How Social Media’s Biggest Plastic Surgeons Reach Millions

Social media’s biggest plastic surgeons share more than a few things in common.

Their strategies could turn social into an effective lead gen asset for your practice.

Or benefit you in other tangible ways we’ll also cover.

From Taboo to Totally!

Our earliest clients avoided social media like the plague.

In 2011, it was too early, too off-brand, and often considered unprofessional.

Things are different now.

“Social Media” is now multiple separate search engines and potential patients are looking for “Someone Like You” on at least TikTok and Instagram.

Dance or don’t dance, but there’s a perfect balance and minimum required presence and we can help you find it.

Who Cares?

Great question, really.

Your goal is probably not to become an “Influencer,” or even be one of social media’s “biggest” plastic surgeons.

And you won’t have to.

That’s why we analyzed accounts we either know or have strong reason to believe aren’t just popular, but productive.

Productive in building brand-recognition, generating patient leads, and capturing mainstream media’s attention as a voice of credibility in cosmetic surgery.

Dr. Kriti Mohan of Ciaravino (thebodydoc.com), focuses on Reels, and posts almost daily. As “The Breast Doc,” Dr. Mohan speaks on all things breast augmentation, from safety and sizing, to implant roundness and recovery. That branding carries over to her website with the simple statement, “One of the world’s leading breast implant surgeons.” Reaching 71,000 viewers per video, Dr. Mohan shows that social media done right can be worthwhile and brand-enhancing.

(Please note that we analyzed social strategies and content for 50+ top plastic surgeons, many of whom are not clients of Studio 3.)

13 Things Social Media’s Biggest Plastic Surgeons Have in Common

Here’s what social media’s biggest plastic surgeons have in common. They:

Personally appear on camera.
Provide value over entertainment.
Output quality content continually (from once daily, to about once weekly).
Talk about more than just plastic surgery.
React to, debunk, or weigh in on viral, controversial, or current topics.
Post more videos than still images.
Involve the rest of the office.
Give airtime to micro influencers and others they’ve treated.
Started early, and they keep going.
Post results but typically avoid “thirst traps.”
Keep the OR pretty private.
Repurpose content smartly across platforms.
Look smart, professional, and personable, in their own unique ways.

How They Do It Exactly and How You Could, Too.

Personally appear on camera.

While it sounds so obvious, the biggest plastic surgeons on social media show their own faces on camera.

Their accounts are mostly made up of back-to-back short form videos of them speaking—with overlays, text and graphics edited in.

The mini mic is optional, but most use it—or carry some other subtle personality element from video video.

It looks almost like they’ve invested a bit into a basic social set up, because they have.

Choose whatever you feel comfortable with as long as it helps you look smart, professional, personable, and unique.

For some, this is as simple as always being professionally poised or seated in videos. Consistency is key, so you’ll want to settle these elements early on and not change them too often.

One common branding mistake we strongly suggest avoiding is inconsistency in editing: Your videos should look similar one to the next, which you’ll do best by using the same fonts, colors, color grading, transitions, thumbnail styles, etc., etc., for weeks or months.

Provide value over entertainment.

Education is best, but entertaining education is even better.

The biggest plastic surgeons give their followers something valuable:

Answers, updates, news, tips, results, risk insights, even entertainment—or “edutainment” is probably the better word for it.

They keep it informative but fun and classy, and make watching worthwhile.

Combine any two of these elements, keep it classy, and you can’t go wrong:

Educate
Entertain
Inspire

Talk about more than just plastic surgery.

If you’re a board-certified plastic surgeon, you’re a medical doctor first and foremost, and may even be on call at a local hospital.

If you’re comfortable doing so, step outside of your immediate field occasionally. It’s what the biggest surgeons on social media do.

It’s also a perfectly valid alternative to the elective and aesthetic side of what you do.

People are interested in it, especially if it might apply to their own health and longevity.

Now we’re not suggesting you speak about brain surgery or other surgical specialities, but just that you weigh in on what you’re qualified and comfortable with.

Imagine reaching 162-million viewers because you filmed a 20-second PSA on the risks of lighting fireworks in your hand.

