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Alphabeautics editors just wrapped what we believe to be one of the most comprehensive assessments of plastic surgeons of fame, culling through social signals and search queries across multiple platforms.
Here’s what else stood out in hours of research, comparison, and compilation. (Our list of America’s Most Famous Plastic Surgeons is here.)
1. Social Surgeons are changing the face of plastic surgery
At any time, any plastic surgeon, anywhere, can hit upload or “go live” to invite people into their personal and professional world. Successful social surgeons are changing the face of the industry by doing just that. While Google search is still the most crucial long term game, social media is a savvy shortcut to personability, popularity, and patients.
2. Instagram is the best social platform for plastic surgeons
The 50 most popular plastic surgeons in practice have an average of 32,265 subscribers on YouTube and an average of 150,922 followers on Instagram. Their interested audience is 4.67 times larger on average on Instagram than it is on YouTube.
And that’s despite Instagram’s October 2019 ban on filters that could make users appear as if they’d had plastic surgery. Yes, it was out of an abundance of caution that these filters could cause self harm or affect a user’s mental health. But a week later, no less than Forbes observed that even Instagram’s filter ban wasn’t enough to stop the “rise in cosmetic surgery,” and that the platform’s move could “be charged with tokenism.”
4.67X
The 50 most popular practicing plastic surgeons have an average of 32,265 YouTube subscribers and an average of 150,922 followers on Instagram.
Hashtags, @mentions, and the platform’s ability to host photos, videos, stories and lives, makes Instagram the best place for users to ogle over before-and-afters and get quick takes on plastic surgery procedures.
3. Legacy plastic surgeons are still the most searched for on Google
You can’t judge a surgeon’s skills by the size of their social media following.
Look to industry peer-compiled lists of the “best facelift surgeons” or “best rhinoplasty surgeons” and you’ll see America’s OG or Legacy surgeons who, while they may not be quite as active on social media as many of the young bucks, they still get more direct Google search queries than America’s more active social surgeons.
4. 43.5% of America’s most famous plastic surgeons are in California
Forty three and a half percent of America’s most famous plastic surgeons live and practice in California: 27 out of 62 of the most widely watched, subscribed to, and “followed” plastic surgeons. And almost 1 in 4 (24%) of America’s most famous plastic surgeons practice in Beverly Hills.
After California, the states where the largest number of America’s most popular plastic surgeons live and practice in, are Florida and Texas, each with 9.68% of America’s most famous plastic surgeons. Miami, FL, is home to all but one of the most famous plastic surgeons in Florida and Houston, TX, is home to half of the most famous plastic surgeons in Texas. Next is New York, home to 6.45% of America’s most famous plastic surgeons.
5. When surgeons “make it,” patients drop “dr” and “md” from their search queries
In the corporate world, genericide can be a multi million to billion-dollar disaster. (Ask Dupont how it went with “Cellophane.” Or Bayer about their once-trademarked “heroin.”) But in the world of private practice plastic surgery, becoming a household name is perhaps the pinnacle of search success. According to Google search query volume, patients looking for a plastic surgeon typically search this way: “dr first last,” “first last md,” and, most frequently, simply “first last”—the surgeon’s name alone. When a plastic surgeon “makes it” in their promotion and publicity efforts, most users seem to drop Dr and MD from their search queries altogether. Since who else could they be referring to but the wildly popular Dr. Jones?
“Congratulations, Doc. You’re a familiar, trusted brand in my world,” they seem to be saying.
Resource:
- American College of Surgeons, “Statement on Guidelines for the Ethical Use of Social Media by Surgeons Online,” May 1, 2019
