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Social media is a powerful tool for plastic surgeons and aesthetic medical professionals to reach out to potential clients. The benefits they can provide to any practice are undeniable.
In fact, during an online survey conducted by Social Media Examiner, 2,897 marketers were surveyed about these benefits:
- 85% reported an increase in exposure
- 75% reported an increase traffic
- 66% reported an increase in lead generation
- 58% reported that they developed loyal fans
- 57% reported an improvement in their sales
So, the benefits speak for themselves, but with so many social media platforms available, it can be overwhelming to decide which ones to focus on.
While the do-it-all approach might sound tempting, it's not always the best option. In this article, we'll explore the different social media platforms and how they can benefit your medical practice.
Ah, Facebook. The platform where your mom and your aunt share political cat memes, pictures of kids they didn’t take themselves and those weird conspiracy theories that only ever gain traction on this one platform.
But, interesting little tidbit: Facebook is still the most popular social media platform among adults with 2.9 billion active users per month. You simply cannot ignore that amount of access to an audience.
Close to 42% of Facebook users are between the ages of 25 and 44. So if you can provide both minimally invasive and surgical treatments, the chances of you finding patients in that audience is fairly likely.
If you find that many of your surgical patients are between the ages of 45 and 54, there’s even better news: you can bump that number up to 55.6%. That means half of Facebook’s 2.9 billion active users are within your age parameters.
When it comes to content, all sorts of different approaches perform well on Facebook. You can share educational videos about procedures or showcase your satisfied clients' before-and-after transformations with photos. You can use text or even thoughtfully share articles or other pieces of content to engage your audience with.
- 2.95 billion monthly active users (2023)
- 56.3% male, 43.7% female (2023)
- Used by 90% of marketers (2022)
- Users by age group: 3.9% 13 - 17, 18% 18 - 24, 23.7% 25 - 34, 18.1% 35 - 44, 13.8% 45 - 54, 11.2% 55 - 64, 11.2% 65+ (2022)
Is Facebook Right for You?
For the vast majority of practices, Facebook is a must-have social media platform. Some exceptions exist, but not many, and if they do, it is usually because of a lack of available time or resources, not a lack of potential benefit.
Instagram is all about visuals, making it perfect for aesthetic medical professionals. With over a billion monthly active users, Instagram is a great platform to showcase your work and reach a younger audience. In fact, 69% of Instagram users are under 35.
On Instagram, you can post before-and-after pictures of your clients, share educational content, and even go live to answer questions from your followers. You can also use Instagram to collaborate with influencers in your niche to reach even more people.
- 2.51 billion monthly active users (2023)
- 48.2% male, 51.8% female (2023)
- Used by 79% of marketers (2022)
- Users by age group: 8% 13 - 17, 30.8% 18 - 24, 30.3% 25 - 34, 15.7% 35 - 44, 8.4% 45 - 54, 4.3% 55 - 64, 2.6% 65+ (2023)
Is Instagram Right for You?
Much like Facebook, Instagram is a no-brainer for medical practices. Its focus on visual media and its ability to create and hold an audience make it ideal for practices looking to expand their local reach. In many cases, if you can only devote time to one social media platform, you will want to focus on Instagram.
Twitter is a fast-paced platform that can help you stay top-of-mind with your followers. While the user base is smaller than other social media platforms, Twitter is great for sharing quick updates and news about your practice. It's also a great platform to connect with other professionals in your industry.
When it comes to content, Twitter is all about brevity. You only have 280 characters to get your message across (unless you are a paid subscriber). Share links to your blog posts, answer client questions, and even run Twitter polls to get your followers engaged.
As a general rule, Twitter is a much more critical platform by its nature, as it is often a place where inflammatory conversations about politics, business and economics take place. The user base will likely be more likely to stir up controversy on Twitter, so always include that when creating content for the platform.
- 368.4 million monthly active users (2022)
- 68.1% male, 31.9% female (2023)
- Used by 43% of marketers (2022)
- Users by age group: 6.6% 13 - 17, 17.1% 18 - 24, 38.5% 25 - 34, 20.7% 35 - 49, 17.1% 50+ (2021)
Is Twitter Right for You?
For most practices, we wouldn’t recommend focusing too hard on Twitter. As a platform with a smaller user base and a weaker tool for visual media (which medical practices excel at), it isn’t generally a worthy investment. But if you are looking to become an industry leader or establish yourself as a knowledgeable entity, Twitter might then fit your ultimate goals.
TikTok
This platform has taken the world by storm. While it might not seem like the obvious choice for medical professionals, TikTok is a great platform to showcase your personality and reach a younger audience. In fact, 69% of TikTok users are under 34.
But again, as with other platforms, that doesn’t mean that older audiences are nonexistent. It just means you should consider your content strategy when running ads or posting to this platform.
On TikTok, you can create short, entertaining videos that showcase your practice and educate your followers. You can also collaborate with influencers or other medical professionals to reach a wider audience.
In terms of discovery, TikTok is by the far the best application for practices that are new or are just beginning to explore their social media presence. This is because TikTok does not serve content based on previous content success or the number of followers.
