Social media use within otolaryngology is increasing rapidly, mainly for professional networking but also for applications that directly impact patient care, such as patient education and study recruitment. This is according to a recent review on social media use within otolaryngology that found that Twitter, now X, was most frequently used for professional networking, YouTube for patient education, and Facebook for study recruitment (Laryngoscope. 2023;133:2447-2456).
“Social media can be a very powerful educational tool,” said Natalie Krane, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery in the division of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. “I’ve found that patients are referencing social media more and more to learn about specific procedures, but this can be a double-edged sword — the information on social media is unregulated and can be misleading, wrong, or even dangerous. I figured we surgeons can have some control over this situation by contributing our own experience and knowledge, so that’s what I aim to do.”
Purpose and Platform Choice
Through her “walk and talk” on Instagram, Dr. Krane (@drnataliekrane) talks to patients about current clinical questions. She says she finds this way of communicating to be a valuable resource for referring offices to use to show patients what she does, and for patients to get a sense of her personality and approach. “It’s a ‘virtual lookbook.’”
I’ve found that patients are referencing social media more and more to learn about specific procedures, but this can be a double-edged sword — the information on social media is unregulated and can be misleading, wrong, or even dangerous. I figured we surgeons can have some control over this situation by contributing our own experience and knowledge, so that’s what I aim to do.” — Natalie Krane, MD
“I am by no means a social media expert: I don’t track engagement, likes, or anything of the sort; it’s too overwhelming. I do not regard social media as a form of self-promotion as much as it is for education,” Dr. Krane said. “Social media is also an incredible tool to build community amongst surgeons — develop relationships with those you may otherwise never meet, discuss technique, and share knowledge.”
Elliot Morse, MD, MHS, a fifth-year otolaryngology–head and neck surgery resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, also uses social media for professional networking. It is a “great way to connect with other physicians in the field and share research. It has allowed me to meet people I never otherwise would have,” she said.
Dr. Morse, a member of the Triological Society’s social media committee, noted that X has a lot of engagement in academic circles, but her preferred social media platform is Instagram.
Great way to connect with other physicians in the field and share research. It has allowed me to meet people I never otherwise would have.” — Elliot Morse, MD, MHS
Social media can also serve as an education or mentorship tool, said Shiayin F. Yang, MD, associate professor of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery in the department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville (Instagram @shiyangmd).
“In terms of patient education, my account is an additional source of information for patients to learn about facial plastic surgery. It has been helpful for patients to see what they can expect from surgery in terms of before and after photos, but also during the recovery period,” Dr. Yang said. Photos are a powerful tool “to understand what to expect and the types of results that can be achieved. For example, a photo of a forehead flap is much more effective in setting expectations compared to trying to explain the procedure in layman’s terms,” Dr. Yang said. She added that she uses her professional Instagram account during consultations to show examples to her cosmetic and reconstructive surgery patients.
As for mentorship, Dr. Yang explained, “I work at an academic teaching hospital, and one of my missions is educating the next generation of surgeons. Social media has allowed me to extend my reach beyond the medical students, residents, and fellows at my hospital to trainees across the country.” Dr. Yang added that she uses the platform to share her “experience as a surgeon, researcher, and mother with the aim of helping other trainees achieve their goals.”
Peter Vila, MD, MSPH, a facial plastic surgeon at The Vila Institute for Plastic Surgery in Portland, Ore., embraces a well-developed patient-oriented social media presence on Instagram (@drpetervila), TikTok (@drpetervila), and YouTube (Dr. Peter Vila).
In the facial plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine space, a large amount of content is delivered by influencers and “experts” who are untrained or illegitimate, Dr. Vila explained. With no repercussions for stating inaccurate information, “some content creators are chasing the follows and likes by saying things to get attention, but these are sometimes completely false. As a fellowship-trained and double board-certified facial plastic surgeon, I feel that it is my duty to put out accurate content to provide a source of qualified information.”
Dr. Vila noted that YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok differ in content and how people interact with each platform. “In terms of sheer numbers, TikTok has the highest potential reach because videos can go viral and be shown to hundreds of thousands of people. This is much harder to do on Instagram or YouTube.” The shelf life on YouTube is longer, however, with videos made several years ago still attracting views. Instagram has become very local, so the people seeing your content are primarily the ones who “would be of most interest to a surgeon or injector because they are geographically close to you.” Dr. Vila added that TikTok and YouTube are global in their reach, which is great for spreading information but not necessarily for reaching future patients.
Advice for New Users
Physicians who are new users of social media should “just start” producing content, according to Drs. Vila, Yang, and Morse.
Dr. Vila suggested new users accept that their posts will not be good initially, but “by sticking with it over time, you will continuously improve.” He recommended setting a goal to post a certain number of times each week and sticking to that goal for at least several months. “Know that you will have times when you’re sick of generating content and feel like nobody is seeing your stuff. This is common among creators. Stick with it.”
New users should avoid “following trends for the sake of following trends,” Dr. Vila said. “Decide from the outset what you want your channel or page to be, whether it’s educational, humor, lifestyle, or a little bit of everything. Put some thought into this in the beginning, so your content is not all over the place. You can evolve over time, but try to be focused and consistent,” Dr. Vila said. He advised that politics is a topic to avoid. “It might feel good to you to get your opinion out there, but this is a very fast way to potentially alienate a lot of people. If you are incredibly passionate about something and are prepared to potentially lose followers for expressing strong opinions, do so at your own risk.”
