What Should Surgeons Know About Approaching Social Media?
As surgeons/trainees navigating the social media landscape, it may be tricky to discern how to best approach it. Being present on the internet has built so many new relationships and created countless career opportunities for those that leverage it correctly, but also carries with it the inherent risk of being misinterpreted and targeted.
Though still a medical student, I’ve spent an extensive amount of time contemplating how I want to integrate the use of media into my medical career- and if I even should! I’ve spoken with countless experts in media growth, utilization of media in healthcare, and medical communication and in the following few articles, I hope to impart some of the wisdom I’ve learned from them, with input from my own experience navigating the media landscape through a digital media company, personal brand, and academic/hospital lens.
In this article specifically, we’ll be tackling some commonly asked questions that precede even the “how to / strategies” of growing a social media brand. Questions such as:
How can social media be advantageous to me as a surgeon/trainee? And if I choose to go forward, how can I start approaching it?
There’s no one better to lead the conversation than private practice plastic surgeon Dr. Richard J. Brown. Dr. Brown has focused his career on not only improving patient lives by helping them feel confident in their own skin, but also educating and entertaining, in the process amassing nearly 9,000,000 followers across social media platforms. Here’s what he has to say:
As a surgeon, what are some aspects of social media that you've found very valuable?
Dr. Brown:
“I do not feel it is as much about me being a surgeon, as much as me being a business, a brand, and a normal human like everyone else. The reason it has been valuable for me is the following. One, I love to educate, entertain, and laugh and that is what my posts are about. Two, I like to show people that I am a real person just like them. I have used it to not just showcase my practice and what I do for a living, but to show people who Ricky Brown is outside of my business as well. I think the most common thing I hear from patients that have found me via social media is that they feel they already know me when they come to the office. They are not intimidated, and they enter the consult with comfort and excitement rather than discomfort and being nervous. I also hear often that I am exactly in person how I am on camera. I think people in medicine need to realize, medicine is a business. While we are altruistic people, we still run companies that need to make money, that has to pay bills, and provide humans a service, that just happens to be healthcare. I do think this is very different for a doctor employed by a hospital. I feel it should be the same, but for liability reasons doctors employed by the hospital have their hands tied. They can’t show what I show...”
Ultimately, social media is not only a tool to help educate, its telos is connecting people. Whether it be with patients, colleagues, mentors, or just people you gravitate towards, social media is one of the most powerful tools and for many the first step in connecting with others you would have never otherwise met in real life. It also gives you a platform to amplify your voice outside of your immediate circle. And with that comes many potential business (private practice OR academia) or altmetric perks.
2. What are some tips you have for other surgeons in approaching social media?
Dr. Brown:
“You have to first decide if you even care about social media. I happen to love it because I like expressing myself in that manner, I am not afraid to be on camera, and I genuinely enjoy being a content creator. I think if you just have some company do it for you, it will not have the authenticity as if you did it yourself. I do feel it is fine to have other editors make the videos, but you have to be in front of the camera, you have to educate, you have to show them who you are. If you are going to enter this world [in a serious capacity], you need to be consistent with your posting... For me I feel the major 4 ( Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and TikTok) are huge because they all now have shortform videos. I post on all of them on the regular… You do not have to be just longform. My 700K followers on Youtube are mostly from shorts not longform.
Another tip is you want to define what your purpose is. Why do you want to use social media? What is your goal? Whatever that looks like to you is fine. But, if you do not know why you are there people will feel that. You have to be patient. Gaining followers is so hard today for everyone. Try not to focus on followers and likes. Do not worry about the metrics. Put good content out and add value to peoples lives. If you get caught up in the metrics, which we all do, it will drag you down mentally. The final tip I have is the following. You better have thick skin because people will hate on your posts. It is the environment we live in. Just ignore them. You can not win any conversation via text on social media. That said I highly recommend that you reply to comments on your posts. People want you to engage with them. You are building a community of people that want to be around you and your content. Try not to ignore them.”
Ultimately, much like Dr. Brown has emphasized, the first step before all this is deciding if social media is something you care about. It may be something you don’t care about, but from my experience, there are no down sides from simply having an account, even if you don’t use it. It makes it easier for our academic profiles to promote you for your accomplishments without you having to lift a finger. From there, define your purpose. It doesn’t need to be academic or medical. You might want to have a twitter just to look at pictures of cute cats and dogs, and that’s OK! Once you have defined your purpose, start taking small steps. If you don’t know how to make a long video, make a short one. If you don’t know how to make a short video, write something. Something is better than nothing.
If at this point, you still decide you want to take greater advantage of what social media has to offer, in the following few articles, we’ll be getting more granular on some strategies you can use for specific social media platforms.
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Joshua Chen is a second year medical student with an interest in media in medicine, particularly how it can be used to shape culture, educate, and increase business in the academic space.
Find Dr. Brown at:
Email: rbrown@rbrownmd.com, Office Web: www.richardjbrownmd.com, Instagram: @drrichardjbrown, @inbewellness
Tik Tok: @therealtiktokdoc, YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/BrownPlasticSurgery
The opinions expressed in the article are not affiliated with any institution, company or product. The article should not be interpreted as medical advice.
If you are interested in contributing, email us at: themodernsurgeon@gmail.com