Every video goes through an algorithm, where it is served to an audience. If it performs well, i.e., if it people watch or interact with it, then it is served to more people. This means even your first video, if interesting enough, can go viral and earn you a ton of traffic.
- 1 billion monthly active users (2023)
- 45% male, 55% female (2022)
- Used by 18% of marketers (2022)
- Users by age group (2022): 2.5% 0 - 11, 17.7% 12 - 17, 23.9% 18 - 24, 25.2% 25 - 34, 17.1% 35 - 44, 6.7% 45 - 54, 5.2% 55 - 64, 1.8% 65+
Is TikTok Right for You?
If you have the time to create intentional content for your audiences, TikTok is one one of the best social media platforms you can invest time into. But keep in mind that video content is not easy, and you will need to make sure you and your team is prepared for the amount of work that comes with keeping a regular content schedule on the platform.
YouTube
YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, making it a powerful platform to reach potential clients. With over 2 billion monthly active users, YouTube is great for sharing educational content and showcasing your expertise.
On YouTube, you can create longer-form videos that dive deeper into topics related to your practice. You can also create a series or channel where you share client testimonials, behind-the-scenes looks at your practice, and even tutorials.
Infographic:
- 2.6 billion monthly active users (2023)
- 50% male, 50% female (2023)
- Used by 52% of marketers (2022)
- Users by age group (2022): 28% 18 - 29, 20.7% 25 - 34, 16.7% 35 - 44, 11.9% 45 - 54,, 8.8% 55 - 64, 9% 65+
Is YouTube Right for You?
Although YouTube Shorts are attempting to rival TikTok’s short-form video model, YouTube is still largely dominated by long-form content, meaning you will need to consider scripts, production equipment and regular content planning into your resource management. If you have the time and ability, though, you can establish a very powerful rapport with audiences and the community through YouTube videos.
LinkedIn is the largest professional networking platform, making it a great choice for medical professionals looking to connect with other professionals in their industry. With over 700 million active users, on the surface, it would seem that LinkedIn was also a great place to reach potential patients.
But, LinkedIn is a professional platform with a user base that prefers professional content. Since your practice likely isn’t a B2B model, LinkedIn isn’t great for reaching your target audience.
But that doesn’t mean it holds no value for your practice.
On LinkedIn, you can create a professional profile, share updates about your practice, and connect with other medical professionals in your field. You can also join groups related to your niche and share educational content to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
If you are looking to build professional networks in the industry, become a leader in your field, or expand your practice in some way, then LinkedIn has something to offer your practice.
Infographic:
- 900 million monthly active users (2023)
- 58% male, 42% female (2023)
- Used by 61% of marketers (2022)
- Users by age group (2022): 17% 18 - 29, 31% 30 - 39, 23% 40 - 49, 28% 50 - 64
Is LinkedIn Right for You?
In most cases, we would advise against creating a LinkedIn profile if you were only looking to invest in one or a few platforms. But if you have the budget and resources, establishing yourself as a LinkedIn entity can be a great way to improve your rapport and reputation in the industry and keep you top of mind with other businesses and professionals.
RealSelf
RealSelf is a platform dedicated to cosmetic treatments, making it a uniquely powerful social media platform for aesthetic medical professionals. You can create a profile for your practice, answer client questions, and, by providing strong and useful advice, grow your potential audience and even start developing relationships.
But it isn’t really a traditional social media platform. It operates more closely to something like Reddit or a forum, allowing users to ask questions, browse procedures and connect with medical professionals in their area.
Because it is a different kind of social media platform, it also doesn’t focus too heavily on metrics like monthly active users or demographics since many people might come to ask a question, find an answer, and then leave until they have some other bit of information they are looking for.
Nevertheless, with 4.6 million page visits in January of 2023, the access to people who are explicitly interested in aesthetic treatment is very valuable to practices looking to build their patient volume.
It’s the only platform that focuses on strictly cosmetic treatments. (Not to mention, you can also run targeted ads to reach potential clients who are actively looking for cosmetic treatments.)
Infographic:
- 4.6 million page visits per month (January 2023)
- Users by Age group: 19.88% 18 - 24, 28.26% 25 - 34, 17.44% 35 - 44, 14.64% 45 - 54, 12.06% 55 - 64, 7.74% 65+
Is RealSelf Right for You?
RealSelf is valuable to any medical practice that would like direct access to local people who are asking questions about aesthetic medical procedures. While not every question will generate a lead, becoming a resource for people on this platform improves your reputation as a reliable and knowledgeable provider. While this benefit is not really measurable, it can increase the success of your business in some intangible ways in the run.
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Find the Perfect Fit
Choosing the right social media platform for your medical practice can be a daunting task. But even after you lock your picks down, it can be equally as overwhelming to create and maintain content for them. If you need help in that field, or if you need help finding direction for your social media, we got you covered.
As always, our educators are here to answer any questions you have, anytime, for free. Give us a call at (800) 949-0133 or schedule a one-on-one.