Candria Krywko, OD, is a Canadian native who left the icy city of Calgary and moved to California in 2002 in pursuit of her post-secondary education. She received her BS in Exercise Science, Scientific Basis from LaSierra University and went on to complete her doctorate in optometry at the Southern California College of Optometry in 2010. With nearly 10 years of experience under her belt and her own practice, Eyes on Hayden, coming in October, Dr. Krywko proves that there is more to learn in the profession of optometry as long as you are willing to dedicate yourself. A novice to the Instagram world, she has in a matter of months, turned her social media presence around.

In March 2018, Dr. Krywko created her eponymous Instagram page in an effort to engage more with her patients. However, after visiting other widely popular pages, she got intimidated and put her budding social media presence on hold. “I started my dr.krywko IG account on March 1, 2018 having heard from colleagues that this was a great avenue to engage with patients. Having little-to-no experience with IG, it’s safe to say that I wasn’t ‘savvy’ at it. I hardly knew how to post a pic, so stories and engagement were entirely out of the question.

“I felt overwhelmed when looking at other IG accounts and how ‘perfect’ they were with their visually pleasing posts that flowed seamlessly and beautifully. I wanted to duplicate that in my own way but didn’t know how or where to begin. As a result, the account sat inactive for almost a year.”





Still, Dr. Krywko did not let her inexperience completely deter her from being active on Instagram. With Eyes on Hayden on the horizon, she used that as motivation to give Instagram another try and this time she went the extra mile. “I decided it [was] time to commit time and energy in learning the IG platform and put my account in action. I spent $300 on an in-depth IG course that taught me how to discover and confidently express my authentic self while delivering my message in an aesthetically pleasing way. I won’t lie, it was intense, but, the result was empowering and worth every second and every penny spent.”

She published her first post Feb. 14, 2019 and has since created a page that reflects who she is, her passion and her creativity.

dr.krywko is a feel-good page one can visit for some optometry-related trinkets, quirky optometry humor and a bit of industry-wide awareness campaigns. The page is intentionally colorful so that it’s reflective of Dr. Krywko herself—personable, fun and outgoing. While she understands and appreciates the importance of the clinical aspects of optometry, her main goal is to remind people that the field is not serious all the time.

“I’ve intentionally kept my feed lighthearted as I want people to see the fun in eyecare that I do. I feel that people respond better to positive reinforcement versus the doom and gloom of ‘Get your eyes checked or else…’ People are more drawn to that which brings them joy.”

Her followers seem to have responded quite positively to Krywko’s perspective. Her most popular posts, she’s observed, are those that have anything to do with eye color, show her on the feed and those that involve addressing her patients. She said, “Everyone seems to love anything and everything related to eye color. Among colleagues, pics of eye-themed accessories are really popular too.

“I’ve also found that my followers like to see pictures of me as it personalizes my feed and shows the human side of our profession. Other successful and engaging posts are ones that ‘Thank my patients’ for giving me a reason to love what I do.”

When it comes to curating content for dr.krywko, Dr. Krywko has turned to Google and Pinterest. She uses keywords such as “Optometry,” “Eye Art” and “Glasses.” She also encourages her followers to send pictures of their own which end up being featured on her page. Dr. Krywko makes sure to post to her feed at least once a day, usually in the mornings. She tries to also post at least two InstaStories, though she admits this is still a work in progress as InstaStories cannot be scheduled in advance and can be time consuming.

As with other practitioners who also have a strong Instagram presence, Dr. Krywko finds that the time consuming nature of Instagram tends to be taxing at times. She uses Planoly—a visual management platform that helps Instagrammers manage their content and/or marketing campaigns.

“I will set an hour or two aside per week to map out upcoming posts so that I’m not struggling to find content in a pinch,” she told VM. “I want to ensure that each post has a deliberate and thoughtful message that promotes knowledge of the eye in a joyful way. Between patients, I’ll also grab my phone to post stories and interact with my followers and other IGers.”

Since that first post in February, dr.krywko has garnered 816 followers and counting, but generating a hefty following after only two months of being active isn’t the only rewarding aspect for Dr. Krywko. She has found Instagram to be a great platform to: share eye tips and tricks, promote eye health awareness in a fun and creative way, reach and engage patients outside of the practice, be visible to new potential patients and connect with colleagues that share her passion.