That’s not just a smart social move, it’s perfectly appropriate awareness for an MD to raise.

Dr. Richard Brown posts a variety of plastic surgery and medical content or commentary—like the viral firework warning. As “The Real TikTok Doc,” he’s also a good example of focusing more on what matters—consistent quality content, and less on what doesn’t—different usernames or “handles” across social platforms.

React to, debunk, or weigh in on viral videos and trending topics.

Social media algorithms boost viral content, and you can capitalize on that—if you catch the content at the “crest” of its wave.

Basically, if it hits your feed and has already racked up massive views, it’s probably worth dueting, assuming you have some expert insights to add.

Misplaced butt implants, strange breast implants, and other similar stories are worth dueting and social platforms make it very easy for you to do so.

Just keep in mind that you’re the (an) expert, and your words will carry some weight.

So, a great time to fact check or cite studies.

Output quality content continually.

Some of the biggest plastic surgeons on social media devote a day or more per week just to content creation.

You don’t have to do that yourself, but the more quality content you put out, the more you give people a reason to follow you.

If you’re short of creative content ideas, it could be a sign that your branding isn’t solid.

After about a month or two of creating social content, it should feel like second-nature to you (if your brand values are properly aligned).

Dr. Anthony Youn devotes two days per week to social content creation, and has mastered the art of it through years of work. Dr. Youn adopted what we’re calling a “social-first” strategy after an early media appearance booked his practice for some months. His outlets include TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, several published books, and a podcast, with content smartly repurposed across platforms, reaching mostly different audiences.

Involve the rest of the office.

The most successful plastic surgeons on social media feature themselves first and foremost, but often invite or involve the rest of the office—whether by co starring in a few videos, or soliciting multiple answers to one question: “What procedures [have you had, do you plan to get, regret doing, etc.]”

Give airtime to influencers and others you’ve treated.

Asking your patients to share their experience isn’t just a great growth strategy for you, but it also validates that your patients are important and influential people.

Whatever your own take on Influencers or on becoming one yourself is, don’t underestimate the power of the organic friend-to-friend recommendations that are happening.

All over social media.

All of the time.

Start early and keep going.

TikTok isn’t going anywhere, so go ahead and build an audience on it and across the rest of social media.

Nerd Note: They’re actually mid making TikTok even better for your practice right now: testing outbound links on all video content—something only Instagram’s Stories offers right now.

Social media is much more of a marathon than a sprint, so you’ll have to keep at it if you want to see leads and conversions.

It may also be some time before patients walk right in after “seeing you on social,” but, like the ads we skip and the billboards we drive right by, you are being noticed.

Trust the trends: No one’s going into surgery these days without first checking you out on social media.

Whichever social platforms you decide to focus on—we recommend IG above all, then TikTok—put some effort into converting Followers into email subscribers.

If becoming “an Influencer” isn’t for you, Athenix’ social media is a great case study. Athenix features no single surgeon routinely, yet reaches an average of almost 100,000 viewers with every video. Their content style is also what we’re calling “Social Au Naturel,” because again, it’s consistent but not forced; dignified, not desperate.

Post patient results, but avoid “thirst traps.”

As far as reach and view counts go, the best way to post before-and-after results is with a video.

Second best is to lead with a video, followed by a few still images (in Instagram carousels).

Since standard before-and-afters are a sign of a provider’s skill and integrity, you may want to create a second account for them alone, which is what many of the biggest surgeons on social media do.

Of the 50 accounts we reviewed, only 3-4 post “thirst trap” type content, or overly graphic post-surgery results.

(Posting before-and-after images on a separate account is best for social growth because it gives algorithms content that’s consistent in format, style, and length. Social apps also spread video a lot further than they do still images. In short, consistency of content type/format matters, and videos do best.)

Keep the OR pretty private.

Social media prefers edutainment much more than it does the sight of a liposuction cannula being repeatedly jabbed into someone’s abdomen.

Surgery is risky, operating rooms are bloody.

Social media just isn’t quite the place for it—but YouTube is, and you should post OR and surgical footage there with patient consent.