According to Dr. Morse, new social media users will not have a lot of engagement to start with, but by engaging with other accounts—in other words, by commenting and following—“you will be able to build a following. The biggest pitfall is publishing content that is unprofessional or at risk of violating HIPAA. If you’re not sure or it’s borderline, it’s not worth it,” Dr. Morse said.
For Dr. Yang, the most significant obstacles when starting to use social media professionally were the desire to be perfect and the fear of what others would think. “I realized that my posts could never be perfect if I didn’t post anything. Additionally, I can never make everyone happy, and the benefit of helping others outweighs this,” she said.
Your professional account is an extension of your professional persona, so be professional. If it is something you wouldn’t discuss openly at work, you probably shouldn’t be discussing it on social media.” — Shiayin F. Yang, MD
If you plan to use any patient photos or information, it is essential to discuss the intended use with the patients and obtain written consent. “I am extremely grateful to my patients who allow me to share their experiences, which is very personal. Many patients who agree to share their photos do so with the hope of helping others in similar situations,” Dr. Yang said.
Dr. Yang continued, “Your professional account is an extension of your professional persona, so be professional. If it is something you wouldn’t discuss openly at work, you probably shouldn’t be discussing it on social media.”
Dealing with Negative Comments
Negative comments and posts are inevitable, but they can be managed correctly.
Dr. Yang advised physicians to respond to negative comments or posts “in a polite and honest manner or decline to comment.”
According to Dr. Morse, most negative comments are unrelated to you or the content you’re putting out. If you’re getting the same comments repeatedly, perhaps consider why, “but in general, remember what your personal mission is for your social media use, and as long as your content is in line with that, ignore them.”
Dr. Vila said that negative comments and posts occur most frequently on TikTok because the number of people seeing your posts who have never heard of you is much higher than on other social media platforms. “You can either take it on the chin and respond in a funny, lighthearted way or just delete the comment and block the poster. I’d like to be funnier, but sometimes, the truth is that the comment is hurtful and it’s best to delete it,” he added.
To prevent any social media legal liability concerns, Dr. Vila avoids giving individual medical advice.
“It’s OK to speak in general terms, but you will get questions from people about their specific problems because you’re a doctor on social media. I don’t respond to these comments, and I have a disclaimer on my YouTube page that I do not give out individual medical advice on the internet,” Dr. Vila said.
When to Hire a Professional
According to Dr. Yang, hiring a professional to handle your social media account can be beneficial when you need more time or desire to do so. It can also be useful “when you want additional help creating content or growing a following, or when you have a very active account with multiple posts and reels a day or posts/reels that require a lot of time.”
Dr. Vila explained that while running quality social media accounts requires a time commitment, he manages them himself.
“I’m a strong believer that the best accounts work because they have an authentic voice that can only come from the individual. The accounts run by marketing teams can be spotted a mile away with the stock photos and generic captions,” Dr. Vila said.
Dr. Krane also manages her own professional social media account. “I do everything on my own, so this requires a high degree of simplicity and ease. In order for social media to be sustainable for me, it needs to seamlessly blend into my schedule, not be an additional ‘to do’ item.”
“My posts are templated, and my ‘walk and talk’ videos are created while I walk to my car after work,” Dr. Krane explained. “My rule is: one take or no take; there is no editing, splicing, or fancy add-ons. This is no doubt a lo-fi and unpolished approach, and not likely what marketing experts would recommend, but it seems to work for me and make facial plastic surgery a more approachable topic to the audience.”
Katie Robinson is a freelance medical writer based in New York.
Medical Professionals versus Non-Medical Influencers: Who’s Gaining More Views?
A recent study assessed the quality of sinusitis-related videos on TikTok uploaded by non-medical influencers, lay individuals, and medical professionals (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2024;170:1456-1466). The researchers identified 221 videos that gained more than 300 million views and one million shares. Almost half of the videos were published by non-medical influencers, yet only 47% of the videos posted by non-medical influencers were factual. Meanwhile, 84% of videos posted by medical professionals and 80% posted by lay uploaders were factual. Compared with videos by medical professionals, non-medical and lay uploaders were more likely to have unsafe harm/benefit scores, misunderstood videos, and lower Global Quality Scale scores.
The survey’s corresponding author, Chris Roxbury, MD, associate professor in the section of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at the University of Chicago, wrote, “Information provided by healthcare providers was generally higher quality/more factual than that of influencers. However, there were significantly more posts and views by non-medical influencers, and these posts were unlikely to be factual. Therefore, it may be more likely that an individual seeking medical advice will come across a non-factual post than one from a healthcare provider.”
“Given that quality health-related information from healthcare professionals may be overshadowed by non-factual and potentially harmful information, future initiatives may be to encourage dissemination of more accurate information via individual healthcare providers utilizing social media, and perhaps to create/popularize social media accounts at the medical society level that can provide patients with more reliable information.”
Lead author Rose Dimitroyannis, MD candidate at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, wrote, “For medical professionals interested in creating educational content online, there may be some things to learn from social media professionals that can help increase engagement and the dissemination of valuable medical information.”
“Our findings suggest that medical professionals could improve their videos by using subtitles and visuals to emphasize key points, breaking down dense information into smaller parts, and citing reliable sources so viewers are able to do further research.”
“Finally, it is important for physicians to understand that regardless of their relationship to social media, many of their patients are coming in with information they have found online. Familiarizing oneself with the landscape of medical information online can only help to better care for these patients.”