Social Media Focus: Keeping it real with Instagram Reels

Social media is all about immediacy. The moment that we stop generating content for our account, we become obsolete. It's a marketing game like no other, and as healthcare professionals, we face an ever-present challenge to balance our surgical careers with having to keep one finger on the constantly evolving pulse of digital marketing.

Even as part of Generation Y, I'm overwhelmed by the continued launch of new features or platforms, which ratches-up pressure to learn, adapt and stay relevant. Nevertheless, we have learned time and time again that early adopters get more traction – the sooner we get comfortable and dive in, the better. With a fun feature such as Instagram Reels, you might actually surprise yourself and have a little fun with some good ROI along the way.

Reels is the latest video feature provided by Instagram. The feature follows in the footsteps of Instagram Stories and IGTV, and allows viewers to splice short video clips together to tell a story of 15-30 seconds. You can pull up pre-recorded videos or record content in the Reels tab itself to make your compilation. There are a variety of features you can explore to add some pizazz to your Reels; one of the hallmarks is the "align" feature that provides a shadow overlay so you can start and stop your snippets in the exact same position for seamless and instant transitions (think instant costume change from scrubs to clinic attire). You can also add music to your post with a wide variety of popular songs to choose from, and speedup videos or add effects. Reels comes with its own icon on your profile page; just look for the "play" button within a movie clapperboard.

Drawing traffic

Instagram has been promoting popular Reels to its users, and videos are often featured on the Explore tab. Curious to see what kind of content is featured? Just click the small magnifying glass on the bottom, just right of the home button, to see what's trending. Getting your content featured in the "Explore" section is the hard part. Instagram hasn't shared its algorithms, but I have colleagues who've had their Reels featured, and those videos have gone viral. Even one viral reel can result in a lot of followers and a significant ROI by creating the right video. But if it doesn't go viral, your video will still be seen by your followers when you post to your grid and story.

It's no secret that Reels is similar to TikTok, which exploded in popularity for a Generation Z audience. However, with 40 percent of TikTok viewership between the ages of 16 and 24, it's not an ideal target demographic for plastic surgery content. Reels has a distinct advantage in being another feature on an already proven (and widely used) platform. Instead of building an entirely new audience on TikTok, a quick video posted to Reels can be shared with the entire audience of Instagram followers you've curated to date. Reels also allows 2,200 characters in your description, allowing you to use hashtags and tags to pull in a larger audience than the 150 characters on TikTok allows. Another added feature is the ability for viewers to add your reel to their story, providing a useful avenue to share content and grow your audience in a way that you can't with IGTV and IG stories.

If your video content already has a proven track record on Instagram, you should certainly try your hand at Reels. As in the case of stories, content is more casual – and can even be lighthearted and fun. Bear in mind that even with more casual social media posts, we have a duty to uphold the most ethical and professional of standards. People are watching, and we should never use these laid-back platforms to downplay the seriousness of what we do and the medical care we provide.

Reels doesn't offer much in the way of analytics beyond the standard representation of views, likes, comments and shares, which can make it difficult to know precisely what content is really capturing your audience – or how to target further marketing with this feature. Even so, Reels offers another avenue to reach your target audience, and ultimately show what you do and who you are as a plastic surgeon. It's worth trying something new, even if your content doesn't go viral – at a minimum, I promise to give you a "like" and a share when I see your video grace the Explore tab. Other industries and businesses are reporting increased engagement thanks to the novelty of this new feature, and plastic surgeons would do well to take part.

Posting

As with any social media platform, there are plenty of young people posting "how-to" videos to teach older folks (myself included) the ins and outs of the feature. I recommend that you look at some of your colleagues who are already in the game and get a feel for the content that performs well on Reels. Choose and plan your content ahead of time. There should be a clear message, told in chronological order with a beginning, middle and end. A few ideas that are plastic surgery-worthy could include:

• Hot Topics
• Do's and Don'ts
• Common misconceptions in plastic surgery
• Comparisons (e.g., saline vs. silicone implants)
• Skin care tips or tricks
• Personal routines or self-care
• Behind the scenes in the office
• Anything quirky about you or your personality that gives us a behind-the-scenes look

Reels is a lot of fun, but like everything, there's a learning curve in getting started. Don't worry too much about making things perfect, just give it a try. I look forward to seeing plastic surgery take over the Insta-scene, and I encourage you to follow along @drashleyamalfi as I learn alongside you in the coming months.

Dr. Amalfi is co-chair of the Social Media Subcommittee and is in private practice in Rochester, N.Y.