, particularly tips on Personal Statements. This may be due to most students finishing their UCAT exams and now focusing on improving their med school applications. We'll prioritize creating more content on this topic for our students.
🔸 We found that the format of the single post underperformed compared to the carousels. The audience liked detailed posts over short format content. The engagement rate for single posts was 6% lower than for carousel posts.
The loss of followers during this period was due to the end of UCAT. Hence, students unfollow as they no longer require any help with the exam (August end)
🐦Twitter
During June-August, we followed the two tweets/day posting schedule. We observed that:
🔸 The experiments showed that posting at this frequency increased the reach and the number of retweets and improved the account's overall engagement.
🔸 The tweets with links had a better reach. The engagement rate on the tweets was similar with or without links, but the traffic to the blog had increased. The static or cover image was combined with the link so the viewers were enticed to click—which explains why those with links performed better.
🔸 "Quick tips or tricks'' and motivational/encouraging tweets had higher engagement and retweets. The post was made when students were stressed about their UCAT exam and lacked motivation.
Therefore, we combined quick test hacks for each UCAT section and motivated students to achieve their goals. Based on the increase in engagement rate, it was a successful strategy.
🔸 In addition, we found that tweets posted in the evening performed better since our audience was more active during those hours and more likely to consume our content. For this reason, we published content on tips and tricks for exams and medical applications during the evenings in August.
