Since its initial launch in 2016, TikTok has become one of the most popular and widely used social media apps on the planet. With a currently estimated 200 million users in the United States alone, you can find everything from girls (and guys) in bikinis to real estate investing instructionals, all presented in a concise 3-minute or less video format. TikTok is completely free to use, and you can tell it exactly whom to show your content to. The message to any business owner, DPC physicians included, is clear- If you’re not leveraging TikTok and other short form video platforms, you are missing out on a massive potential revenue stream.

Since I opened Auburn Direct Primary Care in March of 2021, I had been relying solely on paid social media ads on Facebook and Instagram as my marketing strategy. I had a good sense that digital media was the way to go, but these were really the only platforms I was familiar with. It wasn’t until I read the book Mxltiply, by Bryan Switalski that I began to understand that there may be a much more efficient (and cheaper) way to reach my target audience. In his book, Switalski discusses the rise of TikTok and other short form video platforms (Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, etc) and how mass quarantines supercharged their popularity in 2020. He details exactly how to use these platforms to reach thousands, if not millions, of potential customers and gives best practices guidelines on how to make your efforts successful. Since implementing these strategies, I have netted 5-6 new patients per week who came to me directly from TikTok, on top of the new patient flow I already had. Here, I’m going to summarize some of the most important takeaways from Switalski’s book, and I’d encourage any DPC physician looking to grow his or her practice to pick up a copy for more details.

1. Create videos to entertain and educate. Don’t advertise!

Your potential new patients are scrolling TikTok all day long, but they’re not doing it to watch ads. If you pop up and start with, “Hi I’m Dr. Bob, and I want to tell you about Boring DPC,” people are going to scroll right past you. What you want is for people to stop, watch your video, and begin to get comfortable and familiar with you as a person and a doctor. You want them to Know, Like, and Trust you. That way, when they do find themselves in need of a doctor, you are already top of mind, and they are much more likely to call you instead of someone they found on a google search. Your goal with each video should be to either talk about something your audience would find interesting or to do something entertaining.

2. Be yourself. Don’t fake it!

The people of the internet are experts at spotting a fake. Don’t try to put on and be someone or something you’re not. Be yourself! Not only will your audience Like and Trust you more, but when they call to enroll in your practice, they’re already more likely to be a good fit because they already know you. Those who won’t like you in person won’t be the ones who are attracted by your content.

3. Document.

One of the easiest ways to come up with content for your videos is simply to document what you do every day! The general public is fascinated by the medical world, so offering them a peak behind the curtain can be wildly popular. For example, I created a 50-something second video in which I described how I diagnosed cancer in a new patient. It has received nearly half a million views in about a month, and I now have patients driving from across the state to see me because they Trust me based on what they saw in that video.

4. Use hashtags correctly!

One of the biggest mistakes business owners can make is creating excellent content, then failing to tell the Tiktok algorithm who to show it to. Your content doesn’t help you at all if you can’t get it in front of your target audience (your potential patients). You should use a few targeted hashtags to tell the algorithm what your video is about, who you want to see it, and where your target audience is. For example, I’ve made a few silly videos documenting real conversations I’ve had with my patients. For these, I use the hashtags #doctor, #funny, #south, #auburn, #opelikaalabama, #auburndirectprimarycare. I’m telling the algorithm to show my video to people who are interested in doctors, funny videos, content about the South, and who live near Auburn/Opelika. Using no hashtags or too many will confuse the algorithm, and your content will not get shown to anyone.

5. Post frequently.

Especially in the beginning, you need to post videos frequently in order to build an audience and gain traction. Posting a video every day is ideal for the first few weeks, but a bare minimum should be a couple of times per week.

6. Be prepared for the haters.

If you’re new to social media, get ready for trolls. Trolls are people who go on social media platforms and write negative, inflammatory comments on other peoples’ posts. It’s going to happen. No matter how awesome you are and how benign your message is, someone is going to come in and talk S*@%. In my opinion, the best thing to do is ignore them and let your audience of devoted followers fight it out for you. After all, the more comments a post gets, the more people the algorithm will show it to!

There are, of course, more granular details that can contribute to your TikTok success, but the most important thing is to JUST GET STARTED! Imperfect action always beats perfect inaction, and the longer you sit on the sidelines, the more potential patients you’re going to miss. It may feel awkward, uncomfortable, even embarrassing to put yourself out there on the internet, but success almost always lies on the other side of fear. There are patients all over the world waiting to hear your message. Don’t let them down!

Kyle Adams, MD

@auburndpc on Tiktok

[email protected]