100,000 followers in 30 days – and a car as the reward: with this challenge, the Stankovic dental practice in Hanover attracted attention far beyond the dental sector. In the Queens & Sons of Dentistry podcast, trainee dental assistant Sarah and practice owner Dr Nebo Stankovic describe how the campaign came about, what figures it achieved and why a practice owner would enter into such a deal with his team at all.
How the challenge came about
The impetus came from a video filmed spontaneously after a bleaching day, in which Sarah introduced the practice. The clip was well received, and the practice's videographer suggested producing more content of this kind. Sarah explains in the podcast that she had wanted to do something for the practice's social media presence for some time, but lacked ideas and practical experience – in video editing, for instance, or in building reach. Together with the videographer, the idea of a challenge emerged from this: one reel every day for 30 days.
The target originally envisaged was 30,000 followers. Dr Stankovic went one step further and set the mark at 100,000. As the account stood at around 9,000 followers at the start, this effectively meant an increase of 91,000 – and, in the event of success, a BMW 1 Series which, according to a light-hearted remark in the podcast, had only been Sarah's dream car for a few days. The practice owner's initial scepticism is notable: he describes having found the idea “a little silly” at first, wondering what it had to do with dentistry, and not believing that such a campaign could trigger success on that scale. The videographer and Sarah were proved right.
The results in figures
- The practice account started at around 9,000 followers
- After 30 days: 34,000 followers – an increase of around 25,000
- The first reel of the challenge reached 1.4 million views
- In total, the account recorded around 3.7 million interactions
- Instead of the 30 reels planned, roughly 15 to 20 were published
For context: the podcast host, who has himself been active on Instagram for around six years, refers to his own accounts with 3,800 and around 4,500 followers respectively – and to how laborious the organic building of reach usually is. He therefore describes an increase of 25,000 followers within a month as a considerable achievement, one that anyone who has ever built up an account will appreciate.
The viral opening reel
The breakthrough came with the very first reel of the challenge: Sarah prepared a presentation for her employer and delivered it quite formally in the practice's meeting room – complete with a large monitor. With this performance she convinced her employer to agree to the deal, and it was precisely this scene that went viral. Dr Stankovic attributes the success partly to Sarah's dry, authentic manner. The length is also remarkable: the reel ran for around two minutes – a format that, in the practice owner's estimation, virtually every social media expert would have advised against. Viewers nevertheless stayed until the end because the content gripped them. By way of comparison: on TikTok the practice had previously reached around 900,000 views on one occasion, but according to Dr Stankovic the two platforms are an entirely different game and not comparable.
Why a practice owner enters into such a deal
In the conversation, Dr Stankovic sets out his basic attitude: performance should always be assessed, and performance beyond what is expected should be rewarded. What appealed to him about the challenge was its measurability – a defined period, a defined result. At the same time, he built in a condition: the reward applies as long as the employee remains employed by the company. He was criticised for this in the comments; he justifies the clause with a desire for continuity – the campaign is not meant to be a “flash in the pan”. It is also important to him that social media does not become a core task, but remains enjoyable and benefits both sides: the practice gains reach, and the employee gains a car if the goal is met.
The situation once the deadline expired
The 100,000 followers were not reached by the original cut-off date of 13 April, and the challenge was extended. The car has nevertheless already been ordered and was due to be delivered at the beginning of July – because of the lead time it had to be ordered early. Dr Stankovic does, however, reserve the right to withdraw from the purchase contract should the performance not be sustained: motivation is one thing, discipline quite another. In terms of content, he already draws an interim conclusion: a practice account cannot revolve around professional matters alone – “after all, we have at most 32 teeth”, as he pointedly puts it; anyone making a reel about a tooth every day would be finished after a month. What is decisive is everything around it: everyday practice life, the interpersonal situations and the entertainment value.