Repurpose content smartly.

At whatever scale you plan to do social media, you’ll need an agency or team of some kind, even if only internally.

As the star surgeon in your videos, you’ll need to be there for filming, but a team will have to back you up with ideation, editing, and posting across platforms.

About That Algo

This far down, you’ve probably picked up a tip or three that can help you.

But you’ve probably also wondered if it’s really this easy — just do “what they do” and reach millions?

And you’re right.

There’s a whole world we haven’t talked about:

The technical, BTS world of the perfect length of a Reel, the perfect frame rate, the best music, and the right hashtags:

1080P or 4K?

SDR or HDR?

30 or 60 FPS?

Are hashtags really dead?

Hey, if social was plug-and-play, everybody would be acing it.

But it’s not.

Yes, these are great and true tips and strategies used by the Top Docs, but ask us about the rest by filling out the short form below or giving us a call.

What Social Media’s Biggest Plastic Surgeons Don’t Do

Social media’s biggest plastic surgeons don’t:

Overuse AI.
Post fake or altered photos.
Buy likes, comments, or followers.
Dance on camera. (Okay, maybe a little).
Forget that their profession holds weight.

AI: Only one of the 50 largest accounts we watched appeared to use AI, and only for thumbnails. Buying Followers: We’re not saying none of the biggest accounts we reviewed have ever bought followers. Rather, that their Follower-to-Engagement ratio was high enough that any growth strategies seemed to have been done smartly, or very early on.

In summary, they don’t forget why they’re on social media to begin with.

Which is not to “do anything to go viral,” but to add their insights and offerings as medical professionals to the broader social community — while generating patient leads and conversions of course.

So “Please Please Please” don’t “Dance the Night Away,” only to go viral.

But just as importantly, “Don’t Stop Believing” in consistent on-brand social content.

Great patient results help fuel social growth and Dr. Edward Chamata is an example of that. He posts about once weekly—7X less often than other top-performers—yet reaches an average of 150,000 viewers with every video. Read through his comments, and you’ll see his reach and results earn patient leads.

From Social Follower to Email Subscriber

However you use social media, your goal should be to drive potential patients further down your marketing funnel.

That means bringing viewers from “awareness,” through “interest” and eventually to “decision.”

It means that while social media is all fun and great, one email subscriber is worth roughly 10 social media followers.

One (social) is algorithm based, the other (email) is action-based.

An email subscriber is expressing the next degree of interest in your practice and your work.

Not just “plastic surgery” as a topic or trend, but the results that you get with your patients

Which means you want to be urging your social followers deeper into your marketing funnel.

Just include a link in your bio, ask followers to subscribe to your email every once in a while, and share specials and other buy-nows only by email.

Summary

Social media’s biggest plastic surgeons are well-branded and prolific content creators who are professional but human, and who adapt to or adopt trends as they occur.

Many of them step outside their day-to-day work to weigh in on popular health and wellness topics (scares, myths, warnings), which fuels further brand-recognition.

Social First or Social Second?

Drilling down further, social media’s top plastic surgeons can also be helpfully grouped into two “content creator types” or categories:

Social Second: In the first and most common category are surgeons who focus mostly on their own work, with social media and content creation being merely a lead-gen or brand-awareness play.
Social First: In the second category are surgeons for whom social media is a huge focus. These surgeons have adopted a bit more of an “influencer” role, and use their social as a creative outlet.

Neither strategy is wrong.

The distinction is just worth noting as it suggests you don’t need to become an influencer yourself, nor post multiple times daily before you start seeing noticeable traction and ROI.

Fine Print: What we Analyzed

We binge-watched the Top 50 plastic surgeons with the most followers on Instagram and TikTok for four months.

Then let it all percolate, and cross-referenced it all for the biggest takeaways and commonalities.

The things that you, too, could probably perfect or practice in order to grow your own social media presence.

Let’s Get Social

Reach our Social Media team using the short form below, or by calling (888) 351-3514.

Or, to learn more about what a You-Us partnership would look like, visit this page.

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