Capitalizing on social media: An evaluation of the public’s preferences for plastic surgery social media content

Abstract

The effectiveness of utilizing social media platforms to promote clinical practices and attract patients has been well established. This study aimed to assess what plastic surgery social media content and educational material the public is most responsive to.An anonymous 25-question survey was distributed using REDCap and Amazon's Mechanical Turk to ascertain demographic information, patterns of social media use, levels of interest in plastic surgery, and preferences for plastic surgery content.Of 401 participants, the typical respondent was between 25 and 34 years old and on social media daily. Almost half of the respondents (46.1%) have intentionally viewed plastic surgery content on social media, of which most used Instagram (71.1%) and Facebook (55.4%). Participants grouped as either younger or older than 35 years old were equally likely to have viewed plastic surgery content (p = 0.33). Content categories with the highest interest were before and after results (mean Likert weight 4.00 ± 1.10), patient testimonials (3.73 ± 1.15), and recovery process (3.67 ± 1.14). Content on celebrities (2.89 ± 1.17), comedic videos (2.79 ± 1.19), and surgeons' private lives (2.51 ± 1.08) received negative interest. Photo posts (51.4%) were preferred more than video posts (27.2%). Before and after results on social media were the most influential factor in the selection of a plastic surgeon (45.9%).The importance of social media for plastic surgeons to be able to interact with patients is at unprecedented heights. Understanding patterns of the public's social media content preferences will help plastic surgeons optimize their social media reach and influence their target audience.