Instagram – Best in the Southeast

This is a multiple-part series in an effort to feature Opticals from each region in the US. Why? Because Instagram is underutilized in the optical industry. We have so many visual things that we can share with potential customers. Over the years I have not only grown my own following but I have found some cool practices on Instagram, who are doing some amazing things. In this installment, I gathered some of my favorite Optical Instagram accounts from the South Eastern United States to share with you, why they stand out to me, and how Instagram has impacted their office.

Previously in this Instagram series:  Best in the Northwest

Focused on Forever – @focusedonforeverblinders – Lexington, Kentucky

You can’t help but like this page, their photos show the personalities of the people behind the brand. Every photo with a person is overjoyed to be wearing the glasses. In addition, they stay true to the Kentucky equestrian history and their photos of frames being highlighted have excelled typography that really makes the image stand out. When you visit their page you just want their glasses!

“What I have found about social media is that it has been beneficial in reaching a new market and expanding outside of our geographic area. Social media helps to sell the brand and the lifestyle. If you have a strong marketing team and good branding, you can sell anyone almost anything! In a technologically driven society, it is smart and strategic to utilize social media platforms. If you don’t have thousands to budget for advertising, these platforms can be a great financial move in the early growth stages of your business.
We have seen an increase in website traffic. The integration and analytics of our website with our social media account has allowed us to funnel clients from our social media account to our website with low cost advertisements! We’ve expanded our clientele from Kentucky to California to Japan! It has been amazing to witness how powerful socIal media is and the ease of functionality between platforms for beginners.” -Brandy Ashford, Owner of Focused on Forever Eyewear

That Glasses Guy – thatglassesguy03 – Chattanooga, Tennessee
Matt has some drool-worthy glasses in his store – from custom acetate to an insane amount of crystal bling to drilled faceted that most labs cannot pull off. I encourage you to follow Matt and find some of his videos – he shows off the eyewear in his store but his personality in the videos is what makes you want to go in his shop to meet him. Everyone recognizes Matt on social media because of his own custom made neon green Laibach & York glasses.

“I’ve used Instagram for my personal brand long before shifting to a store brand, so the move was easy and seamless. Now in shifting it to my business I use Instagram for a direct connection with my clients and others so they can be more involved and excited about what’s going on in the store. This has been a great source to not only build but also to maintain connections with clients that aren’t as possible without social media.” -Matt Smith

Forsight Eye – @forsighteye – Savannah, Georgia

Forsight’s Instagram kept catching my eye because they are always doing fun things! There are parties and pets and memes and holiday posts, and of course GLASSES! They do a great job at showing their independent, non-big-box store frames. I love that the page visitors can see that this practice is proud to do what they do. My favorite thing they do is take photos of customers wearing glasses in front of the same beautiful greenery background.

“I do get patients from Instagram every day. I typically see 1-2 patients per day that found me on social media. I feel the key to getting true business from IG is connecting with others in a very genuine way. You cannot just post on social media. You have to actively interact, comment, like others’ material, and show that you support other businesses. You can’t expect others to support you if you do not support others. I also mix my content and add some personal stuff here and there and people love that. -Dr. Erika Morrow

Oxford Eyes – @oxford_eyes – Orlando, Florida
Glasses, glasses, glasses! Kids wearing glasses, dogs wearing glasses, adults wearing glasses – their feed is constantly reminding you of the frame variety they offer, there is always something going on here with showing off their glasses! We also get to see inside of their recent grand opening for the office, which is beautiful.

Oxford Eyes takes a very strategic and creative approach to how we utilize our social media platforms. As an independently owned optical boutique, social is a way of connecting with our local and loyal client base after they have left the shop and our targeted approach allows us to reach new clients in the community. We have a wide range of unique and hard to find eyewear – social media gives us the perfect platform to style and model our fashion-forward selection. We even partner with well-known people in Orlando to help bring attention to our eyewear. For Oxford Eyes, Instagram is a great tool to show off our eyewear and services and have the customer service experience extend online. Not to mention, it’s an opportunity to feature the lines we carry in a fun, local, and relatable way.”
– Owner and founder of Oxford Eyes, Verbelee Nielsen-Swanson