Presentations

Abstract

Introduction: Patients are using social media to guide decisions on aesthetic procedures, prompting many physicians to promote themselves on social media platforms like TikTok.1,2 We investigated the different social media account aspects of popular plastic surgeons (Influencer, over 99,999 followers) and those less popular (Casual, 10,000 to 99,999 followers) on TikTok.

Methods: Influencers and Casuals on TikTok were identified through searches like "plastic surgeon," excluding residency programs, non-plastic surgeons, or physicians practicing outside the U.S. Examined social media aspects include sensitive content warnings, advertising procedures/products in biographies, practice website links, and posting patterns. Statistical analysis was performed using Jamovi software.

Results: More Influencers posted without sensitive content warnings, while most Casuals used them. The majority of both groups did not advertise products/procedures in their biographies. Only five accounts in each group lacked websites linked to their social media. The most common posting pattern for both groups was Semi-Daily (posting multiple days a week, but not daily).

Conclusion: None of the examined aspects significantly distinguished Influencers from Casuals, suggesting unexamined factors might be more critical for achieving Influencer status. However, it seems avoiding the use of sensitive content warnings may correlate with more followers. In both groups, the absence of advertising in biographies and presence of practice website links indicates these are standard practices, not distinguishing factors. Frequent, but not daily, posting appears to be a common strategy among plastic surgeons on TikTok, regardless of follower count.